Making it easier to manage a youth sports team..

Over the past few days, we have seen a whole slew of youth sports teams create Qlubbs. It appears that many parents are preparing their youth sports teams for the Fall season. Given this surge of organized parents, we thought we would give some well-proven and new tricks to managing a youth sports team.

1. Manage the team roster online. Make sure you get every player’s key information like their preferred contact method (email, cellphone, etc.). Set up an email list with Qlubb as the common communication means. Keep the kid's information on the online roster.
   
   
2. Get the 911. Related to the previous step, set up the call tree so that you can get in touch with people when it counts. People’s preferred method of communication should be taken into account. Last minute rain outs of games and other cancellations require a quick and reliable response so that nobody gets stuck. Maintain this roster online so that everyone has the most up-to-date contact information.
   
   
3. Publish the game schedule. Get a master schedule online published as soon as possible. It should include all practices, games and tournaments. Putting it online cuts down on needless email chatter and eliminates miscommunication. Let Qlubb's automatic reminder feature notify and remind parents of upcoming events and games.
   
   
4. Set up a sign-up sheet for volunteers. Don’t get stuck doing everything. Parents are really willing to help if they know what to do and where. For each game and event, setup a sign-up sheet so that parents can volunteer for snack duty, equipment maintenance, snack bar duty, etc. Qlubb's online sign-up sheet is cool because it parents can sign-up at their own time and offers automatic task reminders to the volunteers.
   
   
5. Figure out the budget Most budgets for recreational sports teams are simple however, the numbers do have to add up at the end of the season. Make sure you account for all costs like league fees, equipment costs, tournament fees, transportation and housing costs. Remember that having a fundraiser costs money. Look at ways to defray costs through activity fees, bake sales/car washes, sponsorships from local sports stores, subsidies from sports equipment manufacturers, etc.
   
   
6. Build on the community A sports team comprises families that form a community around the common interest of sport. However, over time as people get to know each other, bonds strengthen. Fostering the community through things like photo sharing, team picnics, after game dinners are a great way to have fun while also improving trust and teamwork.
   
   
7. Do something special Getting your team excited about the sport can help enrich the experience. If the professionals are having a tournament in town, arrange for a field trip. If you are budget conscious, you can see some great competition at the college level.
   
   
8. Broadcast your accomplishments! Put up a public web page and talk about your wins! Nothing makes a team more proud than to let people know what you accomplished. It also lets players send that link to grandma. Qlubb has the ability to automatically generate a public site based on the content of the site which minimizes the overhead.

And of course, have fun. Remember it's just a game. Got any more tips, let us know!