What is your redundancy plan for internet connection failure at the fields during your soccer tournament? You should have at least two systems ready to go that have been fully tested. Failure to connect to the internet is no longer an option, yet few parks have bothered to upgrade and more still do not have full-time internet.

We were promised a “set it and forget it” internet. So far, this is a fantasy and a bit dangerous to assume when your soccer tournament now relies so much on having and keeping a reliable internet connection on the field during your tournament weekend.

It has likely been a whole year since your last tournament and in that year, these things have been rumored to have happened.

1. Browsers have been updated (not a rumor)
2. OSs have been updated (not a rumor)
3. ISP have put a lot more “customer protections” in place to kill the exponential proliferation of spam and network attacks.
4. ISPs have begun throttling data plans… with or without actually telling anyone or admitting it, but we’ve run tests… they are

Saying “we didn’t do anything differently from last year” won’t explain any connection issues you may have this year. Things may not have changed on your end with your computers, but they certainly have changed with the network your are connecting to. Test. Test. Test.

So you have a more full understanding of what TourneyCentral does during your tournament weekend, we’ve listed what we do to monitor your site on our end. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible while also being like a “guardian angel.” If you want to skip the next seven paragraphs and go straight to “Here is my BEST guess: “ feel free…

Resources
Prior to the tournament (Thursday night,) we increase the RAM and CPUs on the application server, the main server we serve your domain from. The database runs on a separate machine which rarely gets beyond 1/2 1 CPU capacity but since we have a private cloud infrastructure, we’re able to scale that up dynamically in the event we ever have to. After the tournament weekend, we ratchet everything back to “normal.”

Monitoring
On Friday, we set up a usual panel of monitoring windows which include a top on the app server, a top on the dbase server, a tail on the httpd (web server) log files (both access and error) so we can see all the traffic in real time as it flows in/out, email monitoring on the scores updates so we can see when scores are being updated in real time, a window of real time Google Analytics so we can watch where/when teams are flowing in, a tab set of front page tournament windows and a tab set of specialized internal tools we set up to monitor scores/standings updating and social media accounts so if we see folks complaining, we start poking around. On Sunday morning until all the pool games are played, we pay extra close attention to the activity as this is a stressful time for the teams and your crew. Once the semi-finals or finals are set, 2/3rds of your traffic drops off almost immediately as teams abandon their interest (sorry, it happens!)

The network engine
The data center is serviced by multiple trunk lines, redundant power including military-grade generators. (an aside, when hurricane Sandy hit, their electricity lines through New Jersey (it is in Allentown) were underwater and the entire datacenter was powered by these generators for 9 days… nobody knew it until after the fact.. imagine the website being down for 9 days! Can’t happen) In our Dayton, Ohio office locally, we have TWC business class internet as well as Verizon LTE and AT&T LTE hotspots just in case TWC fails, and Verizon fails. We also have a studio in Kingston, NY we can call and they can get online if we are unable to from here. We’re getting to the internet regardless.

If we see something spike, disconnect
So basically, if your site is down or unreachable or not generating traffic, we would be the first to know it! We’re almost borderline neurotic about making sure your site is up and running during your tournament weekend.

If we see trouble, we’ll do a traceroute immediately and see if your domain is resolving. We’ll set up a continuous ping to your domain both inside and outside the local network. Assuming the website was getting expected traffic load and the DNS was resolving and you don’t get a call from us, the issue has to be closer to your point of internet entry.

If/when we get a call from your team in a panic, we immediately look at the traffic on the site, the server load, the log files. If everything there is normal, we will feel very badly for your plight, but there will be very little we can do to help. Hearing “your site is up and running, it must be the local connection” may be the truth, but it will not be comforting. We know coaches and parents may be yelling at you — all of us here have been there — but you will have to start methodically tracing back why your connection is not working.

The trick to resolving internet connection issues is to remain calm and work the connections backwards methodically and rationally. Tune out the noise of people yelling at you.

Here is my BEST guess:

I could be entirely wrong, but without methodical testing and under high load over an extended period of time to remove the intermittent timing from the mix, this is just my best guess…

Connection issues are not likely to be hardware, i.e., the router or the MacBook, iPad, etc. The wireless router may have something to do with it, but I seriously doubt it. Same with any mifi devices. But it doesn’t ever hurt to power cycle them.

I THINK ISPs now watch traffic with smart algorithms that see traffic bursts to the same domain over a period of time and throttle network access based on the traffic pattern from the same IP address with assumptions that make perfect sense to them, but entirely wrong based on what you are doing. Soccer tournaments is such a teeny, tiny sliver of anything that very few people know — or care — about the business model and operations. If you think about it, during the day, you will hop on and update scores at a rapid pace, then it sits idle for an hour, then a ton of traffic, then idle, then a ton of traffic… that sort of pattern to an algorithm might say, “whoa, someone might be trying to inject to a domain… let’s sloooooww this down a bit…” and so the network issues a delay that lasts a few seconds, usually not long enough for a human being to notice, but just long enough for a bot to give up and move along to another domain. During the course of normal internet use, you would not even notice that, but when you are rapidly entering scores and whipping through entry screens, that three seconds becomes noticeable very quickly!

The Chrome browser appears to be more sensitive to the delay and actually tries to help the network by actively logging it into the cache, in an attempt to “protect” the user. This is where you would get that ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED which may or may not be sticky, depending on if you cleared the cache, set the cache low, etc in some advanced settings. The Safari browser the iPad/iPhone uses is likely designed more for the slower mobile networks, even though you may be connected to a wifi network, so they tend to be less panicky… they may or may not be compensating for the network latency… I think they are, so the network delays are the same, you just may never know about them or be alerted less… there is no specific ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED in the Safari browsers, both in the iOS and MacOS… not sure about the Windows version of Safari or the same Mozilla-based Firefox browser. Internet Explorer (or Edge now?) is absolutely horrific, so don’t even consider that as an option; it tries to protect you from everything and will end up driving you insane. We have just a passing experience with Android devices, so my guesses would just be wild hair guesses and not very helpful.

The network also sees not only the initial request to the domain but also the response and HTTPD request back to the browser on that domain. What this means in practical terms is your scores updates, etc, may be sent and processed by the server, but the confirmation page that gets sent back telling you this is what happens may have been caught up in the delay, which is good in that what you were doing got done, but bad because it looks like maybe it wasn’t. Four calls to the DNS server over a very minuscule period of time on every update is kinda the minimum cycle.

Our advice

1. Turn off cache. Flush all the cache and local files often during the weekend. Do not trust a quick trip to google.com is a sign that your connection is up and running. (If you flush local files and cookies, you will be forced to log in again into your admin area after you do. This is normal.)

2. Batch enter more scores and slow down between entries… it may seem like it takes longer, but if you can prevent a network collision from the ISP and save 3 seconds here, there, it nets out the same or better.

3. Have an independent LTE hotspot with a different mobile provider set up just in case and maybe enter some of the scores from that. If multiple people are entering scores, make sure they filter first so they don’t inadvertently update each others’ scores entry. (blank entry fields will count as a NULL update) Having redundant systems for getting on the internet at the fields may be the new normal, especially when everyone has expectations now of now now now internet.

4. Talk to whomever is providing internet at the fields and see if they have any way of white listing your domain to always put traffic through and maybe even giving you a static IP for the weekend, run through a VPN. I doubt they will as these things take expertise to set up and it’s only one weekend and what do they get out of the deal, etc., but it never hurts to ask. (just don’t accuse them of throttling!! They get their dander up over that!)

5. If it were me, I would set up a MacBookPro on the primary wifi network, but also pack my AT&T LTE iPad, my Verizon LTE iPad and my AT&T iPhone ready to go with a hotspot to switch over on my MacBookPro at a moment’s notice. After the first couple times, I would set up both iPads and switch over to each alternately for batch scores entry… but that is just me probably being obsessively redundant… (no, it’s not something TourneyCentral will do for you, not even for money… 🙂 )

Again, this is just my best guess based on what I know to be true about the server back ends and my assumptions of the front based on my real-world experience of having been on-site, entering scores for my own club tournaments when my kids were playing. Internet should be “set-it and forget it” by now, but it’s not and probably never will be. Getting and keeping a reliable connection outside at a park will more than likely be a constant challenge. The best we can do is plan for an outage by making sure there are redundant systems, tested and ready to go.

I hope this helps try to get to what is causing typical delays at the fields. I really, really think most of the delays you will experience is the ISP fiddling on you, though you will never get them to admit it. You just gotta outsmart them! Every year, we find we have to outsmart tech vendors in different ways.

Early this year, all the teams of the MLS joined Snapchat. While I found several posts that listed the accounts, I couldn’t find an easy database of snapcodes to shoot and add to my follow. So, I made one.

Just open your Snapchat app, mouse over the snapcode to reveal the team name and point to the snapcode of the team you wish to follow. Hold your finger down on the screen until the follow pops up. Follow one or all. We added the MLS and TourneyCentral accounts at the end of the list.

“You’re legit,” he said as we were about to hang up after a lengthy conversation about using TourneyCentral to manage his first-year soccer tournament.

“Thanks,” I replied back as I thought to myself ‘what an odd thing to say.’ But as I was hanging up, I realized it may not have been an entirely odd thing to say from his point of view.

He was tasked with starting up a brand new soccer tournament. He had never managed a soccer tournament and during our conversation, he quickly realized this was not just a “throw a few teams together and play some games” venture he may have assumed early on. His questions during our conversation led me to believe that TourneyCentral was not his first phone call, but we may have been his most informative, the one he felt most comfortable with. In short, the one that wasn’t lying to him to get his business.

“You’re legit,” he felt compelled to say as we said our goodbyes.

I think people in general, have a fear of being lied to. But they also want to trust you. They want to feel you respect their needs, their “kerosene pickle” so to speak. The astute client or coach is constantly looking for clues to not trust you but they are also looking for clues to make them feel comfortable that they are making the right choice. But throughout the process, in the back of their minds, they think, “How easy is it to back out of this if I say ‘yes?’”

I don’t know whether or not my caller will sign with TourneyCentral or if he will launch his soccer tournament at all. I hope he does, but if not, at least he will have gone into the event (or not) with his eyes wide open and asking the right questions. A modern soccer tournament has a lot of moving parts and is no longer just the fun, friendly gathering of a few teams on a weekend it was thirty years ago. A lot of people enter into a soccer tournament with basic expectations that must be met for the event to be successful. At least he will know that much and TourneyCentral will have been the one that set him on the path.

Our advice: When establishing your soccer tournament online, build trust through the depth of your content and the straightforward presentation of information. In short, be legit.

Write a lot of content and post a ton of photos, on your social media channels, your front news page and/or a tournament blog on Medium or WordPress. Don’t be afraid to show the soccer tournament community and your community at large who you are. Be discoverable.

Be honest and straightforward. Let other decide for themselves if your tournament is the right fit for them. Don’t sell something you are not just to get them to participate in your event. In the end, neither of you will be very happy.

If you are a first-year tournament, we put together a quick guide for first year tournaments as well as a short video.

Membership has its privileges. So do ticket-holders. A ticket to a sporting event says “I have a seat.”

You know the teams participating in your soccer tournament, but do you also know who else is attending? You hope coaches share information about your sponsors, advertisers with parents, players and fans, but are you sure?

Selling tickets would help you manage that vast data you are not now getting, but who would buy a ticket to watch their own kid play in a tournament they have already spent lots of money to participate in? Asking teams to fill out roster data online is always a bit of a dicey game as many won’t due to COPPA laws and other privacy concerns.

But what if you were to be able to get names and emails of parents attending, by simply making soccer tournament event tickets available… for free.

With Eventbrite, you can. (see the real event page we set up for the adidas Warrior Soccer Classic in May)

Our advice

Set up your event on Eventbrite and promote the ticket page to accepted teams and the general public. The benefits to you are:

• An extra level of traction for Google searches on your event when local media outlets compile a calendar for events in your area.
• Deep dive into who is at to your soccer tournament and what they are interested in (in addition to their kid’s games, of course)
• You will also be able to build a marketing list that will make you more valuable to sponsors and advertisers.
• An incentive for ticket-holders. A free sticker when they present a valid ticket at the HQ would be an exceptional premium. You can buy thousands of stickers from Sticker Mule for pennies per and have the added advantage of the teams advertising outside of your event. (check out our Snapchat code stickers here)

Some caveats exist, however:

• DO NOT SELL, RENT OR LEASE THE LIST to anyone. Ever. Manage it internally. If an advertiser wants to send out an offer to the list, do it for them.
• Make sure advertisers and sponsors adhere to YOUR format policies and their creative matches YOUR criteria. Their offer may be valuable, but your list is infinitely more valuable.
• Guarantee the ticket-holders privacy. Take that trust seriously. Word will spread if you abuse it.
• Make sure you explicitly state the free ticket is for the ATTENDEE, not the participating team. It is probably best to only publish the Eventbrite page AFTER you accept teams to avoid any confusion about whether or not a team applied.

Be clear that the tickets are for attendance only. Guard your ticket-holders privacy at all cost. Have fun with the premiums. This is only the start of what you can do for your soccer tournament event when you start “selling” tickets.

This is a powerful ad. Watch it.

How many times have we witnessed a coach who hung on too long, a director who never let go, a staff that did not groom the next generation to take a tournament into the next generation?

Why do we do this? Why do we do the things we do? To ensure our own legacy or ensure that our accomplishments are a solid stepping stone for the next generation to move the sport of soccer forward? Why are you producing your soccer tournament?

Developing a young staff to take your place is the best way you can ensure your soccer tournament will thrive. Let go; let others soar knowing you did that.

Something to think on.

Today, TourneyCentral joined Medium as a publishing platform. We’re mostly there to see how publishing on the platform can affect Google results and increase engagement. We’ll be following up with another post to outline some “Best Practices” for your soccer tournament.

In the meantime, sign up and follow us on Medium.

TourneyCentral

Snapchat can increase real-time engagement with your soccer tournament by tapping into the real-time energy and your teams’ FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) Despite its beginnings as a teen-aged peer-to-peer network for questionable photos that would “disappear” after being viewed once, it has matured into a solid platform for showcasing a soccer tournament.

You access Snapchat exclusively through the mobile app, available on iOS and Android. Once you download the app, the interface can be confusing and unfamiliar, but this is by design. The kids don’t want the olds to be able to use it easily and intuitively. But once you figure it out, you’ll be snapping like a pro. Fortunately, Snapchat has a pretty detailed user guide. We’ll run down the basics for you to get you up and running.

The basics

Let’s get you up and running. There is really no prep work needed for Snapchat as it assumes you will be using stuff that is happening now in front and behind you. The only think you will need is a unique email address for the tournament that you are not using for any of your personal Snapchat profiles.

1. Download the app and launch it.
2. Press the Sign Up bar at the bottom
3. Fill in your user name (it will tell you if your choice has already been taken) your email address and a birth date. (you must be over 13)
4. Read and agree to the privacy policy (you can’t really opt out or change things…)
5. And you are now ready to send your first “snap.”

You can — and should — always add your snaps to your story and send them to your phone for archiving, but it is important to know that snaps disappear after being viewed. You should strive to create each snap as a self-contained mini story that has no history or future. Eventually, your continued snapping will build a story, but each user can and will dip in and out of your stream at will. Remember that and build around it.

Lurk a little

Before you begin to send out snaps, it is best to start following some people first and get to know their style, what they snap, their voice, etc. Here are some snap codes for some snapchatters we think are using the medium effectively. (some language, just so you are aware… this is all real and raw. Also, if you are having issues isolating the snapcode, just click on it and it will pop up by itself.)

1. To add a snapchatter by snapcode:
This page on snapchat.com shows you how to add by snapcode. Basically, login, point your camera at the snapcode and hold down on the screen.

2. Watch the snapchatters for a few days to get a sense of their style, what you like and what you think you can adapt to your tournament event. You access their snaps by pressing on the purple square at the lower right corner of your login screen. If there are no snaps, you will see a “hamburger menu” with three lines.

Are you getting the hang of the interface? It is a bit different — as a reminder, this is by design to frustrate older folks away from the app — but press on and the connection with your tournament audience will be incredible.

As you watch the snapchatters above, you will see they use filters and geofilters (location/event overlays) video, slo-mo, reverse video, text and drawn overlays. When you find yourself asking, “Hey, how did they do that?” navigate over to this page on snapchat.com and find out.

3. Get brave and start looking for folks who snapchat soccer and start adding them. Be sure to read our guide about building out your social media networks.

4. Publish your snapcode in a news item on the front page or as a sponsor on the sponsor page.

What to snapchat

By now, you should be ready to just dig in and start snapping. What to snap, what to snap?

1. Your snaps are a part of your tournament event and must be consistent with your brand. Will you use just one spokesperson on snapchat or will there be a team? Will you “tag team” the snaps or have pre-planned programming hours where one person hosts a block of time? Will you invite guest teams to be “interviewed” on snapchat? There are no right answers, but you should think about this ahead of time.

2. Don’t be too programmed. Nobody likes being marketed to, especially on snapchat. If your audience senses you are “playing to a script,” they will drop you quickly. Just be yourself — or at least the self that is the tournament brand.

3. Design a day. Tell mini-stories about your tournament as the day progresses, before during and after the tournament. Show what is it like to organize the paperwork for registration, schedule games and referees. Take snapchat out to the fields on prep day and show the field lining, the nets going up. Interview the volunteers. Have a sneak peek at the tshirts at the HQ tent. Show the picking process for the shirt pre-orders, the late-night pizza for the hard-working volunteers.

4. Show the activity behind the scenes. Your guest teams want to be invested in your success as a shared experience. Give them that, let them in on the know.

5. Invite your advertisers, vendors and sponsors to run a promotion on your snapchat stream. It could be as simple as producing a short video in real time with the vendor of a popcorn stand at the venue saying “Stop at the Kettle Korn stand at Grantham Park, show us the next snap with the promo code and get $1.00 off” then create a photo snap of the vendor’s logo from their booth with the promo code handwritten across it.

6. But mostly, have fun!

This is an excellent article about being a brand on Snapchat by Frankie Greek.