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Todd's top tips
Mick Todd knows how to build a squash club. In 1999, he bought a then struggling Pontefract Squash and Leisure Club for very little. This year, he celebrates his 20th year in charge of a bustling club that now boast 1,600 members.
It’s a remarkable turnaround and one that Mick has worked tirelessly for - living, eating and breathing the club, especially in the early years.
Now Todd has teamed up with England Squash’s club support day initiative to help clubs around the country develop and grow, passing on two decades of experience and expertise to help the clubs flourish, grow and create a substantial business.
There are no short cuts to success, no one magic ingredient, but Mick’s top five tips could get your club on the track to success.
1. LIVE, EAT & BREATHE THE CLUB
There is no substitute for passion and energy in sport. For Mick every club needs at least one driver, whether that’s a
manager, owner, director or volunteer that dedicates their life to it.
“That in a nutshell is me at Pontefract”, he says.
“The first two years I didn’t have any kids or anything like that. I arrived at 8am and left at 12am seven days a week.
“You’ve got to believe in your product, in what you’re selling and be part of it, leading from the front. Any business man in any business or anyone running a club has to put their heart and soul into it.
“It doesn’t have to be the owner, it could be anybody, even a volunteer, somebody from the committee, but there has to be somebody who lives, eats, and breathes the club.”
2. A DRIVEN LOCAL COACH
“A sports club is nothing without its coach. If possible, this needs to be someone local to the club who is willing to commit and
dedicate their time to that position. “It doesn’t really matter about the level of coach,” Mick says.
“Obviously the higher standard the better as you’re going to entice more people of varying abilities.
“Because like anything, if you put your all into the business, you will get out what you put in. If you go into it for money alone you will more than likely come up short.
“Undoubtedly the ingredient to a successful club is the coach who lives locally along with the driver, both putting everything into it, so it’s part of their life.”
3. DIVERSITY IN LEISURE
There is more to life than squash. Even for a squash club.
“When I go on club support day visits and I go to all these clubs, the first thing I mention is not actually squash; I’m selling leisure.
“So diversity in leisure in any club is key for it to work successfully.
“For instance, at Pontefract, the social side is a massive part of it - there are so many different rooms and different leisure activities going on.
“Pilates, yoga, keep-fit, dancercise, gym, badminton, table tennis, boxercise, tap and ballet. We rent rooms out for local community groups, charity events and then have private functions as well running alongside.
“It’s key that you have lots of diversity alongside the sport you’re trying to champion. The more people your facility appeals to, the better your chances of success!”
4. A CRACKING TEAM OF STAFF & VOLUNTEERS
“One inspirational ‘driver’ is all well and good, but a club lives and dies on the quality of its team of staff and volunteers.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be world-class sports and fitness coaches, but they have to be committed and pulling in the same direction.
“Leisure doesn’t pay the highest salaries in the world. But you can get a lot out of it, especially if you have a group of people pulling in the same direction.
“So that’s a key part - staffing, the volunteers, the personnel. The bigger the club, the more the need for everyone involved to be reading from the same page as the driver. They are a vital part of delivering a product on a daily basis.”
5. MOVE WITH THE TIMES
Mick has played and been involved with the club long enough to see significant changes in the way the game is played and organised, and a willingness to embrace these changes has stood him in good stead.
“The club and the coach has to have vision,” he explains.
“They have to change with the times, and the people that deliver it have to be dynamic. That’s nothing to do with age or anything, just the personnel that are delivering it have to see what’s happening and be flexible.
“I’m nearly 60, my coach is a lot older, I am continuously upgrading the club and he [Malcolm Willstrop] is continually improving his coaching to deliver in the 21st century.
“There are lots of areas where he’s changed and embraced change, as the style of the game has moved on. You have to be regularly improving your facilities and sporting arena to move with the times.
“We entice a wide, varied range of people to come into our facility. I call it ‘bums on seats’ - it’s a private members club with an open door policy.
“Anyone who has heard of Pontefract can visit us, try squash, the gym, have a drink or try any other activity housed within the club - there are no barriers preventing this.
“Anyone can walk in, try the facilities at a price, if they like it we encourage them to join at a far cheaper rate. This is an open way of people using the club, increasing membership and ultimately increasing squash participation.”
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