My Latest Mistake from Directing U8 Intramural: Situational Awareness

by Jon Scaccia May 5, 2024

As the season progresses, it’s clear that the kids are enjoying themselves. They’re putting in their best efforts, and thankfully, we’ve been free of any injuries, major or minor.

However, I’ve managed to anger parents, and here’s a recount of my latest oversight and how I addressed it.

A Reasonable Request

Recently, I received an email about a school art show scheduled at the same time as one of our soccer matches. The suggestion was either to cancel the match or delay the start time.

In an ideal world, I would have pushed the soccer start time back to between 6:30 and 6:45 PM. I considered this but faced a couple of hurdles: a) obtaining approval from both the board and the township on such short notice was uncertain, and b) I was concerned about the inconvenience it might cause to parents if the game ended late at 7:45 PM.

In the end, I decided to cancel the match.

However, I later discovered that this wasn’t the only elementary school art show. There were others, some of which had already taken place. This revelation made the parents wonder why I had focused solely on this particular event, ignoring the others.

Don’t be me.

To prevent similar issues in the future, I’ve gleaned a few insights that might help anyone in a similar role:

1. Enhance Communication: Establish a clearer line of communication with all stakeholders—parents, school officials, and community partners. Especially the other stakeholders. This could involve more frequent updates and seeking out information proactively rather than waiting for it to come to you.
2. Plan for Flexibility: Always have a backup plan. If the original schedule conflicts, a flexible, pre-approved secondary plan could save the day.
3. Inclusive Decision Making: Involve parents and possibly even the kids in decision-making processes when changes are necessary. This inclusion can prevent feelings of frustration and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.
4. Situational Awareness: Stay informed about other community events that could conflict with your schedule. A shared community calendar might be one tool to help synchronize events better.

Mistakes are inevitable when managing community activities, but each mistake is an opportunity to learn and improve. My recent oversight has certainly been a learning experience, reinforcing the importance of situational awareness and proactive planning.