An away game in a field with no signal
The under-13s are playing away at a village ground with no phone signal and no wifi. A player takes a knock and needs to go home. His parent dropped him at the club and went to work. The coach knows the boy has asthma but is not sure where his inhaler is, and has the parent's number somewhere, in a WhatsApp group he cannot open without signal, or on a registration form at home.
Most matchdays nothing goes wrong. But every coach has had a moment of needing a parent's number or a medical detail quickly, and not having it. Some carry a printed list in their kit bag, which goes out of date, and which is a sheet of children's personal and medical details that could be lost at any ground.
Why the information is never quite to hand
- Emergency contacts are held at registration, not in a form coaches can reach on the day.
- Club apps need a signal, and many grounds have poor coverage.
- Printed lists go out of date and are not secure.
- Coaches for the day (an assistant covering, a parent helping) have no access at all.
- Medical notes that parents want the coach to know are mixed with details the coach should not see.
What a coach should do in an emergency is set by your club's policy, first aid training and your welfare officer. We make sure the contact information is there when they need it.
What the gap costs
Delay, in the moments where it matters most. Worry for coaches, most of whom are parents themselves. Parents' confidence in the club. And printed lists with children's details in kit bags are a data risk your policy almost certainly does not want.
It is not only about injuries. A parent stuck in traffic and late for pick-up, a player who feels unwell at an away tournament, a minibus that breaks down on the way home: each needs a coach to reach the right adult quickly. When the only copy of a phone number sits in a chat the coach cannot load, a small problem turns into a stressful one for everyone, including the child waiting at the side of the pitch.
Cover is the weak point. The regular coach may have numbers saved on his own phone, but when he is ill and an assistant or a parent steps in for the day, that person has nothing.
A secure, offline matchday list
We build a small matchday tool from your registration data, designed around poor signal and minimal data.
- Registration holds each player's emergency contacts and any medical notes the parent has agreed to share with coaches.
- Before a fixture, the coach, or a named cover, opens the matchday list for the players selected, and it downloads to their phone.
- The list shows only what is needed on the day: player name, emergency contacts with tap to call, and agreed medical notes such as 'carries an inhaler in kit bag'.
- It works offline for the match, protected by the phone's lock and a club PIN.
- After the fixture, the list is cleared from the phone automatically.
- Access is logged, and cover coaches get access only for that fixture, approved by the team manager or welfare officer.
| Design choice | Why |
|---|---|
| Only emergency contacts and agreed notes | Coaches see what they need and no more |
| Works offline | Many grounds have no signal |
| Cleared after the fixture | No lasting copy on personal phones |
| Access logged | The welfare officer can see who opened what |
| Cover access per fixture | Stand-in coaches are covered safely |
Your welfare officer and data protection policy decide exactly what is held, who can see it and for how long. We build the tool to follow those decisions.
Matchday, afterwards
Before leaving for an away game, the coach opens the matchday list while there is signal. At the ground, when a player is hurt, the coach taps the parent's number and reads the medical note the parent provided. After the game, the list clears itself. The printed sheets in the kit bags are gone.
Could your coaches find a contact quickly?
- Coaches rely on WhatsApp or an app that needs signal.
- Printed contact lists travel in kit bags.
- Cover coaches have no access to emergency contacts.
- Medical information from parents does not reach the coach.
- Your welfare officer is uneasy about how contact details are carried.