The Dragon Kings, a Berkeley Basketball Team, Uses the Web to Simplify Communication and Volunteering

What is the Ohtani Dragon Kings story?

The Dragon Kings are sponsored by the Berkeley (Ohtani) Higashi Honganji Temple in Berkeley, California and are comprised of third and fourth graders of Asian descent who LOVE to play basketball. The team is led by two players’ fathers, Coach Kevin Sullivan and Assistant Coach Mike Louie.

New to coaching, both dads are enjoying the joys and challenges of working with the enthusiastic boys. At early practices, the kids created original handshakes and voted on a team name. Originally, they agreed on “Japanese Dragons”. After discussion among the parents, the coaches discussed with the team the importance of a more inclusive name since all players were not of Japanese descent. The kids agreed and the “Dragon Kings” were born.

In addition to practices, season games, and tournaments, the Dragon Kings also participate in unique activities to interact with and support both the temple and the Ohtani Basketball organization. The players’ families all work together: making rice cakes (Mochitsuki) in December, running an Ohtani Basketball Jamboree in February, and volunteering at the Temple Bazaar in July.

How did you first hear about TeamSnap?

We signed up for TeamSnap’s soccer team website as part of our son Peter’s soccer team. Coach Dan was interested in an effective way to keep track of attendance so that he could prepare for practices and games. At first, it was difficult to get everyone to keep their child’s status up to date, but once we all kept it up, it made things so much easier for him. Since he was graciously volunteering his time, it was important for all of the team families to make his job easier. In addition, as player families, we found it was great to have a centralized area to look up game times and snack turns.

What is your favorite TeamSnap feature?

The feature that stands out is the simple navigation and the tab options. In addition, the iPhone sports team app is extremely invaluable.

What is your advice for team parents or team managers that may be new to the role?

Use TeamSnap! Accurate and timely communication is very important. Using a powerful and versatile tool like TeamSnap is invaluable because it saves time and shares information that is easy to access. For busy coaches, managers and team parents it is a simple way to organize and communicate a large amount of detailed information.

Contact Information

Ken McDonald

VP Customer Acquisition

TeamSnap

Contact via E-mail