The spring semester can be tough. Preparing for midterms, finals, the last few months of college and, for seniors, graduation, it can be a busy time for many in college. With the NCCGA spring season being so short, sometimes the fall season is the last thing on a Club President's mind.
Going into the final months of the college semester, having a transition plan before the summer begins is absolutely necessary to ensure success for the club going into the next school year. We've seen too many club teams fall apart because existing leadership didn't properly find and transition to a new leader.
Regardless of the manner in which your club chooses their next club president, whether it's an election or a simple decision, having a solid plan is paramount to ensure the success of the club moving forward.
Here's 5 key steps to successfuly trasition to a new leader.
1) Notify the school
Many times the school requires training for the club leadership at the beginning of each semester. These meetings serve as reminders of school rules and policies, financial information (such as how to request funds, etc.), how to sign up for school sponsored events, transportation guidelines, and several other items. If your school requires an updated listing of the leadership team, or if a new leader needs to be approved, you'll want to make sure that gets done as soon as possible so there's no issues with the club participating in future semesters.
2) Work with NCCGA
The National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) is the governing body for club golf in the country. As part of that responsibility, they have Zone Managers dedicated to helping club golf teams and students in the operation of their club. If you've ever been a Club President, it's the people that politely bug you about getting your team's roster turned in before the deadline.
Communication is the key in any working relationship, so make sure to keep the NCCGA aware of any leadership changes so that the new Club President and leadership can be in the know of everything going on in the club golf world. Every semester there is inevitably a team or two that doesn't update the NCCGA with the new Club President's info. This often leads to an awkward text or email that usually reads "I'm not the Club President anymore, I graduated. Contact John at 316-555-2948."
3) Make a plan
It may sound cliche but sitting down with the leadership of the past and the future is a good way to plan for the departure of leaders. What has worked in the past and what will the club team do moving forward? Whether it is fundraising or club trips, planning and executing that plan is a crucial part in helping the club succeed. Having a plan is an integral part of maintaining the clubs working order especially over the summer away from school. Practice times, course relationships and club meetings are important to have a plan come the fall. As much as you can figure out, plan for and execute now, the better the team and new leadership will be for the fall.
4) Train the incoming club president
There can be a lot that goes into managing the club team: Setting lineups, paying invoices, holding tryouts, arranging transportation, are just a few of the responsibilities of Club Presidents. All of these housekeeping items are extremely important to how the club runs and how prepared the team is come the first semester of new leadership. Take the time to sit down and run through these different processes with the new Club President, answering any questions they may have. This is also another reason to keep the NCCGA updated, as we're more than happy to provide detailed training on navigating the Nextgengolf tournament system.
5) Leave a playbook
No matter how good of a job you do training a new leader, inevitably questions and problems will arise. Leaving behind a playbook - a detailed list of notes, documents, guides, steps, etc. will help the new leader immeasurably. Is there a complicated process for applying for financial aid? Don't just walk them though the process (#4), but be sure to write down the process, as well as keep a record of previous applications and supporting documents. This will provide the new student something to reference later if they have any questions. Do the same for tryout processes, club constitution, budget, player profiles, etc. The more detail the better.
**Is there anything your team does to help the transitions between Club Presidents? Let me know, I'd love to add it to the guide. Shoot me an email connor@nccga.org.
