Complexity
1.) In what ways do you feel that sport organizations are becoming increasingly complex?
In addition to traditional complexities that exist within sport organizations, liability and technology are specific areas where these organizations are becoming increasingly complex. More and more, community members are relying on social media to receive their information in a concise manner. The days of writing documents and sending long informative emails is over. People want what they need to know in 140 characters or less. This adds a layer of complexity to sport organizations because there are so many different means of social media and more are created every day. Where we only needed to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter, we now need a presence on Periscope, Linked IN, Picasa, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. These added outlets complicates the way we communicate with the communities we serve. While these are the prevalent means for communication, there still remains a population of the community who do not utilize social media or technological outlets. This means that we still need to utilize traditional communication outlets. All of this requires more work and the increased likelihood that we forget to post our information in one of the many places we communicate.
Liability is another area where sport organizations have become increasingly complex. As a society, we are sensitized to bullying and relationships between children and adults. These two areas have complicated the way in which we screen and certify volunteer coaches and other personnel within sport organizations. I understand the importance of background checks and feel that there needs to be a streamlined system for these matters. My experience with this is primarily with ice hockey. The national governing body, USA Hockey, requires that a volunteer coach meet the following criteria before interacting with kids:
Background Check - $40
Annual USA Hockey Registration - $40
SafeSport Screening - $0
USA Hockey Coaches Education Program Certification - $25
USA Hockey Online Age Module Certification - $10
Not only does each of these elements take time to complete, but they also cost a reasonable amount of money. It is a challenge to recruit volunteers when they have to offer up about 8 hours of their time to become certified well before they even get on the ice to coach the kids. What I’ve found is that most parents view these steps as roadblocks and never volunteer. The problem is that most youth sport organizations rely heavily on parents to volunteer as coaches in order to support the number of participants in recreation programs and introductory levels. What ends up happening is that teams are without coaching support and a random parent steps up without the proper certifications. This is a liability because the organization can be held liable if something were to happen to a player or that coach. In this case, the over complication of volunteer certification and liability is an issue within sport organizations.
2.) What do you believe to be your current strengths and weaknesses relative to your own competencies and skills as a problem solver?
I would say that my current strengths as a problem solver are patience and simplicity. I am not one to jump to conclusions when a problem arises. I like to gather the information and make a decision based upon the facts. In addition to that, I like to simplify the problem and boil it down to see if there are any underlying issues that can also be addressed. Along with that, I like to simplify the solution so that it can be easily understood and executed. My weaknesses as a leader are my follow through and tendency to overlook quick and easy solutions. As stated in my strengths, I like to provide pointed simple solutions and these sometimes take some time or additional effort after the fact. I often times do a good job solving the problem and then move on to the next thing without tying a bow on the previous issue. This often time leaves things partially completed or undone. In addition to that, the way in which I tackle the problem takes some time and there may be a very easy solution that I overlook. This overcomplicates matters because the solution may be evident to others but I refuse to see it because I want to go through my own systematic process.
3.) What do you see as two or three of the complex problems facing sport organizations in your particular area of interest?
Organizational capacity and communication are two complex problems facing youth sport organizations. Most of the time, youth sport organizations are understaffed and these few staff members are overworked. The organizational capacity does not measure up to the demands of the community served. For this reason, we typically see high turnover in youth sport organizations and burnout within a 1-2 year timespan. This is a complex problem because these organizations are stretched so thin that they do not have the capacity to provide a comprehensive orientation to incoming personnel. When a new hire is an executive member or director, these employees end up creating new processes and uprooting a system that has been established and that the community is familiar with. As a result, you often see altered programs and new philosophical approaches to youth sport. This can be a positive thing as well, but most of the time these types of occurrences result in a total make-over without regard for the effective processes in place.
Communication is another complex problem facing youth sport organizations. I identified the complexity of communication in my first response. Another area of complexity occurs when the community served is made up of different cultures and languages. I serve as the Graduate Assistant for Shenandoah Valley United (SVU) and a significant portion of the community served is Hispanic. This provides an issue because the communication between SVU and the community is most always in English. This ends up isolating a segment of the population and leaves them uninformed. So now we have to take into consideration all of the different communication outlets we have and then ensure that we post each them in both English and Spanish. This is a complex problem that faces youth sport organizations. Take this piece paired with the organization capacity listed above and it makes sense that members of the community are uniformed when it comes to program information. We have too few people stretched thin and without the capacity to post to all communication outlets regularly.
4.) What tools or processes do you currently use (or have you observed being used) for addressing problems in a sport organization you are familiar with?
Specific to some of the problems identified in previous responses, I am familiar with a couple of processes that can alleviate some of the headache. With regard to communication, there are a number of tools that connect all social media outlets so that you only need to write a post one time and have it display on all means of communication. This expedites the process and allows organizations to ensure that every outlet receives the same message. With regard to organization capacity, weekly staff meetings go a long way in sport organizations. What this does is allow all staff members an opportunity to share their work tasks for the week and informs the staff if they need assistance in a specific area or allows for collaboration. When the staff is stretched thin, it is important that they wear different hats and pitch in to help their colleagues when possible. This is the only way that things can get done in a timely manner. Ask for help and delegate responsibility.
Three Concepts
1.) Political Issues: Politics is the hair raising term you hear in youth sports. “My kid didn’t make that team because the coach hates me.” I’ve seen these occurrences in action and they really do exist. The reality is that “politics” are real. Youth sport organizations need to be purposeful when identifying their culture and vigilant in promoting that culture. Too many times, youth sport organizations are run by the parents and lack a consistent identity. This is when parent politics comes into play. I believe that you should never select a player based upon the personality of a parent. Coaches often times select, or not select, players based on whether or not their mom or dad is a problem parent, a good looking parent, a source of donation dollars, etc. These amount to complex problems for youth sport organizations. The biggest travesty here is that the kids are the ones who suffer the most.
2.) Sociocultural and Socioeconomic Issues: This topic interests me because ice hockey is an affluent sport and the socioeconomic status of a family can play a big part in deciding to play ice hockey. Soccer is a diverse sport and the sociocultural elements often times fragment the community. It’s no secret that ice hockey is an expensive sport to play. It often holds the stereotype of a white, rich kid sport. This in itself is a complex problem because ice hockey is not accessible in the United States as it is in other parts of the world. The US lacks the infrastructure to make ice hockey more accessible to all socioeconomic classes. If you look at Canada or European countries, there is a hockey rink within every community and on every other street corner. The participation levels are high because the facilities are in place and the organizational infrastructure allows for all members of the community to try and play ice hockey. For both of these issues, inclusivity lies at the root because sport organizations need to be inclusive of all members of the community.
3.) Source of Complex Problems: This topic interests me because we as people are usually the source of complex problems. The rules and processes within sport organizations are usually complex enough, but take the human element that exacerbates certain issues due to emotions, corruption, and cheating, you have an unpredictable and ever-changing set of complex issues that persist in various forms regardless of what solutions are put forth.
