Team parent strategies for non-responsive parents

[Anonymous]

14:56

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, if you are signing up your kid with a for-profit business, you can safely assume you won’t be asked to volunteer. But if it’s a non-profit (which things like sports typically are), then you probably will be expected to volunteer in some capacity.

'

A lot of youth clubs around here are actually for profit and it's not obvious which are which

[Anonymous]

14:56 -- most of these tasks can be done either a few minutes before the game starts, or during the game itself. It's not a big lift. Field prep is usually some dads out raking the fields and re-chalking lines if necessary.

If the team uses teamsnap, you can have a health check filled out in there -- thus eliminating the need to have a "covid" coach. If someone needs to do the screening, that can also take place as kids arrive for warmups. So you show up 5 minutes earlier than the kids are scheduled, and sit on the bleachers and check the kids in.

(not OP)

[Anonymous]

OP here, responding to 14:56.

You raise interesting points for sure. Every Little League does things differently, but in our league, actually volunteering meaningful hours is a separate thing from helping with game day tasks. Our league charges a fairly hefty volunteer fee up front and you can either work it off (by helping at the snack stand, pre- and post-season field maintenance, league photographer, etc) and get a refund on your volunteer fee or you can do nothing and not get the fee back. There have been years when I've earned back the fee and others when I have not. No one is forcing you to volunteer a significant amount of time.

What I'm specifically mentioning is the need to have someone do particular tasks before each game- tasks that if not completed, would make the game unable to be played (for the most part). I've definitely seen some games where the coaches take on field prep- for reasons unknown- maybe no one signed up to do it or the coach didn't like the way parents did it- but it does take the coach away from warm up, plus they already are giving so much of their time. If no one lines the fields, chalks the batter's box, or keeps score/pitch count, the game can't be played.

The reason I mentioned that this is at the Majors level is because all of the parents on our team have had children in LL for years, so none of this is a surprise. In fact, the need for volunteers is less now because the kids don't need a dug out person to ensure they're not swinging bats, climbing fences, or other shenanigans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:56 -- most of these tasks can be done either a few minutes before the game starts, or during the game itself. It's not a big lift. Field prep is usually some dads out raking the fields and re-chalking lines if necessary.

If the team uses teamsnap, you can have a health check filled out in there -- thus eliminating the need to have a "covid" coach. If someone needs to do the screening, that can also take place as kids arrive for warmups. So you show up 5 minutes earlier than the kids are scheduled, and sit on the bleachers and check the kids in.

(not OP)

14:56 here - sorry to hijack your thread, OP, I'm just finding this kinda fascinating (though entirely theoretically for me at this stage).

Yes, I see that a lot of these jobs are small, and not a big lift. But I also assume that "Majors" means you're not talking about five year olds. If my 11 year old is in Little League, I might not go to every single game. And when I do, I might often have other, younger kids in tow that make a volunteer task (even a small one) difficult to handle. Or I might be dropping him off for warmups and then running an errand and coming back. Or whatever. And again, for me personally, I could see a situation where I'm the Girl Scout troop leader, doing tons of work for that, and not planning on doing any volunteering for baseball, as it would just be too much.

I would absolutely expect to be ASKED. Perhaps even begged and pleaded with - and if it was a small task and my kid really loved baseball, I might even cave. But there's so much space, to me, between that and getting a "Here's your assigned volunteer times. Switch if you're busy" email which, again, if it wasn't made clear up front that pitching in was required, I would find really, really presumptuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, if you are signing up your kid with a for-profit business, you can safely assume you won’t be asked to volunteer. But if it’s a non-profit (which things like sports typically are), then you probably will be expected to volunteer in some capacity.

'

A lot of youth clubs around here are actually for profit and it's not obvious which are which

It’s not hard to figure out what kind of org something is. For-profit companies generally don’t use volunteers because it’s really easy to run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, responding to 14:56.

You raise interesting points for sure. Every Little League does things differently, but in our league, actually volunteering meaningful hours is a separate thing from helping with game day tasks. Our league charges a fairly hefty volunteer fee up front and you can either work it off (by helping at the snack stand, pre- and post-season field maintenance, league photographer, etc) and get a refund on your volunteer fee or you can do nothing and not get the fee back. There have been years when I've earned back the fee and others when I have not. No one is forcing you to volunteer a significant amount of time.

What I'm specifically mentioning is the need to have someone do particular tasks before each game- tasks that if not completed, would make the game unable to be played (for the most part). I've definitely seen some games where the coaches take on field prep- for reasons unknown- maybe no one signed up to do it or the coach didn't like the way parents did it- but it does take the coach away from warm up, plus they already are giving so much of their time. If no one lines the fields, chalks the batter's box, or keeps score/pitch count, the game can't be played.

The reason I mentioned that this is at the Majors level is because all of the parents on our team have had children in LL for years, so none of this is a surprise. In fact, the need for volunteers is less now because the kids don't need a dug out person to ensure they're not swinging bats, climbing fences, or other shenanigans.

14:56 here. Thanks for this, that does help clarify. But I would say from my perspective, especially if I paid a fee to get out of volunteering (which, let's be honest, I would totally do because I think it's pretty clear from this thread that I'm pretty lazy ) I would REALLY be peeved if I got a list of assignments from the team mom.

But honestly, I don't think you should listen to me or take my advice, because as you say, they kids have been in it a long time, this is how it's done, and I'm a completely outsider to all of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, if you are signing up your kid with a for-profit business, you can safely assume you won’t be asked to volunteer. But if it’s a non-profit (which things like sports typically are), then you probably will be expected to volunteer in some capacity.

'

A lot of youth clubs around here are actually for profit and it's not obvious which are which

It’s not hard to figure out what kind of org something is. For-profit companies generally don’t use volunteers because it’s really easy to run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Loudon soccer certain does and is for profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, if you are signing up your kid with a for-profit business, you can safely assume you won’t be asked to volunteer. But if it’s a non-profit (which things like sports typically are), then you probably will be expected to volunteer in some capacity.

'

A lot of youth clubs around here are actually for profit and it's not obvious which are which

It’s not hard to figure out what kind of org something is. For-profit companies generally don’t use volunteers because it’s really easy to run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Loudon soccer certain does and is for profit.

Loudoun Soccer is a 501(c)(3).

https://www.loudounsoccer.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2651908

[Anonymous]

Assign them to games, send out the schedule and a list of phone number so they can trade if the day is bad for them.

Ask if there are any teens they know that would like to work the games. Make a list of those kids and provide a list of those kids names and pay them $25/game but make the parents pay them directly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, responding to 14:56.

You raise interesting points for sure. Every Little League does things differently, but in our league, actually volunteering meaningful hours is a separate thing from helping with game day tasks. Our league charges a fairly hefty volunteer fee up front and you can either work it off (by helping at the snack stand, pre- and post-season field maintenance, league photographer, etc) and get a refund on your volunteer fee or you can do nothing and not get the fee back. There have been years when I've earned back the fee and others when I have not. No one is forcing you to volunteer a significant amount of time.

What I'm specifically mentioning is the need to have someone do particular tasks before each game- tasks that if not completed, would make the game unable to be played (for the most part). I've definitely seen some games where the coaches take on field prep- for reasons unknown- maybe no one signed up to do it or the coach didn't like the way parents did it- but it does take the coach away from warm up, plus they already are giving so much of their time. If no one lines the fields, chalks the batter's box, or keeps score/pitch count, the game can't be played.

The reason I mentioned that this is at the Majors level is because all of the parents on our team have had children in LL for years, so none of this is a surprise. In fact, the need for volunteers is less now because the kids don't need a dug out person to ensure they're not swinging bats, climbing fences, or other shenanigans.

Again, if they know all these things have to happen, then just assign them based on their last name. Tell people to figure it out if they can't make it work. That's what our LL coach did -- and he's been coaching forever (his youngest daughter is married and had a baby while my dd was playing.) In 3 seasons of Majors, I didn't hear anyone complain. You just did what was asked. Having said that, I don't recall anyone being asked to do field prep; usually one of the assistant coaches did it (we had 3). In our travel career, when we'd play a scrimmage, the coaches would go out and do it -- at the Majors level, they also can be warming up throwing without a coach there. Same for many other warmups. BUT if your coach wants parent volunteers, then you have to sell that. You can also say, if all of the signups aren't filled by x date, coach will assign. (If your coach is willing to be the "throw me under the bus" man.) When we worked the snack bar, he assigned families shifts and told us to figure it out if we couldn't make it. We were grown ups and did so. There was also a list of teens you could hire to work for you in the snack bar - had to be over a certain age.

[Anonymous]

Community sports like Little League, rec soccer, etc all run on volunteers. That keeps the fees affordable.

Don't sign your kids up to play sports if you don't want to pitch in and volunteer at a handful of games.

[Anonymous]

Parents always squawk when asked to volunteer for this stuff. Parents always squawk when fees go up for admin support. It's a no win. I have lived alit of places. This area has the absolute worst volunteer rates. Everyone is busy. It's not an excuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only have a baby, so I'm totally out of this loop: Please excuse this naive question.

Is it made clear to every parent who signs a kid up for Little League that they are expected to volunteer? I could absolutely see myself signing my son up for Little League down the road, paying whatever fees are involved, and assuming that volunteering was completely optional, and that it would be no problem for me to not volunteer at all. And then, after not opting to volunteer, if I got a schedule of "volunteer" assignments (um, that's not volunteering?) and was told to just switch the day if it didn't work, I'd be frustrated and confused. To me, that's not volunteering - that's like a co-op.

Perhaps this IS made clear, that all parents are expected/required to do at least some minimal level of work, in which case, I rescind this whole comment. But I am a pretty busy person (as is, um, everyone) and I'm very careful to protect my downtime. So if this was expected, it would make me WAY less likely to sign my kid up for Little League. And if it's not made clear, I would really not appreciate the bait and switch.

Perhaps it's a role model thing - growing up, my parents were very "all or nothing" volunteers. They hosted girl scouts, or they did nothing. They were coach of the soccer team, or they did nothing. They were always quick to donate to stuff, but they generally did not volunteer for all these little jobs, a lot of which seem somewhat unnecessary (umm, five volunteers a game?? The team only has, what, 10-15 kids?) And I could see myself in the same role.

So, maybe I'm way off base here, as I have no direct experience with this, but it seems to me that the answer is to go back to the coach and say, "unfortunately, we only have three parents who have expressed any interest in volunteering, and they aren't available every game, so it looks like we'll only have 1 volunteer per game. What are the most important jobs that we need to fill? Perhaps one person could do field setup and score keeping each week, and that'll have to be enough." And then when you get his/her okay on that plan, you can send another email out to the team parents just saying "hey, because we are short on volunteers this season, we'll only be able to have field setup and score keeping during games and will not be able to do X, Y and Z. If you are interested in helping out so we can do more, let me know, there's definitely still time!" And then call it a day.

It really depends on the league. My experience with our LL is more like yours with your parents. Our teams have 3 coaches (a head coach who asks 2 dads for help/coach with him). If one of those dads can’t attend a certain week or game- no biggie- they ask another dad to help. Field prep is done by whatever dads are standing around before games. It tends to be the same group of more involved dads (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the dads help in some form)) through the years. Usually one of the dads keeps score too. Occasionally a mom will do this but not usually. The rest of the parents don’t really do anything. When the kids are very small (think tball type age) there may be a team mom but all she does is organize the snack schedule. Basically there is a small portion of parents who are heavily involved, and the rest who aren’t at all. Seems to work for everyone in our league. School and other activity volunteers tend to be the same (small percentage of parents doing everything)- often it evens out, but there are of course some parents who never volunteer for anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:56 -- most of these tasks can be done either a few minutes before the game starts, or during the game itself. It's not a big lift. Field prep is usually some dads out raking the fields and re-chalking lines if necessary.

If the team uses teamsnap, you can have a health check filled out in there -- thus eliminating the need to have a "covid" coach. If someone needs to do the screening, that can also take place as kids arrive for warmups. So you show up 5 minutes earlier than the kids are scheduled, and sit on the bleachers and check the kids in.

(not OP)

14:56 here - sorry to hijack your thread, OP, I'm just finding this kinda fascinating (though entirely theoretically for me at this stage).

Yes, I see that a lot of these jobs are small, and not a big lift. But I also assume that "Majors" means you're not talking about five year olds. If my 11 year old is in Little League, I might not go to every single game. And when I do, I might often have other, younger kids in tow that make a volunteer task (even a small one) difficult to handle. Or I might be dropping him off for warmups and then running an errand and coming back. Or whatever. And again, for me personally, I could see a situation where I'm the Girl Scout troop leader, doing tons of work for that, and not planning on doing any volunteering for baseball, as it would just be too much.

I would absolutely expect to be ASKED. Perhaps even begged and pleaded with - and if it was a small task and my kid really loved baseball, I might even cave. But there's so much space, to me, between that and getting a "Here's your assigned volunteer times. Switch if you're busy" email which, again, if it wasn't made clear up front that pitching in was required, I would find really, really presumptuous.

DP. I am a Girl Scout leader, and I can tell you from years of experience that when you are begging and pleading with families over and over again to volunteer and no one does, and when the girls don't get to sell cookies or go on camping trips because you can't get volunteers, it gets really old after a while. This is probably my last year as a leader because I'm so fed up with it. The same thing happens with parent coaches, team managers, etc. They agree to take on these roles for the benefit of everyone's kids, and then get burned out from the lack of help. If you don't want your kid to lose the parent leader of their activity, you have to pitch in. If I don't quit after this year, it will only be because we make it mandatory that people commit to volunteer roles for next year this spring, before they re-register their kids for next year.

In addition to being a troop leader, I also volunteer for both of my kids' sports teams. The trick is to sign up early when the request goes out so you can pick something that suits you. One is a rec team so it's really just snack duty, and by signing up early I can pick a convenient weekend for me. The other is a travel team, and everyone is required to sign up for some role (or one will be assigned to them). Some of the volunteer roles are for discrete events where they need a good chunk of time for the event, but only over the course of a week or so. Others are less of a time commitment any given week, but go on all year long. Since I have the year-long Girl Scout commitment, I prefer the discrete events, so as soon as that sign-up comes out I jump in to grab whatever suits me best rather than having to pick from the leftovers.