Team managers...

[Anonymous]

What are your responsibilities? DS team needs one and I’m thinking of volunteering, but would like a sense of what the responsibilities are. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

When I did it I was in charge of the TeamSnap account, loading and revising the schedule, updating kit information for games, reminding people to update their availability, etc. it was a pain when the league would change fields at the last minute- people were already on the road to a field. Or parents asking repeatedly if I had the tournament schedule yet, months in advance, when I had already said we’d get it about 2 weeks prior. The coach and I had a good relationship so that helped and in general the parents on that team were a good group. If either had been difficult, no way would I have done it for 3 years.

[Anonymous]

This is PP and I did not stay for practice, I wasn’t hovering on the player side during games and wasn’t involved at all (nor would I want to be) in game decisions.

[Anonymous]

Having done it is a good idea to talk with the coach prior to the season starting and make sure your responsibilities are clearly defined. If the coach is not active in TS, views you as his administrative assistant+spokesperson, throw in a couple of difficult parents you are in for a very miserable year.

[Anonymous]

A lot of dads use it to get in with the coach and club (at least on the boys’ side). I have a 15 and 18 year old so spent/spend years in club soccer. Some try to act like an assistant coach, in constant contact about what “they” think should be happening on the field and often will put down other players—Edie silly if the kid plays sane position as theirs. Done get off on having “knowledge” ahead of everyone and use it as a power trip.

That said it’s a pretty thankless job. I did it one year when begged by coach since we were a new family and nobody else would do it.

I love the Clubs that don’t use parent volunteers, don’t have team managers, etc. Their admin staff handles it all. This is usually higher level teams. The less interaction parents have with the coaches is the best. When you have teens you really should have no contact.

[Anonymous]

depends what league or leagues your team plays in . for example NCSL typically schedules games for you with help from your club rep. EDP typically suggests a schedule but requires team managers to make any time or date adjustments by directly working with opponents team manager.

[Anonymous]

When I did it, there were a lot of training/zooms the club held to get mangers up to speed on what responsibilities were. For instance, it was a multi step process if your coach has a conflict with a game and needs to request a change. There was a binder I had to take to each game, with all the player cards. Not sure if that’s still a thing.
I also had to do the SafeSport training.
Initially I was overwhelmed with the amount of time it took. It felt like a part time job. But then I got in a rhythm, and I got most of the stuff down. It became a lot easier, and I enjoyed it actually.

[Anonymous]

Is this for club? Rec?

It so depends on the club and even the team. I'm a manager but I don't handle scheduling at all. I focus on making sure people have uniform orders in, finding players who are late to see if they plan to show up or not, getting a sense from the parents about their feelings and communicating those to the coach, and being a sounding board for the coach about what families want and need. Also deal with organizing team parties. Sort of the soft stuff around the edges, but its a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of dads use it to get in with the coach and club (at least on the boys’ side). I have a 15 and 18 year old so spent/spend years in club soccer. Some try to act like an assistant coach, in constant contact about what “they” think should be happening on the field and often will put down other players—Edie silly if the kid plays sane position as theirs. Done get off on having “knowledge” ahead of everyone and use it as a power trip.

That said it’s a pretty thankless job. I did it one year when begged by coach since we were a new family and nobody else would do it.

I love the Clubs that don’t use parent volunteers, don’t have team managers, etc. Their admin staff handles it all. This is usually higher level teams. The less interaction parents have with the coaches is the best. When you have teens you really should have no contact.

I think this is happening on my kid's team. The team manager's kid is very inconsistent in games and half the time doesn't look like they want to be out there. But the dad is very into soccer. I am convinced that he volunteered to be manager to secure his child's place on the team. The kid should really be moved down to a lower team.

[Anonymous]

It can be a true PIA trying to get non US born players registered with a players card. that usually falls on the team manager too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of dads use it to get in with the coach and club (at least on the boys’ side). I have a 15 and 18 year old so spent/spend years in club soccer. Some try to act like an assistant coach, in constant contact about what “they” think should be happening on the field and often will put down other players—Edie silly if the kid plays sane position as theirs. Done get off on having “knowledge” ahead of everyone and use it as a power trip.

That said it’s a pretty thankless job. I did it one year when begged by coach since we were a new family and nobody else would do it.

I love the Clubs that don’t use parent volunteers, don’t have team managers, etc. Their admin staff handles it all. This is usually higher level teams. The less interaction parents have with the coaches is the best. When you have teens you really should have no contact.

I think this is happening on my kid's team. The team manager's kid is very inconsistent in games and half the time doesn't look like they want to be out there. But the dad is very into soccer. I am convinced that he volunteered to be manager to secure his child's place on the team. The kid should really be moved down to a lower team.

We have left teams for this reason. It’s disgusting and unfair to the other players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I did it I was in charge of the TeamSnap account, loading and revising the schedule, updating kit information for games, reminding people to update their availability, etc. it was a pain when the league would change fields at the last minute- people were already on the road to a field. Or parents asking repeatedly if I had the tournament schedule yet, months in advance, when I had already said we’d get it about 2 weeks prior. The coach and I had a good relationship so that helped and in general the parents on that team were a good group. If either had been difficult, no way would I have done it for 3 years.

This was pretty much my experience doing it for an NCSL team. Honestly, hardest part was parents not indicating availability until the last minute (because kids played two travel sports), leaving us unsure whether we had enough players on a regular basis. Lots of nagging, which is not fun.

[Anonymous]

Key question that was asked above — is this for rec, rec plus, or a club team?

[Nova2Euro]

Team managers will have a hundred thankless responsibilities and really are the glue that keeps the team together. If you're a good manager, everyone will have a good experience.

Jesus, all these people sniping about managers whose kids get a little more playing time than you, in your obviously expert opinions, think they deserve... LET THEM. That's literally the only possible reward for a manager after getting unceasingly griped at by parents. They take care of making sure that your kid gets to play--at least let the one parent who is actually doing work for the team see their own kid play.

[Anonymous]

I think the team manager is usually just someone helpful but it isn't as much work as it seems. Op, you should try it for a year, its not that big of a deal like class parent or anything.
I disagree with some pps here. The team manager personality to me is different than the soccer dad who is always in the coach's ear. That guy is the worst.