“The first thing I would do, when compiling your schedule, is to find the day you will be traveling and start getting the word out on significant travel,” says Joe Dyas, head cross-country coach at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, who plans more than 10 sports team travel outings a season with a group of 25 (including staff). “Give [your athletes] ample notice because the longer you wait, the more people could get times wrong.”

He generally plans team travel 3–4 months in advance, after getting a confirmation on dates and times. “It usually will be ample time to find a hotel but also far enough in the future where everyone might not be booking, which should keep rates lower,” he says. If the event is in a smaller market without a lot of hotel options, sticking to the earlier side of the 3- to 4-month mark is crucial to secure accommodations close to the venue. “Preparing to go to a meet or competition that is 10 minutes away from your hotel is a whole lot easier than when it’s 30 minutes away,” Dyas adds.

Book your rooms strategically

It can be tempting to split room blocks in an effort to keep the peace, but this is the wrong impulse. When groups are split up, team members will still socialize—and the more they have to travel between rooms, the louder it can be. That’s why Dyas recommends booking rooms together, as close as possible. “It’s only natural that the team will want to hang out with each other, and you don’t want to disturb other visitors by them loudly racing up and down the hallway,” he says.

After you secure your accommodations, your next step is figuring out transportation. Your school or organization will likely have specific team travel protocols on whether or not buses or vans will be provided, what situations require plane (or train) travel, who can drive, etc., so check before you book any mode of transport.

Get a room block with ease using these tools

Choice Hotels helps team leaders and coaches make securing a group block as easy as possible with online tools. Which one you use depends on the number of rooms you need. If you’re planning on booking up to 40 rooms, you can book directly from the group travel page. If you need 40 rooms or more, use the group request form. Prefer to talk to a person? Call 877-424-6423, and a reservation agent will assist you.

Make sure everyone's on the same page with the "Quiz" method of communication

Communication is crucial when it comes to sports team travel planning. You’ll loop in athletes and their parents through email updates—and if it’s a huge tournament, you also might want to make a free website (through Wix, WordPress or Squarespace) to serve as a command center for deadlines, accommodation info, directions and other info. Keeping athletes on the same page about travel is your first line of defense against any miscommunications. To do this, Dyas employs a quiz technique. “I will randomly poll a student and go, ‘What time do we leave?’ or, ‘What time do you race?’ to make sure they have all paid attention,” he says. “If someone gets it wrong, I reiterate again.”

Create an itinerary that clearly outlines times and expectations

As you’ll discover, every athlete will prepare on a different schedule. Some are early birds; others wait until the last minute. Though you can’t easily change their off-the-field habits, you can create (and enforce) a team travel schedule that leaves nothing to chance. “The best you can do is trust your team but also be very clear about protocol,” Dyas says. “Explain why we eat breakfast at 6 a.m. or why we have to leave here at 8 a.m. The schedule should not just be important in name only but definitive and factual.” The schedule should include specific times for meals, even if they’re quick rest stops. Pro tip: If you’ll be dining at a walk-in restaurant (even a casual one), it’s good form to let the restaurant know beforehand that you’ll be bringing a big group.

Do spot-checks to make sure everyone has everything before you leave on the trip

Few issues cause bigger headaches than when athletes forget to pack a crucial item. “It’s wise to constantly remind them, as you would rather annoy them than have them be woefully unprepared,” Dyas says. “Usually, I will ask them to meet maybe 15 minutes before we depart from campus to ask them to do one last sweep of their belongings (uniform, wallets/purses, phones, etc.).” This way, athletes still have time to go back to their dorm or home to get what they’ve forgotten.

If you’re coordinating sports team travel for younger athletes, time your spot-check to when a parent or guardian drops them off (but before they leave).

Keep the group together at all times, but especially when checking in or out

The hotel lobby is a place where a group can splinter into chaos, which is why Dyas uses this time to literally get the team in line. “We check in together and leave together. We do not want the appearance of having stragglers or looking like we aren’t on the same level of communication,” he says. “If students are running around, it probably means some organization is lacking. This also allows for an easier roll call when determining who still needs to be accounted for.”

For younger athletes, consider ordering inexpensive T-shirts in your team color to wear whenever they aren’t in their uniforms, to keep them visible to you at all times. The buddy system also helps to identify any potential stragglers …before they become stragglers.