Grey Matters More: Joining a football team

If you’ve ever fancied joining a football club, whatever your age or ability, we’ve got the answer to your dreams. 

Again, If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard and are keen to get involved, please click the link below. 

https://yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk/volunteers/

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586908623318

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https://greymattersmore.buzzsprout.com/

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https://www.youtube.com/@royplayer9527

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Transcript

Derm Tanner 0:01

Hello, welcome to another episode of Grey Matters, the brand new podcast series which aims to give you some ideas to fill all that time you now have on your hands. Whether you've just retired, you're looking to retire soon, or just wanting to do something more with your day, maybe, just maybe, we can help. We've talked to many organizations, clubs, and charities around Yorkshire and further afield because we wanted to find out what it's like to volunteer and learn new skills. Hopefully, over the coming episodes, Grey Matters will spark some interest for you. Because when it comes to retirement, there's so much more than just ensuring you have enough money to live on. I'm Derm Tanner,

Roy Player 0:43

I'm Roy Player,

Chris Wiltshire 0:44

I'm Chris Wiltshire.

Derm Tanner 0:45

and this week we are talking about football, because football is the one thing that I suppose in many respects binds us all together, doesn't it?

Roy Player 0:55

Ah, fantastic. It can't beat can you either go to a live game or watching a bit on the tele or going down to the pub and watching it with a load of friends?

Chris Wiltshire 1:02

Excellent. Every other week we pull together, have a cup of beers, talk about general stuff, and then watch the game.

Roy Player 1:12

Our Wifes are really quite pleased that actually we go out as well, which I think probably helps, especially when we're talking our intellectual conversations, Chris,

Chris Wiltshire 1:19

It can be lively, it can be deep, it can be lively.

Derm Tanner 1:24

But the most important thing is that we enjoy it. And we don't really realise, we go to the football, we go to the game, and we don't realise what's going on behind the scenes to make that happen and just how many volunteers there are to make York City happen.

Roy Player 1:41

I just couldn't believe it. I mean you go to I mean we go to I mean we both support Chris and I support Premier League teams and but we have season tickets at York City and love going to our local club, and do you realise that, that is absolutely dependent upon volunteers being there and helping out? and the thought that we sit in the stands and around us are all these people involved in the club, and you think, God, I'd love to be involved in football somehow. Never knew you could be, but you you went on a journey.

Steve Dorey 2:14

I'm Steve Dorey, I'm the development officer at York City Football Club.

Derm Tanner 2:18

So, Steve, how important are volunteers at York City?

Steve Dorey 2:23

They are fundamental to what we do, particularly our matchday operations, where my line of work in particular, I couldn't do 90% of the work that I do without our volunteers. They are the absolute lifeblood of what we do. Engaging supporters, helping them have an outstanding matchday experience, that is what we are about, and we are so lucky to have so many people that are willing to give up their time, their effort, their energy to come and help do what we do. Yeah, we are completely indebted to them.

Derm Tanner 2:57

So, how many do you have?

Steve Dorey 2:58

We have about 50 on the books that cover a range of different departments. So that is from media, so photographers, commentators, camera operators, that my colleague, our media manager, looks after. We have a number of people in our hospitality department helping to set up, clear down the spaces, welcome guests, make sure that they feel welcomed and valued, and then a number of different people from programme sellers and raffle ticket sellers to family engagement. We have our matchday mascots, Yorkie the Lion, people that look after the children that walk out with the players, the ball team, a whole host of people that are just around delivering outstanding matchday experiences for our supporters.

Derm Tanner 3:41

I have to say, Yorkie the Lion is an absolute gem.

Steve Dorey 3:45

We are very lucky to have both of them. So we have a new Yorkie, which we which actually belongs to our foundation, so we're very lucky to get to borrow that, and then we have the original Yorkey, Steve, who has been doing this for a long time. He has a suit custom made for him, and he's an amazing character, and very synonymous with York City, and has come back into the fold in the last probably 18 months, and what a difference that's made to the supporter experience. He's got a great sense of humour and he does a great job of corralling the other volunteers that undertake that role. Yeah, very lucky to have him.

Derm Tanner 4:23

So if you've got an army of volunteers, and basically you have, that takes an awful lot of managing, presumably and are there still vacancies and are you still looking for people to help?

Steve Dorey 4:33

I am incredibly fortunate because these guys take no managing at all. They are wonderfully independent, they are passionate, driven, mature, sensible, most of them, and really all I've got to do is put the right pieces in the right place, and this very much runs itself. It's a very well-oiled machine. In terms of vacancies, we're always on the lookout for good help. So if people are interested, if you want to get involved, there is uh an expression of interest on our website, you can submit your details, we'll then arrange to have a chat, and if there are sufficient vacancies at that time, because there are people that can no longer commit, or we might add something new to our match day offer that requires some new people to get involved. I'll arrange to have a chat with them and then we'll go through a safer recruitment process for those people. They come in, make a debut with us, try us on, is it a good fit for them? Do they do they like it here? Do they like what we're about? If they don't, there'll be no hard feelings, but the people that come they seem to like it and they they keep coming back.

Derm Tanner 5:33

I guess fairly diverse as well. It's not just people of a certain age, it's all ages, is it?

Steve Dorey 5:38

Yeah, we're really proud of that. We've got a very broad demographic here. We've got people from their early 20s to their late 70s, and they cover you know every role. So male, female, we've got people with disabilities, and we're really, really proud of the diversity of our volunteer workforce because that is representative of our community. Something that we're very, very keen to stress is that the stadium and the football club is a place for anybody, and everybody is welcome here, whether you are a supporter, a volunteer, a member of staff, there is there is a place for you here, and we want you to feel welcomed and valued.

Derm Tanner 6:14

Have you found that as the football club has been on the up, and let's face it, last season was a fantastic season, given where they finished the season before, and only just managed to escape relegation. Have you found that even more people want to get involved because you know that's a that does it gonna buzz around the place?

Steve Dorey 6:31

Yeah, there is definitely a steady stream of interest. People are really keen to come and get involved, come and give up their time. I would like to think that some of that is they will know people here, they will see the way that our guys operate on a match day and think, Oh, that looks great, I'd love to get involved. I would love it if they would say about us, this is great here, we do get really well looked after, we're cared for, we feel valued. Hopefully that comes across now, and I'm not just tea, I'm not leaving. But certainly getting involved with a winning football team, yeah, it has its attractions, but this is a club that has its roots in the community, and win, lose, or draw, people are just invested because this is such a part of the city, it's a part of our culture, and yes, of course, there has been more people interested because the team's been on the up and I think the profile's been raised a little bit, but on the whole, this is integral to the community, and people feel a real connection to that. So I think that would be the stronger draw for people rather than other teams winning. I might try and get involved.

Derm Tanner 7:35

So thank you for the time being, Steve. As we are as the time of recording, it is pre-season at York City. We are lucky enough to be pitch side. It looks to be honest, it always looks stunning during the season, but it looks particularly fantastic today. Beautiful, sunny morning. The noise you can hear in the background is the groundsman cutting the grass. We're gonna have to be quick because he's gonna get closer and closer to us. So let's see just what the volunteers really do. I have four volunteers with me. Is they're all moving away from me at the moment.

Speaker 8:11

You want to go in the sun?

Derm Tanner 8:12

Okay, you're coming to the sun. Let's walk to the sun, it's getting too cold. So I have Jennifer, Judy, Richard, and Mark. Let's come to Mark first. So, Mark, tell me what do you do? How long have you been a volunteer here? Why?

Mark Linton 8:26

I am Mark Linton, and I volunteer in the hospitality area. Ive been doing it since last year's pre-season, which is just as before I retired.

Derm Tanner 8:36

So, what does the hospitality offer you then? So, what do you get up to in the hospitality area?

Mark Linton 8:41

We change roles within the hospitality area, there are volunteers that are there. you're either downstairs greeting people in, you can assure that they're either going to dining, non-dining, if it's the VIPs coming in, that the ir names are on the list, and then send them upstairs, and if you're upstairs doing the volunteering, it's then taking them to the right area, either into the LNER lounge or along to the Chairman's Lounge or the boxes or into the dining in the Jorvik area.

Derm Tanner 9:10

And it's very important, isn't it, that that everybody gets the good feel experience of the day. So you know you're probably one of the first faces they see as they come in, aren't you?

Mark Linton 9:20

Well, yeah, certainly. It's as as they're coming into the club, you want to if they're here, especially some people want to hear for a birthday or something on a special occasion, you want that deer to be as special as possible for them. So if you're the first person meeting them, it's nice to see them with a smile,, friendly bonhomie, and make sure that their day goes as smoothly as possible from right from the start.

Derm Tanner 9:40

So you got yourself in, how easy was it to get through, or was there a rigorous recruitment system to get through?

Mark Linton 9:47

Well, Steve's very thorough about these things, but no, great fella did as soon as we went and contacted Steve, it was really easy, just quick chat and then uh a pre-season meetup, which is going to be next week as well, and just went from there. It was just so easy and welcoming to come to the club and help. And can you see yourself volunteering here for the foreseeable? Yeah, wife tells us I am. I can see about the house for a little while. Yes, no, no, it was No, I can see it happened, it was really enjoyable last season. A lot of the results went to help that, the good season that the team had on the pitch. So this is my main away from the house and getting a social because I think you come from work where you've got a number of people that you're sociable with, from I I worked at Nestle, to you lose a lot of that sociability. So that was another reason to do the volunteering was to to have that sociability contact with a number of people and meet people and enjoy the company.

Derm Tanner 10:45

So it really fits for you, doesn't it?

Mark Linton 10:47

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Really was an island there that I saw I could swim towards for, for those reasons for sociability and and contact.

Derm Tanner 10:59

Okay, thank you very much indeed. Right. So, Richard, now we our paths have, have crossed in the past, as you have just reminded me. But tell me how how you got involved because this is not just we'll come on to what else you do, but how did you get involved here and what do you do at York City?

Richard 11:16

Well, I retired from work about eight years ago, and it was I always wanted to be involved with the football club in some degree. I've supported the club for 52 years, and so I thought when I retire I'll have more time to, to get involved. I approached the club at the time, but they weren't very receptive really, and they just pointed me in the direction of the foundation. So I volunteered with the foundation, helping with the Sporting Memories Group and the walking football sessions, and it was only really when Steve joined the football club and they advertised for match day volunteers that I managed to get involved with the club itself, and it's just been fantastic ever since then.

Derm Tanner 11:57

Okay, let's talk about the foundation first and then we'll come on to the onto the club. What sort of things do you do there? Are you still volunteering there as well?

Richard 12:03

Yes, I'm still volunteering for the foundation, so I help with the Sporting Memories Group which meets twice a week, and I don't go down to the walk-in football as much, but I do go in and do admin work for the foundation one or two days a week as well. So help with the admin stuff for the after-school clubs they do and all the all the other things that they do in the community.

Derm Tanner 12:27

How helpful has the volunteering been for you in your retirement in terms of you know feeling useful and needed?

Richard 12:35

Oh, it's been brilliant really. I have had a lot of time on my hands, and rather than just sit at home and watch TV or anything like that, it's it's really enabled me to get out and sort of make myself feel feel useful, really.

Derm Tanner 12:49

Because they do say that volunteering is the is the key thing in in retirement. That it, it you know it it kind of pushes all those buttons because you have a lot of time on your hands when you stop going on the nine to five, don't you?

Richard 13:01

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, it's it's given me sort of a sense of purpose in my retirement, and yeah, it's just been brilliant for me. So, what do you get up to at York City then? What do you do? Officially, I'm a wayfinder on a match day, which involves going out and greeting fans and pointing them in the right direction for the turnstiles and just having a chat with them and trying to make their match day experience better. But I also get involved in handing the team sheets out, so as soon as the team sheets are printed, I run around the stadium handing them to the program sellers and taking them to hospitality and stuff like that. But as well as the match day, I've been involved in volunteering with other things at the club, like when Bootham Crescent was closing down. We organised a day where we showed people round and I was helping that day. I also volunteered when we were trying to locate people's ashes for the people who'd been buried at Bootham Crescent, and here at the new stadium I also helped Steve with the stadium tours. There's myself and Martin. So when we have a stadium tour, we go around with Steve and chip in with a few stories and our experiences of the club.

Derm Tanner 14:18

Because if you've been a fan for 52 years, as you say, that's a useful bit of information for the club to use, isn't it? You've seen it all, you've you you've got the history of the club from the last half, you know, 50 years plus.

Richard 14:31

Yes, absolutely, the highs and a lot of lows as well.

Derm Tanner 14:34

What you only think of the highs now?

Richard 14:36

Yeah, but I think what's great is I always manage to find a connection with somebody. I, I love engaging with people, and because I've supported the club that long, I can usually find some sort of a link that I can talk to them about, some famous player from their era. So it's just been really good for me.

Derm Tanner 14:55

Super, thank you very much indeed. Okay, now ladies, leaving the best to last, as they say. Oh shit.

Judy 15:03

Leaving the best to last.

Derm Tanner 15:04

So tell me who you are.

Judy 15:06

I'm Judy and I work in hospitality as a volunteer.

Derm Tanner 15:10

What do you get up to, Judy?

Judy 15:13

We sell

Derm Tanner 15:15

In hospitality, I'm talking about.

Judy 15:19

Thank You i'm glad you clarified that. We yes sell hospitality 50-50 tickets, raffle tickets, which half goes to the club and half goes into the raffle prizes. We seem to make quite a lot of money. Some of the prizes are up nearly a thousand pounds for the first prize. That's on a good day, really good day. Sometimes sell merchandise, but generally chatting to the, the fans and having some banter with them. The atmosphere's terrific in, in hospitality on the day, and especially as it got it gets closer to the match starting. It's a great volunteering job, really. It's really pleasant and we all enjoy it.

Derm Tanner 15:57

I bet, and, and I guess like everything at a football club, the success on the pitch resonates everywhere, doesn't it? So I mean after the season they had last season, which uh which it was terrific, really. I thought okay, slightly disappointment of the playoffs, but you know given where they came from, fantastic season. I guess you feel that from people that come to they can't wait to get to the next game.

Judy 16:17

Yes, on that particular game, that the atmosphere up in Hosptality that that afternoon was absolutely electric. It was it was absolutely brilliant. I didn't hang around at the end to see how it was afterwards, but yeah, so here we go again for this season and hope for promotion.

Derm Tanner 16:34

So how much do you look forward to match days then? And and you're I do look forward to match days because it well it's, it's, it's work with volunteering, it's after many years of working, you're part of a a business and you get involved with it, you learn about it. I didn't know much about football and I know I probably don't know that much now, but I do know quite a bit more than I did before. How long after you retired did you start volunteering or you know, did you think you I need to do something?

Judy 17:04

Well, it wasn't that long because we went to volunteer at York Theatre Royal who were doing the part of the production for the York Mystery Plays. So we did that in 2012 and 16 in Yorkminster. We've done lots of with Jennifer, we've done lots of volunteering on the Marathons and Joseph Rowntree Theatre as well. I'm still a still a volunteer at Joseph Rowntree Theatre. Haven't been for a while for various reasons, but I am going back. But it's it is enjoyable. Volunteering is it it's really good for you, it keeps the brain going as well, keeps it ticking over.

Derm Tanner 17:41

I mean it's massive for you, isn't it? I mean you are you are a top volunteer. I enjoy it. I do enjoy it, yeah. So what would be your recommendation? What would you say to people who are listening to this thinking, you know, I'm I don't know what to do with my time.

Judy 17:55

If they're retired or thinking of retired, come and have a go. If they don't like it, they don't like it, but they're the fine, probably the fine, they'll really enjoy it. It is really worthwhile.

Derm Tanner 18:05

Well then now madam.

Jennifer 18:06

Well I know it calls me madam.

Derm Tanner 18:08

Well you weren't looking at me, that's why I had to get your attention. How long have you been volunteering, Jennifer?

Jennifer 18:14

2010. I rang Judy. I used to work with Judy at the hospital, and I rang her and I said, Are you interested in volunteering at the York Mystery Plays for 2012? And from there we've been volunteering numerous things.

Derm Tanner 18:30

So what is it about volunteering that you like so much? Because you and Judy are practically everywhere.

Jennifer 18:38

The thing is, some people don't like to work, you know, and, and I understand that. But going out to work every day, it was brilliant, and then all of a sudden you reach 60. It was 60 for me. And you think, oh, what am I going to do? I was on my own, my children were growing up. I thought, oh, lots of time on my hand. I do gardening and you know, I like to go to the shops, but what else? And that was when I decided wanted to do volunteering. This is the best volunteering gig I've ever done, apart from maybe the fringe, that was the we were well looked after there as well.

Derm Tanner 19:20

So, what do you do here at York City?

Jennifer 19:22

I work with Judy in hospitality.

Derm Tanner 19:24

I thought you might say that.

Jennifer 19:26

The two J's were called. I've known Judy since 1982. Right, and sell the 50-50 tickets and try and raise as much money as we can, and we coerce. people into buying more than one ticket.

Derm Tanner 19:40

Yeah.

Jennifer 19:41

Which is, you know, the aim of the thing is to get as much money for the club and also for the prize winner. I love doing it and I'm quite a talkative person.

Derm Tanner 19:51

That must help, mustn't it? That you're not phased by meeting strangers all the time.

Jennifer 19:56

Because when you're at home on your own, you've got nobody to talk to. So I also today we'll be going to the British Heart Foundation furniture shop in Clifton, Mower.

Derm Tanner 20:06

I know well.

Jennifer 20:06

Yeah. I volunteer there on a Thursday.

Derm Tanner 20:09

There's a sofa of mine in there somewhere, I think. Oh, have we .

Jennifer 20:11

Oh, oh, is it is it a nice one? Well, I think it is, yeah. Yeah, I volunteer there on a Thursday.

Derm Tanner 20:17

And what would you say to people listening to this thinking, well, it all sounds okay, but you know It is okay.

Jennifer 20:23

It is. Steve is one of the best, whatever you would call a volunteer manager that I've ever come across.

Derm Tanner 20:31

The volunteering is what gets you up in the morning, isn't it? Absolutely.

Jennifer 20:34

You're not faced with a blank day of just, well, I'll go to the shop. You've got something else to do. If there's a Tuesday match, so it's maybe twice a week. But yeah. You have to have something to do. Because if you don't, then you just sit at home watching tele, vegetating.

Derm Tanner 21:05

We had a fantastic day at York City, at the time of recording that it was the middle of i think it was July and a baking hot day in July, and we were allowed behind the scenes. We were about on the pitch, for goodness sake. I was allowed to stand on the pitch.

Roy Player 21:19

Yeah, but not past that white line though, that was not allowed.

Derm Tanner 21:23

I made sure the groundsman was well away before I put my foot. I nearly thought about taking a blade of grass, but better do that.

Roy Player 21:30

I thought I was going to say you need to take a penalty.

Derm Tanner 21:33

Or worse. Great day there.

Roy Player 21:36

It was great, wasn't it?, and going behind the scenes and going down, going around the you know, like the corridors into the dressing rooms, and we went with the volunteers, and it was brilliant because that passion and enthusiasm just came across constantly. It was fantastic.

Chris Wiltshire 21:51

Exactly It just shows the, the enthusiasm and the pride that they have in the club. Pride. I think that rubs off in the city, and we were very blessed to l to live in a beautiful city and you bring that along on a Saturday, and I just think it's such a great atmosphere there, isn't it?

Roy Player 22:05

Oh, it was fantastic, and what I just sort of off, off the back of that Derm, what I did was I, I did look online and went through some stuff and phoned a couple of clubs, and it there is, you know, not just in York, it's not just York, boys, across the whole country. There are a lot of non-league teams and amateur clubs that need volunteers to keep them going. So it's, you know, please, if you live in any part of the country, do check out your local team if you want to get involved because they will be desperate for your help. Yeah, it's not a bad way to see a game.

Derm Tanner 22:35

No, it's perhaps for a free charge as well. Yes, and it's we've learned one thing during this process is that the best volunteers are the ones that are interested in the volunteering they're doing. So if you like football, then chances are you might want to ring your local football club up. They will welcome you with open arms, I'm sure, because they need the help. You know, of course they do, and you know, it's great. You know, it's a win win.

Roy Player 22:59

It is a great win-win. And that's that's why Grey Matters.

Derm Tanner 23:03

You've been listening to the Grey Matters podcast, produced by Roy Player, Chris Wiltshire, and Derm Tanner.