As the coach of a youth sports team, you can feel good about all the advantages you're helping deliver to kids. From improved endurance and self-esteem to enhanced discipline and teamwork skills, your team members are sure to enjoy benefits that encourage a healthy and happy life overall. But your job can be a challenge, especially when it comes to managing away games. Here are a few things you can do to make away games more efficient and convenient for everyone involved:
Manage a Meal Cooperative
To make sure that your team is sufficiently fueled for the away games you'll be playing, create and manage a meal cooperative for parents to participate in. You won't have to rely on parents to provide their kids with nutritious foods filled with vitamins and minerals, as you'll be able to oversee what everyone eats before the big game.
This will help avoid the the chance that some of your players show up to play after chowing down on a big meal from a fast food restaurant, which may slow them down while on the field. Consider:
Having parents pitch in five dollars a child and use the funds to have sandwiches and fruit prepared for the entire team before each away game.
Asking parents to prepare and bring one dish with them to each away game so the kids can share a varied meal together – don't forget to provide nutritional guidelines to follow when parents are preparing the dishes.
Funding a caterer with the help of team donations and fundraisers.
The idea is to ensure that each team member has access to the same healthy foods before their big away games so they'll maintain focus and stamina on the field.
Distribute Itineraries
An effective way to keep your team members and their parents on the same page on away game days is to distribute itineraries to them a few days beforehand. This will help you avoid the need to collaborate with everyone at the meeting site and allow you to quickly get a move on to the game site so no valuable practice time is wasted.
Schedule a morning meeting time, a practice time, a meal time, and a personal prep time for your team members during the week before your away game and share the plans with each parent so they know exactly what is expected of them and their kids throughout the day. And parents will be able to get their kids to practice and meals on time if they're driving to the event in their own vehicles. Providing itineraries to parents and team members offers an excellent opportunity to remind them of the things they should be doing at home before a big away game, like partaking in private practice, drinking plenty of water, and getting a good night's sleep.
Rent an Air Compressor
You can't rely on the home team to provide you with access to an air compressor during away games, which could be detrimental to your practice time and overall game play. Whether it's footballs, basketballs, or volleyballs, you need to make sure that anything your team uses to practice and play with is properly inflated at all times. Renting an air compressor to bring along on away game days will help ensure that each ball your team members use meets game regulations and provides a realistic experience. A rented air compressor can come in handy if your team's bus tires need to be repaired and inflated on the way to or from an away game.
The tips outlined here should help make away game days easier and more productive for you, your team members and their parents overall.
Share1 December 2017
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