Parent HUB

What Families Need to Know Before the Season Starts

Welcome to the Portage Hurricanes Parent Hub.

This page is here to make life easier for everyone: athletes, parents, coaches, managers, and the club. Youth sport works best when people know what to expect before the season starts, not after something goes sideways.

The Hurricanes are a competitive development club. That means we care about athlete growth, team culture, skill development, effort, accountability, and long-term improvement. We are not here just to hand out jerseys and hope for the best. We are building athletes, teams, habits, and standards.

Parents are a huge part of that. A good parent group can make a season stronger, calmer, and more enjoyable. A poor parent environment can wreck a team faster than bad passing ever will. That is why this page matters.

Our goal is simple: everyone should understand their role.

Coaches coach. Athletes learn, compete, communicate, and grow. Parents support, encourage, transport, communicate properly, and help protect the team environment.

When those roles stay clear, the athlete has the best chance to succeed.

The Parent Role

As a parent, your role is not small. You are the person driving your athlete to practice, helping them through tough games, paying fees, organizing schedules, listening after hard days, and encouraging them when things get uncomfortable.

But your role is not to coach from the stands, manage lineups, compare athletes, campaign for playing time, or fix every problem for your child before they have a chance to grow through it.

Sport is supposed to challenge athletes. They will have bad practices. They will have matches where they do not play as much as they hoped. They will get corrected. They will make mistakes. They will sometimes feel frustrated, nervous, disappointed, or uncomfortable.

That does not automatically mean something is wrong.

A big part of development is learning how to handle those moments without falling apart, blaming others, or quitting mentally.

One of the best things a parent can ask after a hard practice or match is:

“What can you control, and what do you need to do next?

”

That question builds a better athlete.

What You Can Expect From the Club

You can expect the Hurricanes to be organized, honest, and committed to athlete development.

You should expect your athlete to be coached. That means they will be encouraged, corrected, challenged, and held accountable. Good coaching is not just praise. Good coaching is helping an athlete see what needs to improve and then giving them the tools, structure, and repetition to improve it.

You can expect communication about schedules, tournaments, expectations, fees, and major team information. You can expect coaches to care about the athletes. You can expect the club to take safety, conduct, and Safe Sport responsibilities seriously.

What you should not expect is a guarantee of equal playing time, a guaranteed position, a guaranteed role, or a guaranteed outcome. Competitive sport does not work that way.

Every athlete matters. Every athlete deserves respect. But not every athlete will have the same role at the same time.

That is not the club being unfair. That is sport.

What the Club Expects From Parents

The club expects parents to support the team in a way that helps the athletes, not in a way that adds pressure, confusion, or drama.

That means cheering positively. It means respecting officials. It means allowing coaches to coach. It means not yelling instructions from the stands. It means not criticizing other athletes, coaches, officials, or parents in public.

It also means supporting the whole team, not just your own child.

The Hurricanes are trying to build a team-first culture. That gets very hard if parents only see the game through the lens of their own athlete’s playing time, position, or stats.

Your child is important.

So is everyone else’s.

That is the standard.

Communication

Most problems in youth sport get worse because communication happens in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong tone.

The Hurricanes use official communication channels for team and club information. That may include Whatsapp, email, the team manager, the website, or official club social media.

If information does not come from an official club source, do not treat it as official.

Rumours, screenshots, parking lot conversations, and “someone told me” information are not reliable communication. That is usually where confusion starts.

For general logistics such as schedules, hotel details, arrival times, forms, or tournament information, parents should contact the team manager or parent liaison first.

For athlete development, attendance, effort, attitude, role clarification, or practice expectations, parents may contact the coach.

For serious concerns, unresolved issues, policy questions, or safety matters, parents should contact club leadership.

If the issue involves abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination, maltreatment, or serious misconduct, it needs to move through the proper Safe Sport or governing body pathway. Those issues are not treated as regular team conflict.

The 24-Hour Rule

The Hurricanes use a 24-hour rule for emotional concerns.

If something happens during a match, tournament, roster decision, lineup decision, or playing time situation, parents are expected to wait 24 hours before contacting the coach.

This is not because concerns do not matter.

It is because emotional messages sent right after a game are usually not helpful. They are often angry, incomplete, and loaded with assumptions. Once that message is sent, it can be hard to undo the damage.

After 24 hours, if the concern still matters, ask for a respectful conversation.

The 24-hour rule does not apply to injuries, safety concerns, harassment, abuse, bullying, medical issues, or emergencies. Those should be reported immediately.

Talking to Coaches

Parents are welcome to ask coaches about their own athlete.

A good conversation sounds like this:

“What does my athlete need to improve?”

“What can they do at practice to earn more opportunity?”

“What are you seeing that they may not understand yet?”

“How can we support their development at home?”

Those are productive questions.

What coaches will not do is debate another athlete’s role, playing time, position, or selection. Coaches will not discuss private discipline involving another player. Coaches will not compare your child to someone else’s child.

That line protects every athlete, including yours.

A coach can talk about your child.

A coach will not talk about someone else’s child.

Playing Time

This is one of the biggest areas where parents need full honesty.

The Hurricanes are a competitive development club. Playing time may not be equal.

Playing time is based on many things: attendance, effort, skill level, position need, tactical fit, coachability, communication, emotional control, practice performance, match performance, team needs, and tournament situation.

At younger ages, development opportunity matters heavily. As athletes get older, performance, role clarity, system understanding, and team needs become more important.

That does not mean younger athletes get everything handed to them or older athletes are ignored if they are developing. It means the expectations grow as the athlete grows.

An athlete may be improving and still not get the role they want yet.

That can be hard to hear. It is also true.

The best response is not to complain around the athlete or blame the coach.

The best response is to help the athlete understand what they can control next.

Effort. Attendance. Communication. Coachability. Skill work. Body language. Emotional control. Competing every rep.

That is how athletes earn more.

Positions and Roles

The Hurricanes believe athletes should understand the whole game.

A libero should understand why middles matter. Middles should understand why serve receive and defense matter. Setters should understand attackers. Attackers should understand first contact. Every athlete should understand that volleyball is connected.

That is why our training exposes athletes to the full team system as they grow.

However, final positions and team roles are decided by coaches. Those decisions are based on team needs, athlete strengths, skill level, physical development, tactical understanding, competitive fit, and long-term potential.

Parents may see their child one way. Coaches may see the team picture differently.

That does not mean the coach dislikes the athlete. It means the coach is making a decision based on the team, the system, and the athlete’s current development.

Attendance and Commitment

Attendance matters.

When an athlete misses practice, they do not just miss reps. They miss team timing, communication habits, system work, trust-building, and role development.

Valid reasons for missing include illness, injury, family emergency, school requirements, religious or cultural obligations, pre-approved conflicts, or serious weather and travel safety concerns.

But casual attendance hurts the team.

If an athlete repeatedly misses practice, arrives late, skips team events, or fails to communicate absences properly, their role may be affected. That is not punishment. That is reality.

A team cannot depend on athletes who are only committed when convenient.

Sideline Behaviour

Parents are encouraged to cheer loudly and positively.

Cheer effort. Cheer hustle. Cheer great serves. Cheer great digs. Cheer athletes after mistakes. Bring energy.

But do not coach from the stands.

Athletes already have a coach. When parents yell technical instructions during a rally, it usually makes the athlete slower, more confused, and more anxious. It also undermines the coach and puts the athlete in the middle.

A parent yelling “swing,” another yelling “tip,” a coach calling one thing, and the athlete trying to read the play is not support. It is noise.

Positive cheering helps.

Sideline coaching hurts.

Criticizing officials, coaches, or athletes from the stands is not acceptable. Complaining loudly about substitutions is not acceptable. Talking negatively about another athlete is not acceptable.

The standard is simple: be the kind of parent group our athletes can be proud of.

Respect for Officials

Officials will make mistakes. Coaches will make mistakes. Athletes will make mistakes. Parents will make mistakes.

That does not give anyone permission to act poorly.

Parents are not to yell abuse at officials, follow officials after matches, argue calls from the stands, encourage athletes to disrespect officials, or blame losses entirely on officiating.

Officials are part of youth sport. Without them, there is no match.

Our athletes are expected to handle adversity. Adults need to model that too.

Athlete Expectations

Hurricanes athletes are expected to arrive prepared, work hard, communicate, support teammates, accept correction, control emotions, respect coaches, respect officials, respect opponents, and represent the club properly.

They are expected to take responsibility for their own development.

That does not mean athletes have to be perfect. They will make mistakes. They will have bad days. They will get frustrated.

But they are expected to keep working, keep communicating, and keep learning.

Mistakes are part of sport.

Excuses are not.

Parent Conduct

The club will protect the team environment.

If a parent’s behaviour becomes disrespectful, aggressive, disruptive, or harmful to the team, the club may step in.

That may start with a conversation or reminder. If it continues, it may become a written warning, a meeting with club leadership, removal from a viewing area, suspension from attending events, or in serious cases, removal from the club.

That may sound firm because it is.

One toxic adult can damage an entire season. The club will not allow that to happen.

Safe Sport and Athlete Protection

The Hurricanes are committed to a safe, respectful, athlete-centered environment.

Safe Sport means athletes should be protected from abuse, harassment, bullying, discrimination, neglect, grooming, retaliation, inappropriate conduct, physical maltreatment, emotional maltreatment, psychological maltreatment, and sexual misconduct.

Serious concerns must be reported immediately.

The club will not treat safety issues as gossip, drama, or personality conflict. If something involves athlete safety, it needs to be handled properly.

If an athlete is in immediate danger, contact emergency services.

If the concern involves abuse, harassment, discrimination, maltreatment, or serious misconduct, parents should contact club leadership and/or follow the appropriate Volleyball Manitoba, Sport Manitoba, or Safe Sport reporting process.

Conflict Resolution

Not every concern is a crisis. Sometimes there is a misunderstanding. Sometimes a parent does not know the full context. Sometimes an athlete heard something differently than it was intended. Sometimes the coach needs to explain something more clearly.

The first step is to clarify the concern through the proper channel.

If the issue is about schedule or logistics, start with the team manager.

If the issue is about athlete development, effort, role, or expectations, request a conversation with the coach.

If the issue remains unresolved, it can be brought to club leadership.

If the issue involves serious misconduct, abuse, harassment, discrimination, or maltreatment, it should move into the formal complaint or Safe Sport process.

The goal is not to avoid hard conversations.

The goal is to have them like adults.

Social Media

Parents and athletes are expected to represent the club properly online.

Posting positive team photos, congratulating athletes, sharing club posts, and celebrating the season is encouraged.

Publicly criticizing coaches, teammates, officials, opponents, or the club is not acceptable. Posting private team issues is not acceptable. Sharing screenshots from team chats is not acceptable. Posting injury details without permission is not acceptable. Mocking athletes or opponents is not acceptable.

The internet is not a private conversation.

If there is a problem, handle it through the proper process.

Team Chats

Team chats are for team information.

They are useful for schedules, arrival times, tournament reminders, weather updates, uniform notes, and general team logistics.

They are not for complaining about coaches, debating playing time, calling out athletes, spreading gossip, arguing with other parents, or creating side-group drama.

Parents should assume anything they type can be screenshotted.

Use team chats accordingly. Keep them useful.

Photo, Video, and Media Consent

The club may use photos and videos for the website, social media, sponsor recognition, team memories, training review, athlete highlights, and club promotion.

Parents will be asked to complete a media consent form. Some families may give full consent. Some may give limited consent. Some may choose no public media consent.

If there are safety, custody, privacy, or legal reasons why an athlete cannot appear publicly, parents must notify the club in writing.

The club will make reasonable efforts to respect media restrictions.

Parents should also be thoughtful when posting photos or videos that include other people’s children. A great team photo is one thing. Posting something embarrassing, private, or sensitive is another.

Watching Practice

Parents may be allowed to watch practices where facility rules and team policy allow.

If you are watching practice, please let it be the athlete’s learning space.

Do not coach from the sideline. Do not interrupt drills. Do not distract athletes. Do not confront coaches before, during, or immediately after practice. Do not record other athletes without permission.

Practice is where athletes are supposed to make mistakes, receive correction, and work through struggle.

Let them be coached.

Let them solve problems.

Let them grow.

Travel and Tournaments

When families travel with the Hurricanes, they represent the club.

Athletes are expected to arrive on time, follow team schedules, respect hotels and facilities, listen to coaches, manage their food and hydration, and behave properly between matches.

Parents are expected to support the team schedule and not interfere with pre-game, between-match, or post-match routines.

Tournament weekends can be long. Athletes need food, water, sleep, and calm support. They do not need panic, pressure, or sideline lectures after every set.

Hotel behaviour matters too. Athletes must respect hotel staff, other guests, teammates, and property. Hallways are not playgrounds. Team travel is not a free-for-all.

The jersey is still on, even when the match is over.

Transportation

Parents are responsible for transporting their athlete unless the club has arranged official team travel.

If an athlete is travelling with another family, parent or guardian permission is required.

The club may require written permission, emergency contact information, medical information, and clear pickup or drop-off details.

Coaches should avoid being alone with an athlete in a vehicle whenever possible. This protects the athlete, the coach, and the club.

Overnight Tournaments

For overnight tournaments, parents and guardians are responsible for supervision outside official team activities unless another arrangement has been clearly approved.

Athletes must follow team curfews. They must respect hotel rules. They should not be in another athlete’s room without permission.

They should not be alone in a room with an unrelated adult.

Team meetings should happen in public or approved group spaces.

Any property damage is the responsibility of the family involved.

Serious hotel misconduct may affect tournament participation.

No team needs hotel drama. None. Zero. Leave that nonsense at home.

Injury and Medical Information

Parents must inform the club of relevant medical information.

This includes allergies, asthma, medications, previous injuries, concussion history, physical restrictions, emergency contact changes, or any medical condition that may affect participation.

Athletes should not hide injuries to protect playing time.

That is not toughness. That is risky and short-sighted.

Coaches may remove an athlete from practice or competition if they believe the athlete is unsafe to continue.

The athlete’s long-term health matters more than one drill, one set, or one tournament.

Concussion Safety

Concussions are serious.

If a concussion is suspected, the athlete must be removed from play and follow the appropriate return-to-play process.

The Hurricanes position is simple:

When in doubt, sit them out.

No match, tournament, medal, or point is worth a brain injury.

Return to Play

After an injury or illness, athletes may need clearance before returning fully.

Depending on the situation, the club may require parent confirmation, a medical note, a gradual return plan, modified practice participation, coach approval, or full medical clearance before competition.

For suspected concussion, athletes must follow the required concussion return-to-play process.

An athlete saying “I’m fine” does not automatically make them fine.

Safety comes first.

Illness

Athletes should not attend practice or tournaments if they are too sick to participate safely or if they risk spreading illness to teammates.

If an athlete has a fever, vomiting, a contagious illness, severe cough, symptoms that prevent safe physical activity, or medical advice to rest, they should stay home.

Missing one practice is better than wiping out half the roster before a tournament.

That is not being soft. That is being responsible.

Nutrition, Sleep, and Recovery

Parents play a major role in helping athletes prepare.

Athletes should arrive fed, hydrated, rested, and equipped with water, snacks, and proper gear.

Tournament weekends should not be powered by candy, energy drinks, and four hours of sleep.

That is not a performance plan.

That is a crash waiting to happen.

Good athletes learn how to train, compete, recover, and take care of their bodies. Parents can help build those habits.

Fees, Payments, and Refunds

Program fees will be posted clearly before registration.

Fees may cover gym time, tournament entry, Volleyball Manitoba and Volleyball Canada registration, insurance, equipment, apparel, coaching honorariums, strength and conditioning, photos, administration, and club operations.

Payment schedules must be followed.

Refunds are not guaranteed after registration. Once the club has committed money to memberships, insurance, apparel, tournaments, facility rentals, staffing, administration, or other fixed costs, those costs may be non-refundable.

All refund requests must be submitted in writing and will be reviewed based on timing, costs already incurred, and club policy.

This is not meant to be harsh. It is meant to be clear. Clubs cannot spend money on behalf of an athlete and then magically recover all of it if someone changes their mind later.

Registration Paperwork

Before an athlete participates, parents or guardians may be required to complete registration forms, medical information, emergency contacts, media consent, waivers, Safe Sport acknowledgements, concussion awareness forms, refund policy acknowledgement, parent and athlete codes of conduct, and travel permission forms where needed.

Paperwork is not just red tape.

It protects athletes, families, coaches, volunteers, and the club.

No complete paperwork means no participation.

Assumption of Risk

Volleyball is a physical sport. Risk cannot be fully removed.

Athletes may experience sprains, strains, bruises, finger injuries, knee injuries, ankle injuries, shoulder injuries, concussions, collisions, falls, emotional stress, or travel-related risks.

The club works to reduce risk through organization, coaching, supervision, and safety expectations. But sport will always involve some level of risk.

Parents and athletes need to understand that participation includes physical, emotional, and competitive demands.

Privacy

The club may collect personal information for registration, communication, safety, insurance, and program administration.

This may include athlete names, parent or guardian contact information, birthdates, emergency contacts, medical notes, payment records, team assignment, attendance, and media consent status.

The club will only collect information that is needed and will limit access to people who require it for club operations, athlete safety, legal requirements, insurance, or governing body purposes.

Athlete Withdrawal

If an athlete withdraws from a team or program, parents must notify the club in writing.

Withdrawal may affect refund eligibility, apparel orders, tournament planning, team roster numbers, playing opportunities for other athletes, and future club standing.

Leaving mid-season does not only affect one athlete. It affects the whole team.

Commitment matters.

Tryouts and Selection

Tryouts are competitive.

Selection decisions may be based on skill, athletic ability, coachability, effort, communication, position need, team balance, development potential, emotional control, competitive readiness, attendance, and commitment level.

Not every athlete will make the team they want.

That does not mean the athlete has failed.

It means the athlete has been placed based on current readiness, team needs, and available roster spots.

Parents should help athletes handle selection outcomes with maturity.

Disappointment is not the enemy. Quitting, blaming, and making excuses are.

Hurricanes Culture

The Hurricanes culture is built around clear standards.

Earned, Not Given means athletes earn opportunity through effort, commitment, attitude, and performance.

Caretaker of the Jersey means athletes represent something bigger than themselves.

No Free Balls means we do not hand easy opportunities to opponents.

Talk & Touch means we communicate and stay connected.

Bench T’N’T means the bench is active, loud, supportive, and part of the team.

Emotional Control means athletes learn to reset after mistakes.

One-Second-at-a-Time Chaos Control means we focus on the next action, not the last mistake.

Parents can help reinforce this at home.

Please avoid telling your athlete things like, “The coach doesn’t like you,” “You should be playing more than her,” “That team isn’t good enough for you,” or “You don’t need to listen to that.”

Those comments might feel protective in the moment, but they usually damage trust and weaken the athlete.

A stronger message is:

“Control what you can. Keep working. Earn the next opportunity.”

That is Hurricanes language.

Parent Code of Conduct

As a Hurricanes parent or guardian, you are expected to support the full team, respect coaches, respect officials, respect volunteers, respect opponents, and communicate through proper channels.

You are expected to follow the 24-hour rule, avoid coaching from the stands, avoid public criticism, respect club decisions, support Safe Sport standards, follow media and travel expectations, and represent the Hurricanes positively.

If a parent does not meet this standard, the club may issue a warning, request a meeting, remove the parent from events, suspend attendance privileges, review the family’s standing with the club, or remove the family from the club in serious cases.

The team environment comes first.

Athlete Code of Conduct

Hurricanes athletes are expected to work hard, communicate, be coachable, respect teammates, respect coaches, respect officials, attend practices and tournaments, take care of their bodies, represent the club properly, support team culture, and compete with effort and emotional control.

Athletes need to understand that their role is earned. Their attitude matters. Their attendance matters. Their effort matters. Their communication matters. Their behaviour affects the team.

That is not pressure for the sake of pressure. That is preparation for real competition.

Coach Commitment

Parents should also know what the club expects from coaches.

Hurricanes coaches are expected to be prepared, start on time, communicate expectations, treat athletes with respect, correct athletes without humiliating them, maintain a safe training environment, follow club systems, support athlete development, communicate major concerns when needed, respect Safe Sport standards, and represent the club professionally.

Accountability goes both ways.

Parents must meet the standard.

Athletes must meet the standard.

Coaches must meet the standard.

Final Message to Parents

The Hurricanes standard is simple.

We support athletes. We protect the team environment. We communicate properly. We handle problems like adults.

We will not be perfect. Coaches, athletes, parents, and club leaders will all make mistakes. But when problems happen, we will deal with them through the proper process, with respect, honesty, and accountability.

The jersey matters.

The team matters.

The athlete matters.

And the way adults behave around the athlete matters too.

Earned, Not Given.