Team Manager Roles & Responsibilities

The team manager is responsible for, and must be dedicated to, the overall organization and cooperation between the team and the Chippewa Youth Hockey Association. The position was created to coordinate all off-ice activity and to be a communication vehicle to your team in attempts to make the season (as well as the off-season) run smoothly. These duties include scheduling workers for home games, tournaments, bingo, etc. 

After you've been notified that you were selected / approved as a Team Manager, it's important that you complete your USA Hockey registration as well as your SafeSport and Background Screening (as needed) as soon as possible. If these screenings are not completed, you will not be able to be the Team Manager and will not receive the volunteer hours for the position.

After teams are selected, you'll want to work with your Coach to schedule a meeting with your team parents. Some Coaches want the skaters there and some just want parents there, it's up to you and your Coach how you want to handle the meeting. Each meeting is a bit different and the higher the level, the shorter the meetings usually are. Common topics include:

• Introductions - Coach, Team Manager, Parents
• Communication Plan
• Emails, Crossbar App, Texts, messaging apps, website, etc.
• How to find information on website, etc.
• Ensuring you have accurate contact information for each skater / parent
•  Team Responsibilities / Duties
• Steel Games - most teams have 2 games to cover
• Rink Cleaning - most teams have 2 weeks to cover
• Bingo - most teams have 2 to cover
• Open Skate / Pro Shop Skate Rentals - most teams have 2 to cover
• Pro Shop Skate Worker - each team should have at least 2 trained Pro Shop workers (including knowing how to sharpen skates)
• Zamboni Driver - each team should have at least 2 trained Zamboni drivers
• Beerfest Committee Representative - each team needs at least 1
• Golf Outing Representative - each team needs at least 1
• Working home games
• Working home tournament - including State Tournament if your team is playing in it
• Game / Tournament Schedule
• Hotel blocks for tournaments and away games, etc. - any input or feedback from team
• Expectations from Coach on arrival times (1 hour or 45 minutes prior to game, warmups, etc.)
• Code of Conduct - reminder that parents and players are representing CYHA at both home and away games and tournaments and should act as such
• Reminder that WAHA does not allow noise makers at any WAHA sanctioned game or event
• General reminders that Chippewa Youth Hockey is a volunteer run association - the rink belongs to all of us and it's our responsibility to keep it clean, in good shape and be proud of it - this includes skaters and parents
• Volunteer Hour Requirements

Game and practice jerseys will be given to the Team Manager. It is the responsibility of the Team Manager to distribute the jerseys to the team and collect them at the end of the season. Each player will receive a home and away game jersey. Players (with the exception of the goalie) will also receive a practice jersey.

• Document the number of the game jersey given to each player as this will be needed for the roster
• Ensure you (or someone) has an extra set of jerseys with you, especially for away games in the event someone forgets theirs
• Any lost or damaged jerseys are the responsibility of the player - they will be charged for them
• To schedule a time to pick up jerseys, contact Kim Ankrum (k_ankrum3@yahoo.com). Make sure you plan accordingly and have enough time to pick up your jerseys prior to your first game.

Once the season begins, mass chaos ensues. Practices, games and tournaments are happenings and team responsibilities start kicking in. Being organized and getting as much scheduled in advanced as possible is a life saver.

It is the responsibility of the Team Manager to book hotel blocks for overnight away games and tournaments. The hotel choice is up to the Manager. Best practice is to determine the area you want to stay and call the hotels in that area and ask to set up a hotel block. Common questions to ask / verify are:

• Is there a pool and hot tub?
• Does the rate include breakfast?
• Ensure they have enough rooms that have two beds, sometimes they will try to give you a bunch of rooms with king beds and a pull-out couch...most parents don't want to sleep with their smelly hockey kid and a pull-out couch isn't the best for a rejuvenating rest before a big game the next day.
• Indicate that the parents likely will want to congregate and if that's ok to do in the lobby or if they have a room that they will provide for you to do that in.
• If you're planning a potluck, confirm they are ok with that - not all hotels are.
• Some parents may want to bring pets, ask if pets are allowed and if so, what the fee is to bring a pet.

Once you identify a hotel, book the block and send the information to your parents. You won't make everyone happy with your choice...that's ok. Try to be reasonable with your rate. Don't go super cheap or super high end and most will be fine with it. As always, parents are able to book elsewhere if they'd like. Don't stress about it...there are a TON of hotel options and you'll drive yourself crazy if you try to call them all. Just find one that is reasonable and go with it.

The game schedule is pretty much done by the game scheduler. There are always changes (additions, deletions, changes). ALWAYS confirm games at least the week prior so you don't travel to a game and find out that they didn't have you on their schedule. The easiest way is to check out the other team's schedule online. If you're on their schedule and they are on yours, you're probably good to go. If there is a discrepancy, find some contact information on the other association's website and track someone down.

It's usually easiest to just sit down and schedule all team responsibilities at one time so you can try to ensure fairness across the board and ensure everyone is scheduled. You can be a nice manager and handle swaps for people or publish the schedule and tell them to switch amongst themselves. Pro tip: If you have them swap amongst themselves, still have them tell you when they swap so you know who is working when to ensure you know who should be where. Here's a template you can use for all of your team responsibilities. You can feel free to make your own as this is just a sample, but it covers all the team responsibilities and gives a good visual of what you need to cover for the season.