[Carol]

I have found the hardest part of volunteering at an event where your team is competing is paying attention to your assignment, to your part of field, to others interacting with you, when your team is on the field. It is very hard NOT to watch your team when it is competing.

Also, you need to develop a thick skin. When you hear someone hotly proclaiming (rightly or wrongly, usually wrongly) "so and so is with team xyz and he/she caused us to lose the match!", can you shake it off? It is more common than you think.

Can you avoid the temptation of talking to your team about certain events or people, to avoid breaking confidences or giving your team an unfair advantage?

But I encourage you to start volunteering. It does take time to "prove" yourself that you are mature and skilled enough to be a key volunteer, so don't get frustrated if you aren't assigned to your preferred position initially. Volunteering does give you a different perception of FIRST than you get as a team member, and you meet and become friends with a wider group of great people.