Team/Captain's Parent Guidelines

From The Thayer Athletic Department and the Parent Athletic Council (PAC):

The guidelines below are intended to act as a road map for team parents and set expectations for all Thayer families involved in team sports in the Upper School. This list is intended to serve as a baseline guide and is certainly not all-inclusive. Please feel free to ask other parents for their assistance. Additionally, please make sure that you are in communication with coaches.

Communication

Communication involves you serving as a liaison between coaches and parents as needed. Responsibilities include:

• Making sure all team parents are signed up for the team's Athletics Alerts (click here to learn how to sign up for Athletics Alerts)
• Assisting any parents who need help (or direct them to contact Diane Haigh at dhaigh@thayer.org)

Coordinate Team Food and Drinks

Please create a food and drink schedule for home and away games as soon as possible. Home games are often just water/Gatorade with a small snack, whereas Away games may require sandwiches, etc. Some additional notes:

• Please coordinate with coach
• Create Home and Away schedule and ask for parent contributions
• Use Sign Up Genius to manage the scheduling (very helpful free online tool)
• Travel time/distance of away game may factor into food needs

Roster

So that the parents know all the players (and other parents) on the team and can support them, we ask that you create a roster to pass out to each set of parents at the start of the season. The roster should include:

• Player name, uniform #, and parent names
• Roster information is found on each Team Page
• Email PAC@thayer.org to request a roster template - just fill it in and print
• Laminate at your discretion – it is not necessary

Team Dinner/Events*

Team dinners are a wonderful tradition at Thayer in which team members gather as a team bonding experience. We ask that you please plan at least one team dinner/event. Events include potluck dinners, pizza or pasta parties, and team breakfasts before a game. Please ask for volunteers to sponsor, with all families contributing so that it is not a burden on the host family. Preference is to hold team dinners/meals on campus to make it easy and safe for players to gather (as opposed to having to drive to other towns to players’ homes).  To reserve an on-campus space for an event, please contact Brad Peterson '11 (bpeterson@thayer.org or 781.664.2327). 

*Please note that these are not school-sponsored events and the school takes no responsibility for transportation to and from school if the event is off-campus.

Support Other Thayer Sports Teams

A big part of the Thayer athletic experience is having fans at games. We ask that you have the captains coordinate a day or two when the team can go and cheer on another team. They would love to have the support and it fosters school spirit.

Coach Gifts

• It is your discretion to collect for a coach’s gift.
• We ask that it not exceed $20 per player or whatever amount parents are comfortable giving. However, we do recognize that each team is different and may have different coaching situations. The gift should never be a burden to families.

Senior Day

• It is a wonderful tradition at Thayer to recognize all seniors at their last home game or final game. Please coordinate this with the coach.
• Decorations, recognition, and a cake/cupcakes would be a great idea.
• This should not become a burden and no money should be collected for senior gifts.

End-of-Season Banquets*

Each Upper School Varsity Team will be recognized at an awards ceremony on campus at the end of their season in front of their peers, faculty, and staff at a Monday Morning Meeting. Varsity teams may hold separate team specific end of season celebrations, and those celebrations should be held on campus. Please coordinate with Brad Peterson '11 in athletics (bpeterson@thayer.org or 781.664.2327) to schedule. All JV and 3rds teams will have end of season pizza parties sponsored by the athletic department and PAC.  Middle School teams will be celebrated together at the end of each season. 

Trips

If your team is going on a trip, please make sure that you or the coach is in regular communication with team families about all details. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the athletic department if you have any questions!

We hope this is a helpful guide to navigate the newly revamped team and captain’s parents’ responsibilities. There are also new FAQs on the Athletics page in the Parents section that you can use as a resource. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at PAC@thayer.org.

Thank you very much for supporting Thayer athletics. Go Tigers!

Thayer Academy Parent Athletic Council

Danielle Shahied P '26, '27 (chair)
Nicole Arnold P '24, '25
Cole Barry P '26, '28
Andre Grant P '25
Jen Schumacher Harper P '25, '26
Novena James-Hailey P '25
Mike Mullin P '26, '27

From The Thayer Athletic Department and the Middle School Parent Athletic Council (MSPAC):

The guidelines below are intended to act as a road map for team parents and suggest expectations for all Thayer families involved in team sports. The following is intended to serve as a baseline guide and is certainly not all-inclusive. Please feel free to ask other parents for their assistance. Additionally, please make sure to be in communication with coaches.

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Communication

Communication involves serving as a liaison between coaches and parents/guardians as needed. Once team rosters are finalized, the Middle School AD will send the team parent(s) a list of emails for all parents/guardians of the students on the specific team.  This email list can be used for all communications. Please note, the parent/guardian email lists that are shared are for Thayer use only and must be used in “BCC” mode when communicating with our parent population to protect the privacy of our community members. Responsibilities include:

• Making sure all team parents are signed up for the team's Athletics Alerts (click here to learn how to sign up for Athletics Alerts)

  • If unable to help with alerts, please direct them to help@thayer.org.

• Emailing all parents once you have received the list and identifying yourself as the team parent(s).

• Being in communication with coaches about any events planned or ideas.

Coordinate Team Food and Drinks

Create a snack food and drink (water or gatorade) schedule for away games. Home games are at the discretion of the parents. Some additional notes:

• Travel time/distance of away game may factor into food needs

• Create Home and Away schedule and ask for parent contributions

• Use Sign Up Genius to manage the scheduling (very helpful free online tool)

• Please Note - Thayer Academy Middle School has a strict policy regarding food allergies. Snacks provided must be prepackaged, commercially prepared, unopened and have an ingredient label indicating there are no nuts or peanuts. For questions, please contact Nancy Burgess in Health Services at nurse@thayer.org.

Roster

So that the parents know all the players (and other parents) on the team and can support them, we ask that you create a roster to pass out to each set of parents at the start of the season. The roster should include:

• Player name, uniform #, and parent names

• Roster information is found on each Team Page

• Email PAC@thayer.org to request a roster template - just fill it in and print

• Laminate at your discretion – it is not necessary

Team Gatherings

Team events are one of the best ways students bond as a team. We ask that the team parents organize two events for their team, one early-to-mid season and one end of season gathering. These could be as simple as a post-game snack/dessert or pizza party with families. To reserve on-campus space for an event, please contact John Reid (jreid@thayer.org).

Coach Gifts

• It is your discretion to collect for a coach’s gift.

• We ask that it not exceed $20 per player or whatever amount parents are comfortable giving. However, we do recognize that each team is different and may have different coaching situations. The gift should never be a burden to families.

• If a gift is collected for coaches, the gift should be presented from the entire team regardless of contribution participation.

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We hope this is a helpful guide to navigate the newly revamped Middle School Team and Captain’s Parents’ Guidelines. There are also new FAQs on the Athletics page in the Parents section that you can use as a resource. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at PAC@thayer.org.

Thank you very much for supporting Thayer athletics. Go Tigers!

Thayer Academy Parent Athletic Council

Danielle Shahied P '26, '27 (chair)
Nicole Arnold P '24, '25
Cole Barry P '26, '28
Andre Grant P '25
Jen Schumacher Harper P '25, '26
Novena James-Hailey P '25
Mike Mullin P '26, '27