The best tips for managing a sports team

Sometimes it’s a good idea to ask our colleagues for their best tips on how they do their jobs. So we’ve decided to give you a rundown of the best sports team management tips from the pros.

Let’s face it, paper is now obsolete. Everyone has at least one e-mail address, and young people are increasingly on Facebook. “Facebook addiction and the omnipresence of young people on this social network is a facilitating factor, and almost all of them have very easy access to it. You can also chat in real time and see who’s around (and even who’s staying up too late, sometimes)… it makes it very easy to get answers to urgent questions,” notes Antoine, a trainer with Club Impulsion in Saint-Basile-le-Grand.

What’s more, parents often have access to their e-mail wherever they are, thanks to their tablet or smartphone. It’s a great way to communicate with them in writing. Some sports team management tools and software can also be very useful for planning the season and communicating with players.

People are busy and may forget deadlines, let an e-mail slip through the cracks, or even fail to return a call. So don’t hesitate to call them again, to make sure that all players and their parents have received the information they need to plan their activities. According to baseball coach Xavier, it can be useful to proceed by telephone and confirm the information in person with the person concerned.

If you want to be able to direct parents and players to their e-mail in order to make them autonomous in their information-taking, it’s best to write everything clearly and not neglect the details. In fact, if all the information they need is clearly set out in a single e-mail, it will be easier to redirect them to the right place and get them into the habit of checking their e-mail before asking questions.

Charts are also a great way to schematize and clarify information. “A clear table is sometimes worth a lot more than a lot of words,” says Antoine.

Planning often remains the same from year to year, and it’s reassuring for parents or players to know what to expect, so they can plan for the whole season. Of course, unforeseen circumstances may arise and schedules may vary, but the important thing is to plan ahead and offer clear guidelines and a basic timetable that everyone can work with. Antoine and Xavier agree: a fixed training schedule is the key to success.

Don’t hesitate to send an e-mail or text message to parents or players. After all, as a coach or manager, you absolutely have to be there for your team. Antoine specifies that it’s important to establish clear availabilities and set aside specific times when you can or can’t be reached, so you can maintain a certain life balance while being 100% present for your athletes.