Think long and hard before you say Yes to this ‘volunteer’ assignment. Manager duties can be hardcore and with huge consequences if you screw it up. I’ve only volunteered for this once and, while I didn’t screw anything up, it was very stressful and I WON’T do it again.
To be a team manager you must be:
1. Highly organized
2. Patient
3. A person with an Excellent Memory
4. Available to attend every competition or game
5. Able to deal with complaints of every sort, none of which are your fault or can be fixed by you
6. Available by phone and email, 24/7.
Some of the responsibilities of Team Manager:
1. Signing up the team for Tournaments and competitions (you will be killed if you miss a deadline)
2. Making sure all the players have properly registered (a kid might DIE if you manage to lose his registration)
3. Keeping track of players cards at every game (your team will forfeit if you leave the cards in the other car, or bag, or purse)
4. Having the First Aid kit and knowing how to use it (yes, a kid could DIE if you don't use the Epi-Pen properly)
5. Sending out emails and calling the team about all events, information, changes, weather, etc.
6. Organizing all aspects of uniform orders
7. Organizing team dinners, parties, etc.
8. Being the person every parent can complain to
9. Being the go-between for parents vs. coach situation
10. Securing the hotel for out of town tournaments and getting all parents booked
ummm, basically everything except coaching
And guess how much you get paid?? ZERO! And guess how much all the parents appreciate you?? Close to ZERO! Guess how much your own kid will appreciate you? ZERO! So, why should you do it? Well, I’d recommend you don’t actually, it’s really stressful and tough, BUT someone has to or the team will go down in flames. Usually there is one dedicated supermom who does it and does it well. My hats are off to her!
The best way to survive being Manager is to spread the pain to the other parents.....I mean DELEGATE. You can assign certain duties to others...don't try to do it all yourself.
Next up: Treasurer responsibilities (also tough) and few suggestions for avoiding both jobs. The photo above is me after just 1 season of being a team manager (back in 2006). I've finally got my hair back under control, but I'm afraid the scowl may never go away.
Next up: Treasurer responsibilities (also tough) and few suggestions for avoiding both jobs. The photo above is me after just 1 season of being a team manager (back in 2006). I've finally got my hair back under control, but I'm afraid the scowl may never go away.
10 comments:
Being a team manager can be incredibly rough. I have done it twice, once for a competitive team and once for the middle school team (which has a different set of issues).
I agree, it can be a miserable, thankless job-I discovered it has a lot to do with how much support you get from your association, coaches and parents.
I know that I HAD NO CLUE what a team manager did and the next time I am in that position, IF I AM again, I will let the parents know exactly what those duties include.
The one thing I DID like about it, was I always knew where the games were and had directions :)
Yikes! to much for me...great list...thanks!
Have a nice Thanksgiving! Awesome post!
This year was much easier for me-I used email, which I haven't done in the past. I just had a 'group' in my address book, and emailed that way. I used to call every. person. Also, we don't have cards for the kids, just a notebook with each kid's reg. form and birth cert., which stays in the coach's equipment bag (baseball is so much easier!), and he also carried the first aid kit. I think it's easier to do it for baseball, but not a WHOLE lot..also, I hear ya on the zero appreciation thing, and I get real sick of the bitching, especially since my husband is the coach! I feel like saying, "YOU try it, see if you can do it any better!" Also, it's weird that I signed up in the first place, because I am NOT organized in the least in real life.
It sounds like a nightmare!
Being a McSlacker, I pretty much make it a policy never to volunteer for anything that sounds like a major pain in the butt.
Makes me a lousy citizen, but I try to make up for it by being super appreciative of those who do volunteer, and throwing cash at things instead of time.
Sorry it was such a frustrating experience!
Your list is very accurate. I have been a team manager for 3 seasons now. This next season will be competitive. Got to mix it up, wouldn't want to get too comfortable. LOL. Email is the way to go, I just got a blackberry that is my new best friend. If we didn't volunteer who would?
Just checking in! Hope all is well!
How was you weekend? Hope it was fabulous!
Hey Mama :-)
You won the coffee scrub over at simple (simple-reviews.blogspot.com)
if you could email me at drea.simple [at] gmail [dot] com your snail mail address and your item will be on its way!
Thanks!
I've never been given the title of team manager, but I have been an asst coach (in name only) for a USA Club Volleyball team for a short season. I was essentially the paperwork gal and did not coach...by choice.
I have never in my life heard so much griping and carrying on from parents. No one else would step up, yet no one was happy with what was done. I created an online calendar that was updated regularly, but the girls and their parents just couldn't seem to ever check it OR their emails. Very frustrating. Unfortunately, I team did not make to the end of the season.
I so much more enjoyed volunteering for AAU basketball. Our players were spread out over two to three states (depending on the year) and just understood that not everything goes right and that not everyone was going to agree....but we did have a great time.
Hais graduates this year, so we now look forward to college bball!
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