Chapter 5

After going through all aspects of FFS for each and every target group involved, it is now time to dive into deep waters. In this chapter we will explore how the FFS concept can be integrated into sports clubs and organizations, how to effectively work with adults and children in and through sports and what kind of educational approaches we can implement during Family Days, while simple examples in the shape of short study cases will give you a concrete and realistic perspective of these matters. Let’s begin!

1. Introducing the FFS concept in your club/organization

Yes, it is new. Yes, it sounds complex and somehow unclear. Where should you start from and which steps should you follow as beginners in this concept?

STEP 1: Make the decision
You and your colleagues know exactly the needs of your target group and the capacities of your club. You have a clear picture of the amount of time you can invest, the facilities that can host your FFS activities, the benefits your club will gain and the challenges you are going to face. Before jumping into this project, though, it is important to make the final decision that will signal the beginning of the new era, by following the regular decision-making process:
 – Identify the goal
 – Involve carers in the process
 – Collect the details and weigh your options
 – Define the consequences
 – Jointly develop a program – follow the path of developing your regular strategic plan: set the objectives, define the activities, plan the resources etc.
 – Evaluate and adjust

CASE STUDY: You are a local club and you run training academies with two groups of 30 children each. You don’t have your own facilities and you rent the local sports hall for certain training hours per week. You want to include some FFS activities but you have no experience with this concept so far.

Your available hours are limited as you don’t want to make any discounts on the quality of the trainings of your academies. Also, your finances cannot afford extra expenses to rent the sports hall for additional hours. However, FFS is something you really want and luckily the number of children you want to engage is not that big. Use your network and contact other sports clubs, with a little more experience, to join your initiative! This way, you will share the expenses, save some time and have support from someone with more advanced skills.

STEP 2: Build your branding
Building a strong branding is not just a marketing trick. It also ensures that you know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it and helps you stay focused to your goals. It is the only way to safeguard that your efforts reflect your target group’s needs and thus your participants will be attracted and motivated to be involved. Building your brand means:

 – Profile your target group
 – Define your own profile
 – Create a representative brand

CASE STUDY: You are one of many medium size local sports clubs in your area and you share your target group with them. However, you are quite popular in your community as you are famous for the success stories of many athletes that started from your club and thrived later on national level. Your club’s style is cozier, you promote a family environment and your work is based in inter- & intra-personal relationships with your target group and their families.

Your target group comes from a local context and is prefer the home-environment. Due to your athlete’s success stories, they probably dream of becoming a star one day as well. Your brand should be approachable, friendly and look familiar to them. The slogan “Be your family hero!” featuring an adult and a child figure in a form of a superhero, dressed up in your team’s favorite colors will definitely grab the attention of your target audience.