Sample Team Parent Information Letter

Guilderland Softball League

Division _____ – Team # _____

Sponsor: ______

Manager:______XXX-XXXX (Phone)

Coach:______XXX-XXXX (Phone)

Team Parent:______XXX-XXXX (Phone)

March12, 2013

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 30, April 6, April 13 , .
  • Opening Day of Softball Games – April 22,2013 –
  • Opening Night Celebration activities are scheduled for April 26, 2013 (Rain Date is May 4, 2013).
  • Team Pictures – Scheduled for Sunday, April 21, 2013 at Guilderland Center 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

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 – see Attachment A1 (a Sample Team Roster. Team Parents will need to make up their own.)

Sports Signup Options:Once Teams are assigned and the draft is complete, Managers, Coaches and Team Parents will have access to the Team Roster among other features in Sports Signup. Feel free to use this resource. 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:

  • View Roster – Online access to helper and player contact information including: Names, Phone #’s, Address, Emails and Parent information.
  • 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.
  • 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 and have parents check the information online – if you want. Your Team Parent will also have access to this feature.
  • **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.
  • Email Team – You can send email messages out to all your players/parents through sports signup. All players assigned to your team are automatically grouped in the system under your team and will receive your email messages.
  • Send easyAlert – You can send out a text message to all your players if a practice is canceled or a game. Your players/parents just have to enable this feature in their sports signup account.

Instructions to signup for -easyAlert

  • Login to your Sports Signup account -
  • Click on the easyAlert icon under account options
  • Click "Enable Texting" and follow the instructions toactiveyour mobile phone.

What Parents/Players can see in Sports Signup under your Team Account:

  • View Roster – They can only see the online roster that only includes the names of the helpers (Manager, Coach, Team Parent) and player names. NO contact information is posted. You as the Manager (or Team Parent) can email them the “Print Roster” with the contact information.
  • Team Wall – View Team Wall. In order for a parent/player to make a post they have to select a user which is a parents name that will show up in the post. You not be able to make an anonymous post.
  • View Schedule – If you decide to post a schedule they will have access to view the information.
  • Field Preparation – We need parents to help prepare the fields for opening weekend. Field preparation days are scheduled on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on March 30,April 6 and April 13. (weather permitting). Please bring your own rake and shovel. Parents are being asked to sign up for at least a 2 hour shift. Children 10 years old and over may participate with parents. Based on parent sign-up, Attachment A2 has been developed for our team.
  • Opening Day – Opening Day of softball is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2013. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Friday, April 26, 2013 (Rain Date is May 4, 2013) at 6:00 p.m. Refer to the latest information regarding this event.
  • Team Pictures – League Team pictures have been scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, April 21, 2013 at Guilderland Center 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. Thesetickets 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 forthefulldurationoftheirshift. 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 (although during slow periods the Concession Stand Supervisor usually encourages parents to watch their child’s game). Parents should make any necessary arrangements to allow them to meet this responsibility and must check with the Concession Stand Supervisor prior to leaving the stand.

Our team’s game schedule and parent assignment to the Concession Stand Schedule for home and away games is attached (Note: Attachment A4 is a Sample Team Concession Stand Schedule. Team Parents will need to make up their own). It is the responsibility of the Team Parent, or Coach if the Team Parent is unavailable to assure that there is someone present for their team in the concession stand for each game. (Note: Attachment A4 is a Sample Team Concession Stand Schedule. Team Parents will need to make up their own.)

For each home and away game, parents are responsible for working at the Concession Stand on their assigned date. It is important for the assigned parent to be in the Concession stand at his/her designated time as it will delay the start of our team’s game. If a conflict develops, it is your responsibility to switch your assigned date with another parent, and to notify me of any switches made as I need to change this on the schedule at the Concession Stand. 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.

The League relies on adult judgment and experience to keep the Concession Stand operating in a safe and efficient manner. It is expected the parents will work each team’s Concession assignment, to provide help in the grill/cooking areas and to complete orders and handle money accurately and quickly in an environment that can become very busy.

Children age 14 and older may work in your place if they are capable of accurately making change and completing customer orders, in the judgment of the acting Concession Stand Supervisor. The stand supervisor on duty has the final authority to make all decisions that arise during their shift, including whether a teenager is capable of completing a Concession assignment during the 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. You may not have a child under the age of 14 work in your place at the Concession Stand. 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.

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.

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. Without new supervisors, we may not be able to open the stand on all game days, which will result in a loss of needed operating income for the league. 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 to assist the league by serving as a Concession Stand Supervisor. Please contact Lou Tomaso ().

  • Team Uniforms – The League provides each girl with a team jersey, socks. The shirts are used again each season and must be turned in at the end of each season. The socks are for the girls to keep. New this year players must wear BLACKSOFTBALL PANTS during games, which parents will need to purchase. Stores such as Dick’s, Sports Authority, etc. sell these pants. Please note that this year, 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. Other information regarding team uniforms are as follows:

-Helmets – Players of all ages are required to wear helmets with satisfactory NOCSAE-approved face cages 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: To extend uniform wear and durability, the League requests that parents continue to take special care in laundering them. After washing the team jersey, it should not be put in the dryer as this will make the shirt shrink, fade in color, and will dry out the player number and the logo (which will eventually crack and peel off). Please hang dry the team jersey. This practice will extend the longevity of the team jerseys for a few years.

-Player Uniform Sizing:Measurements of team jerseys for the players were collected by the League from the registration forms received. Please keep in mind that we try to fill all sizes accordingly, but it is impossible to match them exactly. We don’t have enough sizes to fit every ones needs. We try our hardest, but some sizes may be larger or smaller than indicated on your forms. The team uniforms are to be picked up by the teamparent, or designee, on April 15, 2013 from9:00 AM-11:00 AM at the maintenance garage. The candy money must be turned in before the team uniforms will be issued. Each player will be issued a team jersey, knee socks and a. All team managers are responsible for collecting the team uniforms at the end of the season. When the team uniforms are issued, we will be recording on a form the team jersey number assigned to each player. We will use this same form at the end of the season to ensure the return of the team jersey from each player. 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 socks.

To prepare for the uniform collection, please have your child bring an extra change of clothes at our last game. ______has volunteered to collect and wash the players’ uniforms. Our Team Manager is responsible for returning all team uniforms to the League in June after the recreation season ends.

  • Team Party Coordinators and Trophies Ordering Information

______and ______have volunteered to organize our end-of-the-season team party, along with coordinating the ordering of the trophies for our players. They will be seeking input from all parents for suggestions on the team party. As we near the end of softball season, more detail and information will be provided regarding the party (date, time, etc.) and money that will need to be collected for this, along with the trophies. (Note: For the Single A and Rookie Divisions, as there are no standings kept and no championship playoffs at the end of the season, the League purchases trophies for all players. Teams do not have to collect money for player trophies at these two levels only.)

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 Brian Robinson, 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 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 coping for your teams)

(Attachment A1 - SAMPLE TEAM ROSTER)

Guilderland Softball League

- Team #6

Manager:Andrew McKenzieXXX-XXXX

Team Parent:Janet Sapio-MaytaXXX-XXXX

Player and Parent NamesAddressTelephone

1.Christine AbelsethXX Pleasant StreetXXX-XXXX

(Cynthia & James)Voorheesville, NY 12186

2.Amanda BaldwinXXXX Williamsburg DriveXXX-XXXX

(Chris & Chris)Schenectady, NY 12303

3.Amanda BroomeXXXX Veeder RoadXXX-XXXX

(Ellen & Herbert)Slingerlands, NY 12159

4.Lauren KingXXXX Shave RoadXXX-XXXX

(Kim & Kevin)Schenectady, NY 12303

5.Sonia MaytaXXXX Rose AvenueXXX-XXXX