Team Parents Are Critical to a Successful Team

Scenario 1: It’s a hot, hot day. Five minutes to game time. The ref is calling for a team captain for the coin toss. Player Andy hasn’t shown up and the coach is rejiggering her roster for the first quarter. Another problem—Andy’s family was bringing snacks. The kids are already wilting. They at least need something to drink.

Scenario 2: It’s 11:30 Sunday morning. The day started off bright but the clouds rolled in and it’s started to rain. Your coach is at the park checking field conditions. It begins to thunder and the light rain intensifies. He calls you on a borrowed cell phone from the park. The game is cancelled.

Scenario 3: It’s the last game of the season. Your coach’s wife—who is also a coach—arrives from an earlier game and end-of-season ceremony with a nice gift she received from her team. Your team hasn’t planned anything and your coach suspects it.

Scenario 4: It’s a tough game against an opponent that never loses. True to expectation, your team is losing. There’s a “bad call” on a play. The opposing coach comes out onto the field to protest the call. Your coach goes out, too. A parent on your team starts yelling at the ref. Others join in.

Here’s where the team parent comes in. The coach can’t do it all (least of all, solicit a gift for himself). That’s why the team parent is so important. Here are the jobs:

• organize a schedule of parents for game day snacks
• arrange for a volunteer(s) for snack-shack duty
• act as back-up if the scheduled parent fails to show up (the coach in scenario 1 can’t go get snacks when the game is about to begin)
• help coach with calling when a game or practice is cancelled
• arrange end-of-season parties
• take up collection for small gift for coach or coaches
• help set a positive tone among the parents (We don’t yell at refs—period! But the coach in scenario 4 is pretty busy. The team parent could help to keep things calm.
• encourage parents to take part in practices (and take part yourself) if the coach needs your help
• make a team banner and bring it to all the games (or get someone to do it)