From the trenches: Responsibilities of a t-ball team mom

This is our second year playing t-ball and I guess you could say we are seasoned. Last year, we decided to jump with both feet in, guns blazing, head first, right into being coach and team mom. We had told them that we would coach if nobody else stepped up, aka, they signed us up right away. Adrian really didn't have the desire to coach but I convinced him that it would be a great experience for Gabriel, so he decided to give it a shot.

We have just begun our second season as coach and team mom (which we swore we wouldn't do, but you get sucked in!) and I would like to believe that we know what we are doing now...

There is a LOT to do when you are coach and team mom, much more than I could have imagined. Before the first month of practice, there are at least 3-4 meetings that the coach and team mom need to attend, along with several coaching seminars. In our league, the seminars are free and provide a great resource, especially for new coaches.

As the team mom, your real job starts as soon as the team has been assembled. I like to kick-off the season with an introductory email that talks a little about us and our background, as well as highlights key dates such as uniform pick-up night, our carnival fundraiser, practice dates and location, contact information, request for assistant coaches and volunteer forms, equipment needed for the season, etc. One of the best resources I have found for communicating to and coordinating our team has been Shutterfly's team sites. They are amazing!

At the first practice, I focus on learning the kids' and parents' names, and making sure to introduce myself to each person. They hear a lot from me all season and I want them to feel comfortable coming to me whenever they have questions or concerns. I also bring extra volunteer forms, because for Little League, anyone who plans to interact with the kids is required to have one on file.

During the first month, and definitely before Opening Day, I get my banner company on the phone and have them design a banner, and take our jerseys and hats to the custom screen printer to get names on the jerseys and numbers on the hats. Teams are not required to do either, but we do both. It's a nice way to customize their things, makes it much easier for dugout volunteers to figure out which hat belongs to which child, and becomes a keepsake after the season.

I also work out how we will organize our dugout during the season. This is critical. Our first game last year was an absolute disaster, and that was because I had put zero thought into the matter. My husband was about to fire me from my team mom duties and find another mom to help him. So, I went to the dollar store and bought 12 buckets and backpacking clips, then designed 12 baseballs on the computer with each child's name and number, printed them out and laminated, bought a clipboard and boom.

At the next game, the kids were sitting down in their seats. The batting order was easier to decipher because they were already in order on the bench. Cups and gloves and hats were all placed in the buckets below their names. Whoa. Amazing what a couple bucks at the dollar store and some printed names can do!

One of the most important responsibilities of the team mom is to stay on top of communication. Each week, I try to send out practice and game time and location, snack duty assignments, as well as any other need-to-know information.

The biggest recommendation I have for team parents is to enlist other parents to help. I have made great friends by getting other moms on board and having them help with assigned duties. You'll be shocked at how willing they are to help, they only need to be asked!