A preseason checklist for coaches: the admin side

Most preseason stress for a coach is paperwork and communication, not practice plans. Forms that are missing, a schedule that lives in three places, parents who are not sure who to ask, and gear nobody has counted. Doing the admin in a fixed order in the weeks before the first game means the first game can be about the game.

This guide goes through that admin in order: forms, the schedule, the roster, parents, volunteers, money and equipment. The full checklist is at the end, so you can copy it and tick things off.

Forms and eligibility

Start here, because a player who is missing a form may not be allowed to practice. Most programs need some version of:

• a physical or other medical form
• emergency contacts for each player
• eligibility paperwork, such as grades, age or residency
• any required concussion acknowledgment, with the signatures your school or state association asks for

The exact rules come from your school, your league or your state association, and they can change from year to year. Do not work from last season's list. Ask your athletic director or league administrator for the current one, and ask when each form is due.

Then keep one place that shows who has turned in what. A simple list with each player's name and a column for each form is enough. Share it with whoever helps you chase forms, so two people are not asking the same family for the same thing.

The schedule

Confirm every game, practice and block of facility time before you publish anything. Rink, field and gym time is often booked by someone else, so check that your times match theirs.

Every entry should have:

• the day, date and time it starts
• who you are playing
• whether it is a home or away game
• the venue's name and street address, so parents can get directions

Publish the schedule in one place families can bookmark, and point everyone to that place. When a game moves, update it there the same day, before or with the group text. If the site is wrong once, parents stop trusting it.

The roster

Set the final roster, assign jersey numbers and note each player's class year or age group. Check the numbers against the jerseys you actually have before you announce them.

Decide what is public and what stays private. Number, name and class year are enough for families in the stands. Phone numbers, addresses, birthdays and medical details belong in your private records, not on a public page. Our guide to what a high school team website needs covers what to put on a public roster and what to leave off. Ask your athletic director or league whether names and photos can be posted.

Parent communication

Pick one channel for team updates and say so at the start. It might be an email list, a team app or a group text. If updates go out in three places, some families will miss the one that matters.

Hold a short preseason parent meeting, in person or online. A simple agenda:

1. The schedule and where to find it
2. Expectations for players and parents
3. Costs: what families pay, what it covers and when it is due
4. Volunteer roles that need filling
5. How to reach the coaches, and when

Keep it under an hour, and send a written summary afterward for families who could not attend.

Who to contact for what

Parents waste a lot of time asking the wrong person. Write a short list and share it at the meeting:

• Schedule changes and attendance: the head coach or team manager
• Forms and eligibility: the athletic office or league contact
• Fees and payments: the treasurer or booster club
• Volunteering and events: the team parent
• The website: the website editor

Volunteers and team roles

A team runs on parents who each take one job. Common roles:

• Team parent or manager: the main point of contact for families, and a second pair of hands for the coach
• Scorekeeper or stats: keeps the book at games and passes on results
• Fundraising lead: plans fundraisers and keeps track of sponsor outreach
• Photographer: takes photos at games and shares them with the team
• Website editor: keeps the schedule, roster and news current

Write each role down with a name and a sentence on what it covers. A role with no name next to it tends to land back on the coach. A role with a clear description is easier to hand to someone new next season.

Money: fees, fundraising and sponsors

Families should know early what they will pay and when. Set the due dates for fees, and say what happens if a family needs more time.

Then lay out the fundraising calendar for the season: what events are planned, roughly when, and who leads each one. Put sponsor outreach on that calendar too. Businesses set their own budgets, and it is often easier to ask before the season starts than in the middle of it. Our guide to asking local businesses to sponsor your team covers who to ask, what to offer and how to follow up, with a request letter you can copy.

If your team raises money through a school or booster club, ask them how money should be collected and recorded before you start.

Equipment and uniforms

Count what you have before you order anything:

• Take an inventory of team equipment and note what is worn out or missing.
• Collect sizes for anything you need to order, and allow time for delivery.
• Match uniform numbers to the roster, so no two players share a number.
• Follow up on gear that was due back from last season, with a return date.

Write down who has what. At the end of the season, that list is how you get it back.

Put it where families will look

Most of what families need from this list is the same few things: the schedule, the roster, who to contact, the sponsors and the upcoming events. Put them in one team website and link to it from every message you send. Families stop asking where to find things, and volunteers have one place to keep current.

That is what OurTeamSports is for. It gives a team a website in the team's colors with schedule, roster, sponsors, events and alumni sections, and an admin area where coaches and parent volunteers update them. Access can match many of those jobs: a sponsor editor can change only the sponsors, and an events organizer only the events. It works for any sport.

The checklist

Forms and eligibility:

• Get the current list of required forms from your athletic director or league.
• Track who has turned in each form in one shared list.

The schedule:

• Confirm every game, practice and facility booking.
• Give every entry a date, time, opponent, home or away, and street address.
• Publish the schedule in one place and update it the day it changes.

The roster:

• Set the roster, jersey numbers and class years.
• Decide what is public and keep personal details private.

Parents:

• Pick one channel for team updates.
• Hold a preseason parent meeting and send a written summary.
• Share a "who to contact for what" list.

Volunteers:

• Fill each team role and write down a name and what it covers.

Money:

• Set fee due dates and tell families what the fees cover.
• Put fundraisers and sponsor outreach on the season calendar.

Equipment:

• Take an inventory of team equipment.
• Order anything missing in time for the first game.
• Match uniform numbers to the roster.
• Collect gear still out from last season.

Website:

• Put the schedule, roster, contacts, sponsors and events in one place families can bookmark.