GENERAL

The Norsemen Football program relies on Information Technology (IT) for many functions. The website exists to provide a central repository of and portal to anything and everything related to Norsemen Football. This includes (but is not limited to):

• official announcements from the coaching staff and school administration
• schedules - practices, games, pasta parties, etc.
• photos and video clips from events and games throughout the season
• Booster events
• fundraisers
• Items for purchase, etc.

In other words, if it has to do with Norsemen Football, you should be able to find it at valhallafootball.com.

Some of the behind-the-scenes activities handled by the IT department include providing support in the form of database maintenance and reporting, email list generation, bulk emailing, and coordination with the coaching staff to ensure all student athletes and their families are provided with up-to-the-minute information regarding the Program and its activities.

The VHS Football IT Manager has overall responsibility for the design, operation, maintenance, and content of the website, consistent with the standards expected of such a highly-visible representative of Valhalla High School Athletics and as set forth by school administration and the football Program. As such, this person or persons should possess a reasonable knowledge of a wide array of IT-related topics (details below). He or she should also have a working knowledge of the software-based tools used to create modern web pages, and should own or have access to many of those tools.

This position is currently open for placement with new volunteers. Ideally, we would like to establish an IT Committee comprising a group of individuals who together possess the skills and have the time available to execute the tasks described herein. The head of this committee would likely hold a Booster Board position at the vice president level.

Website Construction

Note: webmasters may create a new website at their discretion, using the tools, languages and design techniques with which they feel most comfortable. Obviously the most efficient approach is to continue using and evolving the existing site, leveraging prior efforts: this page describes the site as it currently exists so that prospective IT managers will gain an understanding of where things are at this point in time. Although the site was not developed by a "web professional," it should provide the basis for significant extendability into the foreseeable future.

• Technology: the website is written using ASP.NET and therefore hosted on a Windows server. Extensive use is made of Master Pages, code-behind files, and Cascading Style Sheets



• Languages:
  • HTML
  • visual basic
  • javascript


• Development tools:
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
  • Microsoft Expression Media 2 (for photo galleries)
  • Microsoft Access (database support)


• Cross-browser support: while we strive to provide as much functionality as possible for the widest array of browsers, this is not a requirement - generally we start with IE7 and work outward from there as time permits



• PDF: you must have the ability to generate and publish PDF files from a variety of sources

Database

Extensive use is made of databases to track student athletes, team rosters, contact lists, statistics, etc. We use Microsoft Access for all such functions (much less expensive to host than, for example, SQL-Server).

Qualifications

This section describes the skills needed to provide the services and support as currently defined. It should not be presumed that a single person must possess all of these qualifications to be involved with the VHS Football IT committee! We encourage participation at whatever level you are comfortable, and a team environment comprising volunteers from all levels (Frosh, JV, Varsity) is desirable.

• Web pages: create and modify .ASPX files using master pages, visual basic code-behind and CSS files
• understand and create javascript
• Database support:
  • understand existing tables and data structures and how they tie into the website
  • create new tables, queries, and reports as new features are brought online
  • maintain data content (add, modify, delete) as required
  • export data (contact lists, etc.) from tables to support Coaches and Boosters
• Photos:
  • basic photo manipulation skills (resizing, touchups, etc.)
  • ability to create photo galleries using tools of choice
• Video Clips:
  • basic video manipulation skills (capturing clips from DVD, editing, etc.) - we've been using Pinnacle software solutions in this role
  • ability to publish embedded clips to website
• Communications:
  • ability to communicate effectively with coaching staff, booster members, etc., on a continual and as-needed basis
  • abililty to manipulate email lists within mail client (MS-Outlook, etc.) and generate bulk emailings, etc.
• General documentation support: create various documents, order forms, etc. with graphics as needed, and convert to PDF format for use on website

Tasks

This section provides a detailed description of the duties involved in running the website. The list has been broken down into general categories to facilitate selection of item(s) in which you may be interested in "adopting." Again, it is not intended that one person be responsible for the entire list - we're looking for several volunteers to work together and share the load.

As with any undertaking such as this, the "Job Description" is subject to change: while this list attempts to provide a realistic picture of what's involved, it should not be considered definitive.

Category	Activity	Frequency	Description
Web pages	Schedules	as needed throughout season	interact with coaching staff via email, telephone, and in-person to update and maintain all published program schedules including practices, games, and other events
	Headlines and News	continuous throughout season	update front page content (your chance to be a sports reporter!) to reflect that week's results, and generate news stories for inclusion in database
	Photo Galleries	continuous throughout season	receive photos from various sources, create gallery and upload to site: update site sections to provide menu access to new galleries
	General Site Maintenance	as needed throughout season	respond to requests for new features, bugs, etc.
Database	Rosters	as needed throughout season	using data provided by the Head Coach, update and maintain the database of Frosh, JV, and Varsity rosters. Provide reports to coaches and boosters as needed.
	Contact Data	as needed throughout season	input data from sign-up sheets into student database, update student status (team, position, jersey number, etc.), Coaching Staff, Boosters, etc. as needed.
	Email lists	as needed throughout season	generate and maintain email lists for each team; manage invalid addresses and opt-outs; provide lists to coaches and boosters as needed
	Varsity Statistics	after each game	receive stats from team statistician, input into database and upload to site
	Game Scores	after each game	update database to reflect that week's results
Administrative	Email Broadcasts	as needed throughout season	generate and transmit bulk emails to appropriate recipients (eg., all freshmen, varsity team, etc.) based on requests from coaches and boosters
	Handouts/Fliers	continuous throughout season	process requests for handouts, generate documents and convert to PDF, make available on site

That's all there is to it!

Of course, the outgoing crew will make every reasonable effort to assist the new folks in coming up to speed during the transition. Everyone interested in becoming a part of the VHS Football IT Committee should send us an email or contact any Booster Board member. Remember - you don't have to be an "expert" and every little bit helps: we welcome anyone with a desire to be involved.