Picking a Team Name

The best advice I can offer to you is to never get attached to a name before your team hears it. The worst thing is when kids show up to a practice and the coach proudly announces the new team name to lackluster enthusiasm. The best way to ensure you never get this response: Let your TEAM pick the name!

• Tell the parents that you will pick a name at 1st/2nd practice. Encourage the players to come up with ideas
• Get all the ideas on the table with all players. Have them vote bracket style culminating in 2 names vying for the title. Side note: Younger players have a tendency to vote with the loud/popular player. Tell them you want to see their hand up for their choice even if they’re the only hand raised, mention that it tells you as the coach that means that they’re a brave player
• I went through an early phase where I cared about having fierce sounding names. Now I realize the names our teams have gotten more attached to are the funny/silly ones. You may not immediately be stoked with Space Invaders or Rainbow Unicorns, but if you embrace it (especially with a matching cheer) your players’ faces will light up when you call the name on the field
• After a dozen or so time of having the color as the first word of the name I did sort of get bored with that, so I coach players to come up with names that may match with the color, but not actually use it in the name e.g. Toxic Slime for a bright green team instead of Green Slime.
• Aggressive names are fine (e.g. Destroyers) but don’t go so far as Face Smashers (I actually saw a very similar one to this)