Before you call parents, it is a good idea to give your assistant coaches a call. Ask them if they have ever coached before, see if they have a preference on how to coach. Ask them how much time they have available and what they would like to do to help.

Calling Parents to let them know what team their children are on and introduce yourself and the assistant coaches is an essential part of organizing the team.

When you call the parents, do not just tell them the information, ask them about their child, find out what the child likes and does not like. This information is invaluable in building a Practice Schedule (see below) and knowing how to make this a great experience for you, the parents and the kids.

Some things that parents need to know when you call are:

• The name of the team their child will be on
• The color of the team
• Your name and contact information
• The names of assistant coach(es) and their contact information
• When and where you will hold practices
• When and where the games will be played (you can point them to the Field Information page on the site)
• How many children are on the team

Take a minute before you call any of the parents and write down each of these items with the answer so that when you call you have the answers available and you can focus on talking with the parent. Sometimes a parent will ask you for one of the pieces of information out of order, and having the answers written out will help you answer the question quickly without losing your train of thought.

Here is a sample intro you can use to get the conversation going:

Hello [Parent's Name], I am calling from Manchester North Soccer League. I will be coaching your [son/daughter] [child's name] this year and would like to give you the information that you need and ask some questions.

If you get a voice mail, do not just leave the information on the answering machine. Customize the intro above and ask the parent to call you back. Talking with the parent is much more pleasant and you do not want to miss out on the chance to ask the parent questions about the child's likes/dislikes etc.

If you do not hear back from the parent in a day or so, then call back. If you are not able to get through after 3 or more times, then leave a message with all the details and notify the Division Manager that you were not able to connect with the parent. The Division Manager will most likely be getting a call from the parent, and it will help the Division Manager to know that you tried.

Make sure that you know when you are playing, when practices will be held, know your team players names.

This will be given to you when you are called and given your team's information. 

Things will come up so be prepared for anything.

Please try to have your team arrive 10 minutes prior to all games in order to be on the field at the correct time.

If your players are having individual pictures, have them taken before your scheduled time.  The scheduled time is for team pictures.  Please be at the designated area 15 minutes before your team time.  Make sure that all your players are dressed and ready for their pictures.

Please contact your Division Manager for any issues that come up.  If your Division Manager is unavailable, please contact Aaron Chretien, President at 494-1916, if the issue cannot wait.

Please make sure that all equipment and paperwork are turned in on the last day of the season.  Thanks so much for all your hard work and dedication to support the team.