How do you attract Sports Drop Outs back?

Part of increasing sports participation is also about reaching out to those who have a background of playing sports before. How can you increase sport participation if people are dropping back out again? In this blog you will get a clear idea of how to attract sports drop outs back into sport. Sport Drop Out is not a technical or scientific term. It is a colloquial one. For the purpose of this blog it shall take it to mean; an individual who participated in regular sports activities and is still physically able to continue but no longer make themselves available due to various factors. To continue with the subject of sports drop outs. You could say many are simply not interested. Admittedly, some are genuinely not interested in taking part in sport anymore. What about those who are but lose their way? Firstly, lets take a look at the non-practical reasons they have abandoned sports.

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After spending years playing sport you might have an unpleasant experience which makes you think twice about continuing. This negative experience could vary from things becoming too competitive for you to being told you're not good enough by your peers, on lookers or even coaches. Studies and research have shown that the enjoyment of sport is related to your experiences and if you are not having fun you are highly likely to stop. Secondly, it may be that your motivation has diminished as the experience itself is not the same anymore. Your motivational needs are no longer being met. 

Indeed many attempt to get back into sports. You often see posters around your community saying something along the lines of '_________ Activities on Tues 5:00-6:00pm for beginners, intermidiate & adavanced level players. All welcome'. So the person decides to try it out and they may very well like it.  At the same time if they were not satisfied with their experience chances are you will not be seeing them again. It is at this critical point an intervention is needed before losing that person possibly forever. An experience like this could further knock down their hopes. Therefore their attitude and perception of playing sport changes. Concequently, many who drop out of sports can become cynical of sports activities and programmes due to differences which also could be cultural. 

People who drop out of sport need to be reconnected in a way that considers all differences and that is sensitive to their personal characteristics, experiences and expectations in order to increase confidence and motivation in taking part again. How do you go about doing this? It is easy to suggest that just directing them to a local leisure centre or gym will help. You need to consider why they dropped out in the first place to attract them. This involves encouraging the individual to tell their story. What has been your best experience and why? Why did you stop taking part? What would motivate you to take part again? How can we support you? What do you want achieve from taking part? What are your expectations of getting back into it? Those are the type of questions that need to be addressed.

Finding out about someone's experience is best carried out by inviting them for an informal chat with the person. It may also be investigated through a some sort of a questionnaire. I would suggest an infomal chat or discussion because then you are more likely to get the essence of the person. Both is useful. This way you can gather valuable information about them and aim to apply as much as possible into your activities and programmesto their experience. Inform the of how you intend to improve and enhance their experience. Additionally, demonstrate the personal benefits to them. Moreover, it also helps matching them up with a person/member who has had a similar experience to them and now has found success by playing sport again. This part of making them feel welcomed and that they belong here. We are more inspired by those who are like ourselves because we can relate to them.  As a result they coud feel less anxious and more confident about joining in because you are showing real purpose to address their concerns.

Who should address all these factors? A collective effort is the most effective. Implement the aim to attract and maintain sports drop out as part of your system. This means everyone from the receptionist to the Head Coach has a role to play. Also give the responsibility to a person of finding out about them as a whole. Consistently re-evaluate how they are getting on to monitor progress and deal with issues.

To build a foundation that will improve on numbers in sport you need to continually retain and rekindle the joy people get from playing sports. How about yourself? What are your experiences and views on the matter?


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