Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sue Scheff: Winter Games 2010 and Youth Sports this Spring

As many parents in the Northeast are shoveling their way through heavy drifts of snow, the Southern states, although chilly, are gearing up for their spring sport season with their children.

As the Winter Games opened this week, the entire family can join and watch the athletes compete against countries worldwide. Does your child have an athletic dream?

VolunteerSpot's  free and easy online coordination tool saves time and simplifies parent participation in youth sports. They have a new eBook with sample online sign up sheets to give parents ideas of all the ways they can ask for (and get) help with their team activities.

Whether it's Little League, soccer, swimming, softball, lacrosse, or all of the above, spring is an exciting time for children participating in youth sports. For parents, though, their busy schedules are about to get a whole lot busier! Beyond spending joyful hours cheering on the sidelines, parents provide the backbone for any successful youth sports program by participating as coaches, referees, groundskeepers, timers, bringing snacks, driving carpools, and much more.

Parent leaders that use VolunteerSpot reduce their planning and coordinating time by several hours a week and eliminate late-night reply-all emails, last-minute phone tag and hard-to-read clipboard sign up sheets. Team parents appreciate how easy it is to sign up and pick their days to help, with a few clicks from an email or through a link on the team website. VolunteerSpot then sends automated email reminders to help everyone remember and keep their commitments.

Here are a few ways parents are using VolunteerSpot to save time and power team and league activities:

  • Snack schedule sign up sheets
  • Concessions stand volunteer scheduling
  • Tournament scheduling (officials, linesmen, score keepers, awards, setup/cleanup)
  • Assistant coaches, practice helpers, and field maintenance
  • Swim meet volunteer scheduling
  • Fundraisers like carwashes, carnivals, fun runs, and picnics
The time is now to start planning your spring and summer activities, let VolunteerSpot help you be ready to spring into your children's sports! Think warm!

Read more on Examiner.

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