Did Covid disrupt the parent volunteer pipeline

[Anonymous]

Mom cliques did this to themselves, sorrynotsorry

Team Venmo Mom

[Anonymous]

From my informal poll from a support group I'm, the main reasons seem to be financial insecurity, depression, and exhaustion.

Some responses:

"I'm a hopin' and a prayin' that my bank account stays out of the negative"

"Getting out of bed and going to work takes up all of my energy."

"Some days I can't even get myself to brush my teeth."

"I'm barely working part-time, but I'm so exhausted from working that I'm literally in bed all day on my days off."

I imagine that for parents living paycheck to paycheck, time is money, and you're less likely to volunteer to do something for free. And if you can barely get yourself to work or brush your teeth, then you're not going to have the energy to volunteer for anything.

And these are parents that understand they are struggling and are trying to get help to get better.

I think kids, parents, teachers, and just people in general, are all stressed. I think there's a lot of undiagnosed severe depression and not enough support for those that are diagnosed. There's a ton of exhaustion. Definitely financial insecurity.

Too many people are at their limit. Jaded, pessimistic, defeated, frustrated and just trying to survive. Whether or not COVID is responsible or just exacerbated these issues, it's not really a surprise that no one wants to volunteer their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't run the clock or keep the book at one basketball game all season, don't sign your kid up for rec basketball. These are basic jobs someone needs to do for the game to happen, and your $85 fee does not cover hiring the jobs out.

Then *say* that at signup.

Say, parents who don’t have time to score keep or time keep at basketball games are not welcome to sign up their kids. We won’t sign them up. We aren’t doing it to upset you by not meeting your unmet expectations no, we do not have time to do unscheduled volunteer work when it best suits you.

This particular example is common sense, though. Anyone who has ever been to a basketball game knows there is a clock and fouls are tracked. Who exactly do you think will be doing these tasks for your 12 year old's game for $90 a season, if not you, the parents?

It’s really not though. Two of my kids’ activities are very explicit about the involvement required of the parents. We are expected as a family to volunteer x hours per year. It’s in the registration paperwork, crystal clear. If basketball requires this then they need to be explicit and send out signups throughout the season to make sure all games are adequately staffed. Making assumptions is what gets these leagues in trouble.

Who is creating all these signups and managing them? A volunteer who is already overloaded with all the other aspecrs of running a league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't run the clock or keep the book at one basketball game all season, don't sign your kid up for rec basketball. These are basic jobs someone needs to do for the game to happen, and your $85 fee does not cover hiring the jobs out.

Then *say* that at signup.

Say, parents who don’t have time to score keep or time keep at basketball games are not welcome to sign up their kids. We won’t sign them up. We aren’t doing it to upset you by not meeting your unmet expectations no, we do not have time to do unscheduled volunteer work when it best suits you.

This particular example is common sense, though. Anyone who has ever been to a basketball game knows there is a clock and fouls are tracked. Who exactly do you think will be doing these tasks for your 12 year old's game for $90 a season, if not you, the parents?

It’s really not though. Two of my kids’ activities are very explicit about the involvement required of the parents. We are expected as a family to volunteer x hours per year. It’s in the registration paperwork, crystal clear. If basketball requires this then they need to be explicit and send out signups throughout the season to make sure all games are adequately staffed. Making assumptions is what gets these leagues in trouble.

Who is creating all these signups and managing them? A volunteer who is already overloaded with all the other aspecrs of running a league.

No, the paid people who run the programs. it’s their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't run the clock or keep the book at one basketball game all season, don't sign your kid up for rec basketball. These are basic jobs someone needs to do for the game to happen, and your $85 fee does not cover hiring the jobs out.

Then *say* that at signup.

Say, parents who don’t have time to score keep or time keep at basketball games are not welcome to sign up their kids. We won’t sign them up. We aren’t doing it to upset you by not meeting your unmet expectations no, we do not have time to do unscheduled volunteer work when it best suits you.

This particular example is common sense, though. Anyone who has ever been to a basketball game knows there is a clock and fouls are tracked. Who exactly do you think will be doing these tasks for your 12 year old's game for $90 a season, if not you, the parents?

It’s really not though. Two of my kids’ activities are very explicit about the involvement required of the parents. We are expected as a family to volunteer x hours per year. It’s in the registration paperwork, crystal clear. If basketball requires this then they need to be explicit and send out signups throughout the season to make sure all games are adequately staffed. Making assumptions is what gets these leagues in trouble.

Who is creating all these signups and managing them? A volunteer who is already overloaded with all the other aspecrs of running a league.

No, the paid people who run the programs. it’s their job.

What paid people? No one is paid to run rec basketball leagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't run the clock or keep the book at one basketball game all season, don't sign your kid up for rec basketball. These are basic jobs someone needs to do for the game to happen, and your $85 fee does not cover hiring the jobs out.

Then *say* that at signup.

Say, parents who don’t have time to score keep or time keep at basketball games are not welcome to sign up their kids. We won’t sign them up. We aren’t doing it to upset you by not meeting your unmet expectations no, we do not have time to do unscheduled volunteer work when it best suits you.

This particular example is common sense, though. Anyone who has ever been to a basketball game knows there is a clock and fouls are tracked. Who exactly do you think will be doing these tasks for your 12 year old's game for $90 a season, if not you, the parents?

It’s really not though. Two of my kids’ activities are very explicit about the involvement required of the parents. We are expected as a family to volunteer x hours per year. It’s in the registration paperwork, crystal clear. If basketball requires this then they need to be explicit and send out signups throughout the season to make sure all games are adequately staffed. Making assumptions is what gets these leagues in trouble.

Who is creating all these signups and managing them? A volunteer who is already overloaded with all the other aspecrs of running a league.

No, the paid people who run the programs. it’s their job.

What paid people? No one is paid to run rec basketball leagues.

I didn’t say my examples were rec basketball. But if rec basketball can’t make it work by charging pennies and relying heavily on non existent volunteers then it doesn’t deserve to survive. People have more money than time and will pay for convenience of well run leagues that can hold a game without chasing people around to their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't run the clock or keep the book at one basketball game all season, don't sign your kid up for rec basketball. These are basic jobs someone needs to do for the game to happen, and your $85 fee does not cover hiring the jobs out.

Then *say* that at signup.

Say, parents who don’t have time to score keep or time keep at basketball games are not welcome to sign up their kids. We won’t sign them up. We aren’t doing it to upset you by not meeting your unmet expectations no, we do not have time to do unscheduled volunteer work when it best suits you.

This particular example is common sense, though. Anyone who has ever been to a basketball game knows there is a clock and fouls are tracked. Who exactly do you think will be doing these tasks for your 12 year old's game for $90 a season, if not you, the parents?

In the Rec league I played in elementary school, they paid high school students $10/game to run the book and clock. If I signed my kid up for basketball I would assume they did something similar, whether or not you think it’s “common sense”.

So, be explicit in your asks because people will be coming to this from a different perspective than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the hiding in the cars thing is pathetic

It seems like something only a deeply burned out parent would do. One who is probably asked to do 10,000 “extra” things and the scoreboard is one too many (they probably need to take a work call or write five emails during the game). They got their kid to the game, that has to be enough.

Do you not think the person doing the asking also has work calls, five emails (some about the league!), and 10,000 extra things to do?

Volunteers don't magically have more bandwidth than everyone else. They just make room.

Magically? No. But they have time to volunteer and they have proactively decided to volunteer at that time.

The person you’re mad at not running the scoreboard? How do you know she didn’t just come from (volunteer) coaching swimming? How do you know the emails she needs to do during the game aren’t themselves volunteer work? If you choose to volunteer for soccer that’s great, you don’t get to choose it for everyone else.

OK, if you don't want to volunteer for soccer and the league is about to fold, then you can find a new soccer league I guess. These things don't magically run themselves and if nobody wants to help that's cool - it'll be pay-to-play on the pre-academy U6 team if you want to learn to dribble a soccer ball. Sorry if you can't afford that or didn't want your 5 year old at 2 practices a week. Nobody cared enough to keep rec going.

Ok, so you guilt the mom out of the car. She runs your scoreboard, and doesn’t do whatever she needed to do after coaching swimming. Now it’s next summer and she drops coaching swimming because she’s fried. That’s fine because at least there is soccer? Or is what she chose to use her time for as valuable as what you chose to use your time for— no summer swim team for your kid at your pool isn’t less of a tragedy than no Rec soccer.

Be real. The parents who hide outside or "on the phone" and then sneak in once the game has begun are NEVER the parent who also
runs the swim team. Its the same parents helping out with all the different sports and the same parents not helping out (some for legit reasons, some are just selfish and lazy).

It’s really insular to assume you know every activity her kid is in and that yours shares it. Ok maybe you swim at the same pool but do you do every other activity with every parent who isn’t score keeping for you?

Going into this with the presumption that nothing a parent is doing could POSSIBLY be as important as score keeping basketball is rude and entitled. Whatever they’re doing may benefit your kid— or not— but it’s not up to you to prioritize their time, especially if you’re not willing to say up front “each family needs to score keep for x games”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the child-related volunteer mental/emotional/physical labor is done by moms and the newer generation of moms are not into doing free labor that is being taken for granted and baked in to the school budgets. They no longer need or want that validation.

This is pretty true. The reason men aren't very involved in PTA is that it's very little tangible and financial reward for time spent. You have to see and value the intangible community-building aspect of it.

I was asked to step in and run a PTA craft fair fundraiser with six weeks notice. The financial return to the PTA was fairly equivalent to what the women leaders involved would have earned in hourly billings as freelance consultants, ad agency, graphic designers. We probably could have raised just as much money with a straight appeal for cash donations. I did the work because cancelling would have cost the PTA money. But I would rather have just donated. It cost me two days vacation and about a work week of personal time. Some people think craft fairs are a fun community activity. I don't. We are not doing it this year because nobody stepped up to kick it off. We will fundraise a different way or spend less. So we don't give out free snacks during exam week and tickets to the after-graduation event cost more. The world will keep turning. I do PTA so I can get in front of administrators about academic concerns.

At least you admitted it.

PP. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using PTA as a way to communicate with administrators. It costs $10 to join. The monthly meetings are open and the principals come to talk about the school and take questions. That's what I mean about "getting in front of administrators". I ask them my questions then, from the role of a member/board member.

I will further state that nobody likes complainers who contribute nothing. So I volunteer for PTA and do work so I'm not a do-nothing complainer. Because I complain a lot. I'll admit that volunteering gets me a little credibility but it's no giant conspiratorial benefit. I'd say as far as it goes is, they believe my concerns are valid. Instead of being skeptical. Most of the time they don't have the resources to act on my suggestions anyway. But at least they give more credence that there are issues.

Feel free to come to the PTA meeting and gain your own credibility by attending regularly and speaking up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the child-related volunteer mental/emotional/physical labor is done by moms and the newer generation of moms are not into doing free labor that is being taken for granted and baked in to the school budgets. They no longer need or want that validation.

This is pretty true. The reason men aren't very involved in PTA is that it's very little tangible and financial reward for time spent. You have to see and value the intangible community-building aspect of it.

I was asked to step in and run a PTA craft fair fundraiser with six weeks notice. The financial return to the PTA was fairly equivalent to what the women leaders involved would have earned in hourly billings as freelance consultants, ad agency, graphic designers. We probably could have raised just as much money with a straight appeal for cash donations. I did the work because cancelling would have cost the PTA money. But I would rather have just donated. It cost me two days vacation and about a work week of personal time. Some people think craft fairs are a fun community activity. I don't. We are not doing it this year because nobody stepped up to kick it off. We will fundraise a different way or spend less. So we don't give out free snacks during exam week and tickets to the after-graduation event cost more. The world will keep turning. I do PTA so I can get in front of administrators about academic concerns.

At least you admitted it.

PP. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using PTA as a way to communicate with administrators. It costs $10 to join. The monthly meetings are open and the principals come to talk about the school and take questions. That's what I mean about "getting in front of administrators". I ask them my questions then, from the role of a member/board member.

I will further state that nobody likes complainers who contribute nothing. So I volunteer for PTA and do work so I'm not a do-nothing complainer. Because I complain a lot. I'll admit that volunteering gets me a little credibility but it's no giant conspiratorial benefit. I'd say as far as it goes is, they believe my concerns are valid. Instead of being skeptical. Most of the time they don't have the resources to act on my suggestions anyway. But at least they give more credence that there are issues.

Feel free to come to the PTA meeting and gain your own credibility by attending regularly and speaking up.

ummm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the child-related volunteer mental/emotional/physical labor is done by moms and the newer generation of moms are not into doing free labor that is being taken for granted and baked in to the school budgets. They no longer need or want that validation.

This is pretty true. The reason men aren't very involved in PTA is that it's very little tangible and financial reward for time spent. You have to see and value the intangible community-building aspect of it.

I was asked to step in and run a PTA craft fair fundraiser with six weeks notice. The financial return to the PTA was fairly equivalent to what the women leaders involved would have earned in hourly billings as freelance consultants, ad agency, graphic designers. We probably could have raised just as much money with a straight appeal for cash donations. I did the work because cancelling would have cost the PTA money. But I would rather have just donated. It cost me two days vacation and about a work week of personal time. Some people think craft fairs are a fun community activity. I don't. We are not doing it this year because nobody stepped up to kick it off. We will fundraise a different way or spend less. So we don't give out free snacks during exam week and tickets to the after-graduation event cost more. The world will keep turning. I do PTA so I can get in front of administrators about academic concerns.

At least you admitted it.

PP. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using PTA as a way to communicate with administrators. It costs $10 to join. The monthly meetings are open and the principals come to talk about the school and take questions. That's what I mean about "getting in front of administrators". I ask them my questions then, from the role of a member/board member.

I will further state that nobody likes complainers who contribute nothing. So I volunteer for PTA and do work so I'm not a do-nothing complainer. Because I complain a lot. I'll admit that volunteering gets me a little credibility but it's no giant conspiratorial benefit. I'd say as far as it goes is, they believe my concerns are valid. Instead of being skeptical. Most of the time they don't have the resources to act on my suggestions anyway. But at least they give more credence that there are issues.

Feel free to come to the PTA meeting and gain your own credibility by attending regularly and speaking up.

This makes me less likely to want to go to the PTA meeting where the blowhards and loudmouths get on their soapboxes about their pet issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the hiding in the cars thing is pathetic

It seems like something only a deeply burned out parent would do. One who is probably asked to do 10,000 “extra” things and the scoreboard is one too many (they probably need to take a work call or write five emails during the game). They got their kid to the game, that has to be enough.

Do you not think the person doing the asking also has work calls, five emails (some about the league!), and 10,000 extra things to do?

Volunteers don't magically have more bandwidth than everyone else. They just make room.

Magically? No. But they have time to volunteer and they have proactively decided to volunteer at that time.

The person you’re mad at not running the scoreboard? How do you know she didn’t just come from (volunteer) coaching swimming? How do you know the emails she needs to do during the game aren’t themselves volunteer work? If you choose to volunteer for soccer that’s great, you don’t get to choose it for everyone else.

OK, if you don't want to volunteer for soccer and the league is about to fold, then you can find a new soccer league I guess. These things don't magically run themselves and if nobody wants to help that's cool - it'll be pay-to-play on the pre-academy U6 team if you want to learn to dribble a soccer ball. Sorry if you can't afford that or didn't want your 5 year old at 2 practices a week. Nobody cared enough to keep rec going.

Ok, so you guilt the mom out of the car. She runs your scoreboard, and doesn’t do whatever she needed to do after coaching swimming. Now it’s next summer and she drops coaching swimming because she’s fried. That’s fine because at least there is soccer? Or is what she chose to use her time for as valuable as what you chose to use your time for— no summer swim team for your kid at your pool isn’t less of a tragedy than no Rec soccer.

Be real. The parents who hide outside or "on the phone" and then sneak in once the game has begun are NEVER the parent who also
runs the swim team. Its the same parents helping out with all the different sports and the same parents not helping out (some for legit reasons, some are just selfish and lazy).

It’s really insular to assume you know every activity her kid is in and that yours shares it. Ok maybe you swim at the same pool but do you do every other activity with every parent who isn’t score keeping for you?

Going into this with the presumption that nothing a parent is doing could POSSIBLY be as important as score keeping basketball is rude and entitled. Whatever they’re doing may benefit your kid— or not— but it’s not up to you to prioritize their time, especially if you’re not willing to say up front “each family needs to score keep for x games”

Everyone knows its the same parents who volunteer for multiple activities. You see the same parents helping out across multiple activities in your community. In pp's example, the same people ducking out on their swim team hours are the same people hiding in their car or pretending to be on the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the hiding in the cars thing is pathetic

It seems like something only a deeply burned out parent would do. One who is probably asked to do 10,000 “extra” things and the scoreboard is one too many (they probably need to take a work call or write five emails during the game). They got their kid to the game, that has to be enough.

Do you not think the person doing the asking also has work calls, five emails (some about the league!), and 10,000 extra things to do?

Volunteers don't magically have more bandwidth than everyone else. They just make room.

Magically? No. But they have time to volunteer and they have proactively decided to volunteer at that time.

The person you’re mad at not running the scoreboard? How do you know she didn’t just come from (volunteer) coaching swimming? How do you know the emails she needs to do during the game aren’t themselves volunteer work? If you choose to volunteer for soccer that’s great, you don’t get to choose it for everyone else.

OK, if you don't want to volunteer for soccer and the league is about to fold, then you can find a new soccer league I guess. These things don't magically run themselves and if nobody wants to help that's cool - it'll be pay-to-play on the pre-academy U6 team if you want to learn to dribble a soccer ball. Sorry if you can't afford that or didn't want your 5 year old at 2 practices a week. Nobody cared enough to keep rec going.

Ok, so you guilt the mom out of the car. She runs your scoreboard, and doesn’t do whatever she needed to do after coaching swimming. Now it’s next summer and she drops coaching swimming because she’s fried. That’s fine because at least there is soccer? Or is what she chose to use her time for as valuable as what you chose to use your time for— no summer swim team for your kid at your pool isn’t less of a tragedy than no Rec soccer.

Be real. The parents who hide outside or "on the phone" and then sneak in once the game has begun are NEVER the parent who also
runs the swim team. Its the same parents helping out with all the different sports and the same parents not helping out (some for legit reasons, some are just selfish and lazy).

It’s really insular to assume you know every activity her kid is in and that yours shares it. Ok maybe you swim at the same pool but do you do every other activity with every parent who isn’t score keeping for you?

Going into this with the presumption that nothing a parent is doing could POSSIBLY be as important as score keeping basketball is rude and entitled. Whatever they’re doing may benefit your kid— or not— but it’s not up to you to prioritize their time, especially if you’re not willing to say up front “each family needs to score keep for x games”

Everyone knows its the same parents who volunteer for multiple activities. You see the same parents helping out across multiple activities in your community. In pp's example, the same people ducking out on their swim team hours are the same people hiding in their car or pretending to be on the phone.

I don’t think “everyone knows” that at all. I think a lot of people make presumptions about other people’s time and efforts, often in an attempt to make themselves seem noble and self sacrificing. It is certainly true that there’s highly visible people repeat-volunteering in lots of areas. It’s also true that the person spending their time not score keeping at the basketball game may be doing something more consequential— and less visible— than you realize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the hiding in the cars thing is pathetic

It seems like something only a deeply burned out parent would do. One who is probably asked to do 10,000 “extra” things and the scoreboard is one too many (they probably need to take a work call or write five emails during the game). They got their kid to the game, that has to be enough.

Do you not think the person doing the asking also has work calls, five emails (some about the league!), and 10,000 extra things to do?

Volunteers don't magically have more bandwidth than everyone else. They just make room.

Magically? No. But they have time to volunteer and they have proactively decided to volunteer at that time.

The person you’re mad at not running the scoreboard? How do you know she didn’t just come from (volunteer) coaching swimming? How do you know the emails she needs to do during the game aren’t themselves volunteer work? If you choose to volunteer for soccer that’s great, you don’t get to choose it for everyone else.

OK, if you don't want to volunteer for soccer and the league is about to fold, then you can find a new soccer league I guess. These things don't magically run themselves and if nobody wants to help that's cool - it'll be pay-to-play on the pre-academy U6 team if you want to learn to dribble a soccer ball. Sorry if you can't afford that or didn't want your 5 year old at 2 practices a week. Nobody cared enough to keep rec going.

Ok, so you guilt the mom out of the car. She runs your scoreboard, and doesn’t do whatever she needed to do after coaching swimming. Now it’s next summer and she drops coaching swimming because she’s fried. That’s fine because at least there is soccer? Or is what she chose to use her time for as valuable as what you chose to use your time for— no summer swim team for your kid at your pool isn’t less of a tragedy than no Rec soccer.

Be real. The parents who hide outside or "on the phone" and then sneak in once the game has begun are NEVER the parent who also
runs the swim team. Its the same parents helping out with all the different sports and the same parents not helping out (some for legit reasons, some are just selfish and lazy).

It’s really insular to assume you know every activity her kid is in and that yours shares it. Ok maybe you swim at the same pool but do you do every other activity with every parent who isn’t score keeping for you?

Going into this with the presumption that nothing a parent is doing could POSSIBLY be as important as score keeping basketball is rude and entitled. Whatever they’re doing may benefit your kid— or not— but it’s not up to you to prioritize their time, especially if you’re not willing to say up front “each family needs to score keep for x games”

Everyone knows its the same parents who volunteer for multiple activities. You see the same parents helping out across multiple activities in your community. In pp's example, the same people ducking out on their swim team hours are the same people hiding in their car or pretending to be on the phone.

People will always take advantage. Without any stated volunteer commitment up front it can’t be that surprising that people will drop their kids and go. For many it’s just low cost babysitting. If you don’t like the takers then stop letting them register year after year expecting a different result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the hiding in the cars thing is pathetic

It seems like something only a deeply burned out parent would do. One who is probably asked to do 10,000 “extra” things and the scoreboard is one too many (they probably need to take a work call or write five emails during the game). They got their kid to the game, that has to be enough.

Do you not think the person doing the asking also has work calls, five emails (some about the league!), and 10,000 extra things to do?

Volunteers don't magically have more bandwidth than everyone else. They just make room.

Magically? No. But they have time to volunteer and they have proactively decided to volunteer at that time.

The person you’re mad at not running the scoreboard? How do you know she didn’t just come from (volunteer) coaching swimming? How do you know the emails she needs to do during the game aren’t themselves volunteer work? If you choose to volunteer for soccer that’s great, you don’t get to choose it for everyone else.

OK, if you don't want to volunteer for soccer and the league is about to fold, then you can find a new soccer league I guess. These things don't magically run themselves and if nobody wants to help that's cool - it'll be pay-to-play on the pre-academy U6 team if you want to learn to dribble a soccer ball. Sorry if you can't afford that or didn't want your 5 year old at 2 practices a week. Nobody cared enough to keep rec going.

Ok, so you guilt the mom out of the car. She runs your scoreboard, and doesn’t do whatever she needed to do after coaching swimming. Now it’s next summer and she drops coaching swimming because she’s fried. That’s fine because at least there is soccer? Or is what she chose to use her time for as valuable as what you chose to use your time for— no summer swim team for your kid at your pool isn’t less of a tragedy than no Rec soccer.

Be real. The parents who hide outside or "on the phone" and then sneak in once the game has begun are NEVER the parent who also
runs the swim team. Its the same parents helping out with all the different sports and the same parents not helping out (some for legit reasons, some are just selfish and lazy).

It’s really insular to assume you know every activity her kid is in and that yours shares it. Ok maybe you swim at the same pool but do you do every other activity with every parent who isn’t score keeping for you?

Going into this with the presumption that nothing a parent is doing could POSSIBLY be as important as score keeping basketball is rude and entitled. Whatever they’re doing may benefit your kid— or not— but it’s not up to you to prioritize their time, especially if you’re not willing to say up front “each family needs to score keep for x games”

Everyone knows its the same parents who volunteer for multiple activities. You see the same parents helping out across multiple activities in your community. In pp's example, the same people ducking out on their swim team hours are the same people hiding in their car or pretending to be on the phone.

People will always take advantage. Without any stated volunteer commitment up front it can’t be that surprising that people will drop their kids and go. For many it’s just low cost babysitting. If you don’t like the takers then stop letting them register year after year expecting a different result.

That poster is obviously deriving some personal satisfaction from their belief that anyone who doesn’t scorekeep for Rec Basketball is guilty of moral turpitude.

Anecdotally my mother never volunteered for Rec sports. On the other hand she volunteered weekly at the food bank and did a ton of pro-bono legal work. So I think the premise that sports volunteers are the only people contributing to the community is flawed.