Recently, a question was sent to a tournament from a parent asking why the U9 players are not required to wear headgear? She cited all sorts of studies about headballs, headgear, etc. and then ranted a bit about how the tournament was being irresponsible and providing an unsafe environment for the children. The proper response, of course, was that while head gear was not mandated, it was also not excluded. If the parent felt the play was unsafe for their child without head gear, they have the right and responsibility to require their child wear some. She also had a right to not sign the liability form and that by not signing, her child would not be allowed to play. Moreover, her issue was really with the coach, not the tournament.

But, the response was not given before a few suggestions got passed around the tournament staff, my favorite is posted above.

Head injuries are not funny and should not be laughed at. We’re not doing that. What is funny is a cat wearing a citrus peel as a helmet and parents who are so overprotective of their kids that they suck the fun out of everything they do. It is also quite sad that in 10 short years, these are the same kids who will be voting, never having seen any environment other than the one artificially created for them by their well-meaning parents. But, I digress.

Our advice: Never lose your sense of humor. Soccer is, after all JUST A GAME! Have a bit of fun along the way. Managing a tournament is a lot of hard work just communicating with coaches, not to mention all the parents who have easy access to you. Find fun where you can. It will keep you young and keep the tone of the tournament light.

I’m a bit amused whenever I see a question come across on one of our sites, framed something like:
I wanted to know about <something> but I could not find it on your site. Is it not available or is your website not updated? (emphasis is mine)

But my amusement quickly turns to frustration because I am suddenly and painfully aware that years and years of really, really horrifically bad soccer tournament web sites have conditioned your potential guest teams to assume and accept that your tournament web site is going to be out of date; almost always. And as you are expected to do more and more for teams in real-time, the task of keeping a traditional web site updated gets pushed further and further back.

Our advice: If you have a TourneyCentral web site, it is easy to keep current at all times. Post a message on the front page of your site that says with confidence that EVERYTHING about your tournament is posted on the web site and that it is CURRENT. Keeping your web site REAL TIME tells your guest teams that you are a tight organization who has its act together. It is the one bit of competitive advantage that is easy to gain and maintain.

And, if you don’t have a TourneyCentral web site and you want to project an image of real-time, what is holding you back? I’ve just now checked the dial tone on our phones and it still works. Call today.

The big question of the season appears to be along the lines of We are bringing our entire club to your tournament and we want a discount. There are some variations to that statement, some saying they are going to bat for your tournament with their club, board, etc., but the bottom line is they are looking for a discount.

On the surface, this sounds like a good deal for the tournament. You get a volume number of teams and all you need to do is give them a discount. But, as always, we are going to examine this issue just a little bit more in-depth.

Our advice: Don’t do discounts. Once you do, the discount price is the real price of your tournament and other teams will find out.

Firstly, is price the ONLY thing that is determining the club’s decision to play in your tournament? If so, why is this? Pass on any club that makes this all about price. If you are a quality event that meets the club’s development and competition goals, the club will want to play in your tournament. After all, an average tournament only costs each player about $20-$35 in fees.

Secondly, there are hidden costs with accepting clubs that have nothing to do with the tournament fee. Will you now have excessive coaching conflicts? Will they now demand reduced rates from your hotels, asking for a coaches’ room for free. If you are a competitive tournament, what will their B-teams do to your brackets and overall reputation? What if a team pulls out; will they find a replacement for you?

Club-block applications are not going away, so you must come up with a policy to deal with them. At minimum, you should post your policy in your FAQ section. You may also want to accept them with terms and conditions in place. A couple of these might be that coaching conflicts are theirs to resolve and that if a team in a club block pulls out, the club is penalized with a bond fee. Whatever your policy, make the club own their participation in your tournament as much as you do.

I have been driving from my home to the office the same way for the past three years or so. However, this morning, through a combination of weather-related and social happenstance, I found myself driving to work through a residential plat that exited out to the main road that leads into my office complex. What I had not noticed the three years I rutted out for myself is that homes had sprung up on either side and on the ends of the main road. I knew where I was, but nothing looked familiar. The area had changed without me noticing, even though I had driven by the same point every day for three years. I found myself surprised by this revelation.

Our Advice: No matter how well you think you know your tournament, take a look at it from different points of view frequently. How do your sponsors see you? How does the community see your event? Are you a great boom for business or are you just a traffic-jam every year? How do teams traveling in from out-of-the-area see your event? How does inviting teams from other areas change the dynamics of your tournament?

There are no right or wrong answers, but you should never find yourself surprised at the changing landscape. Always be aware of change. Oh, and take a different way to work every day. You never know when you’ll discover what you already knew!

This weekend I was asked to sub for my friend’s recreation league basketball team. The game was in an unfamiliar town. I e-mailed him for an address to get directions. Here is what I was sent:

Take 75 S to 70 West and get off at Eaton Rt. 127 exit. Turn left off the exit and go a few miles pass Kmart and Wal-Mart. At second light where a CVS is on the left and Speedway on the right, turn left onto Lexington Rd. You will stop at Maple don’t turn, stay on Lexington. The next stop sign is at East. You can see the church from that stop. The First Church of God is right there at corner of East and Lexington. It has a blue roof.
Wow, are you lost? Are these directions driving your crazy? You can imagine the frustration I was feeling as I tried to negotiate these directions and drive at the same time. I was traveling alone, so it made it even more difficult. My drive time was 30 minutes longer because of the way these directions were written.

Our Advice: BE DIRECT WITH YOUR DIRECTIONS. Start with basic information like site address, contact person and emergency phone number. Then use a modern form of providing directions (Mapquest, Google, Yahoo, etc). Always be sure to check accuracy of these directions before posting to the public. Imagine how frustrated your teams would be if they had to sort through the directions listed above to make it to your tournament. This can foul up your event very quickly. Let’s face it! One of the most basic elements to managing a successful tournament is to have teams, coaches and referees arrive on time, safely to their game site. All those associated with your event deserve easy to read, accurate and reliable directions to their game site.
Use the website maintenance module to post directions and layout maps for all sites used by your event. This module allows directors to post directions with a map through Google. There is even a feature allowing for latitude and longitude. Talk about precise. Spectators will also appreciate information related to pets, restroom facilities, smoking policy, concessions, etc. This information is crucial to helping promote a positive on-site experience for all parties involved in your event. After all, you want happy players, coaches, volunteers, spectators and referees to participate in your tournament