I was at a basketball board meeting the other day and asked about the structure of their board. They separate their boy's and girl's programs, so the boy's have 2 coaches (varsity, JV), treasurer, secretary, athletic director, and volunteer coordinator. The athletic director serves as the lead of the board. This is different from what soccer did, where we had a chairman. It's interesting to see the differences - got me thinking. I was the chairman of the soccer board for several years, so here are what those responsibilities were:
On the soccer, the chairman focuses on the policy direction of the board and the program. This is opposed to the details of what the coaches focus on.
Schedule/Facilitate Board Meetings: The chairman will pick a recommended schedule of meetings for the season. They come up with the proposed agenda for each meeting. When meetings are in session, they actively facilitate the meeting, making sure that everyone gets their input in.
Parents Meeting: The chairman will run the parents meeting, reviewing the goals of the program, introducing the coaches and letting the coaches explain the program.
League Meetings: The chairman will attend all the league meetings, take notes, and be a conduit for questions/concerns from the program to the league. The chairman needs to develop relationships with other coaches and teams. This is really important because when problems happen, and they will, those relationships will smooth the way to solutions.
Parents: The chairman should make an effort to meet and talk with as many parents as possible. Again, when problems happen, and they will, those relationships will be key.
Problem Point of Contact: If a family has a problem with the program, they should go to the coach if it has to do with coaching things, like game time, work outs, player relationships, etc. Issues with the program go to the chairman, like cost, schedule, policy, etc. If the family doesn't feel like they can go to the coach, they go to the chairman. Sometimes the problems are on the board and the chairman needs to help mediate the discussion. This can be tricky since the chairman may have their own opinions. They need to be fair.
Coach Selection: Every year the board should make a deliberate decision on who the coach will be for that season. The chairman should manage that process. If the coach from last year was good and available this season, then it's an easy discussion. If there are issues with the coach from last season or there are better options for the new season, then the chairman needs to guide that process with a graceful hand.
Policy: The chairman needs to be thinking about how the program is run and how it can be improved. Any policy needs to be written down for future boards. That write up sometimes needs to be clarified or modified. It's up to the chairman to coordinate that.
General Point of Contact: There are always questions that come up and the chairman needs to help guide those questions to the right people.
