Although booster clubs are not the driving force for winning championships and developing Division 1 athletes, their impact is paramount.

 

Take Desert Vista’s football booster club, which gives the team an NFL edge.

 

That is the goal of the club—to provide services and raise money to support the student athletes and the coaching staff.

 

“Back in the day, the school paid for pretty much everything,” said DV booster club president Darrell Couch. “Now there has been so much money cut out of school district’s budgets that the money needs to be raised for stuff like practice equipment and other team gear or apparel. The stuff we raise money for is the difference between a successful program and an unsuccessful one.”  

 

This year the club spent a portion of its money in a new way. It bought a new video replay system used on the sidelines during the game.  The main goal of the advanced technology is to equip the coaching staff with real time information and the ability to make important decisions on the fly, just like the NFL.

 

“The type of stuff we help to provide contributes to a huge competitive advantage,” Couch said.

 

Football coach Dan Hinds sees the benefits.

 

“Desert Vista football has an extremely active booster club,” Hinds said. “The parents assist running the program on a regular and consistent basis through numerous ways.”

 

With an average of 150 students committed to the football team, large programs like the one at DV entail the support of external financial resources to raise around $180,000 per year. Each booster club member is responsible for contributing up to $300. In addition, the club organizes three main fundraisers— from sponsors, to the Thunder Cards, to concession stands. All the money raised goes directly to the football program and the athletes.

 

“We went from having 10 to 20 events where you would raise only a couple thousand dollars to limiting ourselves to four or five events that generate like ten thousand,” Couch said. “One of our biggest commitments is obtaining sponsors. We doubled our sponsorship revenue from last year.”

 

The booster club features two main groups that support the program.  The Mom’s Club feeds the team and plans events and fundraisers. The Dad’s Club has a similar agenda.

 

“The key is to have a parents who work hard for the boys, who care about the program, truly want the program to be the best it can be,” said Hinds.

 

As a head coach, the last thing on his mind during the season is worrying about anything other than football. “[They] The parents always ask what we need and help us get those things,” Hinds said. “It makes running a big football program, that much easier.”

 

DV Athletic Director Tommy Eubanks finds the school’s booster clubs are beneficial to the prosperity of his athletic programs. “A clear plan and low turnover,” Eubanks said. “That’s what creates success.”