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2. Greet all in attendance; clarify roles if there is any ambiguity regarding the role of any attendee. For example 1 person may be a Parent and Assistant Coach. Clarify role with a Check-In step. Go around the room, and make sure Role is clarified for anyone who might take up 2 or more roles. For example, Assistant Coach is also Parent. This is an example of 2 PCT-defined roles. At times, an attendee may hold a PCT-defined Role and some other role not defined in the PCT process. For example, a Organization President or Board Member may be attending as Parent or Observer. Get confirmation of who is in what role for this meeting.

3. Ask the 3 questions to the Parent group:

What is going well since the last meeting? What is NOT going well since the last meeting? What obstacles are in the way of the team between now and the next meeting?

4. Strictly refrain from speaking except for stating the questions above and acknowledging answers. (Boundary) Speaking outside of the 3 questions threatens the integrity of the process and invites unstructured behavior from other participants in the room.

5. Get closure on each question, and acknowledge receipt of all answers. The standard way to process a question completely is to ask it, listen, and repeatedly ask: "Is there more?" ...until there are no more answers from Parents on that question. The standard way to finalize a question out is to state, "I receive those answers. Thank you for those answers."

6. Enforce Ground Rules (especially: Coaches do NOT answer questions). If you are asked a question, reply with "Out of bounds....I am unavailable to answer questions during this meeting." Head Coach is "keeper of the process". Head Coach must maintain integrity of PCT Process by maintaining ALL Ground Rules. For example, Observers may not speak and must exit the meeting if they do. Head Coach is responsible to making sure it is noted when any Observer speaks, and leaves the meeting if they do speak.

7. End meeting on time, thank all for attending, and exit the room upon meeting end time.

8. Issue written response about meeting within the agreed upon deadline (typically 24 hours, never less than 48 hours) to all Parents

For Head Coach: Boundaries

1. May not answer any questions from anyone in attendance.

1a. Must refrain from speaking at all, except for asking the 3 structured questions. (See Head Coach: Tasks) Speaking outside of the 3 structured questions threatens the integrity of the process and invites unstructured behavior from other participants in the room.

1b. If Head Coach Role has a Kid who is a Player on the team, (s)he must remain in Head Coach Role for the duration of the meeting.

2. Must ask all questions directed at Parents, as a group, and without delay.

3. Must strictly adhere to the scheduled start and stop times for the meeting, entering and leaving the room at the appointed time. The Head Coach must close the door at the precise start time and open the door at the precise end time.

4. Attendance is manditory; Head Coach must be in the room 1 minute early. Attendance by Head Coach at each and every meeting is very strongly encouraged and effectively manditory. In the event Head Coach is sick etc, Head Coach must assign authority to participate in Head Coach role to a single Assistant Coach.

5. Head Coach may not leave the meeting until it is over. The meeting is over when the 3 questions are answered by Parents, or the 25 minute has expired.

6. Head Coach must leave when the meeting is over: either at the meeting end time, or when all questions have been answered.

7. Must honor all Ground Rules

8. Must identify anyone attending who is participating OUTSIDE of stated Role. For example, an Organization Leader may be attending as Observer, but chooses to speak. Head Coach must demand that this Observer leave, consistent with Observer Boundaries. Everyone in attendance must stay in their stated Role for the duration of the meeting.

9. Explicitly authorizes all Observers who attend, unless that Observer spoke during a previous PCT meeting for this team. In that case Observer boundaries apply and they are not allowed back.

10. May not prevent any Parent with a Player on the team from attending the PCT meeting.

Are you using the PCT Process in your Youth Sports organization? Please contact me and tell me more-- I am keenly interested in receiving a report of your experience with the PCT Process.