Young people are the future of all clubs and as such are essential for every club's survival & development. If you want to attract young people to your club, you need to establish a quality junior section that they will wish to join.

To achieve this objective, your club need to learn about your roles and the benefits the club & young people will receive from a junior section.

Benefits to your club

The benefits of developing a junior section include:

• Insuring the club's future
• Providing a focus for the club's development
• Giving existing members the opportunity to accept new challenges, roles and responsibilities
• Giving the young people's parents or guardians and other family members the opportunity to join in or become involved in the club's activities
• Giving young people and their parents or guardians the opportunity to participate in activities and socialise together.

Benefits for young people

Knowing the benefits that young people can gain from your sport and club can help you attract them to your club; you might also encourage other family members to join at the same time. Regular participation in sport can give young people many positive & worthwhile experiences.

Taking part in sport can:

• Develop health & fitness
• Promote growth & development
• Increase coordination
• Build self confidence & self image
• Encourage positive attitudes towards exercise & healthy living
• Foster self discipline
• Help young people cope with success & failure effectively
• Help young people develop communication skills
• Provide recreational opportunities for young people & parents together
• Give young people a place for recreation & the opportunity to accept new challenges & fulfil their potential away from the streets & potential trouble.

Why do young people play sport?

Knowing the reasons why young people choose to play sport is important because these can influence your junior club's development plan & help you promote your sport effectively. Most research shows that young people play sport for enjoyment & fun, and they join clubs to:

• Be with friends
• Improve their skills
• Experience the excitement of competition
• Become part of a team
• Play sport
• Receive encouragement from parents, other family members & friends

Playing sport is often more important to young people than the outcome. Young people who are pressured into playing sport often do not gain the full enjoyment or satisfaction from their sporting experiences.

Young people should not be forced to participate in sport. You should promote your club as an enjoyable, fun activity that helps young people develop their knowledge & skill. You can promote your club as the location where these developments take place and as a good location to make new friends.

What makes a quality junior club?

The club can address young people's needs through progressive coaching in a friendly environment, by offering social activities & by empowering them to manage their development.

A quality junior sports club needs:

• A nominated individual to act as the junior club coordinator and manage the club's affairs
• Trained personnel to organise & administrate the club
• Quality trained coaches to enhance the sporting & social development of all the young people
• Parents' involvement so they understand and support their child's and the clubs development
• Young people involved in running the club so they can contribute to and feel responsible for their development .
• Support from all the club's members to ensure its continuous development
• Links with senior development programmes to ensure young people can achieve their full potential effectively through the clubs structures
• Links with organisations such as other local sports clubs, schools, youth clubs, universities and local authorities to maximise potential opportunities.

The first step in creating a junior club or developing an existing one is to produce an action plan.