Know Your Role: Managers Edition
June 25, 2013

Team managers are one of the most important and unrecognized parts of a team. They are the glue that holds a team together. It does not matter if you are managing an under-9 girls team or an under-15 boys team the job is just as important to both. As a manager you have an extremely important part in the success of your team so it is vital that you know your role, responsibilities, and have an understanding of what it takes to be a successful team manager.

Role

The role of the manager is to be the liaison for the team. You are the liaison between the coach and the parents as well as liaison for your team with any competitions you are participating in. It is your job to keep the team running smoothly by looking out for the parents’ concerns while allowing the coach to do their job. Coaches come to practice to coach, not to talk to parents. If a parent has concerns over their child’s development or playing time then that is a conversation to be had between the parent and coach. The daily gripes of the team parents however, are for the manager to either sort out or to bring to the coach’s attention at the appropriate time.

Understand that you are not the coach. You are the manager. As the manager you are in charge of all of the team’s administrative functions. The team manager and coach are a team within the team. Together they keep the team functioning. The coach is in charge of the game. The manager is in charge of the paperwork and welfare of the team families. If you and your coach have a clear understanding with one another the team will function as it is suppose to.

The keys to being successful in this role are communication, dedication, organization, and knowing your team. A lot of responsibility is placed upon team managers and if you do not possess all four of those qualities it will be easy for you to faulter.

Responsibilities

Depending on the club’s expectations of you, a team manger can be asked to wear many, many hats. As a team manager, you can count on being a treasurer, scheduling coordinator, and registrar in the very least.

At the beginning of the season you are responsible for registering players to the team at or after tryouts and from there it is your job to register the team for any and all tournaments/competitions. Player cards, rosters, and score cards are also part of the registrar’s responsibilities. Be sure to maintain all team records, results, and information relevant to competition throughout the year.

Your club should have an official treasurer, but at some point you will be in charge of handling and keeping track of your team’s finances. The collection of monthly club fees can be a pain, but someone has to do it and chances are it’s you.

As scheduling coordinator, you are in charge of scheduling practices and also securing practice fields if your club does not provide a secure location every week. This can be a hassle coordinate with what’s easiest for the coach and what works for the parents, and chances are you won’t please everyone. You will be in constant communication with your team regarding practice time and game schedules.

Being a team manager can be overwhelming, but just remember that you are there to help the team be successful.