Fellow managers — you are almost done with registration! Below is a template letter to thank the parents for their help. You may need to modify or otherwise update based on your own experiences.

; )

Dear [Team Name] Parents,

Thank you for reading all of my many emails and for answering my many phone calls this summer as I register the team for the 2011-2012 season.

With your help, I will have a pristine packet of papers to give the registrar in the next few days that will result in your child being officially rostered to the [Team Name] and able to play this fall. It should be a great season!

I want to take a few minutes to thank everyone!

Specifically:

Thank you for understanding that "original" meant "original" and not copied (even if in color), notarized, or “close enough”.

Thank you for understanding that "please send me a clear photo of your child" did not mean a black and white fuzzy printout.

Thank you for understanding that the deadlines I set to get stuff to me at my house or at practice were firm and not just guidelines.

Thank you for not making me send multiple follow up emails and voice messages trying to find out where you are for several weeks in order to get the paperwork done and not acting like it is my fault that you are out of town.

Thank you for not making me drive all over the county to track down your child's signature a second time because, after being instructed to use her full name, she signed with her nickname (or printed or missed a signature space).

Thank you for realizing that an inaccurate birth date or misspelled name is actually a big deal to the registrar and will likely cause them to ask me to pick up the whole packet and track you down to sign updated paperwork again even though it is “just” one number or letter and c’mon, these kids are only 12 years old!

Thank you for getting the medical forms notarized even though it is indeed a pain.

Thank you for not using excuses about vacations, sleepovers, dogs eating birth certificates or other documents, not having any "good" photos, or running out of printer ink over the last four weeks.

Thank you for double-checking the forms yourselves and not relying on me to find errors and missing information.

Thank you for understanding that I too have a full time job and family vacations and children who have summer camps and other time commitments.

Thank you for understanding that I am actually trying to make this as easy as possible for you and that I don’t make the rules.

Thank you for understanding that I also make mistakes and not jumping on me immediately about them.

Thank you for realizing that there will be date in the very near future on which I will have register the team and if I don’t have what I need from you before that date, your child won’t be a member of the [Team Name] this fall.

Sincerely,

[Your name]