Sample Team Parent Information Letter Guilderland Softball League Division Team # Sponsor: Manager: XXX-XXXX (Phone) Coach: XXX-XXXX (Phone) Team Parent: XXX-XXXX (Phone) March 8, 2015 Dear Parents & Players: Welcome to another season of Girls Softball! We look forward to seeing our girls grow, develop and enjoy the game of softball as the season and our team progresses. This letter will provide information to you on the parental support and assistance that the League and our players need to ensure an organized successful season. Attached to this letter is information on the following items: Team Roster Field Preparation - Saturdays, 9:00 am 1:00 pm on March 28, April 4, April 11, 2015 Opening Day of Softball Games April 20, 2015 Opening Night Celebration activities are scheduled for April 24, 2015 (Rain Date May 1). Team Pictures Scheduled for Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Altamont Fire House Ticket and After Game Ice Pop Concession Stand Parent assignment; Supervisors needed. Team Uniforms Distribution, Laundry Care and Collection. Team Party Coordinators & Trophies Ordering Please remember that throughout the softball season, our collective goal as parents is to promote and develop team spirit, softball skills and good sportsmanship in an enjoyable and healthy learning atmosphere for our players. We are all looking forward to a fun and exciting season. Thank you in advance for your continued assistance and support throughout this season. Please do not hesitate to contact me or the Team Manager or Coach should you have any questions or concerns. Team Parent 1
Attachment A: Guilderland Softball League Information Team Roster You have the option to use Sports Signup for your Team Roster or type a team roster. Sports Signup Options: Once Teams are assigned and the draft is complete, Managers, Coaches and Team Parents will have access to the Sports Signup. You must register as a Manager, Coach or Team Parent to have access to this information, so a GGSL administrator can assign you to a team. Once the teams have been completed, login to your account and click on your Team link. Then you will have access to the following options: Go to: https://ggsl.sportssignup.com//login Ø View Roster Online access to helper and player contact information. Ø Team Wall This is similar to Facebook. You can post a message on the Team Wall that only your players and parents can view and make a comment back. This information is only accessible to just your team. Optional service. Ø View Schedule You can add your practice schedule or game schedule. This way if there are any changes you can update them in Sports Signup. Ø Print Roster You can print the Coach Roster which includes your team roster with all the contact information. You can save it as a PDF file and send the pdf file out to your parents so you don t have to create your own file for a team roster. Ø Email Team You can send email messages out to your team through sports signup. All players are automatically grouped in the system under your team and will receive your email messages. Ø Send easyalert You can send out a text message to all your players if a practice or game is canceled. Your players/parents just have to enable this feature in their sports signup account. Ø Instructions to signup for - easyalert o Login to your Sports Signup account https://ggsl.sportssignup.com//login o Click on the easyalert icon under account options o Click "Enable Texting" and follow the instructions to activate your mobile phone. What Parents/Players can see in Sports Signup under your Team Account: o View Roster They can only see the online roster. No contact information is posted. You as the Manager (or Team Parent) can email them the Print Roster with the contact information. o Team Wall In order for a parent/player to make a post they have to select a user, which is a parent s name that will show up in the post. You will not be able to make an anonymous post. o View Schedule If you decide to post a schedule they will have access to view the information Field Preparation We need volunteers to help on Field Prep Days. They are scheduled on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. on March 21, April 4 and April 11, 2015 (weather permitting.) Please bring your own rake and shovel. Children are welcome to help! Opening Day Opening Game Day is scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2015. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Friday, April 24, 2015 (Rain Date is May 1, 2015) at 6:00 p.m. Refer to www.guilderlandgirlssoftball.com for the latest information regarding this event. 2
Team Pictures League Team pictures have been scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Altamont Fire House. Our team picture time has been scheduled for. Picture envelopes and order forms will be distributed to each player at a future date. Tickets Team Parents are to collect the number of free tickets they need each game at the Concession Stand and distribute to the players at the end of each game. These tickets entitle the players to a freeze pop as an after game treat. They may not be used toward any other purchase. Concession Stand During each game 1 parent from the Home team and 1 parent from the Away team will be scheduled to work in the Concession Stand for the full duration of their shift. Each parent should report to the concession stand 30 minutes prior to the game s scheduled start time and is expected to remain at the concession stand through clean-up. If any of our games are rescheduled, the parent assigned to the Concession Stand on the original game date will be responsible for working on the rescheduled game date, or must find a replacement if they will not be available. Ø Children age 14 and older may work in your place if they are capable of accurately making change and completing customer orders. The stand supervisor on duty has the final authority to make all decisions that arise during their shift. The acting stand supervisor has the authority to require a team to provide a replacement if they determine that the representative they supplied is not capable of performing the duties required of them. Children under the age of 14 may work in the stand, as long as they are accompanied and directly supervised by their parent or an adult representative from their team. In no event will any child be permitted in the grill/cooking area. Ø Please note-concession stand workers are not required in the Rookie Division. Ø Community Service Upon request, at the end of the season, the Board s Concession Stand Coordinator will be happy to write a letter which verifies the number of volunteer Community Service hours worked at the Concession Stand. Concession Stand Supervisors may also sign prepared Community Service forms during the season to verify volunteer hours worked. Ø Concession Stand Supervisors Needed The League is in need of new Concession Stand Supervisors to work with and supervise the parent volunteers in the concession stand. This time commitment will involve working approximately 3 shifts per season (a shift consists of one weeknight approximately 5:00 8:30 p.m., OR a Saturday from either 9:30 am 1:00 pm or 1:00 pm 4:30 pm). Concession Stand Supervisors will sign up for their shifts prior to the season on dates and times convenient to them, and may coordinate supervisor shifts with the team parent to meet their concession obligation to your team. Training will be provided before the season starts. Please consider volunteering as a Concession Stand Supervisor yourself, and strongly encourage your team parents to volunteer. Please contact Kevin Ford (binzer2446@aol.com). 3 Team Uniforms The League provides each girl with a team jersey, practice t-shirt, socks & hat/visor. The jerseys are used again each season and must be turned in at the end of each season. The t-shirts, socks & hats are theirs to keep and do not need to be
turned back in. The players must wear BLACK SOFTBALL PANTS during games, which parents will need to purchase at any sporting goods store. Please note that the Board has granted girls in the Major division only will have the option of wearing BLACK SHORTS. If shorts are worn, players are required to wear slider shorts beneath them. Helmets Players of all ages are required to wear helmets with satisfactory NOCSAEapproved face cages and chin straps, when batting and running bases. GGSL will provide these helmets for practice and game use, but you are also welcome to purchase your own. NOCSAE-approved face cages are required on all personal helmets. Home Plate Umpires will have the final authority to reject any face cage that they believe is unsafe. Laundering of Team Jerseys: When washing the team jersey, it should not be put in the dryer as this will make the jersey shrink, fade in color and will dry out the player number and logo. Please hang dry the team jersey. Players Uniforms: Measurements of team jerseys for the players were collected upon registration. The team uniforms are to be picked up by the team parent on April 11, 2015 from 9:00am-11:00am at the maintenance garage at Keenholts Park. Each player will be issued a team jersey, knee socks, a practice shirt and a hat/visor. All team managers are responsible for collecting the team uniforms at the end of the season and returning them along with the team s equipment on June 20th at Keenholts from 9am-10:30am. Please be advised that if a player fails to return her team jersey to the League, she will be charged a fee of $85 to replace the jersey. In view of this policy, please understand that the team manager will be following up with you as often as is needed to ensure that the team uniform is collected and returned to the League. Uniform Collection: After our last game - scheduled for - we will collect all team jerseys. The players may keep the socks, hat and practice shirt, to prepare for the uniform collection, please have your child bring an extra change of clothes at our last game. Candy: Managers will receive their teams boxes of candy at Equipment pick up. Candy should be distributed to anyone who has signed up for a candy order. Please note-candy & uniform cannot be given out until candy has been paid for. Checks should be made out to: GGSL. Team Party Coordinators and Trophies Ordering Information Volunteers are needed in helping coordinate the ordering of the trophies for our players, as well as our team party. Note: For the Single A and Rookie Divisions- there are no standings kept and no championship playoffs at the end of the season, the League purchases trophies for all players and teams will not have to collect money for player trophies at these two levels only. 4
For Team Managers This section is just for team managers and should be removed in the informational letter distributed to players parents. The Board policy stipulates that all team managers are responsible for collecting the team jerseys at the end of the season. In the spring, when uniforms are distributed to the managers, each manager will receive a form listing all the numbers of the team jerseys they have received. The manager must fill in the player s name next to the number assigned to each player. The manager must make one copy of this form and give it to Rob Wadsworth (Robertwadsworth75@yahoo.com), the Board s Uniform Coordinator. At the end of the season, the team manager uses this form to ensure the collection of all team jerseys from each of his players. If a player fails to return their team jersey, that player will be charged the cost of the shirt. All team managers are expected to comply with and enforce this policy. For Team Parents This section is just for team parents and should be removed in the informational letter that you distribute to the players parents. Attachment A5 is for the Team Parent and reviews the role and responsibilities of the Team Parent. As this is an all-volunteer League, we encourage you to maximize parent involvement and participation with all team activities. In view of this, any of these assignments and responsibilities can be assigned to any parent on the team, however, it must be remembered that if delegated, the Team Parent remains ultimately responsible for ensuring the satisfactory completion of each of these tasks. The delegation of any of these assignments is strictly optional by the Team Parent. (delete these 2 paragraphs when copying for your teams) 5
(Attachment A4 Sample Game and Concession Stand Schedule) Guilderland Softball League Division - Team # GAME & CONCESSION STAND SCHEDULE Date Time Game Concession (open/close) May 04, (Sat.) 12:30 p.m. Team 5 vs. 6 Carter/Smith May 08, (Weds.) 6:00 p.m. Team 4 vs. 5 Meglino/Durkee May 11, (Sat.) 10:00 a.m. Team 5 vs. 1 Johnson/Cornwall May 16, (Thurs.) 6:00 p.m. Team 5 vs. 2 Rodriguez May 18, (Sat.) 10:00 a.m. Team 3 vs. 5 Tartaglia May 23, (Thurs.) 6:00 p.m. Team 6 vs. 5 Baldwin May 25, (Sat.) 10:00 a.m. Team 5 vs. 4 Smith May 29, (Weds.) 6:00 p.m. Team 1 vs. 5 Spriggs May 31, (Fri.) 6:00 p.m. Team 2 vs. 5 Stevens June 05, (Weds.) 6:00 p.m. Team 5 vs. 3 Turner June 11, (Tues.) 6:00 p.m. Team 5 vs. 6 Lopez June 13, (Thurs.) 6:00 p.m. Team 4 vs. 5 Zabinski June 15, (Sat.) 12:30 p.m. Team 5 vs. 1 Diamonte June 19, (Weds.) 6:00 p.m. Team 5 vs. 2 Cornwall You will be notified by phone or e-mail from your manager, coach or team parent regarding game cancellations. You may also call the Guilderland Softball phone number (861-0195) to hear a recorded message on game cancellations or go to the website, www.guilderlandgirlssoftball.com Please report to the concession stand 30 minutes prior to the game s scheduled start time and remain at the concession stand through clean-up. If any of our games are rescheduled, the parent assigned to the Concession Stand on the original game date will be responsible for working on the rescheduled game date, or must find a replacement if they will not be available. 6
(Attachment A5 Team Parent Role and Responsibilities) Team Parent The Team Parent is responsible for assisting the Team Manager with the administrative responsibilities of managing the team activities. The Team Parent is directly responsible for managing the coordination and communication of all team assignments and responsibilities as identified below. If any of these assignments are delegated, the Team Parent is ultimately responsible and accountable for ensuring the satisfactory completion of all tasks. Team Assignments and Responsibilities (The delegation of any of these assignments is optional.) Ø Recruit and Organize Volunteers for Field Preparation: encouraging all parents to participate; developing Team Work Schedule; coordinating information; e-mail or phone call reminders to parents on day before scheduled work day. The dates of March 28, April 4 and April 11th are scheduled for field clean up from 9:00am 1:00pm. Ø Uniform Distribution & Collection: picking up uniforms on April 11, 2015 between 9am-11am at the maintenance garage and distributing to players; ensuring that Team Manager completes the Team Jersey number assignment form; after last game assist Team Manager with collection of team jerseys (players can keep socks and hat); launder all team uniforms and give to Team Manager to return to League. Ø Team Pictures Notification and Picture Distribution: distribute forms; reminders to parents the day before picture day; distribute pictures to players. Team pictures will be taken on Sunday, April 19, 2015. Please remind parents and players to be prompt for their scheduled picture time as things move quickly. Any questions regarding team pictures should be directed to Todd Kedik, Team Picture Coordinator, at 861-5185 or by e-mail at tkedik2000@yahoo.com. Ø Develop Concession Stand Schedule: Depending on preference, have parents sign up OR make assignments to work at Concession Stand at all home and away games; develop schedule; distribute copies of Concession Stand Schedule to all parents and submit a copy to the Board s Concession Stand Coordinator on Team Picture Day, for posting in the Concession Stand; send reminders to parents prior to their assigned shift. Consider assigning a back-up concession stand worker in the event of emergencies, or no shows. Please encourage parents to volunteer as a Concession Stand Supervisor, as we are very short on people for this duty. Any questions regarding the Concession Stand or Supervisor duties should be directed to Kevin Ford, Concession Stand Coordinator. Kevin can be reached at 424-2571 or binzer2446@aol.com Ø Team Party Coordinator and Trophy Ordering: Towards the end of the season, begin working on planning the team party by getting input from players/parents; select location, organize menu and activities; order trophies; collect money for party, trophies and gift for manager and coach; ensure cleanup of area after team party. (The League purchases trophies for all players at the Rookie and A Level. Teams- you will not have to collect money for player trophies at these two levels only.) The ordering of team and League trophies this year will be organized by the Trophy Coordinator, Christie Paul can be reached via e-mail at cpaul2@nycap.rr.com. Ø Registration Questions: Managers- after contacting your team, if you have found girls that have decided not to play, or know of someone who would still like to play or registers late, please go to http://www.guilderlandgirlssoftball.com and fill an online registration. Refunds are available for medical reasons only. If you should have any questions during the season regarding your role as Team Parent, please contact me by e-mail at KStilsing@yahoo.com Best Wishes for a successful season! 7 Kristen Stilsing Team Parent Coordinator Guilderland Girls Softball League