Stay, Play, Lead and Succeed:The Thinking and the Elements of Success

Collingwood Basketball Association (the Club) has been an important presence in Melbourne’s inner north since the 1970s. The Club sits on the doorstep of Collingwood’s public housing estates, with nearby estates in Fitzroy and Richmond. This area is home to families with diverse backgrounds, incomes, lifestyles, cultures and ethnicities, and includes many families from refugee backgrounds.

The Club is committed to ensuring as many young people in our community as possible can participate in sport. VicHealth has helped us to study and test initiatives that can continue the Club’s growth, and embed a culture – backed by practical programs – that maximise the participation and retention of young people in sport.

VicHealth has supported the Club’s Stay, Play, Lead and Succeed (SPLS) program, which aims to retain and engage young people at risk of dropping out of sport. Through this experience, we have developed several insights and learnings. We hope our experiences help your sporting club to provide young people with the best opportunity to attain the many benefits of sport - from understanding rules and teamwork, to broader life skills and a sense of belonging to a community, not just a sporting club.

Our learnings:1. Know what motivates your members

and understand the barriers they face

2. Strike the right balance between financial support and financial sustainability

3. Understand that while the sport’s important, it’s part of a much larger picture

4. Find ways to keep players involved as they hit their mid-to-late teenage years

5. Develop players into role models and future leaders

Mistakes have been made, identified and addressed – and we continue to learn. But we have achieved significant success – most notably, we are a Club which truly reflects our community’s rich diversity.

We have found that parents, administrators, coaches, team managers and volunteers within the Club are the greatest beneficiaries of having young people from such varied backgrounds involved with our Club. Our diversity and inclusiveness has helped us to achieve significant success in areas that are well beyond – and arguably far more important – than sport.

Please note, this document should be read in conjunction with a short video that can be viewed at: www.collingwoodbasketball.com.au/SPLS.html

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For young people to take up sport and continue playing, a critical first step is to identify and understand real and potential barriers to participation.

We found there were different types of barriers being experienced by our players, many of which require different approaches to address:

• there are financial and transport barriers

• communication can be difficult as not everyone has a mobile phone or reliable online access, in addition, English is not always the main language spoken at home

• some families have multiple children and possibly only one parent (or a parent who works shift work)

• players have family commitments to attend to

• many may need assistance but to not want to be categorised or stigmatised as special ‘supported’ players and some team managers feel uncomfortable asking for fees as they do not want to embarrass the player.

It is important to not assume families and children from a particular background face the same barriers. It is essential to avoid generalisation and stereotypes.

Our responses:• We have a Community Liaison

Officer born in South Sudan who speaks Bari, Dinka, Nuer and Zande, who provides important insights into the culture of the communities living in Melbourne’s inner north.

• A Player Advocacy Group has been established to meet quarterly, acting as a channel for players to put forward their ideas to the Club’s Committee of Management. Current activities include player transfers, parent engagement, the nature and level of financial support, representation of players within and beyond the Club considering gender, diversity and informed consent.

• At the start of each season we run formal training sessions for new team managers. These sessions are delivered by experienced team managers and provide practical steps to help ensure team participation and harmony and – most importantly –

that our young players turn up to train and play.

• Team managers utilise the most practical and reliable communication platform (often simple text message, but increasingly Facebook and Instagram messenger) for team members. Pick up locations and times are arranged at training and where possible are consistent. Other players are also asked to pass on information.

• Through our team manager structure, we set up rosters for parents to take kids to and from games and training.

• The Club limits the number of young people in the same team requiring assistance and will schedule that team’s training closer to Collingwood, where many of our young players live.

• A team manager manual has been produced.

1. Know what motivates your members and understand the barriers they face

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2. Strike the right balance between financial support and financial sustainability

All players are expected to pay registration fees, weekly game fees and other costs such as uniforms. However, some of our players’ socio-economic circumstances mean this can be a significant barrier. For us, it has been important to find a balance between supporting players and having a financially sustainable model.

The Club has a formal Pay and Play Policy to ensure that a player’s financial circumstances do not hinder their ability to participate. A balance is found where those who can contribute do so – even if the contribution is small. This aims to build and encourage a sense of responsibility and mutual obligation.

Our responses:• We do not assume that players

cannot afford to pay fees – Club administrators (including our Community Liaison Officer) will hold tactful and diplomatic discussions with parents and players who are unable to cover fees. Where necessary, the Club subsidises or covers registration fees and uniforms depending on player circumstances.

• Some teams create a pool of funds to help cover costs, where players put in an extra $1-2 per week to create a team kitty.

• Deductible Gift Recipient status has been achieved under the auspices of the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) – this has included a Tax Deductible Donation Facility being made available through ASF and a donation button placed on the Club’s website. Donations via this facility have been made to the Club. We aim to use a portion of

the donations collected through this facility to subsidise players each year (depending on budgetary circumstances).

• At the start of the SPLS program, we had a small portfolio of sponsors for our teams. Over the duration of the program, the Club has secured principal sponsors for each of our Big V teams and one for our domestic program. The income from these, and a growing cohort of sponsors, will help to ensure longer term sustainability.

• Government and philanthropic grants play an important part and are actively pursued. The SPLS program provides an opportunity for sponsors and philanthropic organisations to support specific program initiatives – for example, food outlets have provided meals and snacks for young players attending the Homework Club.

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3. Understand that while the sport’s important, it’s part of a much larger picture

Sport and basketball are important, but so is education and broader life skills. We use the players’ desire to excel in basketball to challenge them to excel in all areas of their lives. We encourage personal effort and development to meet life’s challenges and opportunities.

We found that by offering new and varied opportunities, there are results both on and off the court, notably improved self-esteem and commitment.

Education, in particular, is emphasised as critical to success in sport and more enduring. The life skills learned through organised sport are stressed with an emphasis on being successful after-school. From turning up on time, to putting in extra effort to get ahead and working effectively in a team are all essential to work as well as sport.

For the few players who hope to play college basketball in the United States, we emphasise that colleges will not enrol students without minimum grade levels.

Our responses:• As part of the SPLS program,

young players are provided with opportunities to put in more effort through extra training sessions before school, and associated fitness activities, for example conditioning activities are held at nearby parks for high-performing teams.

• We keep in touch with local schools, and support attendance and completion of homework. The Homework Club is a practical example of linking sport with school work. Our Homework Club is run by volunteer parents and very well attended by young players.

• Running the Homework Club prior to training helps improve attendance and sends a clear message that academic performance is valued just as much as sporting performance.

• We work collaboratively with schools, parents and service providers where school-based issues of concern have arisen with some players.

• We ensure players remain fully aware of the Club’s suite of available programs, for example Holiday Program, Basketball Academy, Intensive Training Program, Domestic and Representative Programs and Homework Club. Through these programs, we aim to support and retain young players who are at risk of dropping out of sport.

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Like many sporting clubs, we want to be high-profile and successful – a destination Club for players. But we don’t want to leave young players behind. As a Club, we have considered new pathways that enable players to continue playing and be involved in basketball beyond their mid-to-late teens - an age at which participation numbers traditionally decline in basketball and organised sport more broadly.

Through these opportunities players become more engaged and become generational role models. They learn life skills, become more resilient, and better connected to the Club and community.

Our responses:• For those who wish to continue

playing we have embraced the semi-professional Big V competition with a Big V Women’s team (open age), Big V Men’s team (open age) and Big V Men’s Youth League team (U23). The Club has successfully applied for a Big V Women’s Youth League team (U23) that enters the Big V competition in 2019. Entering teams in the Big V competition comes at a cost, and the SPLS program has helped the Club identify new sources of revenue (sponsorship and philanthropic) to help fund the Club’s participation in this competition.

• We have capitalised on the semi-professional league by bringing in Big V players to coach, where they can positively influence young players.

• We have also developed player pathways beyond elite playing teams. There are now multiple opportunities for young people to take on additional roles in the Club – from coaching and refereeing, through to helping at the Homework Club.

• We encourage young players to become coaches and they often assist senior coaches to help them develop. Coaching clinics are run

throughout the year and junior coaches are strongly encouraged to attend.

• We have identified 15 young players who have leadership potential and are supporting them to take roles within the Club including coaching young teams, supporting lead coaches at school holiday programs, refereeing and demonstrating positive on-court sporting behaviour.

• As part of the SPLS program, 12 junior players were invited to be co-researchers with the University of Melbourne and the National Children’s Commissioner during 2017/18, to develop surveys based on kids’ rights and opportunities. Over 32,000 children and teenagers participated in the surveys overall, providing significant insights into the views and experiences of Australian children and teenagers. Our players presented their key research messages and recommendations at the National Child and Youth Forum to a panel of influential Australians at the University of Melbourne on 7 September 2018. The research findings are to be presented to the United Nations.

4. Find ways to keep players involved as they hit their mid-to-late teenage years

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Previously, the Club has sought to remove barriers to participation through a welfare model. In this model players are helped to overcome barriers with no expectations or responsibility. The person is assumed to always be dependent on support.

The SPLS program has provided the opportunity to test new initiatives that will allow the Club to begin moving towards an accountability and development model – a model whereby life skills are developed and passed on to younger generations through sports participation, coaching and team management.

We encourage players to give back to the Club by taking on paid and unpaid roles. Paid roles may include time spent working in the canteen or as referees, while unpaid work may include coaching junior teams. When the player goes from receiving support to contributing, they often grow as people. Life skills are developed and players become leaders.

Many of our players – who have previously received support – have now become leaders, role models and ambassadors for the Club. This leadership often continues in the community with our players positively influencing the behaviour of those younger.

Our responses:• We have run a ‘Welcome to Rep’

day where parents of players from all backgrounds were invited to attend. Careful and sympathetic conversations were held with the parents of many previously supported players – and several agreed to pay some or all of their fees. These are sometimes tricky and awkward conversations to have, but are an important part of shifting players from support to responsibility.

• Our Homework Club is increasingly being supported by mature players who are respected by young attendees.

• Coaching clinics have been run for new coaches – and attended by many young coaches – to demonstrate how to teach basketball and communicate with young players.

• A previously supported player is now elected on our Committee and heads our Player Advocacy Group.

5. Develop players into role models and future leaders

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The futureWe are yet to fully achieve our goals and challenges remain - achieving greater levels of parental involvement, giving a true voice to our young players, finding the necessary volunteers, and securing enough sources of income to sustain our initiatives.

Our long-term vision is to better understand the motivators and barriers to Club engagement for youth, as well as successfully connecting all young people at risk of dropping out of sport to opportunities to demonstrate leadership and higher levels of Club engagement.

We would encourage all clubs to develop initiatives that achieve diversity and ensure more players achieve the broad benefits of sport. We look forward to hearing of your initiatives as we need to continue to learn and try new things.

There is often emphasis about the benefits to the players who need support and are at risk of dropping out of sport. The truth is we are the real beneficiaries of maintaining diversity in our Club. Our volunteers put in the extra effort because they feel proud to be part of a diverse Club. All our children’s lives are enhanced by diversity. We all benefit from the richness of a stronger Club and community.

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The Collingwood Basketball Association wishes to acknowledge and thank the following organisations for their assistance with, and input into, the Stay, Play, Lead and Succeed program: