Tuesday: 'who's in for Saturday?'
The second team captain posts in the WhatsApp group on Tuesday: 'Who's available Saturday?' By Wednesday, six thumbs up, two 'maybe' and a debate about last week's result. Thursday, the captain messages people individually. The first team captain has already taken two of his players, because the firsts are short too. Friday night, he is still two short and texting people he has not seen for months. Saturday morning, one player drops out.
Every captain goes through this every week. For clubs running three or four adult sides, each captain is chasing from the same pool of players, with no shared view of who is available, who is already picked, and who is injured.
Why getting a side out is so hard
- Availability questions are informal, so answers are informal too, and 'maybe' is common.
- Each team's captain asks separately, so a player can say yes to two teams.
- The first team takes players from lower teams late in the week, and the lower captain finds out last.
- Players who have not played for a while are not asked, because nobody remembers them.
- Injuries and unavailability for the coming weeks are not recorded.
What the chasing costs
Conceded fixtures, which cost league penalties and goodwill with the opposition. Captains worn out by Friday, and a steady trickle of captains stepping down. Players who would have played but were never asked. And frustration in lower teams when they are raided late in the week without warning.
Clubs lose players this way without noticing. The occasional player who works shifts, the student home for the holidays, the veteran happy to turn out for the thirds when asked: none of them are in the WhatsApp group that matters that week, so none of them get asked, and after a season of silence they drift to another club or stop playing. A list that remembers everyone who is registered, and flags the ones not seen for a while, keeps them in reach.
Availability and selection that run themselves
Club apps such as Spond, TeamApp and others handle availability requests well, and for many clubs setting one up properly is the whole answer. We start there. Where a club needs selection across several teams, or to connect availability with match fees and fixtures, we build the missing piece.
- Every playing member is in one list, with their usual team and the teams they are eligible for.
- Availability requests for each fixture go out automatically at a set time, such as Monday evening, with yes or no answers only.
- Reminders go only to those who have not answered, and 'no' can carry a reason like injured or away, with a date.
- A club-wide selection board shows every available player and which team has picked them, so captains select from one pool in an agreed order: firsts, then seconds, then thirds.
- Once selected, players get a confirmation with kick-off, meeting time and venue, and the lower team captain sees who was moved up at once.
- Players who have not been available or asked for some weeks are flagged, so captains can bring them back in.
| Day (example) | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Monday evening | Availability request goes out for all teams | Automatic |
| Tuesday and Wednesday | Reminders to non-responders | Automatic |
| Wednesday night | First team selects | First team captain |
| Thursday | Lower teams select from what is left | Other captains |
| Friday | Confirmations sent, gaps flagged | Automatic, captains fill gaps |
A week in the life of a captain afterwards
The captain checks the board on Wednesday and sees eleven available, three picked by the firsts. He selects his side from the rest, and players get their confirmations. Anyone dropping out on Friday updates their availability, and the captain sees it at once. The club secretary can see every team's numbers midweek and spot a side that is struggling before Saturday morning.
Recognise the Friday night texting?
- Captains ask for availability in WhatsApp polls.
- Players say yes to two teams in the same week.
- Lower teams find out late that the firsts have taken their players.
- Captains text players individually on Friday night.
- You have conceded a game for lack of players.