Right after you release the game schedules, no matter how much work you have put into seeding the teams, researching, trying to minimize conflicts, etc. you will get a rash of emails from coaches acknowledging that scheduling is hard, but that you screwed it all up for them.
Among the more popular complaints are:
– You seeded my team wrong and my kids are going to get killed/not challenged
– You have my games too early/late/too much time/not enough time between
– I coach multiple teams and there are conflicts
– I don’t want to play this team/club
And on and on. The more you try to make someone happy, the less happy someone else is going to be because while coach A thought you did a thoroughly crappy job, coach B in the same division thinks you are a genius. When you mess with coach A’s schedule, you have to mess with coach B’s as well. Now, you have two coaches mad at you.
Our advice: Adjusting a schedule for all but the most egregious oversights is a zero-sum game and best to not do it. State early and often that coaching conflicts are the team’s responsibility to resolve, not the tournament. It was the club/team/coach who decided that multiple-team coaching was a good approach for whatever reason, not your tournament. The team needs to live with the impact of their decision.
There will always be some ranking system that one coach likes better than another. Take these with a grain of salt as teams change, even in mid-season. If you decide to use a ranking system, make sure that you publish this and that everyone is held to the same standard, even if they decide that the system is weighted incorrectly.
Above all, be courteous, but firm. Don’t expect that coaches will understand, but keep in mind they are looking to position their team best while you have the overall brand and reputation of the tournament to consider.
Don’t allow yourself to be bullied by one coach or club. Other coaches will notice and steer clear from you next year.