Is the retention in your rec program less-than-stellar? If so, here are three things that are happening most often in gyms that result in poor retention of recreational athletes.
1. Your heart is in all star. Maybe you’re caught up in all the to-do’s of your all star program, and you’re forgetting those rec kids have also made a decision to choose your program. However, it’s easier for a rec kid to disenroll at any time and head to the gym down the street if they feel like they’re not important too. Even if your heart is in all star, I hope a bigger portion of your heart is in helping kids. If you truly love kids and want to see them thrive, then make sure you have a plan to take care of your rec kids. Maybe this means you have coaches specifically designated to the growth and well-being of your all star program. Maybe it means you’re co-coaching your teams so you can step away from time to time to check on the rec classes. If you’re reading this and you think it’s one of the issues in your program, reach out to me, and I can help you find the solution.
2. Your coaches aren’t passionate about rec. It’s hard to have a thriving program with burnt out coaches who aren’t interested in what they’re coaching. If you have coaches who feel this way, they likely don’t see the big picture in how you want to impact your community. They also probably don’t realize it’s the rec programs that are the #1 feeder for most all star programs. So if their true passion is all star, they should be equally as passionate about sharing their love for cheer and finding recreational athletes who can feel the same.
3. Your focus is all wrong. It’s important that our rec athletes are progressing, but it’s more important that they feel community, are learning focus and making friends. Above all that, they need to be having fun. If you think skills progression is the #1 way to retain a rec athlete, you’re missing something. Skills become more important as an athlete progresses because naturally they develop a love for the sport. In the beginning though, athletes want to make friends and have fun. So, make that your primary focus, and celebrate the skills as they come. You’ll build well-rounded athletes who love your gym and the sport!
If you’d like some additional tips for building your rec program, reach out, and we’ll send you a free webinar I did last year on how to build a great recreational program!
