Good evening,

My name is Brittany Rose and I am a Jr.FLL parent, Jr.FLL coach, and FLL volunteer.  This season will be my third coaching my son's Jr.FLL team and I will be assisting with my daughter's first time team as well.  In recent weeks I have seen a number of emails on this list from parents looking for Jr.FLL teams with openings for new members or asking how to start a team for their child and I wanted to share some information that I thought might be helpful.  Per the Jr.FLL page on the VA/DC FLL website (http://www.vadcfll.org/junior_league.html) - if you haven't yet, I would highly recommend reading through the overview and FAQ found there - kids do not generally "join" an existing team, rather teams are formed around the child.  If your child is interested in the program, a good place to start looking for other team members is amongst your child's friends.  Ask other parents in the neighborhood about their interest or approach your child's teacher or principal with the idea...you may be pleasantly surprised by how many interested kids/families come out of the proverbial woodwork!  In fact, there are usually so many kids interested in teams that very few veteran teams will have openings that they are looking to fill via this list or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VADCFLL).  Nonetheless, you may be able to find existing teams willing to take more members or, more likely, others in your area looking to start a new team.

In my experience as both a parent coach and as someone who has organized Jr.FLL Expos during the course of the past five years or so, the biggest stumbling block for many parents who are considering starting a team for their child is that they feel intimidated by the idea of coaching themselves.  Trust me when I say that I've been there...and trust me when I say that it is much easier than you think.  Truly, anyone can do it!  I am more than happy to share the team expectations document that I put together for the parents of our team members and to share tips about what has or has not worked for me from a coaching perspective in the past.  If you're interested in seeing the expectations document, please send me an email directly off the list.

Jr.FLL has been a lot of fun both for me and my son and I highly encourage you to consider leading a team - it is not as time consuming or intimidating as it might seem at the outset and the experience is wonderful for everyone involved!

Cheers,
Brittany

______________________________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, follow the instructions at:
https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcjrfll-l.html