Best way to promote a league

[jmacias34]

Hey all

The reason I am posting is because the league I coach and referee in has seen its participation dwindle. We went from 3 divisions with 4 teams in each to three division, two divisions only have two teams. My question is: What is the best way to promote the league?

Lower League Fees?
Make more posters?
Promote at schools?
Make phone calls?

I'm curious to hear what other league administrators have done to help promote the sport when it seems more are crossing over to ice hockey.

[DannyG]

Okay, here goes...

1. You are in a war. Not to say you have to kill the other guy, but if you are not successful in your competing strategy, you (the league) will die.

2. You are doing something wrong, and the other guy is doing something right...why are your players leaving?
a. ice participation is only one possible reason...
b. other leagues offering a better value? note that price/fee might be higher in other leagues, but they offer more...
c. structure of your league...can a novice player play effectively with your veterans, and have success = fun?
d. who are you losing, why are the non-returnees not returning? can you ask them? and be prepared to listen to their reasons?

3. Are you prepared to totally change the way your league is structured, if the reason players are leaving is to go to something else?

4. Do you have the resources to offer the same value that the other guy is offering? Maybe you need to pack it up and join the other guy yourself.

5. Only if your league is a better value will more advertising type of promotion work. This is not going to help at all if everybody already potentially knows of your organization, and they have chosen an alternative that they feel is a better value.

6. What factors are your players even considering when they sign up for your league? What has caused the players that you have kept to stick around?

7. You must constantly analyse your "product" in light of how you can constantly offer more and more to your players, and charge less and less, this will cause your league to increase over time, instead of decrease. You may or may not be able to do this (#4 above)...

Over the last five years in my town, we have developed a local league, operated by the municipal parks department, that has: house shirts for every team, sportcourt, border patrol boards, indoor facility, dressing area, 2-5 games per week year round (depending on how many divisions you want), free open floor time 5 days a week, tournament team participation, USA Hockey Inline membership...etc, etc...all for $105 per player per year. We have put six other inline hockey programs out of business, because we are the best deal, and offer more, than anybody else in town.

The harsh reality is, (not trying to criticize, but we are trying to be honestly analytical here) it sounds like you are one of the other six programs that I have killed in my locale. Even the YMCA's cannot compete with me in value...

e-mail me at [email protected] and I will try to give you all the help I can. I sincerely applaud the effort that you are making to make things better for your players. Let me know what I can do for you.

-Dan Guard,
Recreation Services Supervisor,
El Paso (Texas) Parks & Recreation Department

[missionhockey21]

Now I dont have any experince in running a league. But I would say lowering league fees attracts the most people. At the rink where I play and ref at when we had league fees $40 cheaper, we went from 36 to over 50. Most being new players, and also a lot of people who quit playing due to the cost rejoined. I hope this helps you out.

[SpeedDemon]

Develop a selling point. I turned a 15 team youth league into a 30 team league, with nothing more than selling qualities of the league that had always been there. Got a large rink? Market it to older ages. Got a small rink? Market it to the younger ages. Got a crappy rink all around? Undercut your competitors by $20/season and throw in some freebees.

Just accent the positives and forget the negatives. if people don't ask, then don't tell. Make yourself accessible (if you are the league director).

And last but not least, if you are competing against other programs, make your league the one to come to. Develop some type of learn-to program, create a feeder system (ie. learn-to-skate, learn-to-play) into your in-house leagues and travel leagues. Give people a reason to want to play at your place.

Oh, if it's possible, bring a Pro in to give instruction, etc. That will definitely set you apart...

[MDE3]

I have been through the growth/decline syndrome, and I understand a little about private rink owners. They need to make the rink pay for itself, and also return some money on the investment. While a community sponsored system such as proposed in this reply column is a great way to go - it does not do much for the owners and rinks who are trying to sell the status quo.
The reason people go over to ice hockey (which costs much more) is obviously not for price. Parents - not the kids - subtley make the decision to forego roller hockey for ice hockey - primarily because they see their kids getting better with more formal training in the ice hockey venue. The parents end up spending a lot of money for roller or for ice - although roller is obviously less expensive for rink time - say approximately half, but when involved with travel teams, uniforms, high priced skates, new wheels, latest fad sticks gloves etc., the total expense for the parents is high for either sport - though definitely higher for ice.
Many parents begin to look at this money as an "investment" in their childs future, not just an expenditure for their child to have fun and compete. The future of roller hockey is not clear - at least when looking at the potential for scholarship money at a collegiate level. And not only that - but when these kids - form a travel team - your typical in-house all-star team - they end up playing what are essentially "elite" teams - many of which are composed of players who are ice/roller hockey players - and getting spanked.
Parents go through all the normal gyrations with coaching/rink time/program commitment etc. but soon figure the only way to really get their kid some good coaching is to go over to ice.

Herein lies the key. A good training program - yes taught by a "pro" is mandatory in every rink looking to develop long term programs in order to give roller the credibility it needs, and to insure that the tournament or travel teams have a shot at being competitive when they compete. A ground level "learn to skate" (and I mean hockey skating because it is different) followed by progressively advanced clinics is absolutely necessary for the parents to believe in their chosen direction. If they see their kids beginning to excell at the sport- they become less inclined to take them elsewhere. The thrill of seeing their child performing at an advancing level will often supercede the need for looking at the money spent as "an investment".

The amount of money spent on ice hockey training over and above the regular team practices is astounding(hockey schools, private clinics etc).) Being able to get your kid "an edge" becomes paramount for many parents. And here we are looking at reducing the cost of roller hockey - which is already so low that many rink owners have dropped their programs as not cost effective. The problem is in percieved value. Parents do not percieve that they are getting an equivalent return to the money spent on ice hockey - no matter how much less it may be. Unless this is changed - the growth of the sport will continue to dwindle - or become a recreational sport only where made accessible by a beneficent community.

Parental coaching is NOT enough. Experienced professional coaches and current "pro level" players must be encouraged to fill this need - and they can certainly do so profitably - provided their "product" is seen as top shelf.