London Raiders Softball Club: Strategy (2025/26)

Feb 23
4 min read

We’ve heard from many of you that the club is at a pivotal point. This year, we’ve developed a high level strategy to support our club as we continue to grow. This has been developed with consensus from the committee. If you have any questions, then please reach out to Lexi and Tobi (managers@londonraiders.co.uk, or find us at pre-season training.

Mission

London Raiders is a safe, inclusive community for LGBTQIA+ and allied members to play softball—offering both genuine player progression (for all abilities) and a strong social club experience.

What guides our decisions

Club first, not team first: decisions are made for the good of the whole club.
Our Pride values and Code of Conduct guide how we grow and operate.
We’re a sports club with a social community—both matter.
Everyone has something to contribute, and we’ll draw on skills across the membership.

Since returning from the pandemic, Raiders has grown strongly: membership is back to (and beyond) pre-pandemic levels, we’ve added two league teams, increased tournament participation, and welcomed a large number of new-to-softball players—with experienced players increasingly sharing their skills.

With growth (up 48% since 2021) comes pressure. Key challenges we need to address include:

Persistent skills gaps (e.g. pitching, shortstop, outfield, batting, base coaching, positional play)
Bottlenecks in playing opportunities at some levels, while other opportunities go under-filled
Training sessions becoming harder to manage at scale
Inconsistent rosters limiting team development
Competitive training needs sometimes being underserved

Feedback in end of season surveys, from committee members, and Team Captains indicates that we must manage growth carefully to ensure that we can support and deliver the Club Goals, and continue to provide a positive and enjoyable experience for all. To protect the Raiders experience as we grow, we will:

Communicate clearly to new joiners about league space and expectations
Promote the full value of membership (tournaments, socials, Development Squad, volunteering)—not just league play
Signpost players seeking immediate league placement (when we’re full) to other LSL teams early in the season

Our 4 core goals for 2025/26

Improve player development
Establish clear progression pathways
Captaincy skills, coaching and leadership depth
Improve intersectional representation year-on-year

Goal 1:

Improve player development.

For new to softball players, we will move from mainly pre-season development to more consistent ‘Dev Squad’.

For Raiders, training will focus on key positions and skills.

Captains will be supported to select players in ways that address team skill needs more transparently.

Actions:

Deliver a longer development pathway for newer players (via a Dev Squad)
Use funding/expertise (e.g. Sport England grant) to bring in external coaching support
Set clearer policies on Dev Squad and team sizes, with alternative routes offered when league spots are limited (e.g. tournaments, ringers)
Provide position-specific training

Goal 2:

Create meaningful progression pathways. Improving the spread of Raiders teams in PSL, LSL (majors and minors), and NSL.

Rationale:

We want Raiders teams spread in a way that creates real progression—not a “stuck” middle where players don’t get the challenge they need to develop. Increasing the spread of Raiders teams in LSL provides genuine progression opportunities, and also supports our ability to maintain strong teams in the Majors divisions and build a pipeline for the future.

We also wish to build a NSL3 pipeline to retain experienced and talented players who otherwise would play for other NSL teams.

Playing more competitively is an individuals’ choice, and not all players considered for selection may wish to do so.

Points:

We will strengthen progression between Minors and Majors and reduce barriers to moving up.
We aim to increase the range of teams in LSL Minors
We aim to maintain our current Majors standings
We will also have an NSL3 ambition, to retain and develop experienced players within Raiders.

Below is an overview of our club ambitions for our current teams, which have been discussed with 2026 captains.

Team	Current Division	Target Division (next 1-2 years)	Descriptor
Gold	Division 2	Division 1 or 2	B Competitive, feeder for an NSL3 team
Blue	Division 3	Division 2 or 3	B Competitive, feeder for an NSL3 team
Red	Division 5	Division 4	C (Upper Rec) Recreational but competitive, stepping stone for Majors
Green	Division 6	Division 5	Low C, Recreational but competitive
Orange & Indigo	Division 6	Division 6	D, Recreational, for people with softball experience
Pink	PSL	PSL	D, Recreational / Beginners Generally, non-competitive For people with sporting background, but learning the game, supported by more experienced players as coaches/fill-ins
Dev Squad	No Division	No Division	New to softball and/or new to sports more generally

Goal 3:

Build captaincy, coaching, and leadership depth

Captains are critical to the on-field experience—and we need more support, training, and recognition for them.

Key actions:

Launch a captain development programme (mentoring/partnering newer captains with experienced ones)
Improve guidance (captains pack) and run a Q&A/webinar for prospective captains by the end of the season
Provide more structured coaching support, especially for less experienced captains
Increase recognition and thanks for captains, and build a pipeline via tournament captaincy

Goal 4:

Improve intersectional representation year-on-year

We want Raiders to be more representative of the LGBTQIA+ community in London—especially across gender, race, and disability—and to ensure the club remains welcoming and equipped to support members’ needs.