How to Turn Tryouts into a Revenue-Generating Event

How to Turn Tryouts into a Revenue-Generating Event

If your sports club is like most athletic organizations, you need ways to add revenue to your cash flow. While collecting fees from athletes and holding fundraisers can offer some financing, another option to add money to your budget is through tryouts. 

Find out how you can turn your club’s tryouts into a revenue-generating event through incorporating sponsorships, concessions, merchandise, and partnerships into pre-season evaluations. 

Sponsorships

While your club might consider finding sponsorships for tournaments, clinics, regular-season games, and other events, it could overlook the revenue potential around tryouts. Player evaluations have several sponsorship opportunities your club can tap into. These can include:

• Player evaluations: When using player evaluation software, organizations can provide players with their results afterward. Clubs can sell a sponsorship to add a logo to these scoresheets that are sent to athletes. Organizations can also provide other sponsorship opportunities that can include logo placements on midseason and postseason evaluations.  
• Club communications: Organizations can sell a digital sponsorship to include a company’s logo on email communications and newsletters sent to athletes, their parents and prospective players.
• Signage: Clubs can provide potential sponsors with the opportunity to add their company logo or information to signage around the tryout facilities. This can include at the registration table, concessions stand, or around the field or gym.
• Tryout jerseys or bibs: If players are wearing specific jerseys, t-shirts or bibs during evaluations, clubs can seek a sponsor to add their company name or logo to the apparel. Earn up to 30% cashback on jerseys and apparel
• Rosters: When organizations disperse team rosters, whether it’s in a digital form on the website, an email sent to participants or a sheet posted at the facilities, they can add a sponsorship logo to the list.
• Social media posts: As part of a sponsorship packet, organizations can offer a social media post promoting the sponsor’s business.
• Club website: Organizations can offer a sponsorship opportunity on their website. This can include a link or logo on the home page, on an interior page, or a placement on a specific sponsorship page.

Concessions

Clubs can run a concession stand during tryouts to earn extra revenue. The organization’s staff or parent volunteers can run the stand, selling snacks and beverages to athletes and their families throughout the evaluations. This can be popular amongst parents who are watching their child compete, as well as an option for a post-tryout snack or beverage for players. Organizations can try to get the food donated by a local grocery store or restaurant to lower overhead costs. If it’s not possible to get snacks donated, clubs can go to a bulk warehouse to buy large quantities of food for lower prices to capitalize on their profits. 

Merchandise

Organizations can set up a table to sell merchandise to athletes and their families during tryouts. This can include club apparel, as well as equipment or uniforms players may need throughout the season. 

Partnerships

Clubs can form partnerships with other businesses and sports professionals whose presence is appropriate to have at tryouts. Organizations can allow specific businesses to set up a table to promote their services for a set fee, or for a percentage of their sales from the event to help make a profit. 

Some partnerships organizations can consider reaching out to can include:

• Video instruction companies: Find a company that offers to take a video of athletes and analyze their movements to provide instruction for how to improve their skills.
• Gyms: Reach out to local gyms where athletes and their families can improve their conditioning during the season and in the off-season.
• Camps or clinics: If there are camps or clinics the organization feels would benefit its athletes the club can have the event organizers be present at tryouts to talk to parents and players about the events. 
• Sports apparel stores: Local sports stores can display equipment and other apparel to families during tryouts. This can help athletes get stocked up on items they need throughout the new season, as well as try the latest equipment. This is also convenient if a player forgets to bring an item to tryouts, or if a piece of equipment breaks during evaluations. 
• Nutritionists: Reach out to a local nutritionist who can be present to answer questions from players or their parents on what types of foods youth players can eat to improve their overall health and athletic performance. 
• Trainers: Find local trainers who specialize in the conditioning of youth athletes. 

Clubs can look beyond traditional methods to improve their finances. Turning tryouts into a revenue-generating event can improve the organization’s bottom line and ease the pressure on fundraising or prevent increasing player fees.

Easier way to manage tryouts with TeamGenius

Tryouts are a critical time of year for youth sports organizations. They are stressful for coaches, parents, admins and most important, the players. Ditch the paper this year and check out why youth sports organizations are turning to TeamGenius to manage tryouts, mid-season player evaluations, feedback after camps and clinics, & more.

Combining the power of a mobile app for evaluating players, and an admin web-portal to view & share results, organizations that make the switch from the old school paper & spreadsheet process to managing tryouts with TeamGenius can’t imagine ever going back.

Check out why youth sports programs are using player evaluation software at www.myteamgenius.com.

Tryouts are also a great time to introduce fundraising with FlipGive to all coaches and teams. Find out more about how FlipGive works here. We're happy to jump on a coaching call and explain more anytime!