The Ultimate Guide to Being the Best Team Mom

Team moms are the unsung heroes of sports teams – providing snacks, organizing carpools, and doing so many other things to keep the team running smoothly. Being the best team mom is a rewarding role that requires organization and communication. It can feel overwhelming and unnecessary at times, but with the right tools, you can make sure your team runs like a well-oiled machine!

There is much more to being a great team mom than simply showing up to games, which is why we’ve created this ultimate guide! Follow these tips and you’ll be the best team mom out there!

How to Be the Best Team Parents

Being a great team mom is tricky. You need to keep track of practice schedules, game schedules, snack schedules, and try to make things easier for the coach and the other parents. But don’t worry! It’s not impossible to be an amazing team mom if you stay organized. If you get organized and follow these tips, the sports season will be a breeze.

Here are our main tips to help your kids’ coaches make it to game day with less stress!

Here is a checklist of things to do as a team mom:

• Gather contact info for all players
• Gather uniform sizes early
• Coordinate fan shirts and sweatshirts
• Hire a team photographer (if desired)
• Hire a professional to videographer games to review game film or use Hudl
• Set clear expectations for good sportsmanship
• Send around a volunteer sign up
• Send around an after-game snack sign up
• Concession stand sign-ups if required by your league
• Communicate practice times and locations
• Gather game times and locations and communicate them to parents
• Bring Bluetooth stereo for pump up music while players are warming up (if coaches allow)
• Bring extra water to make sure players are hydrated if they run out of their own water
• Bring an insulated cooler with popsicles for players to cool down with
• Consider investing in a misting fan to prevent players from overheating
• Organize end-of-season party
• Coordinate or delegate small team gifts to get the players excited
• Gather donations and purchase gifts for coaches
• Create a team folder (google photos) so all parents add photos they’ve taken throughout the season

Before the season starts

Before the season even starts, it’s important to take a couple of hours and gather needed information so the remainder of the season can go smoothly.

Send out a welcome mail to introduce yourself

Send out a welcome email and introduce yourself as the team mom. Give them your contact information so they can ask questions when needed.

Ask parents about personal info and uniform sizing

Don’t wait until right before you order uniforms to ask for sizes…ask first thing so you can order when you need to instead of waiting on parent replies.

I recommend creating a simple Google form that will easily gather and compile the data FOR YOU! Use technology wherever possible. Here are a few things you may need to ask parents at the beginning of the season:

• Player’s name (and/or nicknames)
• Parent’s names
• Parent’s contact phone numbers
• Parent’s email addresses
• Emergency Contact information
• Player allergies or medical conditions to be aware of
• Uniform sizing
• Willingness to volunteer?

It will also be helpful to parents to distribute applicable information that you’ve gathered to other parents (with their permission). For example, it would be helpful to for a family to have all of the names and contact information of the other team members and parents for carpooling or other reasons.

Set the climate for the Team and for Fans

It’s easy to get heated when the stakes are high. But remind parents at the beginning of the season that the team must be respectful to all players, fans, and refs…despite how they feel about the calls being made.

We teach our kids by our example so it’s most important to show them through our actions how they should treat others.

Some leagues do not tolerate parents yelling at referees and have gone to such lengths that parents aren’t even allowed to watch players for the remainder of the season if they’ve had warnings and don’t follow through with appropriate behavior. Yikes!

Team Fan Gear

One of the easiest ways to show your kids that you care is to be involved in the things that you love. So making an effort to show up to their games in their team colors really means a lot to them! You can either coordinate with other parents on what shirts to purchase, or you can have a team shirt created for the fans.

If you’re unsure of how to show up to your kid’s games in style, you can check out my other article with tons of ideas for game day outfits. I also have another article on Stylish Sports Mom Outfits to wear to your kid’s games.

Either way, a small effort can go a long way when it comes to making your player feel loved.

List of Essentials for Parents

It can be really helpful to prepare parents for the outlook for the upcoming season. If your team plays in the heat of the summer, recommend products that parents should bring to tournaments to help everyone stay cool.

And on the flip side, there are lots of gear ideas to help you stay warm during cold games. There are a huge variety of sports mom essentials that parents will find really helpful!

Show Appreciation to Coaches

Most coaching positions are volunteer…and there are a lot of volunteer hours involved in creating a team. Especially a successful team. Make sure that coaches feel appreciated for the time and effort they are putting into helping YOUR kid grow and develop.

You can do something simple like bringing them a meal, giving them a gift card, or contributing to the group gift at the end of the year.

Communication with Parents

The main role of the team mom is to communicate necessary information with the parents of the kids on the team. How often does your child communicate what their coach told them at soccer or baseball practice? If your kids are young, it’s probably pretty rare.

So one of the main responsibilities of the team parent is to organize the information the coach wants to tell the parents. This could include things like practice times, the game day schedule, team events and fundraisers, and any other relevant information.

It’s also nice to confirm with the parents what uniforms or sporting equipment your kids might need. You want to make sure any parent or guardian that is involved knows how to make sure their child is prepared for practice or games.

How to Communicate with Other Parents

There are a few ways to keep on track with communicating with the group of parents. Emailing is one of the most basic and efficient ways to share information with parents. The team parent can create a list of emails so that everyone stays in the loop without having to contact each parent individually.

Creating a group chat or text message thread is also helpful for quickly getting out information that requires immediate attention, like last-minute schedule changes or location changes for practices or games.

At the beginning of the season, ask the families what they’d prefer. Chances are, a combination will be the best bet! Email out schedules and reserve texting for last-minute changes and reminders.

Sending out a weekly text to parents on Sunday for practice times, game times (and places), as well as any other reminders really helps to keep all parents on the same page. It may take a few extra minutes out of your Sunday, but it prevents a lot of other questions throughout the week.

If there are volunteers that sign up to help you, you can also delegate! For example, put one parent in charge of reminding parents about tournaments, one parent in charge of fundraising, etc.

If you’re doing it all by yourself, I recommend setting up deadlines on your phone to remind you when to send out communication, when money is due for fundraising, and more.

There are some great apps out there that can keep all of your team. More general apps like WhatsApp and GroupMe work well. But the most thorough app as far as everything you need to run a sports team is an app called Team Reach. Team App is also another really thorough app.

Give deadlines a few days early

We’re all busy and sometimes things just slip through the cracks…like waivers and such. If you have something that has a set due date, tell the parents that the due date is a few days ahead just to give them more time to gather what you need when they inevitably forget.

Snack Duty Sign Up

When it comes to the girls and boys on the team, one of the most important tasks is having snacks prepared! You can set up a snack duty sign-up sheet so that all the parents are responsible for bringing snacks on certain days or during certain games.

If you’re feeling extra organized, have an email thread of everyone who is signed up to bring the snacks and follow up with them a few days before the game as a reminder!

If you can, providing a list to parents with cheap and easy snack ideas can make it easier for other parents and guardians to know what to bring.

If your team is traveling on a bus, it can be really helpful to have several parents donate a box of one particular item and then assemble them together into lunch bags for each player. For example, one parent brings a case of oranges, another parent brings water bottles, and another parent brings Uncrustables. Then the bags are assembled into paper bags labeled with each player’s name on them so all of the team members can remain fueled on the bus ride.

Creating a Team Roster

Creating a team roster for parents to reference can also be helpful. This can include names, jersey numbers, and contact information for both parents and players.

Having a roster will allow parents to easily know who their kid is with, as well as provide them with a way to communicate with each other about games, practices, or any questions they might have.

If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can create a double-sided roster that can be laminated and put onto a lanyard. This is amazing for parents who are still learning other team members’ numbers and names so they can cheer everyone on!

This can also help the families know how many snack bags they need to bring for the players on the team when it’s their turn for the treats!

Being the Meeting Coordinator

Another main task of the team parent is coordinating meetings. The team parent should be in charge of scheduling any and all meetings for the upcoming season, making sure that everyone is on the same page about rules and expectations.

They can also help facilitate any conversations or discussions which might arise from these meetings, as well as compile notes from each meeting to ensure each family is up-to-date with team matters and decisions.

Being the Fundraiser Coordinator

A team parent also often takes on the responsibility of being a fundraiser coordinator, which usually involves planning and managing team fundraisers throughout the season. This could include car washes, bake sales or any other type of money-raising activity.

You should be aware of all costs and keep track of all the money in order to ensure that each fundraiser goes smoothly and is successful.

Other Final Tips

To go above and beyond and be an amazing team parent, here are a few final tips:

• Bring extra chairs or shade tents for the sidelines. Some parents might be in a rush and forget their chairs. So, if you can, try to keep a few extras in your car.
• Bring extra water bottles or delegate another parent to do so.
• Take photos throughout the season. It will be a fun way for everyone to look back on their memories and can be a great gift at the end of the season.
• Finally, be the team’s biggest cheerleader! Help create a fun atmosphere and encourage good sportsmanship among members of the team. Cheer for everyone on your kid’s teams!
• Create a team folder (google photos) so all parents add photos they’ve taken throughout the season

Team Moms for a Great Team

Whether your kid plays basketball, baseball, soccer, football, gymnastics, or any other sport, being the team mom is an important responsibility to help ensure a great season for everyone and make things easier for the coaches.

By following the tips above, you can help make sure that your team is well-equipped, organized, and motivated to have a successful season. Keep a calendar full of tasks and reminders, and you’ll stay on top of everything you need to. And don’t forget to ask for help from the coaches or other guardians.

Good luck!