# What do Team Managers do, exactly?



## Woodwork (Feb 22, 2017)

Can anyone who has done it tell me the job responsibilities?


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## Woodwork (Feb 22, 2017)

TCD said:


> is that the same as team manager?


That's what I mean.  I will change the title.  Thanks for replying.

Edit: Apparently we can't edit the OP or title.  Lame.  Yes.  Team Manager is what I mean.


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## espola (Feb 22, 2017)

It will vary from club to club and team to team.  From my experience - 

Manage player documents - player cards, registration, medical clearance, certified copies of birth certificates.  I kept them in clear folders in a 3-ring binder.

Working with team coach and club management, schedule practices, games, tournaments, travel, meals, parties.

Set up carpooling for players and parents to practices and games.

Collect and track club payments and money for team funds, which goes to coaching fees and expenses, tournament entry fees, uniforms and associated equipment.  You might want to set up a separate checking account for this, or take over one created for the team last year.  Some managers communicate finance information only to the coach; others send out a complete spreadsheet with full details for all players.

Schedule snack parents, bench parents, pop-up parents, first-aid parents, hotel and transportation schedulers, etc.  All this works best if done early.

Communicate with everyone - better too much than not enough.


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## zebrafish (Feb 22, 2017)

From a distance, it seems to border on a full-time job in terms of commitment.


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## Frank (Feb 22, 2017)

espola said:


> It will vary from club to club and team to team.  From my experience -
> 
> Manage player documents - player cards, registration, medical clearance, certified copies of birth certificates.  I kept them in clear folders in a 3-ring binder.
> 
> ...


Great list. I would also add

- play team psychologist at times settling down upset parents/players/coaches
- recruiting, at least I do it.
- fundraiser


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## espola (Feb 22, 2017)

Frank said:


> Great list. I would also add
> 
> - play team psychologist at times settling down upset parents/players/coaches
> - recruiting, at least I do it.


One team manager I knew carried a bag of lollipops for parents who couldn't keep their mouths shut during games.


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## pewpew (Feb 22, 2017)

Don't forget GPS Coordinator for the parents who get lost even with the playing location sent days or even weeks ahead via email and text. Smart phones can only do so much for the operator. You definitely need to know your whereabouts and sense of direction. 
As far as fundraisers..if given the option many parents would rather just pay for the tournament or whatever it is you're trying to raise money for instead of the hassle of doing a fundraiser. Sometimes it's a risk vs reward thing... and you don't always seem to come out ahead for all your efforts vs just paying up front. My .02


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## pewpew (Feb 22, 2017)

And yes..it does feel like a full-time job sometimes. Patience, diplomacy, good communication skills are a must. Some teams it's a thankless position..other times everyone appreciates the work you do. Transparency is a must when it involves people giving you money to pay for things. Keeping receipts and good record-keeping keeps all the doubters at bay as to where the money is being spent.


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## JackZ (Feb 23, 2017)

pewpew said:


> And yes..it does feel like a full-time job sometimes. Patience, diplomacy, good communication skills are a must. Some teams it's a thankless position..other times everyone appreciates the work you do. Transparency is a must when it involves people giving you money to pay for things. Keeping receipts and good record-keeping keeps all the doubters at bay as to where the money is being spent.


It's also a big help to have treasurer along with a team manager - it's what our club recommends. Multiple eyes on the money, extra hand to help with collections and payments, and of course transparency.


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## bababooey (Feb 23, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> Can anyone who has done it tell me the job responsibilities?


Simple answer.....A LOT!

It's a thankless job. Every team manager that I have been associated with has been off the charts amazing!


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## bababooey (Feb 23, 2017)

Frank said:


> Great list. I would also add
> 
> - play team psychologist at times settling down upset parents/players/coaches
> - recruiting, at least I do it.
> - fundraiser


Easier for the team manager to be a recruiter when the HC is a great coach


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## younothat (Feb 23, 2017)

Manage the Asylum







Seriously a good manager is a real asset and helps the coach and org out dealing with a myriad of things that need to be done for/with our youth players.


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## LASTMAN14 (Feb 23, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> Can anyone who has done it tell me the job responsibilities?


Everything aforementioned is 100% accurate. Only thing I can add that I do as a manager (our club calls us TA's) is set up luncheons during tournaments. Great time for all to get out the sun, let the kids and parents hang out, and have a few beers (my favorite part).


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## watfly (Feb 23, 2017)

Also may include responsibility for game jerseys, including washing between weekends.


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## Buckyballer (Feb 23, 2017)

Setting the budget and collecting the money from the parents was by far and away the hardest part of the job.  If the coach is good and the parents are easy going, no problem, but if the coach is a hot head and the parents tend to the crazy - all bets are off.  

To do the job well, it helps to not work outside the home


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## espola (Feb 23, 2017)

In my manager days, I got to the field once without my book of player and game documents.  Luckily, it was a home gme, so I was bable to get back and forth in time.

Not so lucky was the manager of a team my son was coaching.  She got to Temecula without her book, and didn't make the round trip in time for the game, so it was ruled a forfeit, and then a friendly.


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## Woodwork (Feb 23, 2017)

Thanks, everyone.  Great information.


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## Surfref (Feb 24, 2017)

Some of the best team managers I have dealt with as a referee were the ones that also had a coaches license.  I think it is a good idea to have the team manager go through a coaching clinic and get their coaches card.  That way they can cover for the coach if they are running late or get kicked out of a game.


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## Porkchop (Feb 24, 2017)

communication on a weekly bases to team parents


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## espola (Feb 24, 2017)

Surfref said:


> Some of the best team managers I have dealt with as a referee were the ones that also had a coaches license.  I think it is a good idea to have the team manager go through a coaching clinic and get their coaches card.  That way they can cover for the coach if they are running late or get kicked out of a game.


That sometimes works the other way around.  I became a team manager partly because I had a coach's license.


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## Mystery Train (Feb 24, 2017)

Another note:  if you are the TA/manager for a coach who is a poor communicator or the least bit disorganized, your job will be 3-4x harder.  I was the manager for 3 different coaches and each was a totally different experience.  What makes it even harder is if the club has poor communication lines too, which ours did.  Confusion about dates, practice locations, schedules, requirements...sometimes I thought I was the only one trying to keep it together.  On the other hand, a really involved coach who communicates directly with the parents makes the job way easier.  With our last coach, all I had to do was show up at the field with the cards on game day.  He did almost everything else.  And I definitely second the recommendation to have a separate treasurer.


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## Dargle (Feb 24, 2017)

Surfref said:


> Some of the best team managers I have dealt with as a referee were the ones that also had a coaches license.  I think it is a good idea to have the team manager go through a coaching clinic and get their coaches card.  That way they can cover for the coach if they are running late or get kicked out of a game.


CSL permits a team manager to be the emergency coach with an F license, which is completely online.  I think Cal South did as well at State Cup.  So, it's really not difficult to acquire it.


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## MWN (Feb 24, 2017)

Think of the team manager as the Staff Sergeant and the parents the Privates with a few Corporals thrown in.  The Team Manager leads this rag-tag group of complainers and chauffeurs into battle.  As noted, the team manager is basically the right-hand person for the coach, hopefully, freeing the coach up to coach the players.  The team manager does the paperwork, communicates the necessary details, and makes sure the various Cal South / League / Club documents are at hand on game day.

A few mistakes I have seen some team managers make is ...

1. Lack the backbone needed to control the troops.  The SCDSL will have the parents sit on one side and the coach/players on the other.  The team manager needs to sit with their parents.  Maybe a lollipop will work, but when Loudmouth Parent 1 and Idiot Parent No. 2 start getting out of hand, the Team Manager must be the one to pull these two jokers aside and enforce the rules of the League/Club/Team.  He/She also needs to communicate with the opposing team manager if things are getting out of hand over their or parents begin editorializing.  I've seen many team managers that have all the organizational skills, but lack the backbone to confront their own parents and/or talk to the opposing team manager.  Its the team managers job to to that (especially in the SCDSL, see, http://www.scdslsoccer.com/_files/2016gamedayinstructions.pdf)

2. Print the schedule out on some nicely formatted sheet and deliver it to the parents before the season.  BIG MISTAKE, because schedules always change ... field number changed, game time, etc.

3. Take on too much basic stuff.  At a certain point, if a grown-ass parent cannot figure out how to look up a schedule online and devine appropriate driving directions on their own ... club soccer isn't for them.  

Communication is the key.  If you decide to be a team manager skip the emails and text and use Remind (its probably on everybody's smartphone anyway).  Make the coach send his/her own damn messages through remind so nothing gets lost in translation.


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## Overlap (Feb 24, 2017)

Surfref said:


> Some of the best team managers I have dealt with as a referee were the ones that also had a coaches license.  I think it is a good idea to have the team manager go through a coaching clinic and get their coaches card.  That way they can cover for the coach if they are running late or get kicked out of a game.


Right!..my DD's coach got tossed in a big game, I was the only one with my coaching card, wild game. I jumped in to finish it, the girls won and I can now say I'm the only undefeated coach in the club. Woohoo!


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## Sheriff Joe (Feb 24, 2017)

espola said:


> In my manager days, I got to the field once without my book of player and game documents.  Luckily, it was a home gme, so I was bable to get back and forth in time.
> 
> Not so lucky was the manager of a team my son was coaching.  She got to Temecula without her book, and didn't make the round trip in time for the game, so it was ruled a forfeit, and then a friendly.


Were you drunk when you posted this? Grampa.


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## Lambchop (Feb 24, 2017)

MWN said:


> Think of the team manager as the Staff Sergeant and the parents the Privates with a few Corporals thrown in.  The Team Manager leads this rag-tag group of complainers and chauffeurs into battle.  As noted, the team manager is basically the right-hand person for the coach, hopefully, freeing the coach up to coach the players.  The team manager does the paperwork, communicates the necessary details, and makes sure the various Cal South / League / Club documents are at hand on game day.
> 
> A few mistakes I have seen some team managers make is ...
> 
> ...


Everybody needs to remember the team manager is an unpaid, volunteer position.  If you don't like the way something is being done, you volunteer to take over or be the next years team manager.


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## espola (Feb 24, 2017)

Sheriff Joe said:


> Were you drunk when you posted this? Grampa.


q.e.d.


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