Booster Clubs

What has happen to booster club. They use to be the center of sports. They just did not provide funds they pumped up people for the games. It was a cross cut of sports people. Did we get so sports loyal that we lost the reason for a booster club? It sound like everyone has had pretty much the same thing happen to them. I think that what we are saying here is the norm on this subject. I know of one school here in the WSFC system that has done a great job in getting funds and parent involement is Regan High School. I think it is that they are a new school and things to start where can we help. Everything is we now. With that being said what will be the strength of the booster club in another five years? After the shine wears off. After people start looking at the school as not new but just another school. Will they have the same problems? Will their teams start wanting more funds after the new stuff break and wears out? I feel that they two will be speaking as we do. I hope that this is not the case. But, I think it will be.

 

A man of many words

Humm....now I have to wonder if you will ruin the sports show?

 

This is an educated guess. School administrators have always placed their priorities on their revenue sports, Football and Basketball. I assume the AD looks at the income they derive from those sports as "the booster club"...and all of the other sports are milking from that. That is why many of the "baseball schools" feel a need of starting a seperate "support" club to pay for their needs and not to put themselves in a position that Coach27 so eloquently mentioned as "welfare".

How successful the baseball support clubs are is directly related to the involvement of the coaches and the leader of the support.

But I would be remiss in not saying that it is very important that the leaders of the booster clubs demand accountability from the AD's about the amounts of the monies collected. There have been recent examples of money missing and no trail on how it was used....and the so called non-revenue sports were affected.

 

This is very true. When I was president of the Booster club. We had to provide the books to the school system auditor for their reveiw. This year I think that they were to start using the school system list of vendors. We already had to use Pepsi due to the school system contract with them. Even if I worked out a deal with their competator and could get free stuff a better deal on product. Even if we could have got them to give us say a free score board. We could not due to this contact. The booster club is was and is a seperate group from the school. We ask that a member attend and the AD out of an intrest of working together. We even gave the school a thousand dollar gift for more cameras. Now, ask our AD or admin what was the gate on a game, rotation schedule of uniforms, even what items is the school to supply. If you can get an answer it would be a first. Booster Clubs are meant to asisit the programs work toward purchasing large capitol items that benefit the whole. That is not to say that if improvements are need to one feild we could not work something out. We have split the cost of some of these items. Provided funds to smaller sports like swimming, tennis, CC and the like. Sports that do not produce revenue like softball, baseball,football ect. But are just as important. They most of the time have less cost than the others.

 

This whole topic really gets me fired up. By now most of you have figured I don't like being told something can't be done.

We have been told we cannot have a seperate account or fundraising for each sport. In fact, we are the last Booster Club in the county where concessions money goes back in to the school general fund and not controlled by Boosters. We have begged and pleaded to know how much comes in and how much actually goes back in to sports but we have no idea. We have a good prinicipal at our school but this is one bridge I'm not going to cross with her, nor is anyone else. She does a good job on academics and has helped my son on the academic side. She's a good principal. No way I'm crossing her. Our AD is in the NC Hall of Fame. Can't cross that bridge either.

However there is a group of baseball parents that have gone off and raised funds and worked to improve our baseball program. The coach works very hard but it would be foolish of him to go do what Coach 27 has done. he works for the principal. he can't go there. So the parents do it. The latest frustration is we found a source that will donate light fixtures for the bullpen and batting cages. These fixtures are specifically made for stadium lighting. I went to the preferred supplier (NC has Musco Lighting spec'd in) and asked if they could donate lights. They turned us down, as did other companies. I went to one of my customers and another parent went to his friend who is the rep and they were able to donate lights. Now I am being told that since they are not the preferred brand of stadium lighting in NC that they may not be approved which means we cannot accept them. It gets very frustrating.

I have gotten some ideas from this thread. If we could somehow get coaches involved and then get some effort out of the players we may make some progress.

 

Brother can you spare a dime!!!

I feel your pain it is amazing that really there is no accounting of monies that come in to some of the schools via fundraisers or thru boosters efforts. This can only suggest that things are not right in some places. Not really the ideal situation to go out and get support. anyone have more thoughts on the way money should be raised and handled by the sports programs or individual teams?

 

All this can sometimes lead to another problem that has not been discussed.

When some parents raise money for a program or volunteer, it sometimes creates some uneasiness. Not all parents have the means to donate money, nor should that have to, but that's a subject for another day. Not all parents can take time off to work or volunteer, nor should it be expected. However it does raise the question for some that someone may be getting treated differently.

In our situation it didn't happen. My son played JV as a freshman and it was exactly where he needed to be. He ended up having a great year. Got 50 at bats, pitched a ton and caught when he didn't pitch and learned a bunch. Team went undefeated and they loved playing together. He said it was the best season of baseball he had in years. And it didn't happen for anyone else. And I don't think any other HS coach would be influenced. I know our coach wouldn't. He wants to win something fierce. He'd play Saddam if he could hit (nothing bad meant by that. Just to illustrate a point). But it does create some tension for all involved. If you volunteer and your son plays, you hear the comments that he plays because Dad volunteers. If a kid doesn't play, you hear a few say it's because they don't volunteer. We try to get others involved but not everyonehas the time or the desire. At times you feel you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

A great person told me one time. Sometimes you have to go ahead do it and ask for forgiveness later. I would say that your AD should have the pull to get these things done. If not what is he there for. I understand that they have their own agendas. But, I cannot see him turning down free stuff. This helps him with his budget.

 

I would hope coaches out there would shy away from this practice. I know it is a hard thing to do. But you have to because of team. It is a fine line. Once crossed hard to get back.

 

There you go talking about Coach May again