Smitty’s Terminators Communications Protocol

To have the most successful season possible all players, coaches, managers and parents on each team have the responsibility to have open and transparent lines of communication.

The Smitty’s Terminators’ Executive expects that its teams will operate on the fundamentals of open communication, transparency, and most of all resolving conflicts in a respectful and timely manner. The intent of this protocol is to identify proactive steps for all of its organization members to practise.

1. All teams must have a start of the year coaches/managers / players and / or parent meeting to start the year. Topics of discussion should include:
• Coaching philosophy and expectations of players and parents.
• Communication paths for players and /or parents to share information, receive information, and arrange individual meetings when needed.
• Open dialogue on playing time.
• Discussion of multi-sport / multi-activity players and how open communication is essential in problem solving roadblocks with scheduling etc.
• Team budgets, fundraising and travel plans.
• The organization’s conflict resolution strategy below.

2. If a conflict or a grievance happens, it is the duty of those involved to discuss the issue in a respectful time frame, manner, and place.
• It is expected that the 24 hour rule is practised; this means that the person who has the concern allows a 24 hour period of time to lapse between when the concern arose to the time that the concern is presented.
• If a conflict is not resolved at the team level between involved parties, the concern may then be presented to a member of the Executive. The Executive will not hear concerns or grievances that have not been presented to the other party unless the matter is of a serious nature.