Category Archives: Tournaments

A few trends we’re seeing at soccer tournaments

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As we watch the questions that come in from guest teams and track trending patterns from team applications, we’re noticing a few trends forming that we think soccer tournament directors should be aware of. Some of the behaviors are based on the economy and some just based on cultural shifts overall. All will affect the way you manage and market your soccer tournament.

Late applications
With the expectation of online registration, many teams are waiting until the last week or so to apply to the tournament, especially those that require full payment up front with the application. While this affects planning and can create anxiety not knowing which teams are coming, quality soccer tournaments need not worry as your tournament has been on the team’s calendar.

Early bird discounts don’t work but perhaps scheduling preferences or coaching conflict resolution guarantees for teams that apply early might be more of an incentive.

Also, if you have a high percentage of teams that travel in, check your hotel reservations. Teams may not necessarily apply early, but many will book rooms early.

No early morning Saturdays
To save money, teams are trying not to stay at hotels on Friday night, instead opting to drive in that morning. Most wait until they have been accepted and send an email, saying “oh, by the way, we need a late Saturday start….” We have no resolution for this as most tournaments have to play two games per team on Saturday to fit in a third round and championship games on Sunday. State associations have rules against playing more than two games per day and the math just doesn’t work. You can’t create more fields and you can’t make more daylight. Moreover, the coach and parents should recognize the dangers of playing a team that is not well-rested. You may want to point that out to him/her or even deny them admission due to increased liability for the tournament.

Multiple team coaches, no conflicts
A few years back, it used to be that only a handful of coaches had multiple teams. Now, it seems every club is doing this. Many teams will wait until you have accepted them and THEN tell you their coach is coaching multiple teams. (Many of these coaches also are requesting all their games start later on Saturday, a double whammy.) Again, the math just doesn’t work.

Our advice: You need teams to hold a tournament, but you can’t have teams dictate the terms under which they will play. Spell out the terms of acceptance UP FRONT on your application form by telling the teams the tournament starts at 8:00am on Saturday and finishes after the last championship game is played on Sunday. If they can not commit to being available for the entire time, they need to apply elsewhere.

Also, coaches conflicts are theirs to resolve, not the tournament’s. While most tournaments will do what they can to avoid conflicts, the sheer number of coaches with multiple teams almost guarantees somebody will be unhappy.

You may also want to establish “convenience fees” for teams requesting special treatment. For example, no coaching conflicts; $300/team. Late Saturday start; $450/team. Publish these early, confirm on application with an email.

Remember, the teams are applying into YOUR soccer tournament because the tournament is a good fit for their team, not the other way around. If your product does not meet their expectations, there are enough soccer tournaments now that will — for a while until they can no longer accommodate the demands. Just make sure your tournament maintains its high standards you worked hard to achieve and all teams play by the same set of rules.

Where is my money going? Why controlling the money for your soccer tournament is key to success

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Often, we have requests from soccer tournament directors to set up their Web site so that the team fees go to this mailing address, the credit cards go to another, the t-shirt orders go off to yet another address and the pre-orders for the college showcase books go to another. While delegating different functions to different people is key to running an effective soccer tournament, delegating control of the money is not.

You don’t have to go very far to find a story about the trusted soccer club volunteer who was caught siphoning off the top. A soccer tournament pulls in a lot of cash. A lot of cash also goes out to pay referees, field fees, vendors, etc. For many organizations, acts of embezzlement can be the death of their club or tournament. And the less likely you think it will happen to you, the more at risk you place yourself.

When teams need you to research a lost check or provide a refund, they like to know that their funds are in the hands of you, the tournament director. They NEED to know there is a system of control in place.

Our Advice: Use one mailing address for ALL funds, from the team fees to the shirt pre-order to everything that the soccer tournament takes in. If you can send the money to a lock box at your local bank, that is even better. A PO Box is good, but checks should never be sent to someone’s home, especially when that person has a day job and their mail could potentially sit in an unattended mail box for hours.

Be transparent. Always have at least two people knowing about each transaction at all times.

An honest person would never object to tight controls in place. In fact, a prudent person would never want to handle or transport checks or cash alone or even at all.

Take control of the money. Always.

March 18, 2010 Update: Soccer America’s YouthSoccerInsider just published an article that is a must-read for all soccer tournament directors.

Tell me which teams have applied and I will apply to your soccer tournament if I like them

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We are seeing more and more requests from coaches for the soccer tournament to give them the list of teams that have already applied for them to “evaluate” whether or not the tournament would be a good fit for their team. This has us scratching our heads a bit.

Nobody likes to pay money to compete in a tournament only to get stuck in a division with top level teams or, in my opinion, stuck with teams that offer no competition. I get that. But I don’t get is why the guest team coach feels the need to evaluate the teams that have applied prior to applying to a tournament.

Perhaps it is an erosion of trust between soccer tournaments and soccer coaches. Perhaps it is an increased need for the coach to “control” every aspect of the game. Perhaps it is increased pressure from the parents on the coach to place their team in tournaments where they can be “competitive” (whatever that ultimately means.)

Chris Brogan, who is a bit of a guru in the Social Media space, wrote a book called Trust Agents. It deals primarily with trust in online social media spaces like Twitter, Facebook, etc. but it touches a bit on how trust is becoming a currency. As tournaments are becoming more sophisticated, they will need to learn also on how to deal in a trust economy. It’s a quick, easy read.

Our advice: Always be giving guest teams a reason to trust you. Post your schedule from last year and encourage them to take a look at the teams that applied and analyze the point spreads. Every TourneyCentral soccer tournament is a 365/24/7 event that has last year’s schedule available until the application deadline. Use that to your advantage.

Take a really hard, objective look at your seeding. Do your club teams seems to walk away with the trophies every year? Why? Do you have an opinion that your club teams should be able to win your own tournament? Why? Given the choice between bringing in competitive teams for your club teams to play and getting better versus winning a trophy by seeding your teams lower, which is more valuable for the long-term growth of your club? Your tournament? Do guest teams walk off grumbling about how “the fix is in” for the club teams to win? If so, change that.

Trust is everything and will only become more valuable. If teams don’t trust you to place them correctly in your tournament, they will eventually go elsewhere. When they trust you, they’ll quit asking and let your history and reputation speak for itself.

No scheduling conflicts and late Sat games

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With the recession pulling into it’s second (or third) year, we’re seeing a lot of teams request a late Saturday morning start so they don’t have to book rooms into a hotel for Friday night. As you can imagine, accommodating this request puts a serious strain on the scheduling as most of the time, the start times are determined by the number of fields and the number of daylight hours available. While you can sometimes squeak out another field somewhere, tacking another hour of sunlight on the end of a day is impossible.

So what to do? You don’t want to turn away a team if you don’t have to, but re-writing the laws of nature to fit an economic reality is just not going to happen. When most teams are now asking for a late Saturday start, it become mathematically impossible to grant the request.

Our advice: Publish a cut off date for late Saturday start requests. Instead of trying an Early Bird discount or other pricing scheme to get teams to apply early, have a date or volume cut off. Perhaps only the first two teams for each age group can request a late Saturday start. Once those requests are used up, there are no more. And, while you are at it, do the same for multiple-team coaches. It rewards the teams with special requests to apply early without compromising the price and value of your tournament.

Be sure to promote visibly and keep track of the number of requests. Reward the requester handsomely and make it crystal clear that the reason you are honoring (or denying) the request is because they applied and paid early (or not.) Once you start doing this, competition for special considerations next year will be fierce.

Soccer Tournaments as a Cultural Concierge

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Soccer tournament directors, coaches and parents have a lot to think about when it comes to organizing and playing in youth soccer tournaments.  Finding fields, hiring referees, coordinating volunteers and finding sponsors are just a few of the things that directors deal with for a good chunk of the year, all in preparation for one weekend.  It is no wonder that many default to a cookie cutter, ready-made template approach and depend on the games themselves to ultimately define their event.  It’s not an easy request, but next time, look for opportunities to make your event a memorable human experience for all involved.

Soccer tournaments that enjoy a high success rate understand the importance of the experience to the players and families.  That experience extends past the games themselves. One of the more challenging aspects for coaches and parents is the question of what to do between games.  A really good soccer tournament recognizes that it an entertainment event and that ‘games’ off the pitch are just as important as games on the pitch.

Every soccer tournament director wants and needs teams and fans to stick around the tourney and concession stands as long as possible.  But it’s not reasonable to expect that to happen for five or six hours.  This is a great time to showcase and celebrate the unique aspects of the community in which you live, and on which your soccer tournament depends. Have information readily available of sites and activities that make sense for youth soccer players to do in between games.  Maybe it’s an educational tour, museum or local landmark.  If you try to monopolize their time, you’ll end up pushing them back to the hotel swimming pool, something they’ve already done ten times this year.  In a month or two, they won’t remember the games, but the world’s largest ball of twine?  That’s a memory!

Another important aspect to remember is that a youth soccer team, much like an army, travels on its stomach.  As soccer tournament blogger Alex Klos says, “Don’t forget the importance of eating.”

Try to have a variety of items available that strike a balance between concession margin and the overall experience.  Try to feature something unique to your city or state that drives people back to the event.  Maybe it’s a local favorite that literally features an ethnic flavor or maybe it’s just the way you package the dish.  One community with a Czechoslovakian heritage offers the “Kolacky”, a fruit stuffed pastry that is a hit with out-of-towners. Another tourney features their club nickname in common items i.e. the “Hawk-Go-Taco.” 

Don’t lose site of the fact that people will also be dining away from the soccer tournament.  You won’t be pushing customers away; you will be acting as a concierge to the team and family experience. That’s an image that leaves an indelible mark on the brain. This approach also opens a door for local eateries to become a supporter and even sponsor your event.

The key to a unique human experience is adding something different, valuable and memorable to the lives of the players, coaches and families.  Welcome them into your tournament, community and culture and they will return year after year. Here are a few suggestions to enhance the human experience:

-Incorporate a giveaway of a prize or small trinket that is a logo, mascot or something unique to your soccer tournament.  These things trigger powerful emotional responses and make the event memorable.  The trinket, like the memory, will last forever. Think of the collection of trading pins that people hold on to, and value, for life versus the endless pile of trophies that always end up in the trash.

-Along those lines, cater to the younger siblings with things like face painting, a roaming mascot, magician, clown, play area or games. If the little ones aren’t whining, the day is better for everyone.

-Have a “Chamber of Commerce” packet readily available. Better yet, get the Chamber of Commerce involved.

-Why not add the position of concierge to your already huge list of volunteer needs. When looking for someone to fill this post, refer to  Chamber of Commerce comment above or other community building clubs like Lion’s, Rotarians, Legion or VFW members. Make sure this kiosk has all the information it needs.

-Have some good suggestions in mind for various dining experiences in every price range. Keep in mind that these are soccer teams that may have to play again today.   The parents will thank you to remember their pocketbook.

-Get local restaurants involved to possibly offer coupons and directions to their establishments. You may be able to work out an arrangement in which they can run a stand at your soccer tournament, turning over some of the proceeds, of course.

-Set up a commons area to resemble a picnic or park atmosphere. A good sound system with music for all ages establishes a “this is the place to be” vibe.  Never think you have enough music in your playlist. Have a new playlist for everyday.