Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Introduction
Korrio, maker of the Playflow sports automation platform, which helps youth soccer organizations manage administrative, organizational, and communication tasks, conducted the first annual Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey to learn more about current industry issues. The survey focused on technology, social media, volunteerism, sportsmanship, and parental commitment. Youth soccer leadership including Board Members, Presidents, Executive Directors, Administrators, and Coaches participated in the online survey, which was conducted from March 1, 2011 through April 30, 2011. Survey results revealed several interesting trends in and issues facing youth soccer. The overwhelmingly positive news is the reported growth of the sport. But for youth soccer organizations, that growth has created several challenges. The survey showed that most organizations rely on multiple technology platforms to manage their administrative and communication functions. This can be problematic when it comes to training volunteers to help run their organizations. Additionally, more than half of youth soccer volunteers reportedly serve their organizations for only one to three seasons. This means that organizations deal with regular turnover in their volunteer staff and are required to spend many hours each season recruiting and training new volunteers. Survey respondents indicated that volunteer recruitment and staffing is their biggest challenge in 2011. More encouraging news from the survey revealed that on-field sportsmanship is as good or better than it was five years ago. To complement that trend, the behavior of parents on the sidelines is also improving, according to survey results. And parental commitment, which is so critical to the success of youth soccer, was shown to be remarkably high. Respondents indicated that 75 percent of parents come to nearly all of the games and other functions related to their childrens teams. The trends and issues identified in the Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey reveal important realities about the state of youth soccer in the United States. The survey will be conducted on an annual basis to continue providing these valuable metrics. We hope you find these survey results informative and insightful. The Korrio Team

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

What technology tools do you use (if any) for sports automation to help manage administration for your association, club, or team?
(Select all that apply)

Over 60% of respondents use 7 different sports automation technology tools to manage administration of their association, club, or team.
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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

If your club/team is using sports automation technology, how many different systems do you use? (This includes Excel, printed lists, registration sites, hosting platforms, etc.)

Nearly half the respondents (46%) indicated they use three or more systems to manage administration and communication for their organization.
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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

What tools do you prefer to use when communicating with parents?

96% of respondents indicated that email is their preferred method of communication with parents.

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Does your club/team use social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook for communicating with parents and players?

41% of youth soccer organizations are using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with parents and players.

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

If you do not currently use social media, does your club plan to use it for communicating with parents or players in the next 12, 18, or 24 months?

Over 37% of respondents who are not using social media say they plan to within the next 12 months. This indicates that social media will continue to grow as a means for youth soccer organizations to communicate information and news to parents and players.
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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Does your organization rely on volunteers for managing association, club, or team operations?

90% of respondents indicated that their organizations rely on volunteers to manage operations.

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

If yes, how many volunteers annually?

Over 40% of respondents indicated that their organizations use 26 or more volunteers annually to manage operations.

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

What is a volunteers average length of service?

Over 55% of volunteers serve the youth soccer organization for 1-3 seasons. This indicates a high turnover rate for volunteers and a recurring staffing challenge for organizations.

Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Is this better or worse than the average length of service 5 years ago?

Over 27% of respondents have indicated that volunteer length of service is worse than it was five years ago.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

How many administrative hours on average do you, your staff, and volunteers put in weekly during the season?

25% of respondents report that they spend over 60 hours per week during the season dealing with administrative functions.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Have your average weekly administrative hours in the last 3 years increased, decreased, or stayed the same?

58% of respondents reported that weekly administrative hours have increased over the last 3 years.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

If they have increased, what are the primary reasons? (Select all that apply)

The survey results indicate the primary reason that administrative hours have increased is because nearly 70% of the organizations are experiencing growth. Communication is the other major challenge creating increased administrative hours for organizations.
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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

What are the biggest administrative challenges you face in 2011? (Select all that apply)

56% of respondents indicate that recruiting volunteers/staffing is the biggest administrative challenge facing youth soccer organizations in 2011.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

In the last 5 seasons, has player sportsmanship on the field improved, stayed the same, or declined?

42% of respondents indicate that sportsmanship among players has improved over the last 5 seasons.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

How would you describe the behavior of parents on the sideline last season?

Excellent - Our club/team has never had any problem with any parent

Good - Majority of parents behavior in my club/team is above reproach, but our club/team has experienced a single minor incident with at least one parent/family Fair - Majority of behavior is above reproach, but our club/team has experienced minor incidents with more than two different parents/ families Poor - Majority of parents demonstrated poor behavior on multiple occasions

Survey results show the majority of parent behavior (69%) was good or excellent on the sidelines last season.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Has parents behavior improved, declined, or stayed the same in the last two years?

Survey results show that 80% of respondents believe that parents behavior has stayed the same or improved in the last two years.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Describe the level of parental involvement/commitment to your club/team?

Highly committed - Never misses any team related functions and attends every practice and game

Committed - Attends most games and as many team practices and functions as schedule allows

Slightly committed - Attends some games and limited number of team functions and practices

Not committed - Attends small amount of games and no team functions or practices

No-show - Never come to game or team functions

Parental commitment to the clubs and teams is very strong, with 75% of respondents indicating that parents are committed or highly committed.

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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

Describe the level of parental involvement compared to five years ago.

Survey results show that 81% of respondents believe that parental involvement in their childrens soccer teams has stayed the same or grown over the last five years.
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Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey Results 2011

What best describes your role in the youth soccer organization?

The Korrio Youth Soccer Leadership Survey was presented to youth soccer organization leadership across the U.S. Over 80% of the respondents were Directorial level or higher within their organization.
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