I accidentally got a summer job (without pay) 😅

Hey there, {{first_name | friend}},

"What have we done?!" 

That was my exact internal monologue the first time I looked at our summer calendar after my daughter joined a traveling softball team. No flights required, thankfully, but still. It feels like an unpaid summer job.

The practices, the parent asks, the tournament schedules, the snack rotations, the heat... I was not prepared. 😅 We’re in a whole new era, and I am figuring it out in real time. You already know how I cope: I pulled up my AI tools and got to work.

If your schedule has also been taken over by your kids’ activities and you want to get involved without losing your sanity, this newsletter is for you!

1. Design your team's logo. AI image tools can generate logo concepts, color combos, and team branding options in minutes, no graphic designer required. Great for new teams, end-of-season gifts, or just when the Narwhals finally deserve a “horn” upgrade. Try using Gemini’s Nano Banana (yep, that’s the real name of Google’s image generation tool) or check out what I created with it.

2. Build your tournament schedule into your calendar automatically. Copy and paste that tournament bracket into your AI scheduling tool and let it do the calendar math for you. Start dates, game times, location details, all of it lands exactly where it needs to be. (Google Calendar users, see Prompt 1 below!)

3. Write a custom team song for every player. Generate song lyrics that name every player on the roster, call out their positions, and give each one a moment to shine. Then take the lyrics straight to Suno.com, add a style description, and hit generate. Here’s a banger I created for my eldest daughter’s team.

4. Create cheers for unusual team names. "Let's go, Nemesis" only gets you so far (and yes, you read that right, my daughter plays for a team named for the Greek goddess of vengeance and retribution). Ask AI to write a full cheer roster with rhymes, call-and-response options, and crowd-friendly chants for whatever wonderfully weird name your kid's team landed on. 

5. Translate coach speak for your kid. "Finish through the wall" makes total sense to a coach. To your 9-year-old standing at the end of the swim lane? Not so much. AI is great at translating technical feedback into simple, encouraging language your kid can actually use at the next practice.

6. Capture game tape with AI glasses. AI-Empowered Mom community all-star Tara shared that her family has been using AI-powered smart glasses to capture game footage hands-free.

7. Prepare for league board meetings with a fresh perspective. Also from Tara: she has a leadership role in her league’s board and uses AI to think through alternate points of view before board meetings and when drafting league-wide communications. Instead of walking in with only her own lens, she asks AI to consider other perspectives, anticipate objections, and pressure-test her messaging before it goes out. 

8. Write end-of-season player highlights. Ask AI to help you draft a short, personalized highlight for each player on the roster. Give it the player's name, position, a memorable moment or two, and the tone you want, and it will produce something that makes the kids feel proud. Apps like GameChanger make this easy.

9. Find the perfect coach gift. Tell AI your budget, your coach's personality, the sport, and anything you know about their interests, and it will generate a thoughtful, specific gift list that goes way beyond a gift card and signed baseball. 

10. Draft a thank-you message to coaches or team parents. AI can help you write something warm, specific, and thoughtful in about 30 seconds. No more staring at a blank text message while standing in the parking lot after the last game. For me, this is the little push that means I’ll actually get a thank you note together.

Prompt 1: Add Your Kids’ Sports or Activities Schedule to Your Outlook Calendar with Gemini.

Act as my family scheduling assistant. Use the attached [SPORT] schedule [IMAGE or PDF]. Extract every practice, game, and tournament, including dates, times, and locations. Add them to my @Google Calendar and flag any conflicts with existing events.

Mom tip: With Google Gemini, you can paste a screenshot or copy the text directly from a schedule email or PDF and get the details straight into your calendar. No manual entry required. I tested this with Microsoft Copilot again today and was unsuccessful.

Prompt 2: Build a Balanced Batting Order and Field Rotation

Act as a youth [SPORT] coach. I am going to share my team roster along with any notes about player experience, position preferences, skill level, and participation requirements. Create a batting order and field position rotation for a [NUMBER]-inning game that is balanced, fair, and gives every player equal opportunity to contribute in meaningful positions throughout the game. Flag any judgment calls and explain your reasoning. Format as a simple inning-by-inning chart I can print for the dugout.

Mom tip: AI can get player names or positions slightly wrong on the first pass, so give it a quick review before it goes to the coach. Still way faster than building it from scratch. Thanks to community member Nikki for inspiring this one!

Prompt 3: Build the Ultimate Sports Snack List

Act as a kids’ sports nutritionist. I need snack ideas for [NUMBER] kids ages [AGES] after a [SPORT] game in [SEASON / WEATHER CONDITIONS]. Snacks should be easy to transport, be kid-approved, and have at least some nutritional value. Give me 10 options with a short note explaining on why each one works. Format as a quick-reference list I can screenshot and take to the store.

Mom tip: Em, my AI family assistant, can help you build this list and even work it into your weekly meal plan so nothing falls through the cracks on game day. Join the Em waitlist to get early access.

Are you a parent with kids on a travel team? Hit reply and toss me your best tips for keeping your sanity. Snacks, folding chairs, umbrellas, solidarity playlists, I am all ears.

Until next time,

Sarah

P.S. It’s Sunday night, are your pre-week “scaries” setting in? If so, check out this week’s podcast with Melissa Regan who shared how she turned her two-hour pre-week prep session into minutes with AI and now spends that time chilling with her family. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or my website.

The professionals pulling ahead aren't working more. They're using Claude.

Our free guide will show you how to:

Transform your workflow with AI and stay ahead of the curve with this comprehensive guide to using Claude at work.

Get The Free Guide