Sixty players, five coaches and a lot of clipboards
Alongside your open sessions, your academy runs development squads for players who want more: extra training, a higher level of coaching, maybe fixtures against other academies. Places are limited, so once or twice a year you hold assessment days. Players from your own sessions come, and so do players from local clubs.
Registration happens by message and a form on your website. On the day, a volunteer writes names on bibs with a marker. Five coaches watch small-sided games and drills with clipboards, scoring players on their own sheets. That evening, the head coach sits with a spreadsheet typing in scores, trying to match bib numbers to names and working out who made each squad. Families wait days to hear, and the ones who did not get in receive a hurried message, or nothing.
Why assessment days are so heavy on admin
- Registrations come through different channels with different details.
- Bib numbers are assigned on the day and matched to names by hand.
- Each coach scores on paper in their own way.
- Combining scores is late-night spreadsheet work, prone to typing errors.
- Outcome messages are written one by one, so they are slow and uneven.
What a messy assessment day costs
Families judge your academy by how the day felt and how they were told the result. A player left waiting a week, or told they missed out in a one-line text, will remember it, and so will their parents. Mistakes in matching bibs to names are rare but damaging when they happen.
The head coach's decision is also harder than it needs to be. Scores on five different sheets, in five different styles, are hard to compare fairly.
Assessment days run from phones
- Families register online for an assessment day, with age group, playing position, current club and key information, and receive a confirmation with what to bring.
- Each player is given a bib number in advance, and the registration list with numbers is ready on the day.
- Coaches score players on their phones against criteria you set for each age group, such as technique, decision making and attitude, using the same scale, tapping the bib number to find the player.
- Scores from all coaches are combined as they come in, with notes, and the head coach sees a ranked view by age group and position.
- The head coach makes the decisions, with space for comments, and can hold players for a second look.
- Every family gets an outcome message from templates you write, with a short personal note where you want one, and those not selected can be offered other sessions.
| Stage | Who | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Families | Online form |
| Bib numbers | Automatic | Registration list |
| Scoring | Coaches | Phone, against your criteria |
| Decision | Head coach | Combined results view |
| Outcome | Automatic from your templates | Email or text to each family |
The criteria, the scoring and the decisions are yours. We build the tools that collect and combine them.
The evening after, done differently
By the time the last game finishes, every coach's scores are already combined. The head coach looks at the results for each age group with the other coaches before they leave, agrees the squads and marks two players for a second look at the next session.
The next day, every family receives a considered message, and players who were not selected are invited to a session that suits their level. When the squad starts, the player records carry over, so coaches can see each player's assessment as a starting point for their development.
Do your assessment days look like this?
- Registration for assessment days is by message.
- Bib numbers are written on the day.
- Coaches score on paper sheets.
- Scores are combined in a spreadsheet late at night.
- Families wait days to hear, and outcomes are sent unevenly.