I stepped outside and looked up towards the sky. There was an unmistakable rumbling in the sky, just as we were packing our bags, getting ready to head out to the soccer fields. The fields where Jacob practices with his travel soccer team are half an hour away. Loading four kids in the car late in the afternoon (or any time, for that matter) is no easy feat. I would rather not get everybody excited to go if the skies were going to open.
I grabbed my phone, out of habit, hoping it would be my magic 8 ball and provide the answer that I needed. “To go or not to go!” – thankfully I had signed up for the TeamSnap app for Jacob’s team a few weeks ago, so I did in fact get my crystal ball prediction of the future, directly from my phone. Jacob’s coach sent the entire team a message that all the soccer fields had been closed due to reported lightning strikes near the fields! Travel soccer parents, you NEED this for your team!
Thank you, TeamSnap, once again for coming through with timely and instantaneous updates. If you are a travel soccer parent, do yourself and your child’s team a big favor and have the team manager sign up for TeamSnap. It is truly a “game changer!” (Pun intended!) TeamSnap is offering my readers an exclusive deal: A FREE SEASON of TeamSnap (four months free), which I encourage you to take advantage of – you will love it.
Truth be told, this is my first season as a travel soccer mom, and I am rather overwhelmed by it all. This is of course coming from someone who never even played kick ball as a child because her athletic abilities were non-existent. The early season kicked off several weeks ago, and TeamSnap is the glue that binds team management, parents and players together in a cohesive group.
Five reasons why TeamSnap is a must for any travel team – and how it has saved my sanity.
- Messages:
- Easy, up to the minute communication between Coach, Team Manager and parents.
- The Messages feature has come in handy several times during the South Florida rainy season. We have had field closures, last minute location changes and make-up practices, but miraculously everyone has shown up at the right time, at the right place, thanks to the prompt communication from the coaches.
- Team Roster:
- Everyone has access to the team roster and the parents’ players’ contact information.
- This week I dropped Jacob off at practice; I was planning on running an important errand while he was occupied on the field. It was a great feeling to know that all the parents had my contact information, should they need to reach me.
- At the start of the season, we were encouraging Jacob, our shy travel soccer player to make friends on the field. At the click of the screen we identified someone who actually lives within walking distance from our house. Starting the season with a known friend on the team helped Jacob to come out of his shell.
- Schedule/ Availability:
- The game schedule is loaded in advance and each player RSVPs to the games he plans on attending. The coaches are thereby able to staff the team appropriately ahead of game day.
- We get weekly email reminders of upcoming games. Even with a changing schedule, we always have access to the most current game times and locations.
- Photos:
- It is easy for parents and coaches to upload files and photos to share with the entire team.
- I was pleasantly surprised this week when I went into TeamSnap. Another mom, with a super cool and fancy camera, had been kind enough to upload 75 pictures from last week’s game.
- Payments:
- Any one with travel sports experience knows that there are a lot of upfront and ongoing expenses. Thankfully TeamSnap keeps track of them for you.
- It is easy to budget for your child’s travel sports experience when you continually monitor the expenses and confirm that you are up-to-date on the payments.
As a first-time travel soccer mom, I am adjusting well to the hectic schedule of practices, games, tournaments, laundry, snacks, driving and juggling. I love how playing soccer is boosting our son’s self esteem, broadening his social circle and bringing our family together on the sidelines. Managing a large family with school work and now also with travel soccer can be overwhelming. But thanks to TeamSnap we can focus on the social, athletic and fun aspects of travel soccer, because TeamSnap takes care of all the practical things.
Does your child’s team currently use TeamSnap? If not, forward this blog post to the coach and encourage him/ her to sign up for the free FOUR MONTH trial. (They have to use THIS LINK to get the exclusive offer!)
