Info from our Team Parents

Welcome to the 2024 football season at Meridian High School! 

Football requires a LOT of parent assistance to make sure the season runs as smoothly as possible. In the end, we are trying to make life easier for our coaches, build comradery and team spirit among the parents, and provide whatever support we can for our players so they can always do their best and be at their best, on and off the field. Keep reading for ways you can help!

Volunteer Opportunities:

We will create a Sign-up Genius for volunteer positions for each game, which we will email to you and post here, but here are descriptions of the various jobs. Feel free to reach out if there's something you know you want to do or if you have any questions.

Film for Away JV games: We need someone to run the camera for the Away JV games, usually in the press booth or designated camera area. Ideally this would be the same person for every game, and someone who could arrive at the game 15-30 minutes before game start. It’s much easier than it sounds! You will be fully instructed on running the camera and would need to break it down at the end of each game and deliver to the coaches. You just need to follow the ball at a fairly wide angle (no need to zoom in and out) and start and stop the camera with each play. The hardest part is staying quiet during play so your comments aren’t caught on camera! lol

Banana Patrol (JV and Varsity) for home and away games: We need people to purchase bananas for each game (around 20 bananas), and either get them to the high school front office on game day (usually by 3:00 or 3:30) or bring them directly to the field before game time. 

Spotter for home games (JV and Varsity): We like to have at least one but preferably two people sit in the press booth and help identify players and relay calls for the Announcer.

Chain Crew (3 JV; 4 Varsity) for Home Games: 1 person holds the down marker and 1 person holds each end of the 1st down chains. The refs tell you where to go/what to do. 

Pre-Game Meals (JV and Varsity): We need one person from each squad to put in the order each week for pre-game meals and coordinate volunteers. We use Italian Café (on S. Washington St.) for home games and Lazy Mike’s for away games. You’ll have to get the roster each week from the coach, and the order goes in by noon the day before. Then we’ll need someone to pick up the food and bring it to school (usually around 3:00) on game days, and then 2 to 3 volunteers on home game days to set up, serve, and clean up. We can use a sign-up genius for game-day volunteers, but it’s helpful to have ONE person who coordinates everything. IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE AND INTERESTED IN SERVING AS PRE-GAME MEALS LEAD, PLEASE LET THE TEAM PARENTS KNOW. 

Post-Game Meals (Varsity away games): Last season we started making sandwiches for varsity players to eat after the games, before their bus ride home, and it was a big success. We plan to keep it going this year. For each away game, a few families would make about 10-20 sandwiches each, in all varieties, and would either bring them in a cooler to the game, or find someone else to bring them to the game. When the game was over, we brought the sandwiches to the field so the players could take them to the locker room. We'll include the post-game sandwiches on the Sign-up Genius

Smoke Machine: For Varsity home games, we need someone to set up and run the smoke machines (usually around 6:40 p.m.) for when our team runs out on the field. It’s helpful to have the same person doing this each game. [We have a volunteer for the '24 season! Many thanks to Peter Villano!]

Concessions: The Athletic Boosters run the Concession Stand. Proceeds from the Concession Stand help to support ALL ATHLETIC TEAMS at Meridian. There are varsity and JV football and field hockey games at the stadium this fall, so the Athletic Boosters will create one sign-up to cover all of those games. Every family is expected to volunteer for at least one or two shifts this season, and since we all would rather watch our kids play than try to follow the action from inside the concession stand, take a shift for one of the field hockey games, or for the JV football team if you’re a varsity family, or vice versa! We will forward the Concession Sign-Up Genius closer to the start of the season, so be on the lookout for that.

Senior Night: Traditionally, we have created a fat head (life-size photo cut-out) of each senior player to plant in the grass in front of the fence on Senior Night, and have also presented a flower bouquet to each player's family or escort. We need someone to coordinate the photos of each player to use for the fathead and order the fatheads, as well as take care of the flowers. (All expenses are fully reimbursed, or can be paid by team parent.)

Social Coordinator: Parents who can get away a little early for the away games often try to get together for dinner at a local restaurant before the games (local to the away team). For home games, the tradition has been to tailgate before the game in the Virginia Tech parking lot. (This may be the last season we can do this--and I'm not even positive the lot will be available this fall, but we'll try!) If any parent would like to be the coordinator for these activities, let the team parents know!

Team Fees:

The Football Team parents collect a fee from our team families at the beginning of the season to provide meals for our players before every football game. For home games, we get pasta with tomato sauce, breaded chicken, salad, and fresh bread (from the Italian Cafe). For away games, we get sandwiches from Lazy Mike's. (The players will choose their sandwich from a limited Lazy Mike's menu and will get the same sandwich for each meal.) We will work with any player with allergies or food sensitivities. Sometimes our options are limited, but we will do our very best! We also provide meals for all of the coaches, as well as our team managers. Team funds also pay for requests from Coach Galliher (for things like granola bars, Gatorade for away games, and Sports Beans), for Senior Night flowers and fat heads for our senior families, and for a cake at our end-of-season party. Additionally, we collect money for appreciation gifts for our coaches at the end of the season. This fee, usually around $160ish, is 100 percent voluntary, and any family facing hardship will be covered, no questions asked. No player will go without a meal unless they specifically opt out. Once the roster is settled, you'll receive an email from the Team Parent with more specific information.

Thanks to all of the parents for their support and assistance, and most especially for their patience, and grace. :-)

Beth Hahn (Varsity Team Parent, beth.b.hahn@gmail.com) and
Laura Downs (JV Team Parent, laurat@gwmail.gwu.edu)