If you have a child try Parkrun instead.
Youth section gives every appearance of virtual collapse. Met League XC results over the past few years tell the tale as they slip down the rankings. Focus of the club is firmly on adult athletes, but this will soon seem short-sighted when the absence of high-performing young-blood becomes apparent and this is too marked to be put down entirely to the usual distractions.
There are many reasons why this should be so, not all of them to be laid at the Harriers door, but some volunteers appear to be there simply so they can say so on their CV and couldn’t care less about anything else. Dreadful marshalling is one result. Some shambolic organisation (arriving more than 2hrs before a race and hanging around in the cold, no course maps, no idea when the races are due to start or in what order, sometimes to the point where they could be missed), Lack of information (who is required and when. Perfectly possible to hang around for a entire day for 5 min of running, when this could easily be avoided), Uncertainty over whether an athlete is even a member of the club. Extremely poor communication. A palpable lack of esprit de corps resulting in the best athletes regularly not making an appearance (sometimes when they are desperately needed) and no one seems bothered, one way or the other.
A certain complacency has taken hold. Jobs for life? No real oversight? Child protection paralysis may be a factor. Under-funding certainly another. And of course there ARE limits to what one can expect from unpaid volunteers, although plainly the high command IS paid and I suspect rather well.......
The result, though, can be for U11 - U17s to feel somewhat ignored, that their efforts don’t matter and aren’t appreciated. Set against this is the fact that the competition out there is ferocious. It is apparent to many that the current generation seem to view real blood, sweat, toil and tears without enthusiasm and handle set-backs less well - a drubbing at a Met League race is quite enough to dampen enthusiasm, perhaps permanently. I am afraid some hand-holding WILL be required, in order to combat this.
The Harriers also, weirdly, offer field event coaching, but very often no coaches, although they ARE on the books. Surprisingly upfront irritation when this has been politely commented on. If the funding isn’t there, why offer it? This adds to the impression that the whole organisation is run by a demoralised skeleton crew.
The problem is the children notice, and if some of the adult staff are just going through the motions........
Alternatives? Enroll your child in Parkrun. It’s free, regular, well-organised and the locations are varied. Also, fantastically friendly and encouraging to younger runners, and convenient. And almost certainly a better way to get your child into running as a life-long discipline - for one thing, it can be as competitive as you like, very or not at all, and your child can get up to speed without it mattering very much before they take the plunge into competition. Join a running club later, if this proves successful.