Tips from a "Team Mom"

This post is from last year and I thought it might be helpful again.
Pete

Tips from a team mom
 
My name is Terri and my daughter, Hannah plays on the 14's National team.  This is my first year as team mom and it has been a blast. 
 
The way I think about team mom is that I am NOT responsible for doing everything.  My main jobs, as I see it (and the way that it has worked for our team) is communication, organization,  delegation, and team morale.
 
Communication:
I think this is the most important part of my job.  If I can be in charge of team communication, it frees the coach up to spend more time with our girls.  It can help the coach by having one person to go through rather than having the same conversation with 10 different families.  Our coach is still accessible to the families, but doesn't have to worry about the small details.  I talk to our coach a couple of times a week to find out if she has anything she wants to communicate to the team and ask questions that may have come up during the week.  Our team communicates primarily through e-mail, but before our first out-of-town tournament this year, I am going to look into a group text app for my phone.  I think that will help if there are last minute changes.  I will let you know how it goes.
 
Organization:
I spend a lot of my time organizing things for the team.  This could mean keeping food lists for tournaments, fun activities for the kids, organizing volunteers for when you host a tournament, etc.
 
Delegation:
I am extremely fortunate that on our team I have a lot of really great parents who are eager to pitch in and help.  This is most evident when we plan lunches for our tournaments.  Everyone signs up to bring something and the girls have plenty.
 
Team morale:
The girls spend a lot of time together playing volleyball, but how they get along together off the court is a big part of the game, too.  Our team has a non-volleyball activity every month-6 weeks.  We have done a team dinner and a lock-in so far this year.  We also try to plan an activity for the out-of-town tournaments.  This can be as simple as getting ice cream or watching a movie in one of the girl's hotel rooms (or ding-dong-ditching the coach, shhh don't tell).  A part of team morale is also being positive and excited about your team.  Make a point to include every girl and each family.
 
Some other important reminders:

• As team mom you should stay in close communication with your coach and families.  If a family member is unhappy, you should refer him/her to the coach or Director.  It is not your job to solve personal conflicts and it is better to let a staff person handle that.
• Most tournaments allow you to bring in a table for lunch/snacks.  You will have to check with each tournament ahead of time.  We have had several tournaments say they would not allow outside food and drink that actually were fine with team tables.  I think it is better for the girls to eat some healthy things that we provide rather than eat out of the snack bar all day.  These tournaments can last ALL DAY and the girls play really hard.
• If a tournament doesn't allow a team table, then we tailgate in the parking lot or have the girls put waters and snacks in their bags so they always have something.
• Start a bag with stuff that you bring to every tournament.  Ours includes:  hair ties, rubber bands, first aid kit, feminine hygeine stuff, wet wipes, ziplocks, hand sanitizer, paper towels, etc.
• Smaller tournaments or really large tournaments sometimes are lacking places for the girls to sit and hang out between games.  A big blanket is nice to keep them up off of the floor.
• Tournament results are important for OKRVA regional tournament

We asked Terri for her suggestions last year and we are republishing them.
Have a great week!