Dave Clark one of our long time employees here at KS, sent me this article written by Greg Heinz, a former Sports Manager here at KS who still cooperates with KS as an “official!” The article is very informative; from outlining the genesis of the organization to the growth of KS through the years to where we are today!

It’s great reading for all; it provides the foundation for why KS has been in this community for 56 years now, and will continue to be our community’s leader in the development and delivery of youth sport and more, because this community understands and walks the talk of “cooperation” like no other!

So when we occasionally lose perspective of the KS BIG PICTURE, Greg’s article brings everything back into perspective! Thanks Greg, and thank you to the people of the Eugene/Springfield area for the incredible and continuous cooperation for the greater good of our communities!

Enjoy!
Bev


co.op.er.a.tive \kõ-ä-pr'-tiv
adj 1. Willing to work with others. n 2. A cooperative association.

Over fifty years ago a group of parents got together to create new sports opportunities for their children. They each contributed what they could in time, skills, money, materials and effort. They were successful far beyond what anyone thought could be done.

Today much has changed about the organization that resulted – the name has changed, more sports are offered and for both boys and girls, it’s not just for Eugene any more and costs are higher. But at the core, KIDSPORTS remains what it was fifty years ago – a cooperative.

Parents who think of KIDSPORTS as just a Bi-mart or Walmart for sports miss the most important part of KIDSPORTS – their own personal involvement.

Much of what happens at KIDSPORTS is done by parents and family members – moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, friends and coworkers. Coaching, mentoring, team coordination and support and practice-field maintenance are done by a team’s family community.

Sometimes a parent will call to ask, “Why hasn’t KIDSPORTS found a coach for my child’s team?” Unlike traditional school sports programs, KIDSPORTS does not hire coaches.

KIDSPORTS does not have a miraculous locker room with a stash of highly qualified coaches ready to be assigned to a child’s team if only the Sports Manager would get on the job.

Coaches come from you, the parent/KIDSPORTS cooperative. About 95% of our coaches are parents or immediate family members. So, if you want a coach for your child’s team then the first question is, “Can I coach?” If your answer is, “ I don’t know anything about coaching” or “I’m not sure I have the time” then keep in mind that virtually none of the almost 4,000 volunteer coaches at KIDSPORTS each year have been professionally trained as coaches – most of them learned, on-the-job, with KIDSPORTS!

KIDSPORTS also helps solve time conflicts by allowing adjustments to game schedules and personal choice of practice times. Still, maybe you can’t or shouldn’t be the coach ... so the second question is, “Who do I know who can coach?” Networking with your parent group may find someone who has the qualities the kids need. Remember, almost certainly, early or late, the coach will come from within your group.

But why does it cost so much? The shortest answer is that the job got too big for volunteers to handle. Registering and assigning 15,000 to 20,000 kids to play in seven sports year round is a big job.

Scheduling games for 500 basketball teams, 400 baseball teams, 350 soccer teams, hundreds of flag and tackle football teams as well as volleyball is a very big job.

Then there’s paying for game field maintenance, plowing, lining, buying soccer goals, home plates and base markers, new basketball backboards (you really didn’t think the school district bought all those crank-downs, did you?), prepping baseball infields, renting port-a-potties, the equipment it takes to do these jobs, gym sups and the hundreds of referees and umpires it takes to cover thousands of games each year.

The list goes on! An almost $2,000,000 a year non-profit business does have a financial officer and people to handle and audit transactions. Insurance!!! We do background checks on coaches. Oh, how about those uniforms which have to be ordered, stocked and issued – some of them you keep; others we get back to clean, repair and recycle.

We buy baseballs, softballs, bats, bases, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, flags, bags and volleyballs. And finally there is a staff you can actually call, which plans the sport seasons, writes and produces written materials, conducts meetings and trainings, and generally coordinates the whole thing.

Because KIDSPORTS is you – the community, we anguish about costs. We’ve done surveys all around the nation and we’ve found that generally we are a good deal.

Where we don’t match up, the answer usually is simple – subsidy, usually by a city or school district. An interesting note: Once upon a time – before Babe Ruth, Little League, AYSO and Pop Warner, KIDSPORTS was the only non-school sports provider in the community. Just imagine that all the business community donations that pay for special “major league” ball fields, fence advertising equipment and registration fees still were part of KIDSPORTS’ cash flow! The individual fees just might be significantly lower!

But, after all the work and all the problems the challenge is the same for us today as faced the founding families in 1954 -

Let’s cooperate so all kids can play!