Our athletes spend countless hours at practices and leave their hearts on the field to make their coaches, families, and fans proud. Besides trophies and titles that they may win during the season, the best way to recognize your team’s accomplishments is with an official celebration. Here are some tips for planning the perfect end-of-season sports banquet.
- Start Early: Start planning your banquet in the beginning of the season so you have plenty of time to coordinate money, venues, decorations, and other little details that go into a successful event.
- Decorate with the Team Colors: There is often a trend to decorate the event space with gold, to signify “getting the gold.” However, a team would be much happier walking into a room decorated with the colors they so proudly played in for the entire season.
- Create a Diverse Menu: Don’t assume that everyone in attendance will like the options you’ve chosen! It’s better to create a menu with a wide variety of options to please everyone. Pro Tip: Always provide a vegetarian and gluten-free option to be safe.
- Have a Team Table: This night is all about the team, so let them enjoy it together. If possible, create one big table for the players to sit at as a group. This may be hard to do for high school football teams, so you can break up tables by year instead.
- Make the Night About Them: Limit the number of speeches or sentiments that boosters and parents give throughout the night. Of course, let coaches speak, but try to keep it brief so it doesn’t take attention away from the players.
- Create a Highlight Reel: There is nothing more excited than reliving buzzer-beating final shots or the tackle that prevented the other team from tying up the game. Highlight reels are a fantastic way to get the players excited even after the season is over.
Sports banquets are a great opportunity to remind your team of their accomplishments throughout the season. The beautiful rooms at Italian Center Banquets provide enough space to fit everyone who helps your team be successful and make it a night your team will never forget.
Looking to have some fun and recognize the efforts of your team this season? Let Italian Center Banquets plan your next sports banquet! To learn more about all of the services we offer or to plan your team’s end-of-season event, give us a call at 203-322-6950 or visit us on Facebook!