A Vent - Stand duty for sports

[NotUrsula]

It's simple -- either make it worth her while to cooperate, or make it profitable for the team to let her get her way.

With all due respect, you're thinking too small. For a lot of people, $25 barely covers an hour's pay. The prospect of MAYBE losing $50 *if* her child decides to play next year is just not fazing her. It's not big enough, and it's not immediate.

Offer her the option of not working the stand at all for the season, but charge her $200 for the option, or her kid is off the team effective immediately. The $200 should cover your costs to let one of the other parents "double up for a discount", AND make up for any lost sales due to the stand being understaffed and slow (in the event that you cannot find a substitute.)

If what you really need is warm bodies, then buying out should be expensive, so that you can pay some. Let people chose their shifts at team sign-up, or ask them to pay up on the spot if they want their child to participate but are not willing to volunteer their own time.

 

[allison443]

We had booster clubs for that, and still do. For concession stands, I know they'd have an adult filling in and supervising, but mostly there were high school kids working the stands.

I don't think parents are flaky for not wanting to take on what amounts to a part time job just for a kid's activity, especially if it's mandatory. I've done my fair share of volunteering, but if someone ever had to tell me I had to do it, you can forget it right there.

You saw where the OP said the requirement was ONE 90 minute shift, right? I hardly think that "amounts to a part time job"

If someone has a problem with working that one shift, fine...don't sign your kid up for the league then! (Assuming it's made clear at the beginning, which I know ours always was). Just like families decide not to do activities because the price is too high, or the kids' time commitment too much, or it conflicts with something else. I don't have a problem if someone doesn't want to do snack stand duty, but don't sign up for the league and then refuse to fulfill your obligations.

 

[luvmy3]

You saw where the OP said the requirement was ONE 90 minute shift, right? I hardly think that "amounts to a part time job"

If someone has a problem with working that one shift, fine...don't sign your kid up for the league then! (Assuming it's made clear at the beginning, which I know ours always was). Just like families decide not to do activities because the price is too high, or the kids' time commitment too much, or it conflicts with something else. I don't have a problem if someone doesn't want to do snack stand duty, but don't sign up for the league and then refuse to fulfill your obligations.

90 minutes! our shifts are 3 hours, what the heck is this mothers deal

 

[allison443]

Another thing I noticed in the OP was that the mom said she didn't want to drive to work the stand... it sounded like her child's team didn't have a game that day. This was an issue in our league as well, because people complained if they had to work on a day when their child wasn't scheduled to be there for a game, but people also complained when they had to work at the same time as their child was playing and miss their kid's game (not all fields are viewable from the snack stand). People were quite vociferous on both sides of this debate.

Sometimes the VOLUNTEERS who run our sports leagues just cannot win.

 

[surfergirl602]

I've never heard of such a thing... mandatory concession duty. I wouldn't want to do it either, personally.

 

[JustineMarie]

I guess I am being harsh but I don't see the big deal of working an hour and a half for something that benefits her child. If she can't work the stand on the day I gave her than she was assured that someone would switch with her to a day that better fit. She is telling me that no matter what day it is she is not willing to work the stand bc she doesn't want to drive the 30 minutes.

As far as her working a day that her daughter is playing, yes she could but the way the fields are laid out she wouldn't be able to see her play while working.

BTW - she also signed the paper at registration saying that she didn't want to pay the 25$ at registration not to work the stand bc she was willing to work the concessions and she understood that by signing that paper she was stating she knew that the stand duty was mandatory without paying the 25$ that day (the day of registration). So I guess in theory the stand does have a buy out, she just chose not to take it? I actually have a copy of her sheet which I plan to show her should she not come up with a solution.

 

[brockash]

Who in the league made the mandatory rule? I would forward the emails to them and ask what you should do. Does the child get penalized if she does not show? Will she then be charged the orginal fee?

Get it in writing from the PTB and then send those back to her and say the league says A or B will happen.

I hate snack bar duty and I am totally dreading but it is a necessary evil of my son playing Little League.

I would be so annoyed with this woman as well, it is not fair but she wont be the first or last one to try and get out of it so I would find out what policy the league has in place and follow that.

GL

This is what I would do as well. Some parents are just insane. And, yes I think there needs to be a penalty if she doesn't do it or have someone do it for her, otherwise it'll just show her and other parents that you don't reall have to and nothing will happen. Some parents are so selfish.

 

[Planogirl]

What do you when people genuinely have to work during these game times? Or if someone isn't well?

I did work the concession this past year and we worked hard. The volunteers there the first time I worked had never done it before so I was a bit put out when the person in charge started yelling at us for not doing certain things right. You should at least be nice to "volunteers". Oh, we broke records for making the most money during that shift.

This mandatory volunteering stuff is pretty amusing.

 

[java]

Our league uses an online volunteer sign up. The dates available- and you have to pick 2 shifts to work.
Works well for our league.
I don't think I'd love being told WHEN I had to volunteer. I like being able to do it when it works with our schedule. I think you'd have more involvement if you showed the adults you understand they have a life too.
I can imagine it being very frustrating for you though too.
oh it's through Helpersignup.com

Oh or you can pay an extra $100 and avoid the volunteering.

 

[SaraJayne]

I guess I am being harsh but I don't see the big deal of working an hour and a half for something that benefits her child. If she can't work the stand on the day I gave her than she was assured that someone would switch with her to a day that better fit. She is telling me that no matter what day it is she is not willing to work the stand bc she doesn't want to drive the 30 minutes.

As far as her working a day that her daughter is playing, yes she could but the way the fields are laid out she wouldn't be able to see her play while working.

Wait a second...you deliberately schedule people DURING their children's games?? No way, no how would that fly with any of the parents here.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Wait a second...you deliberately schedule people DURING their children's games?? No way, no how would that fly with any of the parents here.

That's what I was wondering. Our league schedules parents for the game before or after the one that my kid's in.

 

[allison443]

Wait a second...you deliberately schedule people DURING their children's games?? No way, no how would that fly with any of the parents here.

I think OP said the parent was scheduled to work on a day her child wasn't playing, but she didn't want to drive to the fields just to work. So in her case that parent might prefer to be assigned during a game, since she would be driving there anyway. As I posted, some parents do prefer that.

 

[allison443]

That's what I was wondering. Our league schedules parents for the game before or after the one that my kid's in.

I think this is a good idea and could work well! But someone would probably complain that their kid then has to hang around after their game while the parent works the snack stand, and it's a school night, etc. etc.

 

[allison443]

I've never heard of such a thing... mandatory concession duty. I wouldn't want to do it either, personally.

So you wouldn't sign your kids up for that activity then, right?

 

[Mkrop]

Wait a second...you deliberately schedule people DURING their children's games?? No way, no how would that fly with any of the parents here.

Here we are scheduled while are kids playing, 3 innings, either the first 3 if you are the home team, last 3 if you are the away team. If it is a weeknight, then eveyone helps clean up, if it is a weekend then you just hand off to the enxt shift unless you are the last game then you have to clean up.

 

[MushyMushy]

I guess I am being harsh but I don't see the big deal of working an hour and a half for something that benefits her child. If she can't work the stand on the day I gave her than she was assured that someone would switch with her to a day that better fit. She is telling me that no matter what day it is she is not willing to work the stand bc she doesn't want to drive the 30 minutes.

It's not a big deal to you -- maybe it's just something you're interested in.

I used to spend a lot of hours a week volunteering in reading programs for kids in the schools. That benefited a lot of kids as well. But I sure don't consider people FLAKES for not being interested in that type of volunteering. Working in a concession stand for an hour and a half would be miserable for me.

 

[cats mom]

As for the consequences of her not working the stand, when she registers next year or for fall ball she is going to be made to pay $50 on top of her registration. She will only receive $25 back if she works the stand next year. The other $25 will be kept by the association. She knows this tho as it was in the registration papers that she had to sign to sign her daughter up. I guess she doesn't care? Who knows.

You're assuming she actually read the papers she signed.

I'd go ahead and cover her shift; she is obviously digging in her heals, being obstinate, and is not going to work it. I'd also forward her e-mails to the board so they get a true picture of how their new policy is working out. It seems pretty short sighted to me.

I bet if they try to charge her next year she pitches a fit and claims she didn't understand the policy, wasn't offered an opportunity to work, etc, etc, etc. And if she should decide not to sign up again next year, there will be no consequences at all.

At least your league is trying to get everyone to pitch in. In our league it's strictly volunteer and if a team is a no show the stand is closed, we loose out on the money, and the manager receives a one game suspension. Of course this means the same people work year after year, while the slackers slack year after year.

I really like the idea of a mandatory commitment for everyone, but with a buy out option.

Good Luck!

 

[dawson5]

I know ours is a mandatory. I would think that if they had to pay people to work it, instead of having parents/older siblings, they would not be able to fund certain things. No child is turned away at the park because their parents can't pay. If they had to pay people to work it (or not have the buy-out option) I am sure the fees would be higher and I would assume they might not do as much for the under-privileged.

 

[merekc]

People may not like this answer, but...

My understanding if I am reading all the responses correctly is that 1) Parents are required to give 90 minutes to the concession stand during the course of the season and 2) This is known when they sign up and this particular parent even signed a form agreeing to it. I'd say absolutely remind her of these two things. You might also remind her of the times you have helped her out.

If she refuses and if this then affects you, the coach or the team, tell her to find another team. This of course only works if you are not a competitive team that needs her daughter.

If she was aware of this requirement and refuses to do it thus causing an issue for the team then boot them off the team. Just my two cents.

 

[jen0610]

What do you when people genuinely have to work during these game times? Or if someone isn't well?

I did work the concession this past year and we worked hard. The volunteers there the first time I worked had never done it before so I was a bit put out when the person in charge started yelling at us for not doing certain things right. You should at least be nice to "volunteers". Oh, we broke records for making the most money during that shift.

This mandatory volunteering stuff is pretty amusing.

If you had been working the nights I managed, you'd have never gotten yelled at. That is just wrong. And we could get crazy busy, but nothing was ever so outta wack that someone needed to be yelled at. Everybody was assigned a work area. A lot of the moms didn't want anything to do with running the cash register. We usually ended up with one of the regular teen workers doing it. And I worked as the floater, helping out where it was needed. And if the line got really crazy, I could always throw open an extra window and work that to get the line down. But there was one manager that I could not stand. Her idea of managing was sitting on a stool watching everybody else do everything and telling them how to do it. She and I did not work well together.