Providing the appropriate programme of training, coaching, competitions and social activities at your club will attract new and retain existing members.

This section offers useful information on organising your club programme, establishing club/school links along with the benefits of providing local competitions and handy hints on how best to prepare for them.

Training / Coaching Programme:

Each member wants to enjoy sport or activity at their own level - some will just want to turn up and train, others will be keen to improve their skills and some members will want to enter competitions. Most members will also be keen to enjoy some social events with their friends at the club.

One important area that needs to be considered carefully is the player:coach ratio – the number of players a coach should work with. This differs from sport to sport, from one age group to the next and with varying ability levels. The same is true with the number of coaching/training sessions that you should offer your members per week/month/year and the structure of the programme offered within these sessions.

You should consult your National Governing Body - NGB for more information on the above. They can provide you with the NGB guidelines on player/coach ratios and they may be able to offer you easy to follow templates on how to structure a training programme. Your Local Authority Sports Development Officer may also be able to help in offering more generic templates, advice and information.