Where are the pop-up goals?
Your academy owns a lot of kit: balls in several sizes, cones, bibs, pop-up goals, ladders, hurdles, rackets, first aid kits, a gazebo for camps. It lives in coaches' car boots, in a cupboard at the leisure centre, in a shed at the park and in your garage.
On a Monday a coach arrives at the school hall and finds the session bag has six balls, not twelve. The pop-up goals are in another coach's car, forty minutes away. Before summer camps, you discover half the bibs are missing and the first aid kits need restocking, the week before the first camp day. You buy replacements in a hurry, and a month later the originals turn up in someone's boot.
Why equipment goes missing
- Nothing records which bag or coach has which items.
- Bags are not checked at the end of sessions, so losses are noticed the next time.
- Kit moves between venues and coaches as cover changes.
- Damaged items are left in bags instead of being reported.
- Reordering happens when something runs out, usually at the worst time.
What lost kit costs
Replacement costs add up, especially for bigger items like goals and nets. Sessions start late or run with too little equipment, which parents notice. First aid kits that have not been restocked are a worry, even if nothing happens. And the owner spends time driving kit between venues and chasing coaches for items.
Kit also tells parents what kind of academy you are. A coach arriving with the right, well-kept equipment looks professional.
A simple equipment register
- Each session bag, cupboard and store is listed with what it should contain, and larger items get a label with a QR code.
- The rota tells each coach which bag or store they are using for a session.
- At the end of a session, the coach ticks a quick checklist on their phone: all present, something missing, something damaged.
- Missing or damaged items are reported to you at once, with who had the bag last.
- Moving an item, such as goals from one venue to another, is recorded by scanning its label.
- First aid kits have their own contents list, and restocking is flagged when items are used or reach dates you set.
| Check | Who | Result |
|---|---|---|
| End of session bag check | Coach, in a few taps | Missing or damaged items reported |
| Item moved | Anyone, by scanning | Location updated |
| First aid kit check | Coach or owner | Restock list |
| Pre-camp check | Owner | Reorder list for camps |
| Term start | Owner | Reorder list for the new term |
Knowing where the kit is
A coach finishes a Monday session, ticks the bag checklist and notes two balls went over the fence. You get a notification and add two balls to the reorder list. When you need the pop-up goals for Saturday, you can see they are in the leisure centre cupboard.
When a new coach joins, they get a bag with a checklist rather than a pile of kit and a verbal list. When a coach leaves, you can see exactly what is in their car and arrange to collect it before their last session, rather than months later.
Two weeks before summer camps, you open the reorder list, see exactly what needs buying and order it in one go. First aid kits are restocked in time. Nobody finds bibs in a boot a month later, because they were never lost in the first place.
Is kit going missing?
- Equipment is spread across cars, cupboards and your garage.
- Coaches arrive to find a bag short.
- You buy replacements that later turn up.
- Damaged kit is left in bags.
- First aid kits are restocked late.