Stakeholder Survey 2020/21
The 2020/21 Volleyball Ireland Stakeholder Survey is out now, and provides the perfect opportunity for members to present their ideas for improving Irish Volleyball.
The survey, now in its third year, has established ‘performance benchmarks’ in a range of different areas including Communications, Coach Education, Player Development and Leadership.
Previous versions have provided a range of ideas which Volleyball Ireland has since implemented including; regular newsletters, online player registration system, online kids camps and a Junior Beach Volleyball competition.
General Manager, Gary Stewart, said, “Obviously this year has been completely different to previous seasons, so it’s hard to compare but the Stakeholder survey is really important as the ideas and suggestions impact our operational plans and programmes. We’ve pivoted some of our programmes due to Covid moving a lot of Coach, Referee and participation initiatives online and focussing a lot on strategic priorities like the re-brand and LTPD model, whilst on court volleyball has been halted.”
Some developments since May 2020;
Marketing
• 10% increase in social media following and introduction of LinkedIn Page
• Development of new Volleyball Ireland brand identity and logo
• New Website with better functionality and appearance
• Newsletter growth to over 1,500 weekly subscribers
Competitions
• New Development League added to help bridge the gap between Youth & Adult National Leagues
• Re-structuring of schools programme to align with principles of LTPD
• Junior Beach Tour Introduced with 38 x u18 players
• Delivery of numerous Covid engagement sessions with member clubs
• National Youth League transitioned to a regional structure reducing key participation barriers such as time, cost and travel
Participation
• Virtual Volley Camp programme launched in reaction to first Covid Lockdown, 135 children from around Europe registered for the 3day Easter Camp
• New Youth clubs setup in Athenry & Cork
• Funding secured for outdoor posts project with 20 permanent posts en route to Parks across Ireland
• Covid Re-Start Grant introduced with 15k allocated to clubs
• Setup Jnr Beach Volley Camp with Meath Local Sports Partnership
• Volleyball at Home programme developed with Cork LSP & Cork Academy VC
• Virtual Volley 2.0 programme of activities delivered in Autumn 2020
• Club Management Training series introduced to support Clubs grow off court
• CEV Schools Project – 10 signed up to drive school-club links
• Club Support Templates & Funding page developed
• 6 x 1v1 Funding Workshops with clubs
Coach & Referee Education
• Coach education courses have moved online with 37 Foundation Coaches and 8 x Grade 3 Referees trained up
• Three tier coach development programme has been launched for coaches of all abilities
• Online Referee Bootcamp and rules refresher published
• Online Young Leaders programme introduced for Transition Year students with 267 young people trained up
• 4 week Vanja Grbic LTPD Coaching programme delivered
Player Development
• Long Term Player Development Model published as a policy document
• A range of Q&A sessions delivered by Men’s & Women’s squad programmes including Mike Johnson (Head Caach Notre Dame, USA), Maja Poljak (multiple Champions League Winner, Croatia), Kerri Walsh-Jennings (3 time Olympic Champion, USA), nutritionist and wellness specialists
• MOU agreed with UCD School of Health & Exercise Science to support development of performance athletes
Leadership & Governance
• Adoption of the Governance Code
• Appointment of independent Directors
• Youth Focus Group created as first step in creation of Youth Council
• Ireland have representation on CEV Development Working Group & Beach Think Tank
Gary added, “So despite a difficult and frustrating year with little volleyball, there has been a lot of behind the scenes work going on, which we feel will really strengthen the sport when we can resume. The Survey really gives us an idea whether or not members have seen an improvement in what we’re doing – that’s what it’s all about, continuously getting better. As a members organisation the views of our members are absolutely vital.”
Last year, 120 people completed the survey, doubling the 2018/19 total. The survey can be found here.
