Okay, don’t tell my daughter’s coaches this because I always play hard to get when the time comes to choose team moms each season, but I LOVE being a team mom. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: It takes a special kind of crazy to love being a team mom. And it definitely does…You’re right. But what does a cheer team mom actually do?
A team mom is basically a lifeline between coaches and parents. Depending on your cheer program’s size and its policies, a team mom’s role and responsibilities can vary, but here are some essentials of a terrific cheer team mom:
BE AN ALLY VS. A BOSS
The unique thing I’ve found about being a team mom is the special skill of being an ally to both the parents and the coaches. So often, I see team moms trying to tell parents what to do – or worse – trying to give coaches input on how to do their job, and neither of those things are what being a team mom is all about.
Do you see a coach struggling with a rough day? Offer to grab them a Starbucks or send them a quote that reminds them they are loved.
BE A COMMUNICATION FANATIC
I do mean FANATIC. Get really good at communicating. I find that sharing information in bullet-pointed, small chunks is most effective. Families have a lot going on in their lives: work, school, other activities besides cheer, and the less time they have to spend digging through information, the better. I love to make fun visual graphics for my teams that highlight the most essential information they need to know for the week. Try to make it fun if you can, too!
BE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
Part of being an ally to the coaches is being the first line of defense for parents and their athletes. Encourage your parents to come to you with their questions and concerns first; ESPECIALLY on competition day or on a travel weekend. I can’t tell you how many times my team mom, friends and I have solved problems without the coaches ever knowing there was a problem in the first place. Everything from busted lips to lost Summit credentials…we put out fires before the coaches even knew. It’s what a team mom does.
BE AN AMBASSADOR
You may be the only representation of your gym that someone sees or at least has regular contact with. It’s important to rise above the gossip in the parent viewing area. Resist the urge to kick the security guard in the shins when he doesn’t let you bring your Starbucks into the competition venue. Be the best representation of your program that you can be…you never know who might be watching. Plenty of people have made judgments on a cheer program based on its parents.
BE A COMMUNITY BUILDER
If you’re a team mom, it probably means that you’ve been around the cheer block a few times. So you know how important it is to have every single athlete at as many practices as humanly possible. This takes a certain level of community and buy-in from the families on your team. As the mom, you can help the team’s success by creating this sense of community through parent bonding events and cultivating relationships with the parents. I always have a “call me any time” policy as a team mom. Call for questions, call to vent, call when you’re on the verge of a breakdown over cheer. Hey – it happens! It’s happened to me, and I am so thankful for my team mom at the time, who was there to empathize and help me get through a stressful moment of the season.
ORGANIZE TEAM BONDING EVENTS
Bonding events are SO critical for a successful team! Need help with fun and creative ideas? Check out this post all about Team Bonding events.
BE A HELPER
Okay, I know that “helper” sounds preschool kinda, but I couldn’t think of a better word, and it’s better than saying “gopher,” which is really what the job of a team mom can sometimes be.
Basically, if you see a need, fill it or find someone who can. This includes anything from getting water for the team on competition day, to setting up for an event, to offering to help french braid before choreography.
KEEP CALM AND “CHEER-MOM” ON
Did the parent forget their child’s bow on competition day? Don’t judge or stress; stay calm and fix it. We’re all parents who’ve forgotten something, and we’re all human.
I’ll borrow a saying from Marie Forleo: Everything is figureoutable. And it is! EVERYTHING can be figured out. You’ll be a hero if you can keep that mentality throughout your cheer team in stressful moments.
BE “MOM” TO ALL
It goes without saying that cheer is a team sport. The way I see it, it’s your job to treat every boy and girl on that team as if they were your own, for the few hours that they’re in your care on competition day. You may be the only cool, calm and collected person some athletes see on competition day. You may be the hero who calms their nerves and gives them the hug they need.
TEAM MOM RESPONSIBILITIES AT-A-GLANCE
Again, this may vary widely, depending on the size and needs of your program, but these are the things a team mom might be responsible for:
- Source of communication – double communicate and over-communicate!
- Organize team and parent bonding events
- Help coaches organize a practice and competition calendar if needed
- Check athletes in/out at competitions and events
- Take the team to the coaches and/or warmup area
- Organize team gifts and/or goodie bags
- Help with rosters and contact info
- Help distribute uniforms and practice wear
- Have a “competition day survival kit” with everything you might need for your athletes on competition day. Check out this free checklist of items you may have never thought of!
