Responsibilities
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Emails - respond to emails from parents. Where appropriate, redirect emails to the U8 Girls Age Coordinator and U8 Boys Age Coordinator.
- Set Dates - In Febuary or March, work with the MSC Board and JLYSL-PCA Committee to identify dates for 2 New Parents Nights and 1 Coaches Day. This early coordination is needed to make sure a PCA trainer is available for these events. Post these events to the Calendar.
- Oversee Formation of Teams - Work with the U8 Boys & Girls Age Coordinators to support efforts to form up teams and answer questions about coaching, equipment, fields and players. U8 teams need to be formed up by June. Work with the U8 Boys & Girls Age Coordinators to supply a list of all U8 teams to the Club Registrar and U8 Match Secretary. Team formation should be managed through Sportability.
- "It's Been Posted" - Send out a notice to all teams saying registration for the events have been posted to the League Calendar. Send this notice to the MCS Board, Club volunteers and Age Coordinators, and JLYSL-PCA Committee members.
- Guides - In June & July work with the U6 & U8 Guide Publisher to make sure copies of the U8 and U6 Guides are made for Coaches Day and New Parents Night. Updates to these Guides can involve input from the U8 & U6 Age Coordinators, Field Coordinator, Referee Coordinator, Coaching Director and Registrar. Work with the Club Webmaster to publish these Guides to the montclairsoccer.org website.
- New Parents Night & Coaches Day - In June & July work organize New Parents Nights and Coaches Day. See steps below. Make sure the events are staffed: Event Coordinator, Refreshments Manager, Event Aides.
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Practices - Supply a list of teams to the practice field coordinator to use as input for scheduling practices.
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Game Schedule - Work with the U8 Match Secretary to make sure the game schedule is created in Sportability. Work with the Webmaster to get the game schedule published to montclairsoccer.org.
Time Commitment
4-8 hours per month
Required Experience
comfortable using email and unafraid of people
Schedule
4-8 hours per month, with July & August the heaviest months
Location
At home, plus occassional attendance to the MSC Board
Minimum Term
1 year, ideally 2 years
Detailed Instructions
1. Set up Registration on Sportability - Four to six weeks in advance of Coaches Day and New Parents Night, set up registration on Sportability. Registration should be copied from previous events.
2. Contact Age Coordinators – Work with the Event Registration & Marketing Manager to notify Age Coordinators to remind them of the upcoming New Parents Nights and U8 Coaches Meeting. Ask the Age Coordinators to make sure that email addresses for all players have been entered into Sportability. Below is a sample email:
Dear U8 Age Coordinators,
Each year Montclair Soccer Club hosts an important event: New Parents Night. This is an orientation for U8 parents. We need to get invitations out to all U8 families in the Montclair Soccer Club. The invitations will go out late this week. To make sure that the invitations reach all players, we need to make sure all players have been entered into Sportability. We will send every U8 family both a hardcopy AND an email invitation. We will be sending out hardcopy invitations to New Parents Night via regular mail late this week. I will also be sending out email reminders as well in about a week and a half. Please make sure that an email address and physical mailing address exists in Sportability for all U8 players.
3. Save the Date – Work with the Event Registration & Marketing Manager to send out a “Save the Date” email to prospective attendees notifying them about the New Parents Nights and the U8 Coaches Meeting. The email should contain links to registration for New Parents Night and the U8 Coaches Meeting. This email should also contain a brief description of the event. This is a targeted email to parents and coaches within the Club. Here’s the example of what has gone out in the past for New Parents Night:
Dear Montclair Soccer Club Parents of Under 8 Players,
Congratulations on signing up your child for soccer. We are looking forward to the upcoming fall season. This message contains important information for parents of Under 8 players in the Montclair Soccer Club (MSC). When does the MSC U8 season start? The first game of the season for U8s is MM/DD. U8s typically play 10 games on Saturdays. The final U8 game will be MM/DDD. See below for a list of key dates for the season. For a more complete list, see the Calendar at www.montclairsoccer.org.
When will I know who my child’s coach is and what team s/he is on? When are my child’s U8 soccer practices and games? Your child’s coach will be contacting you in the next few weeks. At that time you should receive a practice schedule from the coach. Coaches usually begin practicing about 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the season; this may vary depending on the coach and the summer schedule of families on the team. The schedule for the first 3 games of the season will be available a week or so prior to the first game. All games are on Saturday sometime between 8:30am and 4pm.
Are there any meetings that I as a parent need to attend? YES. This year Montclair Soccer Club is doing something for the first time: New Parents Night. New Parents Night is an orientation about Montclair’s soccer program, providing parents an opportunity to learn about the Under 8 soccer format, participate in a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop, and meet other parents. There will be two New Parents Nights. Refreshments and light fare will be served. Attendance at New Parents Night is required by one parent from every family of new U8 players. All U8 parents and coaches are welcome to attend. You only need to attend New Parents Night once. Space is limited at New Parents Night, so parents should register in advance:
New Parents Night #1 - Date, Time - Link to registration
New Parents Night #2 – Date, Time - Link to registration
I’d like to help out as an assistant coach. Are there any meetings I should attend? A U8 Coaches Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 7-9pm at Bishop O’Dowd High School. All U8 coaches are required to attend, and assistant coaches are welcome. Check www.montclairsoccer.org soon for more info.
We look forward to seeing you at these events.
Sincerely,
MSC U8 Commissioner
4. Invitations for New Parents Nights – Work with the Event Registration & Marketing Manager to create and print hardcopy invitations (think: “wedding invitations”) to all MSC U8 parents and coaches.
You’ve signed up your child for soccer. What happens next? Come and find out at
Montclair Soccer Club’s New Parents Night
Monday, August 30, 2004, 7:00 – 9:00pm OR
Thursday, September 8, 7:00 – 9:00pm *
Dominican Lounge at Bishop O’Dowd High School
Refreshments & light fare will be served
“This is the event to find out all about your child’s soccer program.”
Space is limited, so be sure to register in advance at www.montclairsoccer.org. Attendance is Required for New Parents of Under 8 Players.
All parents are invited, but only one parent per family is required to attend. Attend one New Parents Night, not both.
5. Monitor registration – Work with the the Event Registration & Marketing Manager to check registration on Sportability to make sure registration is spread fairly evenly between both New Parents Nights and to make sure coaches are registering for the U8 Coaches Meeting. For MSC events like New Parents Night, attendees are required to register in advance for the event on Sportability. We require advance registration for several reasons: it saving huge amounts of time in collection of attendance information; it enables us to control the number of people at each event -- every venue has a maximum seating capacity; it helps us plan for the number of copies required for materials. About 2 weeks to 10 days prior to the workshop, check in Sportability to find out how many people have registered for the workshop. If not enough people have registered, let the Age Coordinators know so that they can send out a broadcast email reminding people of the upcoming event.
6. Reminder Email – Send out a reminder email one to two days before the workshop to the people who registered in advance for the workshop. The email should include instructions to arrive a few minutes early to get a good seat and to sign in, and directions to the workshop. Here’s a sample from 2004:
Dear Montclair Soccer Club Parents of Under 8 Players,
Tomorrow is Montclair Soccer Club's first New Parents Night. This is the event to learn all about your child's Under 8 soccer program. All U8 parents and coaches are invited to attend. ATTENDANCE AT NEW PARENTS NIGHT IS REQUIRED BY ONE PARENT FROM EVERY FAMILY OF NEW U8 PLAYERS.
At this event you will have an opportunity to learn about the Under 8 soccer format, participate in a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop, and meet other parents. Refreshments and light fare will be served. You only need to attend New Parents Night once. Attendance at New Parents Night satisfies your participation requirement as a parent in a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop.
Space is limited, so please register in advance. Directions to the venue are emailed to you automatically when you register.
New Parents Night #1 - Date, 7-9pm: link
New Parents Night #2 – Date, 7-9pm: link
Sincerely,
MSC U8 Commissioner
7. Wrapping Up – After the event, work with the Event Registration & Marketing Manager to produce a brief report about the events that describes how the event was received, how many people attended, and what we learned about how to do it better next year.
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