Team Manager

Role purpose

The Team Manager is the organiser behind each team. The role is about communication, organisation, administration and support — helping the coaching team, players, parents, opposition teams, match officials and the club all work together.

The Team Manager works closely with the coaching team but has no responsibility for coaching or coaching decisions.

One volunteer, one role

We think volunteers should have a clearly defined role, rather than being handed everything at once. It keeps responsibilities clear, stops people getting overloaded, means important jobs are not missed — and makes volunteering something you can actually sustain.

Coaches coach. Team Managers handle the team administration. First Aiders deal with first aid. Touchline Managers look after the touchline environment. Welfare Officers deal with safeguarding.

The RFL recognises these as distinct volunteer roles in the community game. Where the RFL or a competition allows one person to hold more than one, Ince Rose Bridge may still choose to keep them separate as club policy.

Communication with parents

You are the main point of contact for day-to-day team communication. In short: parents should know what is happening, where, when, and what they need to bring.

• Communicate regularly with parents and guardians.
• Share appropriate information from the club, coaching team and competition.
• Give reminders about training, fixtures, festivals and events, and communicate changes promptly.
• Provide relevant match-day information.
• Direct concerns to the appropriate coach, Club Welfare Officer or club official.

Thrive4 — team administration

Thrive4 is the club’s team-management system, covering subscriptions, training, fixtures and attendance. The club gives you admin access for your team; you keep the information accurate.

• Add training sessions, fixtures and matches, with correct dates, times and venues.
• Update information when arrangements change, and send reminders where useful.
• Monitor attendance and availability, and make sure parents can mark their child attending or unavailable.
• Use attendance information to help organise the team.
• Raise technical or administrative problems with the club.

Fixtures, home and away

• Contact the opposition Team Manager and confirm dates, kick-off times and venues.
• Provide relevant venue information and communicate any fixture changes.
• Add confirmed fixture information to Thrive4 and keep the relevant club contact informed.
• Give parents the correct match-day information.

Published RFL junior and youth Team Manager guidance identifies communication between the two Team Managers as an important match-day responsibility.

Arranging friendlies

Where appropriate, Team Managers can arrange friendly fixtures — contacting other clubs, agreeing dates, times, home or away and venues, then telling the coaching team, the parents and the club, and adding it to Thrive4.

All friendly arrangements must comply with the relevant competition, club and RFL requirements.

Match officials — U12s and above

For U12s and above, the Team Manager arranges the referee for their team’s fixtures, following the process that applies to their section and competition. Depending on the section this may be email, SmartSheet or a referee appointment system, and the process differs between the boys’ and girls’ sections.

Match-day administration

Depending on the competition and age group, this may include:

• Making sure player registration and identification information is available where required.
• Completing and submitting team sheets or match-day documentation.
• Maintaining match statistics or records where appropriate.
• Making sure the coaching team has the information it needs.
• Liaising with the opposition Team Manager and with match officials.

RFL junior and youth guidance places significant emphasis on accurate match-day information, player identification, communication between Team Managers, and completion of match-day documentation. Familiarise yourself with the rules for your particular competition.

Conduct and match officials

• Treat match officials, opposition players, parents and officials with respect.
• Support the coaching team and encourage positive behaviour from parents and supporters.
• Report concerns through the appropriate club or competition process.
• Never attempt to influence a match official’s decision, and never confront or intimidate an official.

RFL junior and youth guidance makes clear that club officials attempting to influence an official’s reporting or decisions can be subject to disciplinary action.

Kit, home match days and fundraising

• Make sure new players receive the correct club kit, keep a record of what has been issued, and chase it back when a player leaves.
• For home fixtures, give the club what it needs to prepare — player and coach numbers, food numbers, allergies and dietary requirements, kick-off time and visiting team requirements.
• Support team and club fundraising. All fundraising must follow club procedures and be transparent, properly recorded and accounted for.

Working with coaches

You take the routine administration off the coaching team so they can concentrate on the players. Keep coaches informed, support match-day organisation, and pass on relevant information from parents.

• The Team Manager does not select the team, decide positions or playing time, choose tactics, deliver sessions or override coaching decisions.
• Those decisions belong to the coaching team.

Working with other Team Managers

Team Managers should work together across the club — on fixtures, on swapping training slots, on finding solutions when teams need to move, and on sharing knowledge. The aim is to make the best use of our facilities and keep the sections working together.

Safeguarding and welfare

The Team Manager helps maintain a safe environment but is not the Club Welfare Officer unless separately appointed.

• Know who the Club Welfare Officer is and how to report a concern.
• Never ignore a safeguarding concern, and never try to investigate one yourself.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and follow RFL safeguarding requirements and club procedures.

Knowing the rules

Make yourself familiar with the rules for your age group, the league and competition rules, match-day procedures, club policies and the processes for your section. Nobody expects you to memorise every rule — if you do not know, ask.

Published RFL guidance states that Team Managers should have access to the relevant rules and a working knowledge of the current constitution.

Nobody knows everything on day one

We do not expect a new volunteer to arrive knowing the systems, the processes or the rules. If you are unsure how to do something, ask — we would far rather answer a question than have you worry about getting it wrong. There is always someone at the club who can help.

Where we can, we will pair a new volunteer with an experienced one for their first season. That is not about them doing the job for you; it is about sharing what they know until you find your feet.

The bigger picture

A lot of what a Team Manager does is invisible to players and parents: the messages, the fixture arrangements, the Thrive4 updates, attendance, team sheets, referees, kit, food numbers, friendlies, training changes and match-day organisation.

A good Team Manager takes a significant amount of administrative pressure off the coaching team, so the coaches can concentrate on coaching. When a player turns up to training or a match, the organisation around them is already done.