Creating a Youth Sports Organizational Structure that Works

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

– Vince Lombardi

While every team might have a slightly different organizational structure based on resources and priorities, each should follow the basic hierarchy of establishing a Board of Directors and club administrators. Within these groups are special roles and job functions that each person must fulfill.

See how these roles break out below.

Youth Sports Board of Directors

In an efficient youth sports organizational structure, the foundation of each organization should be its Board of Directors.

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Board members are responsible for overseeing the major aspects of the organization, including setting the budget, the club’s mission, vision and values, and the hiring of key positions. Each member should have a distinct role and job responsibilities he or she is accountable for. As a group, they should make decisions that benefit the club as a whole and vote on key initiatives.

Each club can determine how to name its Board of Directors, but positions are typically filled through elections. Each organization should also determine term limits for each board member.

Board of Director Roles

The number of board members will vary by club. The core positions are typically President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

• President: The President is responsible for the overall success and growth of an organization. He or she runs the meetings and holds other board members and staff members accountable for upholding the organization’s mission, vision, and values. He or she should facilitate discussions and votes.
• Vice President: The Vice President works closely with the President to carry out the organization’s core initiatives and can stand-in for the President if he or she is absent from a meeting, vote or event.
• Secretary: The Secretary documents the minutes of board meetings and records the results of voting measures and decisions. He or she is also the keeper of board member information and league records.
• Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the club’s finances and budget. He or she runs the organization’s accounts and is tasked with distributing and depositing funds as needed.

Youth Sports Club Administrators

The organization’s administrators are typically not on the Board of Directors, but they play a pivotal part in the overall day-to-day operations of the club. In an efficient organizational structure, the positions usually work year-round to ensure the club’s success.

• Director of Coaching: The Director of Coaching oversees the club’s coaches. He or she is tasked with hiring coaches, setting up training sessions, overseeing the evaluation process, and ensuring the coaches are upholding the club’s standards when interacting with and coaching youth players.

• Director of Sport: The Director of Sport oversees a particular sport’s budget, operations, and overall success. Depending on the club’s makeup, this position can also be referred to as the Director of Competitive, Girls Director, Boys Director, or another similar title. He or she will work closely with the Treasurer to ensure the team’s expenses are aligned with the budget. He or she will also work with the Director of Coaching to ensure the players are being trained and coached according to the organization’s standards. The Director of Sport is also tasked with ensuring the team is attracting new players to its teams and events.

• Registrar: The Registrar is charged with overseeing the club’s registration process. This can include maintaining the database of athletes, communicating registration information and promoting registration activities. He or she is also responsible for creating, distributing and recording all registration forms.

• Equipment Manager: The Equipment Manager is in charge of obtaining and maintaining all equipment. He or she should keep an accurate inventory of all items and develop a check-out process for teams to follow when using equipment. The Equipment Manager is also responsible for making sure all equipment follows current safety standards.

• Facility Manager: The Facility Manager oversees all training areas (including fields, courts, rinks and weight rooms) the organization’s teams use for practice and games. He or she is responsible for submitting permits, reserving facilities based on each team’s schedule, and ensuring the facilities meet proper safety guidelines.

• Fundraising Manager: The Fundraising Manager is responsible for organizing and overseeing all fundraising efforts for the club. He or she will work with the Treasurer to determine the financial need and decide how to raise additional funds – both through holding fundraisers and securing sponsorships. Depending on the sponsorship opportunity, the Fundraising Manager will work with the Director of Sport and the board members to determine what opportunities are best for the club. For fundraising opportunities, he or she will work with each team, parents, players, and volunteers to help execute the initiative.

• Communications Manager: The Communications Manager creates and distributes all official communications from the organization. This can include updating the club’s website, marketing the club, sending press releases, creating newsletters, and distributing other news. (Download our free youth sports marketing guide)

• Volunteer Manager: The Volunteer Manager is responsible for recruiting and overseeing volunteers. The Volunteer Manager should keep a database of volunteers and work with the other administrators to assign volunteers to particular tasks throughout the season.

• Administrator: The Administrator supports the day-to-day work of the entire organization. He or she keeps documents on file, answers phone calls, returns general inquiries, provides general information about the club as needed, and keeps the overall office running.