FREE Guard Zone > Hot Tips

• Need tape?  The best source ever for plastic colored tape
  
  
• Sabre Pad: Home Depot's Linerless Rubber Splicing Tape is great for padding sabres.
  
• Losing hardware? To "lock" the hardware on your rifle, get some Loc-Tite. It's a watery blue cement that will keep the swivel and strap nuts from coming off. They'll know what you need in the hardware department of your local Ace Hardware, Home Depot or Lowe's.
  
• Holy tips? A washer inside your flagpole tips will keep the pole from busting through.
  
• Weighting your flags: Many guards use carriage bolts to weight their flags. These run anywhere from 2" to 4", depending on the guard. Make sure you're all using the same ones if you want your tosses to look the same. Also, be sure to tape the sharp ends of the bolt to ensure it does not score the inside of the pole (eventually that piece will break off!) To kill that clanking noise, buy some red garden hose at Home Depot. It's the perfect size to pad the bolt with... and lightweight!
  
• How to roll / fold /unroll a floor
  
• Vendors for guard stuff
  
• How to tape a rifle
  
• Don't hate... appreciate! A little appreciation goes a long way. Consider having a "Reserved VIP section" at your next big event (contest, invitational, performance or concert). Invite press, school board officials, administration, teachers, and boosters. Impress your VIP's with a special entrance or perhaps a small pre-event reception... recognize them during the event with a certificate or round of applause.
  
• Medical Release Forms: When you have your team members complete a medical release form for your files, make sure that you carry copies with you to every function whether in town or away. (A manager could bring them in an "Emergency Bag".)
  
• Got Insurance? Have team members photo copy personal medical insurance cards with card numbers to attach to their forms. If they do not have medical insurance, see if the athletic program offers student insurance (it's usually very inexpensive) and encourage your students to purchase that.
  
  
• Audition idea: For the next tryouts you have, let the candidates know how much you appreciate them. Give each candidate an envelope with name and audition number on the outside. If he or she has made the team, there is a special card, sticker or paper cut out inside. If the candidate does not make the team, include a note of thanks or special poem that will not take the hurt away, but ease the pain.
  
  
  

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