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On the ball

by Barbados Today
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The Barbados Netball Association (BNA) is constantly working on ways to ensure that its member clubs understand the meaning of how strong leadership contributes to their sustainability.

Marlene Hall, a longstanding netball administrator and umpire with a strong background in strategic management, said when individuals seek to start a club, there are certain factors they must give consideration to if they want to remain relevant. During one of the BNA’s ongoing Zoom series “On the Ball – Off the Court” which continued last Saturday, Hall presented on the topic Managing A Club Successfully.

She insisted that individuals who seek to form clubs and sustain them must understand their roles as leaders. Using community netball as an example, Hall explained: “The focus tends to be on netball and the practice sessions as opposed to creating a unit or an organisation or a club that is about something, that has a future, a purpose and then you fit people on to that purpose.” 

Hall has worked with sporting organisations such as netball, badminton, football and also the Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme in creating a road map for success. Besides speaking on the main topic, Hall touched on topics like setting the stage for a successful club and having a game plan. She spoke about the importance of having a vision, a mission and a set of values that drive the behaviour and decision-making of the clubs. Delving further into the area of setting the stage for success, Hall touched on the importance of governance within clubs and having constitutions, policies and procedures in place.

“A lot of members don’t seem to think that they have the same rights and obligations as the leaders. So, whatever the leaders say they either object or don’t object as opposed to participating,” Hall explained as she shared the obligation of members in ensuring that their clubs remain strong.

Hall indicated that designing and documenting programs were parts of the process that clubs should try to pay attention to.

“Your main program would be your netball program. But along with that, you would want to have a strong membership program that would allow your people to bond and engage and get involved other than just netball.

“Once they are no longer playing netball they intend to leave. So, if you don’t have other programs in your club that are also attractive and useful then the longevity of your club is in jeopardy,” Hall explained. 

Based on her years of experience in netball, Hall noted that the BNA has a steady involvement of clubs.

“It has been steady. There are clubs you are sure of or that you know will be there next year even if they only have one team. There is also a profile of persons who just want to get together and play netball. And because the association says you need to have a constitution and structure, they hurriedly put something together so that they can meet the requirements. But then they don’t function as a club.

“What I think is happening is that the ones that have very good netball programs, that is what keeps them together. They may not necessarily have a strong club but they have a strong netball program. So, that is working for some of them in that sense,” she said.

Using United Athletics Club which will turn 52-years old this year as a reference, Hall who is one of the leaders, noted that when the club first started, they catered solely to track and field.

But after the club threatened to fall apart when some of its members left, those that remained decided to incorporate sports like netball and basketball. This she said boiled down to the leadership of the club at that time.

“The leadership of the club at that time was able to make that decision and turned the club around. So, the persons who decide they want to put a group together to play netball or any sports should at the same time look at how this group is going to be led. How it is going to be organised and what it is going to stand for so you have a foundation to keep going from year to year.

“One of the other things they should try to do is attract persons who are not players because you struggle when the leadership is also solely persons who are playing or only involved in the sport. Then you can’t find a team manager who can command the respect of the players or have time to do it properly. If you are a player, coach, captain or manager, you can’t do all of those jobs properly. So, having that support team is also important,” Hall stated.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb

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