BFG wrote:[
Agree with the culture point about it changing year to year. 2010 was particularly bad at CLG where we had 9 blokes max at training on a thursday night regularly and we still finished 4th. The year after we finished 7th or 8th and had one of the best years off the field ive ever had. While Morell has stated (tongue in cheek........ or not) about the people at CLG, he makes a valid point in that the people at the club and the people that come into the club can drastically effect not only the clubs culture but the club's peformance and reputation as a destination to play. I know we've worked exceedingly hard on the social side at our club to try and build a solid foundation of people that play in lower grades becausse those people that play in your B's and C's that enjoy their footy and enjoy the club atmosphere usually have a mate or knows someone that is handy that could play in your A's in the future. That player is more likely to come and play for you if they are hearing positive things about training, social functions etc.
In saying that location does also play a huge part, being in a 4km radius of MP, Mitcham, Kenilworth, Goodwood, Unley does not bode well for the overall health of ALL of those clubs in terms of player numbers. Being a club like Henley with limited competition around, you don't have to worry about culture AS much. still an issue but becuase of location, those clubs will always have numbers.
There's good and bad at every club, presenting the place as an attractive place to play sports to visitors aswell as keeping your current members happy is paramount for sustainability.
Most players partners would prefer to be at a club that feels homely opposed to travelling for a couple of hours and sitting with people they hardly know.