Are We Going To Grow Or Shrivel Up And Die?

"Are we going to grow or shrivel up and die" is the pervasive question that is confronting ITA officials all over the country.  We seem to be content with minimal growth every year and very few do very little to attract a paltry few--and therein lies our problem.  The way collegiate (ITA) and high school (UIL) tennis is growing we are going to need more officials in the next year than we can possibly supply.  For instance--in the Metroplex, if we had a dual match with 6 officials at SMU, TCU, UTA, UNT, DBU, and UTD at the same time on the same date--there is absolutely no way we have enough officials to meet the demand.

What does that tell us?  It should tell us that we need to be growing our work force--and we need to be actively doing it right now!  We have highly developed chair training programs and opportunities in Dallas but that doesn't encompass the entire state and not everyone can financially or physically attend these training opportunities.

What do we do?  Many times a coordinator or group of officials in an area will simply ask the question, "What do we do to grow our work force?"  That's a legitimate and pressing question that needs answering--NOW.   Here are some guidelines that we have found effective in our programs here in Dallas:

Quit spinning your wheels and sitting around complaining about not having enough qualified officials to officiate your matches and do something about it.  Frantic activity on the day before a match is not working smarter...  Use some keys to grow.

The key to growth and continued prosperity are your prospects.  You need to identify them, reach them, enlist them, and then cultivate them--or they are going to run off if you even manage to enlist them.  Our mortality rate for officials is not something we should be proud of.  Its time to start your prospect base and start reaching new officials.

First and foremost in your mind should be to be CREATIVE in everything you do.  The old ways aren't working effectively any longer so jump out of the boat and do something new!  Try something noone has ever tried before and it might actually work!  Put your mind to work and ask yourself, "What would make ME want to become an ITA official?" and then implement your thoughts.

Find a way to engage your audience.  Be creative in catching their attention and then engage them.  They are out there but you have to work to get them...

Social media is the easiest and fastest way to engage your audience.  Learn to use Facebook and Linkedin to your advantage.  If you don't know how--find a MILLENNIAL and let them teach you.  That's their world and they know how to make it work...

Once you have pinpointed your base and enlisted and involved them, the training part is the easiest part of all.  We would be more than happy to share our training materials that we use here in Dallas or you can easily develop your own.  Main thing--develop what works and then put it to use.  Sitting around complaining won't cut it--do some enlisting and training!

Here are some simple guidelines for coordinators:

*  Be a proactive coordinator that is committed to growth.  You have to do more than sit at home and assign matches.  Growth never happens by accident.
*  Learn to use all the tools listed above.  These are simply guidelines.  You can develop your own methods but the main thing is to do it...
*  In today's weird world, CREATIVITY is one of your greatest tools.  Try it--you will like it!
*  Involve your current base of officials in finding new officials.  Teach every official the basics of enlisting new officials and then see what great results you can have!
*  If your university won't let you train new officials--find a high school coach that will let you do chairs at their dual matches.  They are out there and the successful programs would love to have you! You might have to do it for free but hey--you will be getting your training done!

Finally, the greatest key to involving new officials, old officials, and marginal officials is a simple old formula that still works--and that is FELLOWSHIP!  Humans love to eat together, talk together, work together, and play together so find ways to make this happen.  Our officiating family in the Metroplex is a close-knit group and that didn't happen by accident.  Learn to plan opportunities for fellowship and then watch it grow!  Hint:  we always have a "fellowship meal" before or after every collegiate match that we do and the officials love it!  You can't have too much fellowship and interaction...