ACADEMY TEAM MANAGER HANDBOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW

TEAM MANAGER NOTEBOOK

TEAM MANAGER GAME DAY RESPONSIBILITIES

COMMUNICATION - TEAMSNAP

TEAM MEETINGS

TOURNAMENTS, ETC

QUESTIONS?

THANKS

OVERVIEW. Helps to ensure that the team functions as well administratively as it does on the field. Communicates with, and updates the team, regularly. Most of this information is provided to you and is passed on from the club.

  • handles administrative duties which allows IAFC coaches to focus on training and player development. Updating TeamSnap communication group, and registering/checking-in team for tournaments.

•some game day duties.

•communicates with Director of Academy regarding any team specific needs.

Your primary roles will be:

  1. Managing your team’s official documents (you will be issued a team notebook) and game day duties
  2. Communicating to your team (re: weekly schedules, team updates, tournament schedules, club announcements, etc)
  3. Registering/check-in for tournaments and managing tournament paperwork

The four most important web addresses to bookmark as you begin your work as TM are:

  • IAFC website:
  • 2. Georgia State Soccer Assn:
  • Tournament registration websites: soccerincollege.com or GotSoccer
  • TeamSnap – to communicate with team and IAFC via email/text

TEAM MANAGER NOTEBOOK.You will be given a team notebook by the Director of Academy. Registration Forms and documents that were collected during tryouts will already be included for your team. The following documents should be included in the team notebook at all times. The notebook should be in attendance at every game/tournament.

-Birth Certificate for each player

-Medical Release Form for each player

-Player Card (will be needed at every game) for each player

-Official State Roster (will be needed electronically as well)

-Game Scorecards (always have blank extras, just in case)

TEAM MANAGER GAME DAY RESPONSIBILITIES. Communicating with your team prior to each game is critical. The earlier the better! You will need to:

1. Notify team of time and location of game (provided by Academy Director). You will upload all this info into TeamSnap in advance.

2. Players should confirm their availability through TeamSnap in advance.
3. Let your coach and Director of Academy know of any player absences as soon as possible.

4. Make sure to have the player cards for each player and a filled-out game scorecard. Give both to coach prior to game kick-off.

8. Recollect the player cards after the coach is done getting players checked in. DON’T FORGET TO GET THESE BACK.

COMMUNICATION – TeamSnap.com.You are responsible for communicating with your team throughout the year. TeamSnap is the program we use, please use TeamSnap rather than personal email accounts.You have been invited to be your team’s manager via email by the Director of Academy. Once you accept, you will have access rights to update the team page. Most player contact info will be included already, and the parents will have to update their own player entry, but you will be responsible to keep the team page updated with schedules, notes, updates, etc (everything team specific) throughout the year.Encourage your team to download the app to their phone for immediate updates.

TEAM MEETINGS.Shortly before the start of the season (and once per month), IAFC coaches are required to hold team meetings. For initial meetings, this is a great time to get everyone together, for the coach to discuss rules, meet players, go over expectations, etc. The monthly meetings are for the coaches to discuss the state of the team and any issues or club events/tournaments, etc.

Managers, keep me posted if your coach is not holding their meetings.

Some important issues for the first team meeting are:

  • Collect any missing documents and player contact information
  • Discuss 100% commitment expectation to all practices, games, tournaments
  • Discuss practice days, times, appropriate practice wear
  • Discuss tournament plans. Each team will participate in a minimum of two tournaments each season – a pre-season tournament and a post-season tournament. The registration fees cover two in-town tournaments per season, including coach’s fees and tournament registration fees. Attendance is mandatory.
  • Any additional tournaments and/or travel expenses for travel tournaments are paid for by the team.
  • Determine your volunteer needs and get others to help! The TM does not have to do all the work!Team positions you might consider asking for help withare:

Social Events/End of Season Get Together Organizer

Team bonding is very important to the overall player experience of youth sports. This team parent may plan activities for the team's families throughout the year. Bowling nights or pool parties are good ways for teammates to become better and long-term friends. Most teams arrange to at least have an end of season celebration, typically post-tournament or even a team lunch during the tournament.

Team Bench/Shade Provider

Some teams find it helpful to bring a folding team bench and/or portable shade to games. This is helpful to the players in the hot GA sun. A family on the team may already own these items and may be happy to bring them along for the season, or the team may want to divvy up the cost of providing these items. IAFC has some tents teams can borrow on occasion, but not enough for all 42 Academy teams to have their own.

First Aid Kit Provider for games?

AZ Ave clubhouse has first aid kits but always good to have something close to the field if at an away venue.

TOURNAMENTS. Tournaments expose players to higher levels of competition and foster team spirit and camaraderie. They are an important part of every player’s development. IAFC considers tournament participation as important as regular game attendance, and they are mandatory for Academy players. Players should consider tournaments part of their regular season. Academy teams will participate in a least two tournaments each season, a pre-season tournament and a post-season tournament, and the fees for these two are included in the registration fee. Tournaments involve multiple games over Saturday and Sunday.

TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION. Once the coach / director selects which tournament the team will participate in, you will be asked to go online to the tournament website and register the team. Make sure you understand exactly which level the director desires you to place the team (provided in document emailed to you) and be prepared to list potential conflicts for the tournament directors to manage (example: your coach has multiple teams in same tournament)

Many tournaments use soccerincollege.com or GotSoccer.com for registration. If you are a brand new team, you will need to create a log in ID and “build” your team profile/rosters. I have created a team entry for each Academy team. Data entry required by manager to update the rosters. If you are a returning manager, you will probably have some edits to make as well.

TOURNAMENT PAYMENT.For standard opener and closing tournaments, IAFC prefers to issue a single check out to the tournament for all of their teams at one time. Select Pay Later or Pay by Check option when registering. Send the confirmation email to Director of Academy and IAFC will pay for all tournaments at one time.

*If this is an extra tournament that the team has elected to participate in, the team should split the costs of tournament fees and coach’s fees.

TEAM CHECK-IN.Preparing for, and completing the team check-in prior to the deadline is very important. Sometimes it takes multiple steps being approved, so always plan to start check-in well prior to the tournament weekend. Normally, the team check-in window opens online two weeks prior to the tournament. No walk-up check-in available anymore! There is a $20 fee to check-in online (please pay it and forward your email receipt to Academy Director, who will submit it to the bookkeeper for reimburse). You will need scans of the required documents (player cards, medical releases, official state roster from your notebook) in order to complete the online process.Each tournament will tell you specifically what they require and when it must be turned in.

THANK YOU! Thank you for agreeing to serve as your Academy team’s Team Manager! The manager’s work is vitally important to the team, your coach, and IAFC. Should you have any questions regarding your responsibilities as Manager, please contact Director of Academy or Director of Coaching any time.

Additional Manager Info
Club Passing to Select League (11U and 12U players only)
Sometimes there is a need or request for an Academy-aged player to join a Select team for a game or more. Instructions below.

  • select/club_pass_instructions_2-17 1.pdf

Travel and/or additional tournaments

As the kids progress in age and ability, the team, along with its coach, may choose to participate in some off-season or additional tournaments. These are typically a-la-carte and require that the team parents fund the tournament fee(s), coaching fee(s) for both the weekend and for additional practices (if planned), and any related travel expenses that the coach will incur (e.g. hotel, parking, mileage, and any other expenses as may be requested). IAFC will cover the travel/tournament costs for full financial aid recipients. Reimburse forms available under Resources tab.

It is a best practice to prepare a team budget in advance (with input from the coach) as to the total picture so that parents can be made aware of the financial impact of their decision to participation in a given tournament.You will also want to allow plenty of time for registration. For example, teams typically apply for the CASL tournament set in November, in July. Cost saving suggestions include: coaches sharing rooms with one another if multiple teams are participating, coaches coaching more than one team, coach car rental instead of paying milage, ride sharing for coaches with one another or a family. Consult your Director of Academy for info on other teams attending same travel tournament.

If your team decides to travel out of state for a tournament, you will need to obtain “travel permits” from GSSA. At the time of this writing, the cost for this is $5. Information on this process may be found on theGSSA website, under Documents,Georgia Soccer – Youth, Travel and Tournaments category. In addition, GSSA has prepared a helpful guide for getting the most out of your tournament travel (including helpful hints regarding establishing supervision and hotel rules). If you travel to a tournament, whether out of state or just overnight, check to see if there is an “official” tournament hotel. Most tournaments offer guidance as to accommodations and may offer discount arrangements. Many clubs have outside entities arrange lodging and negotiate rates. Some tournaments specifically require that teams stay with the official hotel.

  • Additional/Travel tournaments(Including how to file a GA Notification of Travel form)- this is for team's traveling out of GA for a tournament.