Parent Involvement Key to Teams’ Success

Whether your school is a well-established perennial powerhouse or a program trying to build itself up, getting parents involved with the program is something coaches across the county strive to achieve.

The biggest thing coaches seek from parents is help with fundraising. With budgets for public schools getting tighter and tighter as the economy continues to be mired in a slump, coaches are relying on their players’ parents to make ends meet and afford the things needed to be successful on the field.

At Douglas, a strong booster club is a godsend to new coach Todd Fitz-Gerald, who left American Heritage this summer to come coach the Eagles. Fitz-Gerald didn’t have the luxury of a booster club at Heritage. He said he had to do it all himself.

“This is like a blessing for me. I’ve got a group of six that head it up, and they do a great job,” Fitz-Gerald said of the Douglas booster club, which has organized a big golf tournament this month at Woodmont Country Club. He said the parents at Douglas understand their roll of assisting in fundraising.

Over at St. Thomas, a good fundraising system coupled with donations from alumni has helped the Raiders maintain a quality program over the years. Because St. Thomas is a private school, there’s no funding from the county, so parent-generated funds keeps the program going.

Coach Bobby Lawson said the program operates on its own, for the most part, with a little help from the school. The Raiders do the typical things to raise money such as car washes and selling restaurant cards, but a big part of the funds come from private donations. Lawson said he isn’t sure how much is generated on a yearly basis as he tries to separate himself from the money aspect and focus on coaching. He said this comes into play when he’s evaluating players.

“I want to make an objective evaluation based on the way a kid performs,” Lawson said.

Another way parents can help the program, Lawson said, is by encouraging their kids. Keeping the players grounded and helping them understand their role on the team are invaluable to the team’s success, he said.

Like St. Thomas, Somerset is another school that relies heavily on parents. Somerset has had a team since 2002 and is still trying to make a mark on the high school baseball map.

“We start at zero,” coach Onel Garcia said. “Being a charter school, we don’t get any money from the school at all.”

His team’s version of a booster club is called the fan club. In addition to basics such as uniforms, the money parents generate goes to help pay the rent the team has to pay to use fields at Broward College, Everglades High School and Pembroke Shores.

“A coach nowadays doesn’t always need to be just a good skipper on the field,” Garcia said. “They need to know how to run a booster club or a fan club.”

Although programs such as St. Thomas and Somerset have to be self-reliant, Piper is one school that has chosen to go it alone and not rely on money from the school.

Piper coach Chris Costanzo said “we try to take the onus off the school.” His booster club generated nearly $28,000 last year and has become good at planning fundraisers, which Costanzo said the team relies on rather than parents putting in their own money.

“We don’t ask for money out of their pockets,” Costanzo said. Instead, he asks for their time and assistance with the fundraisers. “I get 150 percent cooperation from the parents. It’s a total team effort. We’ve got some hard-working parents.”

Along with the typical fundraisers of car washes, selling restaurant cards and working at the BankAtlantic Center, the Piper parents also sought out sponsors for an April fundraiser for Broward Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization. The parents got support from Bru’s Room, Chick-fil-A, Webster’s Team Sports and Krispy Kreme. Costanzo will expect the same dedication from parents when they plan next season’s event for Cancer for Children in coordination with the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

The funds generated through fundraisers and donations also help pay for the “extras” as his team calls it. The cost for items beyond the basic uniform can add up quickly.

And Costanzo, a father himself, said he knows all too well that “kids want everything.”

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