So you volunteered to be Team Parent, Now What?

The following information will get you on the right track so do not worry. You will find the time you put in for volunteering as Team Parent rewarding and fun. Generally speaking, the Team Parent’s duties and responsibilities are to do the administrative tasks for the team which will allow the coach to concentrate on coaching, the players and team development.
 

·         Team Parent Meeting – Attend the Team Parent meeting and receive information to pass on to the coach and parents. At this meeting you will have the chance to discuss the Team Parent role, gain additional knowledge about how to be an effective Team Parent and to create schedules, and meet other Team Parents who are new to AYSO.

·         Volunteer Form- Team parents are not required to fill out a volunteer form this year. However, if you plan to assist your coach on the field at all, or have access to the player forms. You are required to fill out a volunteer form, complete required safety trainings, and finish a background check.

·         Team Roster – You’ll be responsible for making a team roster and snack schedule. Begin by listing the scheduled game date, location and time. Next add the team player that will be responsible for bringing snacks that day (Its easier to assign dates rather than wait for parents to volunteer).  Jersey number order, alphabetically, or however else you find easy. It’s easier to combine the roster, game and snack schedule on the same handout. 

·         Communication – Set up team communication. GroupMe, Team Snap, Shutterfly, Game Changer, Band, are all good ones, that also allow for pictures and schedules to be posted. Do your best to avoid Group Texts, as often times people put them on Do Not Disturb and miss vital information.

·         Snacks: Collect food allergies from each parent and make sure they are visible to all team members when planning snacks. You may have the same parent bring fruit for half time, and after game snack, or divide it so that one parent is assigned a half time fruit, and another for after game snack. Easy half time snacks(watermelon, orange slices, frozen grapes, berries, etc) Easy after game snacks(Fruit, chips/cracker, water/Gatorade)

·         Order the Team Banner – Part of the fun of playing on a team is making up the team name. Don’t let the team and coach wait too long to determine a name. Ideally you want to have the banner ordered and received before the first game. Player's first names, Coach, and Assistant Coach should be listed on the banner. After you’ve ordered the banner, let each parent know what the cost per player is and collect for the banner. Most likely you will also be responsible for bringing the banner to each game.

·         Attend Practices and Games – Please make every effort to be at all practices and games. Usually the coach will provide team information such as any scheduling changes, time to meet prior to the game, etc. It’s easier for the Team Parent to hear this first hand and send a  reminder out to those parents who may have missed the practice. If you can’t make a practice or game, please let the coach know ahead of time and be sure to call him or her for any information that was given to parents so that you can send out information.

·         Goal Jar- Great way of raising money for End of the year celebrations. Create a Goal jar with team name on it and every time a player scores a goal for your team, the jar gets passed around and spectators from your team can donate change/bills to go towards your end of the year celebrations, to help cut cost per player.

·         Plan Team Party – There are tons of places you can have a team party. Some suggestions are:

·         Coach’s home or a team member’s home.

·         Local amusement parks

·         Bowling alley

·         Park

·         Pizza Place 

·         Participation trophies/Awards- Some kind of award for the coaches to give out at the party is always fun for the kids. Find out total cost, subtract goal jar funds, and split amongst the parents on the team.  A good way of collecting money is to combine Trophy and Coaches’ gifts all together.

·         Purchase coach(es) gift(s) – Purchase the coach’s gift(s) at least two weeks prior to end of season, so that the team can present it at the Team party.

·         Referees- ALL U10+ Teams, must have a team referee. Help the coach in finding someone from your team to volunteer to complete the referee training. Without a referee, your team will be unable to advance to playoffs if qualified. Often times coaches end up volunteering to ref as well. Please keep in mind that Coaches are parents too, so volunteering to coach AND referee is a lot for one person.

·         Kid Zone Representative- Kids Zone is one of the ways AYSO makes sure all its players and volunteers are having fun. Kids Zone encourages spectators to use good language, show good sportsmanship in attitude and behavior, and create an enjoyable day for every player.

Thank you for volunteering!