The Hague-based HDS was in dire straits a year and a half ago. Financially, the club was in anything but rosy shape. Moreover, there was an acute shortage of volunteers. The problems piled up, until merit member Peter Boelhouwer came forward. He put together a project group and set a new course, allowing HDS to look forward again.
Like all other sports clubs, HDS tried to start up again after the corona period. However, a combination of factors led to problems. Errors of judgment were made in applying for subsidies and the choice of a tenant did not produce the desired effect. Plans for a new clubhouse and the option for an additional field were also too ambitious.
Boelhouwer had been involved with the club for many years. As main sponsor and father of his hockey-playing children, of course also playing at Houdt Dapper Stand. His club heart bled. He decided to roll up his sleeves and organized a brainstorm. With this he wanted to increase parental involvement and make HDS stronger, with help from the community.
Sinterklaas party at HDS. Photo: Instagram HDS
Getting work done
There was a lot of work to be done in the area of member involvement. Keeping a sports club running these days is a tough job. The huge shortage of volunteers is a trend that many other sports clubs are facing. HDS itself experienced explosive growth over the past decade. They moved to the southwest side of town, where there was more space. Membership doubled to 1,200 members.
The increased size of the club meant that the burden often fell on a small group of shoulders. “If the treasurer is working twenty hours a week, so to speak, something is not going right,” Boelhouwer explained.
An association has to deal with three types of athletes, according to Boelhouwer. First is the consumer. That is the person who comes to the club to play sports and then goes home again. Then there is the athlete who also likes to do something for his or her inner circle, such as his or her own team. Third are the impact makers, the ones who take on managerial tasks in addition to playing sports. ‘That last group is declining,’ Boelhouwer observes. ‘There is a fear of taking responsibility.’
That had to change. ‘How can we embrace the board instead of looking at each other? With seventy to eighty members, we sat down together and said, let’s do it together!
Widening and rejuvenating
The project group that emerged consists of members, former members and outside consultants. ‘We are doing our best to broaden and rejuvenate the club to have a firmer base in the longer term. For example, committees need to be strengthened. If you look at social media. There are so many channels: X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You have to serve all of those. You can’t do that on your own, so you need several people.’
HDS Men’s 1
Boelhouwer: ‘We have a hard core now. From that group, these people find their place within the organization of the club. That has to go through a kind of buddy system. Young potential board members walk along with current board members to work together. We have to make sure that people who have less time to devote are followed up properly.
Boelhouwer notes that the challenges are recognizable to other associations. ‘I get emails and calls. Then I tell them how we do it. It’s about turning things around. I did the same with my events company during the corona crisis. What can I still do? And we have to do the same with the clubs.’
With his heart and soul, Boelhouwer and the project team are committed to HDS, but he also finds that pulling the cart is hard on him. ‘I underestimated it. I had hoped it would be a little easier.’
He hopes that soon the younger generation in particular will pick up the gauntlet. ‘I certainly have confidence in that. If you want to play field hockey you also have to commit yourself to the club. After all, you need each other to create a club feeling.’
by Hockey.nl
