There are needs and wants for any situation. A football team is no different. When you have a limited budget, there are items that might be necessary but hard to obtain and not break the bank. Dividing major needs from desirable items isn’t always the easiest task, but all in all, there’s only a few necessities.
When determining how to develop a great high school football program, there’s a few basic necessities. Players and coach obviously, and these cost nothing aside from your salary (which can range from $0 to multiple millions, depending on whether you’re a volunteer or a seasoned veteran at the NCAA or NFL level). Next is a place to practice, which can also be free if you have an open field on school grounds, or in a public park nearby. You’ll need equipment, with the basics as minimalist as game jerseys, pants, pads, helmets, and balls. Finally, you’ll need transportation to away contests (assuming you don’t have a field to play home games, which is substantially more expensive to build and maintain than the cost of travel for away games).
There’s a few tricks and tips to making the budget go farther. Here’s how to develop a great high school football program despite your financial constraints.
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Reach out to any donors or boosters. This isn’t exactly a step to surviving on limited funding, it’s how to get more funding so that you can get all of your needs taken care of and start working on the want column. Research former players, have any of them continued playing at a higher level? They will be more apt to donate towards a program that prepared them well for the next step, so that can be easily leveraged.
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Contact vendors. If you’re resupplying with the same few companies every year with equipment, find out if there is a discount for schools or frequent buyers. It never hurts to ask. Just make sure to touch base with your Athletic Director as well to confirm that you aren’t breaking any rules by getting a discount.
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Talk to opposing coaches to find out what they’re doing for extra funding. Even though you might be adversaries on the sidelines during the game, most coaches are willing to help others keep their programs afloat. And if not, try to convince them to change their minds; after all, programs that can’t keep funding aren’t going to be any fun to play against, and if every other football program disappears then it doesn’t matter how well the coach runs the program.
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Re-use equipment. Jerseys can be used for multiple years if the player names are not embroidered on the back. Even practice balls can be used again as long as they still hold air.
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Pass along costs to players. This might need to be a last resort. While this option might not be too favorable, if players are made aware that the only way the team will continue to exist is if they shell out a little cash for their helmets, equipment, or other items, you might be surprised at what happens.
You might notice two common themes in these ideas for how to develop a great high school football program on a small budget. Half the time, you need to be able to stretch your budget to get the necessities and niceties for a football program. The other half the time, you need to be able to add to your budget so that you don’t need to stretch it. If you can make your money go further, as well as add to what you’re able to spend, you’ve mastered how to develop a great high school football program.