Volunteering

Bluebirds have welcomed many players over the years and have loved welcoming their parents, partners, siblings and other family members into our folds through our many volunteer oportunities. As a club we are definitely where we are today based on our many volunteers throughout the years.

Coaching

Coaching is a great way to get involved. It gives you a deeper appreciation of the game, its skills and the rules. Many of our coaches became involved when their children were playing and kept coaching even though their children have moved on to older age groups.

There are online courses available for beginners to gain accreditation and our current coaches are able to provide advice that is of great use. Skills learned are also transferable into people management roles. If you would like further information on coaching please speak to one of our committee members.

Team Management

Team Managers undertake the important role of ensuring that players are behaving themselves while sitting on the bench! This is especially important with under 12's (and some of the senior teams!).

They also ensure that players are keeping on the ball with respect to their position in the batting order and line up.

This is a great way for parents or other family members to take a hands on approach while not necessarily having this learn new skills. However team management also involves people management skills that may be useful in other areas.

Canteen Duty

During the season Bluebirds will be required to help out the KDSA Canteen on at least 3 Saturdays throughout the season. We are required to have people staff the canteen from around 7:30am until 6:00pm. The early morning duties involve making sandwiches and bread rolls. Otherwise duties involve helping with the sale of food and drinks and any other assistance the Canteen Manager needs. We will circulate rosters once we have been advised of our duty days

Scoring

Scoring is another way to actively participate in your child's team. While it may look complicated to a beginner it is quite simple to pick up. We have a number of qualified scorers that can introduce you to the standard way that softball is scored in Australia and there are a number of courses conducted throughout the year by Softball Victoria.

Fundraising

Throughout the year we conduct a number of fundraising activities in order to keep costs to players a minimum. Fundraising events can include barbecues at Bunnings Warehouse and Masters, Trivia Nights, and a variety of other events. We need help organizing these fundraisers, including collecting for donations, cooking barbecues and manning cash boxes.

We also want to focus on raising funds through grants and sponsorship. If you have previous experience or special expertise in these areas, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Working Bees

We are also required to assist with maintaining the grounds and pavilion at Gilbert Park in order to get it to starch before the season starts.

Umpiring

While it appears daunting at first umpiring is something that all players should get involved in, as it helps with gaining an understanding of the rules of softball. As a parent it also gives you a better appreciation of what your children are doing on the diamond.

All clubs at Knox are required to undertake umpiring duties on a regular basis. This minimizes the fees payable for umpiring. While the Knox & District Softball Umpires Association (KDSUA) attempts to provide umpires for as many games as possible it cannot be done all the time.

We do conduct at least one training session each season that focuses on umpiring skills to assist our players with understanding the rules and to help out with umpiring duties. If parents are interested in getting involved in umpiring, coming along to one of these sessions is a great way to start.

Social Activities

Bluebirds Softball Club is a very social club. We run a number of social activities throughout the year, for both junior and senior members. Previous events include a bowling night, dinner at a local restaurant, even a rock-climbing event. These functions can be as simple as pizza or fish and chips on a Saturday evening after the end of games.

Other Activities

There will be plenty of other opportunities that will arise throughout the year such as assisting with the newsletter, photography, taking video footage, and general assistance.

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