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Volunteer Needs/Opportunities: Descriptions

Updated 3/18/2024.
Student-athletes may count team-service help before/after/outside of practices/meets toward their PVSA hours.

To sign up to serve (or to see who's on your team), go to the SignUpGenius.

  • Please strongly consider holding your position for at least two seasons (it's easier after you've done it once!), and plan to train your replacement when you need to step down if you're a coordinator/team lead.
  • Please add your name to the Chaperone list in addition to at least one other service area (exceptions: active Coaches, Coordinators, and Team Leads). Thank you!

To add events to the Team Calendar, follow the instructions here.

Click on any position to jump to its volunteer description.


Prayer Team
Purpose: Every season is a gift by God's grace and never to be taken for granted; there are many layers to our team's participation and community. It would is a great encouragement to know that the directors, coaches, and student-athletes are covered in prayer!

This team can be whatever you make it. Ideas from past seasons:

  • Prayer Team leader assigns a day and time (AM/PM) to each team member as a weekly commitment to pray throughout the season.
  • Leader checks in with coaches for requests. (We'll let you know if something big comes up.)
  • Sends emails to team members, but you could also try texting or even meet in person (CC/T&F meets have plenty of time for this!). Communication frequency is up to you.

Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteers are key to our program’s viability. See above. :)
Further, community service is closely tied to sponsorships, and it has the added bonus of giving student-athletes the opportunity to serve, represent the homeschool community, and work toward goal-hours for volunteerism awards. Some of these organizations also offer college scholarships.

Seasonal volunteer position lists. See link to SignUpGenius at the top of this page and ensure that positions are filled. Much of this happens during the registration process, so it’s mostly a matter of recruiting and filling open slots after that. You may post via the Team Forum or contact team families directly.

Before registration opens for the next season, confirm that those whose names are currently associated with positions (e.g., Team Leads, Coordinators, etc.) are willing to serve in the upcoming season.

Update the SignUpGenius. This can be done by simply changing the Slots-->"Sign Up End Date" (so that it doesn't expire) and delete individuals as appropriate.

Volunteer Sign-ups. Maintain team service and fundraising events--unless you want to change something, just let us know! You do not have to attend all of these, just make sure they keep rolling and have enough volunteers. Use the master Volunteer SignUpGenius page (see link at top of this page) as a reference for committed volunteer chaperones and the Team Forum to secure additional help as needed. 

You can find the event contact list here.

  • Add events to the Team Calendar and/or work with the Calendar Coordinator. See instructions in link at top of this page.
    For annual events, this should simply be a matter of duplicating sign-ups and replacing information to reflect the current year.
    • Summer/fall (varies): Hanover Historical Society events (ice cream social, corn feed, etc.)
    • August (first Friday): Hanover Harvest Festival setup (SignUpGenius). This is to thank the city for use of their indoor and outdoor spaces.
    • August (first Tuesday): Corcoran Night to Unite. This is hosted by the police department. They use their own SignUpGenius form, so make sure we have a link on our team calendar.
    • Other events as requested.
  • Typically we want to gather the event details about a month in advance and begin encouraging sign-ups at that time. Watch the sign-up counts; and if more participation is needed, send out emails (via Team Forum) at about 2 weeks, 1 week, and a few days ahead of time to fill the lists.
  • Remind participants 2 days beforehand unless the signup system does this automatically.
     

Errand Runner Team
Purpose: Free the coaches' time. :)

  • Pick up items such as Team Store orders (J&J Athletics Buffalo), newspapers (various locations to choose in St. Michael/Albertville/Rogers area), etc.
  • Submit receipts for reimbursement.
     

Student-Athlete Recognition Coordinator
Purpose: Northwest Homeschool Athletic Cooperative offers several ways for home schooled student-athletes to earn awards and recognition. Our desire is for our student-athletes to have as many opportunities as possible to be recognized and to help build their resumes for college/job/scholarship applications. This position covers team, state-, and national-level awards.

Must have a printer capable of printing on card stock.

  • September 15: President's Volunteer Service Award applications are due from all student-athletes (CC/T&F) (see requirements here). Collect and review these; and then provide names, ages, hours, and award levels (gold/silver/bronze) to Athletic Director by October 1. If awards are out of stock, ask recipients for a second choice.
  • September 1 (cross country) and April 1 (track & field): Cumulative GPA's (see requirements on the Team Calendar entry date) are due from the parents of all athletes for individual and team academic awards. Send requests as soon as the season starts, then collect and submit to Athletic Director. JV/Varsity athletes must submit these to compete in regular-season meets. Keep data confidential.
  • November and June banquets: the Head Coach or Athletic Director will have names ready, 2-4 days before the banquet--the short timeframe is due to ensuring that we have all season-end stats in hand. Return certificates to Head Coach/A.D. for signatures.
  • Local newspaper articles. Scan, save to googledrive, and print in color on regular paper.
  • MSHSL Awards
    • State Participant Awards. https://www.mshsl.org/mshsl-certificates Print on cardstock with student-athletes' names.
    • All State and All-State Academic certificates. Coaches will receive certificates or a link to printable files. Print on cardstock with student-athletes' names.
    • MSHSL Spotlight on Scholarship certificates. These are given to JV/Varsity student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The Athletic Director will order paper certificates based on the information submitted above. Print with names, applicable season, etc. (see example here). We can get these to you earlier in the season. :)
    • Nighthawk Awards (all printing is color on cardstock)
      • Senior batons (track & field only; order from relaybatons.com (or email info@relaybatons.com with details and they'll send you an invoice); see example here, use Bodoni MT font or similar and non-outlined Nighthawk logo; format line 1 FIRSTNAME LASTNAME ~ YEAR, line 2 Nighthawk Track & Field.
      • Chenile letters: order these 12 at a time from J&J Athletics--remind coaches to add this to the team store order (fall and spring) if we dip below a dozen on hand.
      • Ribbons & pins (including CC Jr. ribbons): get ordering details from Admin spreadsheet.
      • Certificates
        • NHAC Scholar Athlete Awards (full size certificates--for JH athletes who are not eligible for the MSHSL SOS certficates above but have a minimum GPA of 3.0)
        • Letters (full size certificates)
        • Participation (not including letter winners; full size certificates--this way everyone gets a "full sized" certificate and everything else is smaller pin cards)
        • Dedication (pin cards)
        • Captains (pin cards)
        • Top Nighthawk (pin cards)
        • Athlete of the meet (ribbon cards)
        • Rookie of the Year (ribbon cards)
        • Most Improved (ribbon cards)
  • Banquet programs. Black/white on regular paper, 2-sided. 1 per athlete and 1 per family, plus a few extras.
    Due the day after the Section meet. By then we know whether we have qualifiers to add the State Championship to the list of meets. Submit PDF to the program directors for final review and then to the Student-Athlete Recognition Coordinator for printing. Include:

    • Meets (you could include other major events like CC Jr.)
    • Names of team members (also note captains), manager(s), and coaches. See Roster and Volunteer pages.
    • Season, date, and time
    • Any special announcements needed to fill space
       

Appreciation Coordinator
Purpose: We rely on local organizations to support our programs, so it is important to maintain those relationships through communication, appreciation, and recognition.

Submit any receipts to the Athletic Director (A.D.) for reimbursement.

Year-end Fundraising Letters. Work with the A.D. to print and mail funding request letters to past and potential supporters (mid-late November). A.D. can write the letter and provide names and addresses. We typically send out fewer than a dozen.

Thank-you's. Gratitude is one of our program's key values.

  • Signed cards
    • After team picture days (fall and spring), request team photo and supporter address list (sponsors, facility providers, meet hosts, etc.) from A.D.
    • Create and print thank-you cards for team members and coaches to sign at practice. Order a few extras just in case. (See example here. The blank box is for the handwritten thank-you message to be written after everyone signs outside the box; either you or the A.D. can do that.)
    • Address and stamp envelopes, and return all to the A.D. for final messaging and mailing.
  • Senior race numbers (cross country only) should be printed at the same time as thank-you cards, so these can be signed by teammates in advance of the banquet and framed (8.5x11" document/certificate frames).
  • Team photos
    • After next year's sponsors have responded (usually mid December--get the list from the A.D.), create 8x10 photos of the cross country team as a representative picture of our program.
    • Use a graphics editor to include a thank-you message (see example here, but you might have other ideas).
    • Order one for Hanover City Hall and one for each sponsor of $500+/year.
    • Walgreens has good coupons (look for the "Deals" tab at photo.walgreens.com) and many locations for store pickup, but if you can find a better deal, great!
    • Frame the photos (Dollar Tree frames are fine).
    • Work with A.D. to schedule thank-you presentations (usually 2-3) to major sponsors of $1000+/year (January-February works best). Coordinate team representatives (coaches and athletes) to attend and present framed team photos. It's probably easiest to use the sign-up feature on the team calendar for this.
    • Deliver framed photos to the other supporters (usually 2-3)

Chaperone Team
Many events require additional adult supervision, including captains practices and some fundraising/service and other events.

Event signups will be available throughout the year. The biggest push for team community service is late summer. This is how we earn financial support for the team.

For captains practices, chaperones do not need to work out with the athletes, but they do need to stay for the duration and be attentive and observe as much as possible. Connect with the captains upon arrival to determine where "team camp" will be. This is where they will be doing warmups/cooldowns, leave their bags and water bottles, etc.--and they can be flexible with camp location depending on your needs as well.
 


Website Calendar Coordinator
Purpose: The Team Calendar is the hub of scheduling information for the season. It is the first place team families look for details regarding practices, meets, community service opportunities, and other team events. This position requires some technical confidence, but the website interface is fundamentally user friendly. The bulk of the work will need to be done in November (preparing for track & field) and May (preparing for cross country).

Before registration opens
Many calendar entries and accompanying details can be copied from the previous year/season using the "Recurrence" feature of the Calendar. Practice details can be copied forward in a similar manner within the current season (e.g., every Tuesday contains the same details). In all cases, be sure to set the "Recurrence Ending Date" to the current season to avoid eternally recurring. Once you get the hang of it, this process is more tedious than difficult.

Note: sometimes protocols change from one season to the next, so you might want to doublecheck the most recent season, versus a full year back in that sport. Let us know if you ever have questions.

  • Practices (for captains' practices, just enter M-F placeholders as TBD and captains will create new ones when ready)
  • Meetshttps://www.homeschool-life.com/2515/custom/89083
  • End-of Season Banquet
  • Mega Fun Day, CC Junior
  • ACT dates (see act.org) - entire school year
  • SAT dates (see https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat) - entire school year
  • TCO free sports physicals (July/August) (visit www.TCOmn.com/SportsPhysicals or contact them for this year's dates)
  • Due dates (GPA's [see Student-Athlete Recognition Coordinator for details], captain applications, leadership surveys, team store closing, MSHSL no-contact week, summer miles checkpoints, etc.)

Throughout the season
Coaches will forward updated meet/event information to you via email for updates to the calendar. This is typically a matter of making sure that timing and other details are correct on the Team Calendar and in the Team Googledrive.

For now, coaches can continue to update the Team Calendar directly with any last-minute schedule changes.
 


Public Relations Team
Purpose: The purpose of public relations is to share our team's story and preserve it for the future. When local organizations sponsor our programs, it is important to show how the Nighthawks program makes a difference in our student-athletes' lives and contributes to the local community. Sponsors love facebook posts! With misconceptions out there about home schooled students and home school teams, this is a wonderful opportunity to shine. 
Additionally, prospective team members learn about our team through our recorded story. Plus team members enjoy "story time" when we're published!

There is a certain amount of overlap in preparing press releases and Facebook posts; once one has been created, the other comes together pretty easily.

Press releases (due on Saturdays after the event to be published the next week).

Draft press releases for varsity events. Not all meets need press, but a few during the regular season would be great, along with the championship meets (Subsections/Sections/State). Include the following for both boys and girls:

  • Meet name (host), date, and location
  • List of teams
  • Team results (Xth place of XX teams)
  • Names of scoring relay members
  • The next upcoming meet date and location
  • 1-3 photos (include name of photographer as well as captions that include athletes' names). Coordinate with the multimedia team to capture these. The paper will usually print 0-2 of them. :) It is hard to spread out the kids’ photo opps due to the nature of the sport and competition level (news favors the most “successful”), so sometimes we have to get creative or be super selective about what we give them.
  • Cross country, for each varsity race: Names, placings, and times of top 7 runners (just cut and paste from online results); note any team records.
  • Track & Field: Notable JV/Varsity performances (e.g., scorers and team records; these usually sent out by the coach with the meet results)

Draft a story (see previous seasons' googledrives for examples) and submit to the Head Coach/Athletic Director, who will add coach quotes and forward to the local news editor.

Scan local newspaper articles (Crow River News) for the team archives. Upload to the team Google Drive for download by team members, banquet team, etc.

Facebook posts (approximately once per 1-2 weeks, preferably within a week of the event).

  • Prepare photos of meets and team events (1-5 photos per post) and send to A.D. for the team Facebook page (A.D. will upload photos and tag sponsors). Try to include pics of each senior at some point during the season. Beyond that, it's a bit of an art in deciding what captures our story best.
  • If you have text ideas, please include them, keeping in mind that these posts are ideally less detailed than the press releases, but if needed we can just copy and paste it all.
  • Possible events to highlight:
    • Team community service
    • First day (or week) of practice
    • First meet in uniform
    • Other meets if there's a story to tell or a photo that captures Nighthawk spirit
    • Team picture day
    • Subsections (T&F only), Sections, and State
    • Team banquet
    • Special awards (scholar-athlete and team academic awards, volunteer service award recipients, etc.)
    • Other exciting news
       

Registration Paperwork Team
Purpose: Maintaining records and applying for the privilege of competition each season involves an enormous amount of correctly completed paperwork. We typically turn in paper applications of approximately 100 pages in addition to a series of email requests for approval. Being thorough and organized keeps the MSHSL office happy.

Must be detail oriented.

Read all instructions for the season's paper forms and come with yours complete. Ask questions if needed!

Team Registration Meeting helpers:

  • Arrive 30 minutes early for instructions and an example run-through.
  • Assist team families in submitting paperwork and signing documents.

Day after registration (afternoon) helpers: Meet to organize paperwork and ensure that all is correctly filled out and complete.

  • MSHSL Cooperative Sponsorship (high school) forms. For each home school, include together: Membership Resolution, school district reporting form(s) (all are required to have these in the fall; track-only families will have these in the spring), Activity Registration form. Arrange in order of home school list on main application.
  • Sports Physicals
    • Organize ring binders and notify anyone whose physical will expire (3 years) before or during the season.
    • Create a list summarizing student-athletes with noted medical issues;
      follow up for additional forms (e.g., Asthma Action Plan) if needed.
  • MSHSL Eligibility forms: alphabetize by last name.

Registration Team Lead (additional responsibilities):

  • One month before online registration opens: remind families whose sports physicals are coming due that they need an appointment scheduled in order to register for the team.
  • After online registration opens: prefill MSHSL group documents (school names, 9-12 enrollment, participation numbers, etc.) so all that remains is signatures.
  • After registration meeting:
    • Prepare final list of high school cooperative sponsorship home school names and email to Athletic Director.
    • Follow up with any team families who are missing anything.

Uniform Management Team
Purpose: Uniforms are our biggest financial asset. Caring for these is good stewardship of our resources and spares families from having to purchase their own.

The program directors will continue to work with the vendor to choose uniforms and team clothing items.

Uniforms

Pre-season

  • Inventory uniforms.
  • Work with coaches/captains to set dates/times/locations for Uniform Try-on Day(s).
    Uniform orders must be placed 3 weeks before the first meet.
  • Create/organize timeslots via SignUpGenius or whatever method you prefer.
    • You can usually fit 8-10 team members per 20-minute slot if they're on time.
    • Make sure the last timeslot ends 10 minutes before practice starts.
    • Ask team members to arrive at the beginning of their time slot to keep things moving.
    • Encourage parents to attend and approve sizing
    • Tell team members to wear running undergarments (e.g., sports bra, compression shorts) if that is what they will wear under their uniforms
    • Remind them to arrange a ride to practice if it's in a different location than the uniform try-ons.
  • Add dates for try-ons and/or distribution to the Team Calendar (see instructions),
    or contact the Website Calendar Coordinator for assistance.
  • Post an announcement to the Team Forum, and do all you can to get team members to sign up for a timeslot. :)
  • Doublecheck the Rosters (open each roster and click the "View Class Roster" link) to make sure that all team members are signed up. Contact families directly via the Team Directory if necessary.
  • There must be at least 2 adults present at uniform try-ons. Ask the Athletic Director who else has offered to help, and request additional helpers if needed (direct contact, Team Forum, or calendar sign-up).

Uniform Try-On Day(s)

  • Remind student-athletes to use the stalls in the bathrooms for changing at all locations as these are open/public restrooms. We want to avoid any potential situations with other building visitors.
  • Assist team members with try-ons. Record sizes.
  • Determine whether additional uniforms are needed, and report those numbers to the Athletic Director by 9:00 P.M. on the last day of uniform try-ons so we can place the order in time to receive uniforms for the first meet.
    • Be sure we have at least 1 "extra" of each size, just in case.
    • The minimum order for screen printing jerseys is 6 (no minimum for shorts as those are blank), so you might have to add in some of the more popular sizes to fill the order.

Early Season

  • Pick up new uniforms from the vendor (currently J&J Athletics in Buffalo--usually 2 weeks after the order is placed).
  • You may request helpers for a Uniform Distribution Day, requiring student-athletes to bring a bag with their name on it--or distribute them as you wish.

Post-season:

  • Collect uniforms on last day of practice. Check for any that need repair or cleaning due to stains or smells before storing. You may clean them yourself, or you may return them to student-athletes for remediation--just be sure to set a final due date and meetup location (end-of-season banquet might be easiest). Enforce late fees.

Spike Exchange (optional)

This is an optional duty for someone who wants to provide this opportunity to our student-athletes. Verify with the coaches that the athlete is physically ready and that the spikes are appropriate for the athlete's typical event, with the understanding that the shoes will be returned to the team when outgrown, graduated, etc. See https://www.homeschool-life.com/2515/custom/65488
 


Team Tent Transport
Purpose: We participate in outdoor sports, and shelter makes life much more comfortable in imperfect conditions.

Store and transport the team tent--it's big (65" x 24" x 24")--to and from meets. You will need a large trunk or truck bed or have space to fold seats down. Must arrive at team setup time. Team members will help onsite with moving, setup, and takedown. 
 


Team Store Committee
Purpose: The Team Store is the source of team clothing and gear beyond team-issued uniforms. The priority is to offer items that allow us to arrive at meets looking sharp--it matters! Beyond that, items can be chosen for practice wear, fun, etc.

Team Store

  • Select items and confirm availability with J&J Athletics in Buffalo. Missy Nevala is our main contact and can alert you of discontinued items. The vendors we mostly use are Augusta and SanMar.
  • Design graphics (or find inspiration and substitute text/logo--J&J artists can also work with a sketch) for any new items. See tips below for t-shirts.
  • Seek approval from the Head Coach/A.D. for all final designs and clothing selections (must be within dress code).
  • Set closing date to be the Thursday 1.5 weeks before the season starts; provide this date to J&J and they will provide an ordering link.
  • Create/update Team Store Information web page to include instructions, due date, and ordering link.
  • Add closing date to Team Calendar and include a link to the information page above. See instructions.
  • Email announcement and remind team members to place their orders before the store closes.
  • Pick up orders for distribution to team members at practice.

Specialty items. To reduce costs, we collect orders manually.

  • Cross country Summer Miles t-shirts
    • Pre-season prep (due 4 weeks before practice begins):
      • Design. If you use the current design, simply change the year and t-shirt/print colors. Or redesign if you wish.
      • Colors. Choose a t-shirt color (Gildan 8000 DryBlend) and a single print color (you may poll the captains for help). Do not use team colors for this; mix it up from one year to the next.
      • Proof. Send to the Head Coach/A.D. for approval before you send design to J&J for final proof.
    • Second day of practice: retrieve from coaches the summer miles t-shirt applications, which include sizes and any back-of-shirt wording.
    • Place order right away (by Thursday of Week 1) so these can be distributed early in the season!
  • Track & field Section Qualifiers t-shirts. Prepare for this and we will place the order if we have 6+ qualifiers.
    • Early-season prep (due 4 weeks before Subsections).
      • Design
        • One-color, front-only print. Design it yourself or find inspiration elsewhere and have J&J create a similar version with our name/mascot/year/sport/etc. Essentials: "Section 5A," "Qualifiers," "Track & Field," year, and some form of our team name. See J&J website or starter ideas on the Pinterest board.
        • Include potential names of qualifiers. Printing names on the back is common but more expensive. Putting them on the front can be tricky but doable: rows/columns, circles/arches, etc., incorporated into the design as placeholders: "FirstName LastName1," "FirstName LastName2," etc. See example here.
        • We can change to a front-and-back design if desired! In that case, we wouldn't do free shirts for qualifiers but charge everyone $20 each. We could give it a try and see how it goes.
      • Colors. We have done team colors (shirt and/or ink color) as well as variations (Gildan 2000 ultra cotton): reds, black, grays, heather versions of these, etc.
      • Proof. Send basics to the Head Coach/A.D. for approval before you send to J&J to finalize artwork. Ask J&J to reserve space for us on their production schedule based on the timeline below.
    • Collect orders (due 11:59 P.M. after the Subsection meet). 6 is the team-goal minimum number of qualifiers we require to place an order; 12 is the next price break, but 24 is the biggest break ($10 each) so that's the goal. See coaches if close to that number.
      • Add closing date and time to Team Calendar and include ordering information. See instructions.
      • Take orders using SignUpGenius, Team Calendar signup, or other. The easiest way to use the Team Calendar signup feature is to copy last year's "event" by using the Recurrence feature and edit as needed.
      • Promote design to team and offer for $10 each (+$2 for 2XL/3XL), cash only. Free for qualifiers. (If front-and-back design, see above for pricing changes.) Send reminders.
    • Final ordering (due 8:00 A.M. the morning after Subsections--earlier if meet is postponed). Time is short!
      • Send J&J the final team order of sizes and quantities of shirts.
      • Send J&J all of the qualifier names (random, by seniority, or whatever makes sense) and request a final proof.
      • Request proof approval (mostly to check spelling of names) by the Head Coach/A.D., and then give J&J the go-ahead.
      • Collect cash payments and submit to Head Coach/A.D.

Facility Care Crew

Purpose: With so few facility options, it is critical that we care for borrowed spaces and leave them as good as or better than when we arrived. Some venues no longer rent to home school groups due to disrespect and damage, and we want to be the exception--"Nighthawks Were Here" should be a good thing! Our program's future and our team's reputation depends on this.

This job could be covered by a group of student-athletes and/or parents, and anyone can take the lead/coordinator position. Feel free to split up into different days, weeks, etc.--whatever it takes to get it done.  

TRACK & FIELD

After practice: bathrooms & facility floors

  • Wipe water splashed on sinks, mirrors, and floors
  • Dispose of any trash
  • Clean any obvious mud tracked in by running shoes
  • Sweep and/or vacuum as needed

Look for anything else that needs to be done. If you see anything that needs extra attention, repair, etc., let the coaches know. When possible, find something encouraging to say to a facility staff member.
 


Multimedia Team
Purpose: Everyone loves photos and videos! We use them for team publicity, thank-you cards, end-of-season banquets, and more.

Team Lead and Contributors needed.

Important Tips

  • When sharing photos in a group project like this, limit your photos to the best of the best--no more than 50 total photos per event (and even this is too many when all events are added up). This reduces overwhelm for the Team Lead and the Slideshow Creator.
    • Be selective, and edit! Crop, lighten, contrast--and if this doesn't give a good result, then delete. Avoid photos that are far away (unless it serves a purpose, of course), blurry, dark, repetitive, etc.
    • Google Drive folders have worked best for multimedia team access, but you are welcome to try something else. Create a new shared folder each season.

Action Shots. The goal is to get at least 2-3 pictures of each team member (athletes and coaches) sometime during the season. Don't try to get multiple photos of everyone every day.

  • Practices
  • Meets
  • Other events 
  • Impromptu (warming up, hanging out) photos and pics of parents/siblings/fans are also great

End-of-Season Slideshow

  • Quantity is more desirable than quality. 20 minutes of entertainment beats 10 minutes of perfection. Realistically, this is a one-time presentation and will not be graded or critiqued. It is a highlight of the banquet, and most viewers will not notice fancy editing, color grading, timing to music, etc.
  • Shoot for 18-20 minutes of photos and/or videos. If you need reimbursement for music, please let us know!
  • 300 or so total photos/video clips is about the max you'll want to include. Every spring at graduation time, we receive requests from student-athletes/parents, asking if we can send them pictures. We've learned to send them to old googledrives, which means storing pictures indefinitely and paying for storage space, so limiting the number and size of photos helps everyone!
  • Include every athlete and coach.
  • Credit all contributors.
  • Music must be approved by the Head Coach. Please review the lyrics first, then email links of the lyrics.
  • Final presentation must be approved at least 2 days before the banquet so that modifications can be made if needed.
  • Here's a simple example of what has been done in the past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShZK5mQv0FU

Team Picture Day (note: this has been occasionally delegated to the Appreciation Coordinator)
If needed, Coach Jennifer can do the photo-taking and hand off the data for editing and uploading.

  • Take individual closeup photos of each athlete, choose one of each, and crop (4x6 ratio) for consistency (above the waistline is usually best due to inconsistent jersey tucking--that will also keep the faces relatively similar in size when printed at banquet time).
  • Take team photos: entire group, seniors, high school girls, high school boys, junior high girls, junior high boys, coaches. Choose the best 3-4.
  • Upload to the team Google Drive for download by team families, banquet team, etc.

End-of-Season Banquet Team
The purpose of end-of-season banquets is to celebrate as a team family a job well done. Each student-athlete makes a unique contribution to the team and is individually recognized by the coaches.

The Athletic Director will reserve and make payment for the Community Room at Hanover City Hall.
Let us know if you'd like to reserve the ice machine.
Amy Biren is our contact--see hanovermn.org.

Before the Banquet

  • Confirm budget with Athletic Director.
  • Determine details (potluck assignments, etc.) and add to the Team Calendar (see instructions at top of this page)
    • Example: Families A-L bring a main dish and salad or vegetable dish; families M-Z bring a main dish and a dessert or fruit dish. Please label your dish if it is GF, DF, or NF to help those who have food sensitivities.
    • Remind attendees that dress is business casual, and that siblings are welcome but must sit quietly with their parents through a long program.
  • Promote via the Team Forum (you might need to use regular email for T&F as the database is cleared after Sections)
  • Collect RSVPs from team families.
  • Check with the Athletic Director and previous Banquet Team Lead for possible leftover tableware, decorations, etc. The A.D. will have team awards that you can display.
  • Plan and shop for whatever else you'd like within the budget. There are no requirements or expectations for decorations; all is optional. Please avoid styrofoam, though. :)
  • Contact the head coaches to see if we already have a key, and if not, contact Hanover City Hall to make arrangements for key pickup. They often will allow you to pick it up earlier in the week if that works better for your schedule.
  • Ask Amy to put the microphone in the tables/chairs storage room.

Banquet Setup

  • In some cases, you can set up earlier in the day or even the day before if necessary. Contact Amy at City Hall in advance to confirm; it all depends on whether another event is scheduled.
  • Figure in a couple of extra seating tables.
  • Ask Amy for a copy of the Community Room rental agreement for current decorating parameters/restrictions (e.g., no tape on the walls).

After the Banquet

  • Submit receipts to the Athletic Director for reimbursement.
  • Make sure all is clean before leaving the building. Trash must be taken out and bags replaced.

Team Dinner Hosts
The purpose of team dinners is to provide affordable camaraderie outside practice and competition. Not all team members can afford post-race dinners out, which is why we try to limit those. But the kids LOVE the team dinners! This is also a great opportunity to model healthy choices.

Guidelines
We will open several volunteer slots for this so that the hosting team can work together to choose dates and sites--and decide who will serve when and where.

  • Receipts. Submit to the program directors for reimbursement. Budget = $250 per season. 2-3 events per season depending on schedule/budget/numbers. Feel free to make semi-potluck as needed.
  • Dates. Avoid Wednesdays, nights before meets, and weeks that already have fun/"extra" events scheduled. Confirm with the coaches first!
  • Timing. "Straight from practice" (6:15ish) until 7:30 P.M. has worked well. Most have been away from home for several hours by then, so this allows time to eat and socialize before driving home, showering, and doing some schoolwork before getting a good night's sleep. Give attendees the freedom to leave early ("eat and run") if needed.
  • Menu. Keep it simple! Spaghetti has been traditional, but feel free to branch out as we are no longer doing these as pre-race meals. Pasta, sauce, bread, salad/veggies, sugar-free desserts (such as fruit), and water or real fruit juice are great options. Be sure to ask in advance if anyone has a gluten-free need. Avoid artificially sweetened and/or sugary drinks such as lemonade, kool-aid, and pop.
  • Activities. While there is no need to plan entertainment, if you want to offer board games, cards, or low-key activities like bean bags or ladderball, that is fine. Please do not plan bonfires or anything involving smoke or dust. We need clear lungs for workouts. :)
  • Helpers. Feel free to use the Team Forum to enlist help, food donations, etc.
  • Announcements. Please double-check with the Nighthawks program directors before making any dates or details public.
    Then follow the Calendar How-To instructions to add your event.
  • Photos. Please take (or have someone else take) photos and select 3-4 to send to the A.D. and the Multimedia Team.