Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Networking Seminar
“Recruiting and Retaining Staff in Youth Sports Programs”
Eric Dolaway (edolaway@urbanblazers.org) has more than 12 years of experience working with
youth in the areas of education, mentoring, and program development. Eric currently serves as the
Executive Director of the Urban Blazers Foundation www.urbanblazers.org. He has overseen
program growth from 400 student contacts in 2008 to 6,000 contacts in 2011 and recruited more
than 100 volunteers during this. Eric also serves on the Board of Directors of the East Park
Revitalization Alliance, where he works closely with the staff in the area of volunteer recruitment
and training. Prior to joining Urban Blazers, Eric served as Education Director at Arthur Ashe Youth
Tennis and Education in Philadelphia, taught middle school in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn,
NY, and worked as a Senior Caseworker for the Choice Programs in Baltimore, Md. Eric has
lectured both locally and nationally on the benefits of non-traditional recreational activities in innercity youth development programs, and conducts volunteer training for several Philadelphia based
non-profit organizations.
Eric spent his childhood in Central Pennsylvania, where he developed a love for the outdoors and
spent many weekends backpacking various stretches of the Appalachian Trail.
Jeanette Hibbs (Jeanette@starfinderfoundation.org ) is responsible for overseeing the processes
and mechanisms that insure the effective use of Starfinder program resources
(www.starfinderfoundation.org). She manages the part-time and volunteer coaches and teachers,
and leads the design and implementation of all of Starfinder's programs for girls. Jeanette joined the
Starfinder team in April, 2008 after supporting the programs as a volunteer for several months.
Jeanette was a member of the Temple University Women's Soccer Team from 1999 to 2002 and
graduated with a BA in Business Administration. Following graduation, she played semiprofessional soccer from 2003 through 2006 with the Hampton Roads Piranhas (2003 W-League
Champions) and Philadelphia Liberty. Jeanette's coaching experience includes serving as a
volunteer coach with the Temple University Women's Soccer Team in 2004, and as a Program
Coach for the Black Women in Sport Foundation in 2001 and 2002. From 2003 through 2005,
Jeanette also coached at the club level for teams in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. Prior to joining
Starfinder full-time, Jeanette was an Accountant for SunGard Higher Education and QC
Laboratories.
Chris Major (chris@youthmp.org) is the Director of the Youth Mentoring Partnership's Friend
Fitness Program (www.youthmp.org), a fitness-based youth mentoring program partnering
students, in grades 6-12, one-on-one with positive volunteer role models. These adult and peer
mentors help students set/reach fitness, academic, social and behavioral goals. Through intense
weekly workouts, kids discover what it takes to achieve their goals and be successful in school and
in life.
Chris has over 15 years of combined experience with Friend Fitness, including as a former student,
mentor, Site Director, and full-time staff person. He left a career in commercial real estate
brokerage in 2008 to dedicate himself to operating, managing and expanding the Friend Fitness
Program. Presently, the Youth Mentoring Partnership has 3 sites in Chester County and, in the
2011/2012 school year, will expand operations to West Philadelphia under Chris' leadership.
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Minutes
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Announcements
o How can I get more officially involved with PYSC?
 Maximum of 15 members, but there are endless partner opportunities
 Need to use sports as positive youth development
 Need to be/be affiliated with 501©3
 Need to service more than one neighborhood/community
 Need to provide support for underserved youth
 There was a small grant recently received by the PYSC that covers expenses for
these seminars – so expect more bagels!
o Playworks is hiring for a full time position – contact Joe Kelly*
o Bass fishing is now becoming a high school sport
 There will be an upcoming championship tournament – the invitation as well as a 2
page summary providing more information, will be supplied by Youth Anglers*
o There is a volunteer position with a small stipend for someone interested in training the
fitness coordinators at Youth Mentorship Partnerships located on 52nd and Lancaster.
Contact Chris Major for more information.

Questions, Answers, and Discussion
o Chris Major – Youth Mentoring Partnership
 Recruiting Volunteers and Mentors
 A lot of programs have the “burning building mentality” – the problem with
that crises mentality is that it often isn’t cost effective because you recruit
staff who don’t remain in the organization
 Need to try the “velvet rope approach” by selecting people who are
passionate about the program
 3 step process for the “velvet rope approach”
o Someone is a lead and is interested in being a volunteer/staff
o Fill out the application at another time – not during the initial meeting
o Come back for a one-on-one interview
 **But all these steps need to be done providing clear
expectations of what the commitment requires
 Volunteers are a tremendous pipeline for potential staff
 Use the internet! Websites such as www.volunteermatch.org are great aids.
 There is nothing better than word of mouth
 Recognition of Staff
 Incorporate staff recognition into different activities – such as workouts,
meetings, etc.
 Use mentor socials to bring everyone together outside of the office to build
stronger connections
o Eric Dolaway – Urban Blazers
 Group Mentoring Model
 A model where the same adults mentor the same children for a period of
time, but ensure that all children and adults get enough time working with
each other
 Recruiting
 Have volunteers from universities, young professionals, other organizations
etc.
o But be conscious of different time schedules they have and how
much time they can commit
 For finding and hiring paid staff, the best tool is to send an email to your
network – use your network to hire people!
 Also hire from volunteers – they already have the skills needed and have
proven passion for the organization
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o
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For interns - Bridging the Gaps is a local Upenn program that pays (medically
interested) interns from local universities to come and work for 4 days during
the summer.
 But the most important thing is to ensure that anyone working for you has a
great experience
o This means that you let them do things they are interested in
learning about – because that’s when the experience becomes
worthwhile
o Focus on their hopes of what they will gain from the experience while
simultaneously helping them overcome their fears
Jeanette Hibbs – Starfinder Foundation
 Process of Recruiting
 Networking and word of mouth are very important
 Put a general description along with contact info on the website. People
interested usually self-select their fit and contact you.
 At Starfinder specifically, they hire from within and employ some of their
senior leaders during the summer
 Partnerships are also important.
o Drexel’s Office of Community Outreach – has a program for
incoming medical students to volunteer at local organizations
 Staff Training/Evaluation
 Soccer Girls Rule program – this program uses staff training on a weekly
basis.
o This is also a great opportunity for staff to provide feedback on a
weekly basis because their needs will often change over time
 Measurement of Staff – can be done through self-evaluations since they
know already what their personal strengths and deficiencies are
o The program evaluation is also used as a tool to evaluate the staff –
through participant surveys or even focus groups
 How to keep staff motivated
o Create a culture through events like soccer tournaments, caricatures,
etc. – basically anytime of value you can give staff (not necessarily
something monetary)
Questions and Comments
o How do you handle staff or volunteers who have no sports experience or are hesitant
about the physical aspect of your program?
 Half the battle is to find someone who is passionate about your program – training is
much easier after there is passion, because the most important thing is the
interpersonal relationships formed – the rules are generally secondary.
 Don’t just explain it, show them – let them try out the activities
 Let staff participate in the activities or let volunteers come and see the program – put
them in the environment and see how they react to it.
 The staff need to be able to put themselves in situations that may be uncomfortable –
if the kids are going to be doing it, the staff needs to be able to also
o When it comes to recruiting or hiring, how do you keep yourself open to strangers and
remain willing to look objectively at outsiders who aren’t in your network?
 Volunteers are usually the most passionate, plus it’s mutually beneficial for both
parties – the volunteer has a taste of what the organization is, and you know their
work ethic through your experience working with them
 There should also be criteria for the person you would like to hire. This could be
weighted for criteria such as intellect, academic acumen, past experience, etc.
 Be true to your process – even though someone is recommended, it doesn’t
necessarily mean that they are the perfect fit. You might actually need diversity of
thought in your organization
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How do you recruit when you don’t have any positions open?
 Career fairs are a great option even if you don’t currently have positions open – it
allows you to find people who are passionate and willing to keep you in mind months
down the line.
 Might be beneficial to start reaching out to your network even before the position is
officially open, because then you have several options in mind before opening up the
position to everyone.
What is the process of having volunteers transition into a staff position?
 It depends on the organization as well as the experiences of the volunteers
 Put potential volunteers through an interview without them knowing – through small
trials like proving their dedication by consistently showing up, volunteering for
additional responsibilities that aren’t required, etc., – they generally self-select into
those positions
 Also the timing is important because you may have a position you want to offer, but it
doesn’t work, but mostly constant conversation
Sponsored By

The Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative/PYSC (www.pysc.org)
Explore
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The PYSC “Resource Library” and “Websites and Organizations:”
www.sp2.upenn.edu/ostrc/pysc/prog/index.html
The Out-of-School Time Resource Center’s “Peer Networking Meetings:”
www.sp2.upenn.edu/ostrc/pn/index.html
The “OST Professional Development Calendar:” www.phillyostpd.org
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