Team Manager
The Team Manager is the central hub of information and oversees the flow of communication between players, coaches, and parents as well as support systems such as the Vancouver Thunderbirds Hockey Board of Directors, Pacific Coast, and BC Hockey. You will be the one who knows what is going on, and we hope that between the Board Members, staff and your network of team and division ambassadors, you will have all the information you need or know whom to reach out to for the answers.
We want our Team Managers to have a fun experience, and we realize a big part of that is how the association sets you up for success. This Team Manager section of the website was created to provide you with a go-to place for the key pieces of information you may need throughout the season. While there will be a fair amount of information available here, it will not be exhaustive so the most important part of your role, aside from making sure the players and coaches know when the ice times are, is to ask questions when you aren't sure.
The below duties don't cover everything – and many can be delegated to other team parents – but the Team Manager is responsible for coordinating the duties and overseeing that they are completed.
List of duties in no particular order:
- Communication of a team schedule.
- Work with the Head Coach to organize exhibition games, tournaments, and events.
- Use TeamSnap to organize and communicate team games and activities.
- Obtain necessary equipment and supplies for the team.
- Develop an operating budget and present it to the team or appoint a team treasurer to manage this aspect.
- Coordinate team financial matters.
- Secure officials for all home games or appoint a Referee Scheduler to manage this for the team.
- Payment of officials for all home games. You can appoint a volunteer to take this on.
- Communicate with opposing team managers regarding games.
- Coordinate volunteers to learn HiSports and entering game results.
- Team Managers should work with the team to assign/divide up managerial responsibilities.
- Resolve game conflicts.
- While you may feel like you simply don't have the time to do so, we highly recommend you do a bit of light bedtime reading and peruse through the PCAHA Rule Book , paying particular attention to the sections that cover suspensions (starting on P. 129). Almost every question you will have or be asked will go back to the rule book, so the more familiar you are with it, the smoother your season will go.
Other Team Officials
Within the team, the Team Manager will work closely with the Head Coach to plan out the season in terms of ice times, tournaments, player and parent expectations. Both parties must have a good line of communication and understanding.
The Head Coach’s role includes:
- Actively participate in the division balancing process
- Plan and implement weekly practice plans
- Pre-game preparation and coaching of games
- Be informed of BC Hockey rules regarding the suspension of players
- Complete any certification deficiencies by December 1
- Coordinate the delegation of responsibilities to Assistant Coaches and Manager
- Establish and communicate team rules
- Supervision of players
- Follow and enforce codes of conduct
- Have fun - get the kids to enjoy the game
- Be mindful of treating all players with fairness and respect
- For more information on coaching with the Thunderbirds, click here. If unsure what certifications are needed or have completed, please contact us.
- Assist with the division balancing as directed by the Division Ambassadors or Head Coaches
- Assist with all aspects of practices and games as directed by the Head Coach
- Assist with pre-game preparation
- Assist with the supervision of players
- Complete any certification deficiencies by December 1
- Provide ongoing support and feedback to the Head Coach during the season
- Follow and enforce codes of conduct
- Have fun - get the kids to enjoy the game!
- Be mindful of treating all players with fairness and respect
- For more information on coaching with the Thunderbirds, click here. If unsure what certifications are needed or have completed, please contact us.
- Access to medical information via ePact.
- Ensures that the first aid kit is at all practices and games. Also ensures maintenance of the first aid kit.
- Ensures that incident forms are filled out and sent to administration if an injury occurs.
- Manages injuries and refers players to qualified professionals.
- Ensure that Return to Play Protocol is followed for all injured players.
- In conjunction with team coaches, conducts regular checks of players' equipment.
- Requires the completion of the online HCSP course. Complete any certification deficiencies by December 1.
- We currently have two Risk Managers who are able to help if needed: Nancy Lis and Kevin Hunter.
- For more information on the HCSP program, click here. If unsure what certifications are needed or have completed, pleasecontact us.
For all of our U6-U9 divisions, on-ice volunteers are needed to support the coaching team. On-ice volunteers help cover the skill groups along with coaches about once a week.
Full coaching certification is NOT required, although recommended, but all volunteers in this role will still need to complete the Respect in Sport (RIS), Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT), and a criminal record check.
Ensure all certifications are completed are completed by December 1. If unsure what certifications are needed or have completed, please contact us.
Overview of Team Level Volunteer Roles
One of the first things you will want to accomplish is getting your mini army together - aka the other parents. Every family is required to participate according to our new Volunteer Program.
The following list provides the basic roles, but every team may have some unique roles they want to add - sometimes based on a specific skill one or more parents may possess that could enhance the overall experience for the team.
These roles can also be found in the Get Involved section of the website for you to direct your parents to. Note that these are only some of the many elements that you can ask for help in. Some managers have a set schedule for timekeeper/scorekeepers and it's up to the parents to find replacements if they can't make their scheduled game. Anything that you feel comfortable delegating, the less the burden is for you - and you do NOT need to be responsible for everything!
- Collection of deposit cheques for game jerseys
- Creation of a season budget in conjunction with team officials that includes tournaments, team building events, fundraising etc.
- Collection of team fees and rep fees (if applicable)
- Determines team fundraising needs and develops a plan if necessary
- Responsible for using the online referee booking system to book and confirm referees for home games only
- Responsible for the payment of referees from Thunderbird and team funds
- Responsible for coordinating and scheduling 3 parents for timekeeping (home games) and scorekeeping (Away Games)
- Updating the current team schedule with the schedule of time/scorekeepers
- Responsible for all communication from the Thunderball Committee to their team
- Promotion of the event to their team
- Coordination of their team's silent or live auction time
- Secure team volunteers to provide 6-8 hours of volunteer time required to host the event either leading up to or during the event
- Works with team officials to source, apply for, and book tournaments for the team
- Obtain proper permission to attend the tournament from the Association Administrator
- Arrange and/or book travel options - i.e. hotel, airfare, etc.
Contacts
- Ice Allocation (Ann) - ice@vancouvertbirds.ca – anything to do with ice times; rescheduling conflicts; rescheduling due to tournaments; extra practice ice
- Ref Assignor (Nandia) - neliopoulos@vancouvertbirds.ca – need refs for games; advising game time/day change; exhibition games
- Registrar – register@vancouvertbirds.ca – adding/removing team officials or players; roster for tournaments; verification of team official qualifications
- Team related issues - Head Coach and your Division Ambassadors; http://www.vancouvertbirds.ca/policies-and-procedures/
- Equipment (Jerseys) – Chris at equipment@vancouvertbirds.ca
- Injury related issues – your team HCSP
- Thunderbirds - http://www.vancouvertbirds.ca/staff/
- All else – start register@vancouvertbirds.ca
Division Ambassadors and Team Managers are added at the beginning of each season here.
Board members, with roles listed, can be found here.
Staff and key program leads are listed here.