Startup Sports – Starting Again and Getting it Right
Startup Sports – Starting Again – and Getting it Right the Second Time
Rugby in New Zealand.
Swimming in Australia.
Football in England.
Even BEFORE Covid-19, there was a global decline in the number of kids training for and competing in junior sport.
In response, sporting organizations around the world have been searching for new and better ways of delivering the experience of sport to kids, families and other stakeholders.
One approach that’s gained widespread popularity is that of “modified-sport”, i.e. offering a range of modified versions of traditional sport.
These modified sports usually come in the form of “new” sports experiences which incorporate one or more of the following:
- Shorter time periods;
- Fewer players;
- More casual approaches to rules and regulations;
- Changed rules to make the sport more engaging, faster and more entertaining.
Startup Sports – How to Get it Right the Next Time.
So if you’re re-booting your sport and starting a startup sports program, here’s three things to consider:
- It’s no good coming up with a great solution to the wrong problem. Make sure you that the actual problem with your sport – is the actual sport. It could be that there’s nothing wrong with your sport, it’s the experience of the sport as provided by your key relationship drivers, e.g. coaches, parents, officials and administrators that’s the real problem.
- Make sure the startup sports experience is actually different and better than the current sports experience. Simply making the playing environment smaller and reducing the number of players is not all that different, creative or innovative.
- Have a “B” and “C” plan. It took a long time for your sport to evolve and there were a lot of smart people that came before you who designed and developed it to be where it is now. Coming up with a startup sports experience that is likely to work brilliantly the first time for everyone in your sport is highly improbable.
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