Recognise and reward the achievements of your volunteers. Say thank-you!

Why?
It doesn't take long or cost a lot, but it can mean so much to an individual.

How?
There are many ways to show your appreciation:

• A straightforward face to face thank you
• Make a phone call, perhaps the day after a tournament, to thank individuals for their hard work
• Send them a card. Make it specific, for example 'thank you for all your help with the refreshments'. This demonstrates that you really noticed and valued what they were doing.

When?
Over-doing the thanks may devalue your intentions or make them appear insincere. A simple thank you to the team at the end of the evening training session is fine. Use the cards or phone calls to recognise special efforts.

Who should say thank you?
The chairman, vice-chairman, event organiser, the players, the Cricket Development Manager; it actually doesn't really matter, as long as somebody does.

Players' appreciation
It's easy to forget that a lot of hard work has gone on to enable people to play cricket. Players, most of all, should recognise the importance of valuing and recognising all the voluntary work that goes on behind the scenes.

Put together a players' appreciation pack for youth teams. Make it easy for them to say thank-you, until it becomes a habit. Help young players to establish good habits.They are the volunteers of the future.

A players' appreciation pack may include:

• Some thank-you cards
• A team helper of the month award. The team can determine which volunteer they wish to receive the award each month through the season
• A list of all the people who work behind the scenes at the club and their roles, so that they can appreciate and value the off field team
• Nomination forms for players to nominate the volunteers they feel have made an outstanding contribution to cricket
• Encourage each Team Captain to be responsible for the coordination of use of the pack with their team

End of Season Recognition and Reward
As the end of season approaches, you can look back over the year, celebrate the successes on and off the field, analyse the things that didn't go quite so well and think how it is going to be even better next year.

Recognising and rewarding the hard work and enthusiasm of the team of volunteers is something that should go on throughout the season, but maybe at the end of the season there could be something a bit special. Perhaps an award evening or a social event, just for volunteers, to give you and the club an opportunity to say thank you.