The sports coordinator is the person responsible for solving a club’s problems. Despite this hard work, in the football world it is a rather unknown figure. Their main functions are listed below.
Roles of the sports coordinator
His main responsibility is to coordinate and direct all activities related to the sports field, which involves many tasks:
- Finding coaches
First of all, the coordinator has to find the most suitable coaches for the teams, who have the appropriate qualifications. - Representing the Board of Directors
In many cases, the sports coordinator will have to represent the club in all matters that the Board of Directors deems necessary. - Communicating their proposals to the Board of Directors
Another of the functions of a sports coordinator is to propose the incorporation of technical staff to the Board of Directors, that is to say, he/she must communicate to the president and the rest of the club’s directors the person he/she believes to be the most suitable person to coach the team. - Drafting reports and memorandums
He/she shall report to the Board of Directors on all sporting and disciplinary matters affecting the club, as well as drafting reports and memoranda on those matters that require it. The coordinator may also make proposals related to the improvement of the functioning in his area of competence. - Meeting with coaches
The sports coordinator has to meet regularly with the coaches of the different teams that are part of the club. In this way, he/she can check that training sessions and matches are running in a logical and normal way. It must be taken into account that sometimes this person coordinates one or more teams, so attending matches and training sessions of all of them can be quite a difficult task. However, their presence is essential. - Establish a common working method
As the highest representative of the club in sporting matters, the coordinator must lead the way and instil the club’s philosophy, as well as establish the working method for all the teams and members who are part of the club. However, the reality often does not resemble what the theory states, as it is usually the coach of each team who decides how to run it, thus rejecting any kind of order or advice. - Intermediating between the Board of Directors and the coaches
The sports coordinator acts as an intermediary between the Board of Directors and the coaches. This leads to many problems, as he/she is the only person who receives complaints from both sides. - Appointing sub-coordinators
You also have the power to appoint a number of sub-coordinators, provided that the Board grants your proposal. In this way you can delegate some of your functions to others and thus have more time for those matters that are most important to you. The downside to this is the expense of the money involved in hiring more people, so if the club is humble, it cannot be done. - Develop general and specific programmes
The sports coordinator is involved in the elaboration of the general programmes of the club, as well as the specific programmes for each of the teams that make up the club. This is one of the most difficult tasks to carry out together with other members of the club. - Coordinating and directing technical training
On the other hand, he/she also directs and coordinates the technical trainings in case they are organised. If the sports coordinator is unable to attend any of them, he/she must appoint a person to take care of this task. - Enforcing standards of behaviour
Coaches and assistants in a club have to comply with a set of rules of behaviour, which should be applied at both sporting and educational level. The coordinator must ensure that these persons strictly comply with the established rules. - Dialogue and cooperation with coaches
Sometimes the sports coordinator will have to talk to coaches if he/she feels that they are not doing their job properly. However, he/she should also cooperate with them as much as possible, so he/she will have to organise and run their training sessions if they are ever absent. - Organising and directing complementary activities
The sports coordinator organises and manages other complementary activities, such as attending professional sports events and tournaments. He/she also organises and manages the club’s own tournaments. - Interacting with parents
This person is responsible for dealing with parents. He/she will have to talk to them to solve some problems that may exist, such as the absence of a player in training, listen to parents’ complaints about their child not playing, and so on and so forth.