The most-asked question we get about our software is “where is your one-button scheduling?”
I’m aware this expectation is out there and that others may be marketing it in their sales pitch, but we’re never going to lie to you. Scheduling a soccer tournament is a human skill that is only aided by software. While we have grids, automated pairings, conflict alerts — all the standard stuff you would expect from a soccer tournament scheduling program — we here at TourneyCentral don’t assume to know more about your event that you do.
You know your fields. You know the people who tend them, water them and make sure they are in peak condition for your tournament. You know what is important to them. You know the teams you have invited to and accepted into your tournament. You understand the hundreds — maybe thousands — of nuanced variables of each of these coaches and DOCs. You know who your volunteers are and what is important to them to get them and keep them volunteering. You know your vendors. You know your sponsors’ needs.
It may look smart, but a computer is pretty dumb about all this. A computer program just fakes knowing all this. A computer program needs to be told all of this stuff that you intuitively “know.” Sure, a program can help make things easier, but a one-button schedule-maker won’t care. It will just spit out the pairings, locations and times.
Fast, but not good.
In short, you know, understand and respect the thousands of human needs, feelings and relationships that make a soccer tournament possible. Never assume a successful soccer tournament is the result of a “superior, efficient” schedule. It’s not. Success will ultimately be judged by the vibe the coaches, players, fans and sponsors feel at your event.
If this is your first time scheduling a soccer tournament, we’ll help you if you need us to. We can do the mechanics of who, when and where, but the why is all you. Learn the why. Learning what is important to the people playing and tending to your games is the most effective way to build your scheduling skills. It’s much, much more than just an app.
You should never want to cede that power and responsibility entirely to a computer program. Your software should help with the scheduling, not take over the human bits that make your soccer tournament different, human and pleasant to attend.