How to Get Information

Welcome football team administrator! Thank you for volunteering for this important job. The role of a football team admin is to assist the head coach and his staff. You will regularly communicate team and league information to parents, and be the point of contact for questions. The Team Admin also coordinates parties and events for their team. In short, you are Information Central for your team!

How to Get Information:

The Panther website (www.pantherjrfootball.org) is updated regularly and is an excellent source for information. The Bill George website (www.bgyfl.org) is the official source for game schedules, scores, and play-off information. Maps to away fields are also available on the Bill George site.

Email is the primary source of communication from the Panthers. Please encourage parents to join our email list. See the ‘Join Our Mailing List’ section on the home page of the website. Enter an email address and click the Subscribe button. You will receive an email with a link to confirm the subscription. If Panther emails are not being received, please check your email Spam folder.

‘Like’ the Panthers on Facebook! Information posted on the website is also posted on Facebook along with pictures from events.

Follow Us on Twitter to receive text messages to your mobile phone when information is posted on the website and Facebook. It is especially helpful to receive these alerts in the event practice is canceled due to inclement weather.

Links to our Facebook and Twitter pages are on the front page of the website. You will need your own Facebook and Twitter accounts to access them.

The Downers Grove Park District may close grass fields in the event of inclement weather. The Park District Hotline (630-223-4092) will be updated by 3PM that day. Please note if your practice is scheduled on the game field, you will practice in the rain, unless there is lightning.

Team Admins will also receive alerts from Panther Board members regarding events and special announcements. Please pass these along to your parents.

Football Team Admin Jobs:

Prior to first regular game of the season:  Solicit parents for five volunteers for home game jobs that include chain gang (three people), running the scoreboard, and announcing the game over the PA.  Make weekly assignments for parents to bring fruit for halftime. If your team chooses to provide snacks and drinks for after the game, make those weekly assignments as well.  Prepare and distribute to parents a document that outlines the regular season schedule and weekly game day information. Two document templates are included (one that includes after game snacks & drinks; one that does not include snacks & drinks).  Sometimes teams will collect money to purchase game socks so all players are coordinated. Please check with your coach to see if this is something your team will be doing.

Weekly:  If your team is assigned cheerleaders, please copy their Team Admin on all correspondence to your team. If you do not know the cheer Team Admin, please contact [email protected].  Prior to each game, home and visiting head coaches should be in contact with each other to confirm the game details. This includes game date, time, location, and agreed upon jersey colors. Please ask your head coach for this information each week.  Please send parents an email each week to confirm the game details. A sample weekly email is included. Please include the day, time and location of the game, jersey color, and who is responsible for home game jobs, halftime fruit, and after game drinks & snacks (if applicable). Please coordinate the weekly email with your coach.  Please print a roster that includes player’s names and jersey numbers and give to the game announcer at both home and away games.

Panther Events & Team Parties:  Please coordinate team parties, including Parent Appreciation (formerly known as Homecoming) and End of the Season party. Get parents involved by soliciting for volunteers to form committees to plan the parties.  Parent Appreciation will be scheduled on a weekend when the majority of Panther teams play at home (weekend TBD). Prior to the game, parents will line-up on the 30 yard line. Players will be announced one at a time. As players names are called, they will run to their parents and present them with a gift that is supplied by the Panthers. After the game, it is customary for each team to have a party, usually at Doerhoefer. The costs for the Parent Appreciation party are the responsibility of each team. More information about Parent Appreciation weekend will be forthcoming.  Panther Game Night is our big fundraising event of the season. The event is October 8th, 6- 11PM, at The Clubhouse at Orchard Brook (across from Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove). This is an adults-only event that includes a trivia contest, silent auction, raffles, and door prizes. Beer, wine, and soft drinks will be available to purchase. Tables of eight are $80 (individual tickets are also available for $10 each). Bring snacks to share with your table. Each football team is asked to put together a ‘basket’ of donated items for the silent auction. Many teams pick a theme for their basket. Last year, some themes were tailgate party, date night, and spa day. Please ask your parents to solicit local businesses for donations. Please impress upon your parents we are not looking for them to spend money on items, but to help by gathering donations. Included is a copy of our tax-exempt letter as well as sample wording for a solicitation letter. The football team whose basket nets the largest profit at Game Night will receive a party at Odyssey Fun World in Naperville!  For the End of Season Party, the Panthers will provide $12 per football player. No monies will be distributed until all equipment has been returned for your team. Other important things to note: Synthetic turf game field at Doerhoefer Park. Please review the following rules with your parents and players: - Water is the only drink allowed on the game field; Gatorade or other sports drinks should not be consumed on the game field. - No gum on the game field. - Pets are not allowed inside the fence that surrounds the game field, including the stands.

Medical Information. If a player is injured, the family’s insurance is primary and league insurance is secondary. In the event of an injury, please contact Kathy Johnston (630-215-5767) or Steve Lowery (630-849-3214) as soon as possible. We are required to notify Bill George within one hour of an injury that occurs during a game. You will be provided with Injury Forms that must be completed in the event of injury.

Code of Conduct. The Panthers have developed a Parent’s Code of Ethics and Zero Tolerance Policy. These policies have been written to reinforce the Bill George by-laws, and each family signed-off on them at registration. The policies are to be strictly enforced by all Panther coaches. Please note your head coach will be held responsible for the behavior of players, cheerleaders, and spectators during a game. If a league referee deems behavior to be inappropriate, the head coach may be ejected from the game and subject to further penalty by Bill George. Please assist your coach with enforcing these policies.

Lost Equipment. On occasion, equipment is lost or misplaced. If this happens, please email Kyle Johnson, our equipment manager, at [email protected]. He will make arrangements to replace the lost equipment. Equipment replacement fees are listed on the website. (the equipment tab is no longer on the website – need to add equipment replacement fees)

Where to Get Help? If you need help, there are several Panther Board members who can assist you. For general operational questions, please contact [email protected]. Questions relating to events may be referred to [email protected].