Sports Facility Management Expert

Advice and Articles Sports Facility Ownership

Advice and Articles on
Sports Facility Ownership
  • Business
    • Business Plan
    • Survival Essentials
    • Marketing
    • Leadership
    • Staff Management
  • Tools & Equipment
    • Sports Facility Software
    • Sports Facility Web Sites
    • Equipment
  • Teams
  • Retail
  • Services
    • Lessons
    • Camps and Classes
    • Rentals
    • Birthday Parties
    • Speed, Strength and Agility
    • Memberships
  • Sports
    • Baseball and Softball
    • Soccer
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
  • About & Contact
Rec Sports Scheduling Software

Tips for Scheduling Rec Sports

July 21, 2015 by Sports Facility Expert

Scheduling on public athletic fields or courts can be complicated. Make it easier with these scheduling tips

In many ways, nonprofit sports organizations (parks and rec departments, rec leagues, public athletic fields and complexes, and school-based sports) have more complicated scheduling needs than private sports academies and complexes do.

For-profit facilities should have a pretty simple process for reserving space, especially if they’re using scheduling software: admins set rules for how space can be rented and reserved, and then clients log in and pay for any available space – which is then reserved on a shared calendar for all to see.

But things get more complicated when teams and coaches all have the right to request field or court space, and a scheduler has to manually approve or deny each request based on a variety of priorities.

When you’re managing sports schedules on a request-and-approval basis, like many rec leagues, school districts and parks & rec departments do, here are some best practices.

1. Put mandatory events on the calendar before you open it to scheduling requests. 

Find out the gym cleaning or field maintenance schedules, and think through any time the space will be unavailable (such as for holidays, construction and renovation projects and school events). Block off those times on your calendar before you invite coaches and instructors to request space.

2. Publish a clear set of priorities, procedures and deadlines.

To eliminate confusion and internal politics, everyone who requests space should understand exactly how scheduling is prioritized. Is it first-come, first served, or are other accommodations made? Also make sure all potential schedulers understand:

  • how far in advance requests can be made
  • how much advance notice is required before a requested event
  • how soon coaches can expect a response to their requests
  • how coaches can get confirmation for their reserved time
  • circumstances that might cause schedule changes or cancellations (such as severe weather and other emergencies)
  • your procedure for rescheduling cancelled events (as well as handling requests to reschedule)
  • which representatives of any given team are authorized to make scheduling requests

3. Require all requests to be made the same way.

It’s impossible to keep requests organized when they’re coming in from multiple people and mediums (email, phone, and in person). If you’re not using a scheduling software, I’d suggest requiring all the requests to be made by email – you could even recommend a specific subject line for scheduling requests so you’ll notice them as they come in. If coaches try to mention their schedules to you on the phone or in person, kindly remind them that they have to email any official scheduling request in order for it to be considered.

4. Make sure requests are time-stamped, and keep the records.

If you use a software program or even require requests by email, the requests will be time-stamped automatically. If you’re still going to accept requests by phone or in person, you need to make some record of when you received each one. Keeping these records can be extremely helpful in the case of any conflicts.

5. Use one central online calendar, and limit access to it.

The more people have access to make changes to a schedule, the more confusing it gets – and the more chance there is for error. Requiring everyone to use the same calendar, updated in real-time, is a good start. Using a system that actually tracks changes to the calendar is even better. Some systems (including mine) even let you limit people to scheduling in certain locations.

6. Seriously consider using scheduling software.

Unless you use scheduling software that’s built for the needs of an athletic field scheduler or a parks & rec department, you’ll probably find yourself responding to every single request manually, then retyping the event details onto a (hopefully shared) calendar.

A software program like eSoft Planner allows admins to view a list of pending requests and approve or deny each one – email and text confirmations are sent upon your review, and approved requests are automatically placed on the shared calendar.

Saving just a few hours of admin work (or eliminating miscommunication that causes hours of extra work) is often enough to completely cover the cost of the software.

If you’d like to see it, just fill out the short form on the eSoft Planner home page to request a free demo. Here are some other things eSoft Planner can do for your rec league, parks and rec department or school district:

  • quickly alert all teams and coaches to closures and schedule changes
  • send automatic email and text reminders to teams and coaches for upcoming scheduled events
  • schedule future and repeating closings (such as for holidays)
  • easily schedule recurring events (such as practices for the entire season)
  • choose which staff can approve schedule requests
  • limit scheduling in certain locations to certain schedulers
  • view reports by location and by time, and view total approved and denied scheduling requests
  • allow all your staff and coaches to access the schedules online easily by computer, tablet or phone (with a fully responsive design)

We look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have any other feedback, please leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Pro Shop Management

3 Common Pro Shop Management Mistakes

June 30, 2015 by Sports Facility Expert

How to Run a Pro-Shop at Your Sports Facility Selling retail can be a great way to diversify your business and boost profits. If you don’t have the space or time to manage a full store within your academy, you can still sell a few small products (I sell Powerstrips, for example) or even just take orders directly… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: retail and pro shop sales

Reduce Your Risk: 6 Great Ways to Diversify Your Sports Business

May 26, 2015 by Sports Facility Expert

Cash flow problems are almost always at fault when sports facilities fail. Unfortunately, most sports facility owners and managers don’t know that they’re putting their cash flow at risk by relying on too few sources for most of their income. Let’s say you run a softball academy, and softball lessons bring in 70% of your annual revenue. Not… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Advice for Students Who Want to Become Sports Facility Owners

February 25, 2014 by Sports Facility Expert

I’ve received a few emails recently from students seeking advice on how to best prepare to open their own sports facility in the future. I’m always impressed when students are proactive about their careers and take the extra step to connect with others to try to seek help. That is already a sign of future… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Sports Management Students

Throwing Velocity Camp Program

July 30, 2013 by Sports Facility Expert

Throwing ability is one of the components of a 5-tool baseball player. There is a strong demand for Throwing Velocity Camps in the baseball community, especially in the fall and early winter as players gear up for school team tryouts or the upcoming season. Building a complete Throwing Velocity Camp program from scratch, including all… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: baseball

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Get Exclusive Content

Search

Favorite Posts

  • A cool way to track disappearing baseballs
  • The equipment buying guide for new facilities
  • The hidden costs of "free" scheduling software
  • How to make the most of your space
  • Increase revenue from lessons with this tip

About Me

Hi, I'm Mike. I successfully sold my indoor sports facility in 2015 to focus on running a software company that produces eSoft Planner, a scheduling system for sports facilities. Click here to contact me directly.

Sponsored By:

The Scheduling and Payment System That was Built for Sports Facilities

Categories

  • Indoor Sports Facilities Best Practices
  • Sports Facility Management
  • Sports Facility Marketing
  • Sports Facility Operations
  • Sports Facility Start Up
  • Swim Club Management
  • Uncategorized

Follow

Stay In Touch

Advertise

Reach Sports Facility Decision Makers

Copyright PPC Communications