AVB Club Development on Aruba – focus on organising

News by Team NMC Bright

Hopi bon. I.e.: really good in native Papiamento language. That is what board members of Aruban football clubs think of the program Club Development. In this program, we support and advise those clubs by organising club meetings and workshops. In the video shown below, our colleagues Nick and Ard show what we do. The video explains what the program means to the development of youth football on Aruba. Below the video we shortly explain the importance of club meetings and workshops.

Club meetings

In the meeting with the board members, we assess the clubs’ strengths and their chances to develop. Through this analysis, we can understand the main concerns and give appropriate advice and support. Club Development Officer Steve Escalona from the Aruba Football Federation (AVB) is in contact with the clubs and makes sure they get the support they need. Through club meetings it has become clear that clubs want to know how they can organise themselves better and how they can attract more volunteers. To help the clubs with this, we offer several workshops.

Organising workshops

Board members are often in way over their heads. Managing a club as a volunteer takes a lot of time, especially when you have to do more than just managing. The average board member on Aruba spends more time on coordinating matches and training teams, than creating and implementing a long-term vision for the club. The (overly) involved and passionate board members will benefit from clearly seeing and understanding the tasks and responsibilities that belong to managing, coordinating and executing respectively. What is the difference between managing and coordinating? Which executive duties take up a lot of your time? What tasks would you like to do (more of)? By answering these questions, board members get a clearer view on their current and desired range of responsibilities.

Workshop volunteers

The main cause of board members having their hands (too) full is often a shortage of volunteers. That’s why clubs would benefit from attracting more volunteers. During our workshops, we ask and explain what tasks a volunteer can perform. A father could for example train his son’s or daughter’s football team for a year and a mother could be the coach on match days. But is someone who is assigned to wash the team’s clothes twice a year also considered a volunteer? During the workshop it’ll become clear that there are several differing tasks that must be performed at a club and that these tasks can be divided among different people in several ways. Enumerate which tasks must be performed and enter into a discussion with parents when they’re watching their kids’ match. Don’t immediately ask them to become a board member – which includes an overwhelming range of responsibilities – but opt for something small and accessible, and let them take up other tasks when they’re ready. In this manner, parents become more and more involved. Consequently, the club will be likely to gain and maintain a larger number of volunteers.

Grow Football Aruba

Club development is part of the project Grow Football Aruba. This project focuses on the development of (youth)football on Aruba and is developed by NMC Bright, the AVB and the Dutch KNVB. Coach Development, National Teams, Referee Development, Talent Development and Women’s Football are also included and highlighted in this project. All these components play a part in developing football on Aruba. The past few months we’ve produced and seen good results, like:

  • Many coaches have obtained a D-, C-, or B-license (coaching license) under supervision of a KNVB-teacher
  • The most talented youth players of each age group train at the AVB Academy
  • The national team has secured its first ever victory in years.
  • A development plan for girls-/women football has been drawn up with the help of the Football Development department of the KNVB
  • Referees are being guided and supervised by the Referee department of the AVB and KNVB.

Got excited from our way of advising? And does your club, sports association or sports related organisation also need third-party, tailored advice and guidance for developing the organisation, just like the Aruban Football Federation?

Get in touch with us via the contact details below.