Team Manager Role & Responsibilities

No experience or soccer training needed for this role, just enthusiasm! The Team Manager/Team Parent/Team Administrator (all terms mean the same thing) is the Coach’s administrative partner, handling team organizational needs so the Coach can be free to coach. The Team Manager organizes and manages the other parents to maximize the kids’ enjoyment of their AYSO experience.

The overall responsibilities are:

  • Liaison with Division Commissioner in case of changes (i.e., players dropping out).
  • Solicit Volunteers: Remind parents of the importance of “VOLUNTEERISM“ in Region 20 AYSO.  It is their responsibility to contribute/participate to the team that their child is a part of.
    • Ensure at least one parent from EVERY family volunteers for at least one role (Referee, Chaperone, Field Painter, etc.) on the team or the region.
    • Remind parents that it is often necessary to wear more than one volunteer hat, due to the fact that recruiting referees and assistant referees is so important/challenging. (i.e., Chaperone +…, Social Media Person +…, Field Painter +…, Field Equipment Mgmt +…, etc.)
    • RECRUIT Volunteer Referees. Start this right away (in your first correspondence with your parents)!  Referees and assistant referees are one of the most important volunteer roles in AYSO.  Without them we can’t conduct the games.  Instruct prospective parents to make sure they are listed/added in the Family Profile as a registered “volunteer,” and make sure to choose the ‘referee’ role in their Volunteer Preferences (even if they just plan on being an assistant referee). Get them to take the referee training appropriate for your age division.  5u/6u/7u just need a ZOOM meeting and safety courses. 8U-14U need online modules and an in-class session and the safety courses.  The Region will offer courses and seminars to help prepare them for this important (and fun) role.  Send them to the  “Becoming a Referee” link. There are many resources available under the REFEREES quick link of the website. Any questions or need help? Contact Regional Referee Administrator at:  rra@ayso20.org
  • Snacks: maybe schedule (and alternate) parents to provide snacks, bring water or half-time refreshments for the games.
    • Reminder: NO food or ‘colored beverages’ (even coffee, ouch!) allowed at the artificial turf fields:
      • JAMS, Lincoln Middle School, Belmar Park, Airport Park — are “water only.” 
  • No Dogs (or Ponies) Allowed: remind parents that dogs (or ponies) are not allowed at AYSO fields.
  • Game Cards: help the Coach here, they have enough on their plate every weekend!  Make sure you have a Game Card printed up ahead of time for each weekend game. (Once the team is formed, you might as well just print out a dozen or so [for when you get to Playoffs!]).   It will require some fancy two-sided printing. Be sure to print them on good cardstock (not too flimsy or they get messed up in the Assistant Referee’s pocket). Please have the Game Card ready and filled out and give them to the Coach on game day (completely filled out with players in jersey number order). The Referee will ask for these when they are checking in the players before the game.
  • Organize an end-of-season get-together, maybe a gift or card for the coach(es) and referee(s). Player’s medals might be presented at this function as well!

SPECIFIC TEAM MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES (BY WEEK)

WEEK 1

  • Inform Division Commissioner (DC) of player status as soon as you know (drops, confirmations, no responses).
  • Continue to solicit volunteers to staff required roles 
  • Get your Game Card ready for the game. The card has players listed numerically by jersey number (and name). These will need to be provided to the Referee before each game.
  • Make sure volunteers such as Team Manager, Referee, Coach, Assistant Coach, Chaperone have all registered/re-registered as a volunteer with InLeague–they need to do this EVERY year. Background Checks need to be completed every year by volunteers.
  • Check on status of your “referees.”  Start this “pre-season” and work on it regularly until you recruit enough referees. Make sure they have started/done their online “safety courses” (Safe Haven, CDC Concussion, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, SafeSport) and online referee training modules/exam. Then there is the in-person classroom session that they need to attend. If you/they have questions: rra@ayso20.org
  • Remind parents that 10U/12U/14U teams need to earn “15 Referee Points” in order to be able to advance beyond the initial round of the Playoffs.
  • Collect appropriate paperwork from coaches, referees, & practice chaperones and check their photo IDs.
  • Submit to DC your completed “Team Manager Document Checklist” (found in the Miscellaneous section at the bottom of the Manager Resources page) and collected paperwork in exchange for uniforms.

WEEK 2

  • Distribute team roster to team.
  • Develop snack schedule.
  • Check on status of your “new referees.” Make sure they have started their training and online safety courses (SH, CDC, SCA, SS).  If you/they have questions: rra@ayso20.org
  • Are there any prospective candidates that haven’t stepped up?  Has anyone said they’d do something, but haven’t started the process???  Do you need to work on recruiting more parent referees? More is better so the workload isn’t on the same people every weekend!
  • Remind parents that 10U/12U/14U teams need to earn “15 Referee Points” in order to be able to advance beyond the initial round of the Playoffs.

WEEK 3 AND ONWARDS

  • Remind referees to electronically assign their referee points under the “Allocate Referee Points” icon.
  • Keep track of Referee Volunteer Points during the season earned by the team’s volunteers. This can be found on Game Schedule tab: select “View Division Standings” at the top. The first column is “VPts” (i.e., Volunteer Points earned by referees).
  • Remind parents that 10U/12U/14U teams need to earn “15 Referee Points” in order to be able to advance beyond the initial round of the Playoffs
  • Inform & remind your families about Silent Saturday.
  • Inform families of team photo date and time.

AFTER THANKSGIVING

  • Remind 8U families about 8U end-of-season tournament.
  • Inform families of playoff game times (10U and above).
  • Organize end of season party (many teams contribute for coaches gifts; don’t forget to recognize the referees on your team too).
  • Pick up photos and medals for team for distribution at your end of season party.

ON-GOING ACTIVITIES

  • Recruit more referees/assistant referees
  • Make a team banner???
  • Remind referees to report scores/results; remember to assign their referee points under the “Allocate Referee Points” icon.
  • Help recruit parents to be the referees for your team games. Region 20 AYSO provides uniforms and training. Each team is required to have a minimum number of trained & certified referees available.
  • Remind snack family on Thursday or Friday of each week.
  • Remind parents if first game of the day to help get the goals/field set up. Combos/access to storage will be provided.
  • Remind parents if last game of the day to break down field/goals and return equipment to storage. Combos/access to storage will be provided.
  • Print the Game Card and give to Referee before each game (8U and above). (Please have it filed out and ready–numerical order of players. No subs, goalkeepers need be noted)
  • Find someone (Social Media volunteer) to gather/upload photos to the Region website IT person  it@ayso20.org
  • Remind parents to take action photos of the team and send to Social Media volunteer
  • Inform team of any field closures (school holidays, school events, air quality, rain …) and/or practice or game changes (LINK ON WEBSITE and Twitter Feed).
  • Liaison administrative needs with Division Commissioner.
  • Review “Volunteer Referee Points” total (10U and older) throughout the season so you know where you stand come Playoff time – This “total” can be found on game schedule: Select “View Division Standings” at the top. The first column is “VPts” (i.e., Volunteer Points earned by referees).

HOW TO BECOME A SM AYSO TEAM MANAGER

Volunteers are the lifeblood of AYSO. To ensure the safety of both children and volunteers, each volunteer is required to take a short online training session called Safe Haven™. It focuses on safety and appropriate behavior with children as well as first aid and other on-field issues. Agreeing to a background check is also required for each volunteer, annually.

Becoming Safe Haven™ certified may take a few minutes of your time, but AYSO families know their children’s safety is worth it.  Safe Haven™ is both a child and volunteer protection program. It was the first of its kind in youth sports.

For that reason, we require all Team Managers (as well as Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Referees, & Practice Chaperones)  to take Safe Haven training and recommend it to everyone else in our region.  We should all be cognizant of procedures that will help ensure the safety of our children.

To become a team manager, go to the Complete Adult Volunteer Registration page.