The Administrator

Wireless Internet: A Potential Risk For Soccer Clubs

The expansion of wireless internet availability has been revolutionary for youth soccer administrators.  No longer restrained by cords and cables, today’s administrative staff can conduct club business virtually anywhere.  However, with this added freedom comes additional risk.  As an administrator it is critical that you take the utmost care in handling personal and financial club member information while accessing the internet via a wireless internet connection.  If not the entire organization’s personal/financial information may be at risk.

The important thing to realize is a wireless connection can extend up to 300 feet beyond the wireless router.  In highly populated areas (apartments, condos, public WIFI areas), it is not uncommon to have two dozen overlapping wireless connections. As a large portion of the club’s administrative work is taking place on personal computers, any information passed along an unsecured wireless internet connection stands to be compromised.

The Risks of a Breeched Wireless Connection

• Access to personal computer files
• Infiltration of dangerous software
• Tracking of website visit history
• Access to e-mail and instant message history
• Exposed Usernames and passwords through network usage
• Performance of illegal activities (Spam) through the internet connection.

How Your Organization Can Protect Itself
SET UP SECUIRTY FEATURES FOR YOUR ADMIN’S WIRELESS CONNECTION.  While there is no such thing as 100% protection, today’s security and encryption options can get pretty close.  First and foremost do not use unprotected wireless network connections when accessing private information (unless the website is encrypted)!  Let’s look at some simple changes your administrative staff should make to their wireless connections (home and office).

1.       Enable Encryption:  Chances are your club cannot afford high-end security solutions.  Therefore your members should investigate either WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) or WPA (WIFI Protected Access).  WPA is the better solution assuming your computer was not constructed before the turn of the century.  By encrypting your connection you provide a formidable defense against potential hackers.  To learn more click here. 
2.      Change Your Default Password:  This rule should apply not only to your internet connection but to all personal and club passwords as well.  Hackers know the default passwords of major vendors and will always check these first.  Create a password which is not directly associated with your organization.  A combination or substitution of numbers and/or letters (Hobby vs H088why) is a simple solution.
3.      Change Your SSID:  Like your default password your wireless network comes with an SSID (System ID) for identification.  These stock identification codes are known by hackers as well.  Change this code as you would a password.  For more information click here.

Once you have educated your administrative staff of the necessary precautions when using a wireless internet connection, make this information available to your club members.  Take a couple minutes and draft a helpful internet tips email and send it throughout the club using your bulk email tool. 

The Administrator wants to know about your suggestions for protecting your club’s personal information.  Do you have additional wireless safety tips for youth soccer administrators?  Post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Reputable Reputations

Building a reputation takes a lot of time and hard work.  However one wrong step by your administration could leave your club permanently tarnished.  In business, reputations are a lion's share of a company's brand. Whether you like it or not, people interact with a company based on their perceptions.  This works the same way with your soccer club.  If you have a bad reputation then families are going to be less likely to sign their kids up for your organization.

If you haven't seen it yet, the latest non-profit quagmire involves the Red Cross and their reputation (Click Here).  They have seen four CEO's forced out of office for bad behavior in the past six years.  When even the most reputable non-profits face these issues, how can we as soccer administrators make sure that our staff stays trustworthy and keep our club's reputation clean?

Diversity: As seen in the Red Cross scandal, if an organization does not address its inherent problems they will continually plague the organization.  One solution is diversity within your administrative staff. The former CEO of the Red Cross filled the employee ranks with his own people. This practice not only leads to limited perspective within a club's staff, it could potentially lead to behavior which is damaging to the club. 

Your staff of administrators should not come from one source (team, location, affiliation).  Diversity broadens your knowledgebase and allows you to expand your thinking because of the different perspectives.  Use personal references as necessary, and keep a yearly or biyearly circulation within your club's administration.  This will keep the club fresh with new ideas for future growth.

Testing 1..2..3:  When a new administrator enters the staff, the club should exercise a short-term testing period to ensure that he or she will not be a detriment to the organization.  During this testing period, a board should simply keep an eye out for "red flag" behavior which signals an extreme issue with a new individual.

In a perfect world a board could conduct multiple interviews with perspective administrative candidates.  Unfortunately this is not the case.  A current board can however, practice informal interviews with a new staff member in day to day conversation.  The board should gauge its collective opinion of a new administrator during this initial trial period and act accordingly.  A simple solution is to stagger new administrative staff positions as well as attach an "interim" title to each position.  Simply put, your board must be able to work together for the good of the organization.

Background Checks: You've heard it from us before, and you're goning to hear it again.  Background checks are mandatory within an organization, and should be conducted formally or informally on all individuals who hold a position of authority within the organization.  A reference source that we use for this is backgroundchecks.com.  These checks are a necessary way to keep the wrong people away from your most important assets (your children).

Let us know how you keep your reputation spotless. If you haven't had a spotless rep, how did you get it back on track? Post a comment below, send an email to Sam@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Exclusive MLS Cup Sweepstakes Photos

The Blue Sombrero Paparazzi has decided to release exclusive photos of 2007 MLS Cup Sweepstakes winners Tony Sonnabend and Bret Dye.  The traveling pair recently returned from an all expenses paid trip to Washington DC, and we have the photos of the trip.

Click Here To read A Thanksgiving Soccer Story or click the link below to strait to the Photo gallery!!

 

A Thanksgiving Soccer Story

Tomorrow is Turkey Day!  All across the country, youth soccer administrators will be stuffing their beaks with an inordinate amount of Thanksgiving goodies.  Before you gorge yourself with enough food to feed an entire soccer club, check out the adventures of two lucky soccer pilgrims who won a trip to Washington DC for the 2007 MLS Cup.

Tony Sonnabend, winner of Blue Sombrero’s 2007 MLS Cup Sweepstakes, and traveling partner Bret Dye (President of Middle Tennessee Soccer Alliance) were flown to our country’s capital to take part in all the festivities of MLS Cup 2007.  The pair had a blast during their weekend in Washington DC, and even ran into some celebrities along the way!  Luckily for us, Tony and Bret documented their entire trip… enjoy!!

Friday 12:00 PM
(In the English voice of Tony) We left Nashville around lunchtime to fly Washington DC. We were both excited about the trip in general and the game in particular.

Friday 3:00 PM
Brett tried his best to bring the jet down with his huge arsenal of carry-on electric items.

Friday 4:30 PM
We arrived at the hotel.  It was fantastic, as it had a real 'soccer central' atmosphere about it.

Friday 9:00 PM
Friday night we attended the commissioner’s party downtown. We met Pete (Cofounder) from Blue Sombrero and his fiancée, Ashley. We saw a few celebrities (i.e. Ethan from Survivor) and former MLS players like Dante Washington and Alexi Lalas. Then we were introduced to Doug from the MLS organization - teased him a little about the league being only the '14th best in the world'...  : )

Saturday 10:00 AM – Mid Afternoon
Saturday morning and afternoon was spent sightseeing. I had visited DC only once before, 8 yrs ago, and Brett had never visited. We saw all the major tourist attractions, going from the Capital building down the mall to the monuments. From there we saw the new WW2 Memorial and the Reflecting Pool, before visiting the Lincoln Memorial. We finished the afternoon by visiting the Vietnam Vets wall and the White House.

Speaking for myself, I was amazed by a couple of things: First, the size and scale of the memorials - especially the Lincoln Memorial. In addition, I was very impressed by the way people from all nationalities paid their respects in a somber and respectful way. There was an aura of tranquility around all the memorials, and the American sense of pride in their nation and history was evident.

Saturday 7:00 PM
After a quick nap we hit Chinatown in the evening for dinner, and then a raucous evening in an Irish Bar!!

Surrounded by a couple of fellow Brits, Aussies, and Houston fans, we spent the night enjoying the 'craic' as the Irish say. I pulled out my array of card/drink tricks for anyone and everyone, whilst Brett did all he could to dispel the image of a forty-something soccer dad!! Just kidding… ( :

Sunday 10:00 AM
Sunday was all about the BIG GAME. The atmosphere was terrific, the sense of occasion more than I expected it to be. There were some major differences from games in Europe, in that it was a much more family and fan friendly environment. The supporters mingled and tailgated TOGETHER before the game, and sat together in some sections of the crowd.

GAMETIME
The atmosphere was muted at times, but as the game went on it picked up some. It was strange to watch a game seated (in England we stand for 90 minutes - even in “full-seater” stadiums) and the crowd was quiet at times… that said, I definitely enjoyed it!

The game itself was what I expected it to be... The 'Big Players’ delivered the goods and the game was a fairly defensive, cautious affair. I felt the overall quality was good, if a little lacking in depth.

A highlight was seeing Steve Nicol, Revs Coach, juggling a ball during the warm-ups. He is a LIVING LEGEND in Liverpool where I saw him play during his pomp in the 80's.

All in all a great experience!!

I (we) would like to thank everyone at Blue Sombrero for the opportunity to take the trip. It was a fantastic weekend all around.

Thanks in particular to Pete for his hospitality on Friday night and during the game on Sunday - I will even forgive him for making me wear the world’s biggest Sombrero!

Video Technology For The Busy Soccer Family

For soccer parents, there is nothing more satisfying than watching their child score a goal or make the winning save. Conversely, there is also nothing more disappointing than missing your child’s special moment. The life of a soccer parent is a busy one.  Unfortunately, balancing family and career often leads to missed soccer matches.  So how can your club help its overly busy parents?

Past Solutions simply did not fit the bill.  Often, club members were limited to post game summaries from players or in-game cell phone call updates. These options are better than nothing, but not by much.  That’s why The Administrator has come up with a few steps to help your club members find the next best solution.

Present Solutions include using tools your club already has at its disposal, specifically the club’s online management tools and website.  Assuming your site can easily embed video (club websites should be able to handle this functionality); your club can quickly create a one stop solution for soccer video posting.

1. Create A Cameraperson Position:  The first step is to create a volunteer position(s) to record games. Parents can signup for this volunteer position while registering their young players online.  Every club undoubtedly has a ton of soccer moms (and dads) ready to contribute.
2. Tell The Club:  Use your various avenues of communication to get the word out.  E-newsletter articles and bulk email updates are great ways to inform all interested teams and coaches of this great new club benefit.
3. Create A Video Webpage:  Create a tab within your website to house a “game of the week” embedded within the website.  If your organization has a ton of video files, it may be better to provide links to all the games stored on a site like YouTube.  This can be done on a club-wide or team by team basis.  Embedding recorded video is a simple task which any administrator can handle.

Future Solutions include some technology which is already being used by college sports today (click here to check out CSTV).  Streaming live video is the next logical step for soccer clubs who want to guarantee that no parent has to miss another game.  While your website may or may not be able to handle this type of functionality, you can simply provide a link on your club’s video webpage to where the streaming video can be accessed. Your organization can then store past live videos within its video webpage for future enjoyment as well.  To learn more about embedding live video, check out these links:
Public Source
Stream Box
Squidoo
If your club is ready to take the leap into streaming video, check out these initial steps to help guide you in your quest:

Learn The Tricks Of The Trade:  Take some time to educate your board and yourself.  There are a ton of companies offering streaming video functionality which would be happy to offer instruction and helpful hints to get you and your club on its way.  A quick Google search will offer a host of info and online demos for streaming live video.

Gather The Gear And Manpower: Designate a team of cameramen and camerawomen via your online volunteer registration and gather your equipment.  Make sure you club’s budget can handle the initial financial outlay for all equipment as well.

Coordinate Everything:  The last step is to set everything up. This entire process is not overly complicated, but still requires some coordination. As a club administrator you need to make sure the word is out that you’re providing this new online benefit, after all if no one knows then no one will care.

These steps will help create buzz around your new technology and get the club excited that they have a solution to missing their children’s games.  GOOD LUCK!

The Administrator wants to know how you keep your club members from missing their player’s games.  Post a comment below, send an email to Tristan at info@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305. 

Treasurer Accused of Stealing 80K From Florida Club

The Big Sun Youth Soccer League of Ocala, Florida was hit with a financial sledgehammer when it discovered that former treasurer Priscilla Annette Bellcase had allegedly swindled $79,000 dollars from the soccer organization.  After three months of investigations, Bellcase was finally arrested on Monday, November 12^th. Click here to read the entire article by Mabel Perez of OCALA.com. 

Why are soccer clubs such easy targets for administrator embezzlement?  One word:  TRUST.  Youth soccer administration is often a philanthropic, volunteer responsibility.  The assumed good nature of youth administrators often leads to a club letting its guard down.  While 99% of administrators have only the best intentions, there is always a bad apple ready to spoil the bunch.

According to LawBiz, the typical embezzler usually fits the following profile:

• Unmonitored in daily work
• Several years of service with the organization
• Rarely takes vacation/holidays
• Secretive about financials and rarely delegates responsibility to others
• Personal/Family health or financial problems
• Lifestyle inconsistent with income

However, before you run off accusing every individual who fits one or more of the above points, The Administrator suggests taking the necessary steps to safeguard the club first and foremost.

Have an Outside Vendor Handle your Account Reconciliation:  Today’s leading club management providers are capable of tackling any task within the organization, account reconciliation included.  Acting as your merchant account, your provider can handle all financial transactions which pass through the system and then provide all necessary funds, as well as a line by line breakdown of every dollar.  This way the club will know the exact flow of all club funds.

Eliminate Administrative Tenure:  A club administrator should not hold a position for more than two years.  Not only does this practice help ensure transparency in administrative responsibility, but also provides a fresh approach to club management.

Institute Club Checks and Balances:  One administrator should never have complete control of all club funds.  All board members should have access to certain club financial information.  Assuming your club registration provider tracks all payment history within the club, every administrator given access will be able to view and run reports on financial payments and history.

Don’t Rely on Outside Audits Alone:  Less than 11% of embezzlers are discovered through outside audits.  The best bet for the club, is to safeguard itself by instituting best practices which eliminate the possibility of embezzlement in the first place.

If you suspect embezzlement contact your accountant (if you have one), an attorney, and the local authorities for additional advice.  While this is certainly a tricky situation to handle, it is important that the club acts as swiftly as possible.

The Administrator wants to know how your club or organization handles its financials.  If you have any additional ideas as to how a youth organization can reduce the risk of embezzlement, post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Tips For A Top Website

Cleanliness is crucial in the online world of soccer websites.  When it comes to your club's digital domain, there are a few tricks of the trade which will help ensure your viewers will enjoy all that your site has to offer.

The Simple Solution:  Keep It Simple

This is the biggest problem with youth soccer websites today.  Fortunately enough it is the easiest to solve as well.  Clubs often mistakenly use the home page of the website to overload the viewer with gigabytes of information, pictures, and updates. Instead, follow these simple solutions to organizing your homepage.

The Administrator's Home Page Solutions

1. Invite your viewers to check out the whole website, instead of just the homepage.  Imagine your homepage as an airport hub, and the relavant links as the outbound flights.  You don't want viewers to get lost in a laundry list of information in one area.  Organize your home page with highlights and links.  Encourage your viewers to really dive into the site, instead of continually skim the surface.
2. Keep your homepage one screen length.  Scrolling = headaches and frustration.  Instead, provide a visually appealing, easy to navigate homepage which allows your viewers to temporarily rest their mouse finger.
3. Take it easy on the fonts and colors!  The Administrator cannot think of one reason to use a font larger then 16 pt.  All too often, clubs feel like important information requires 64 pt orange, blue, and green alternating fonts.  Instead maintain a uniform size and color for all text.  Alternating font colors and size TO AN EXTENT for emphasis is ok, but this should be done in moderation.

Long Loading Times Lead To Lost Viewers

With the transition away from dial up connections, your viewers expect lightning fast web navigation.  However, if your club's website is cluttered with bulky images, PDFs and other files, your viewer's voyage through the World Wide Web will come to a screeching halt.  A simple way to avoid slow loading times on your website is to reduce the size of your files. 

You can easily edit your file size and quality in a standard picture editor or in Acrobat.  In addition to reducing the PPI (Pixels Per Inch), you can also change file types (GIF and PNG generally require less memory than JPEG), or reduce the quality of a PDF.  Don't worry, about losing the overall appeal of these files.  There is essentially no visible change in the image or file.

Finally, if you want a website that will blow the other clubs and leagues out of the water, but don't have access to the coding capabilities, then you may have to spend a couple bucks.  If you decide to hire an outside company to build you a premium website, make sure you do your research.  Start with sports management providers.  It's important that the team that is building your website has an understanding of the youth sport dynamic as well as what your club represents.  After all, your club website is the virtual face of your club or organization

The Administrator wants to know about your website tips.  How do you maintain a clean, organized website?  Post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

A Lesson From Italian Futbol

We've written about it before, but the latest tragedy in Italy this past weekend, has brought fan and club member management back in the limelight. In our previous posts, Irate Soccer Moms and Youth Soccer And Performance Anxiety, we discussed overly passionate parents.  While the situation in Italy is a far cry from what occurs at your complex on a day-to-day basis, it is these extreme situations which place our own parent's actions in perspective.

In case you haven't heard yet, Italian soccer is in a state of chaos after a popular disc jockey was shot by a policeman.  A riot later ensued and now there are talks of suspending the entire season and possibly limiting crowd attendance (a huge financial blow) at league games.  If the year’s previous gambling scandal wasn't enough, this recent activity has forever tainted Italian futbol.  Read more

Soccer is a sport of passion at every level.  While your club parents will likely not replicate the extreme behavior of the Italian faithful, chances are your organization has a fair share of club members who are over-the-top.  As clubs struggle to find a solution, some have turned to extreme and often numbing solutions like silent sidelines.

The Administrator is not advocating silent sidelines.  If you have a better solution for irate parents, let us know.  We want your opinions and suggestions!

Silent Sidelines: Some clubs have been using silent sideline rules as a way to prevent spectator conflicts. Spectators are asked in advance to refrain from making loud comments from the sideline.  Basically no one can talk, except the kids; in an effort to relieve the pressure young players receive from parents around the field.  It goes as far as banning loud cheers of support for players.  The fans are allowed to clap, but by eliminating the "directing" parents do in the stands, allows the kids to make the decisions on their own. It is common to have “silent sidelines” once or twice a season in many organizations.  The results are often mixed.  While games usually progress with relative ease, the excitement which has made soccer the world's sport is essentially lost.  Silent sidelines are not a true solution; do you have a better one?

The Administrator wants to know your answer to the passionate parent problem. Post a comment below, send an email to Sam@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Three Club Website Necessities For 2008

The days of dull club websites are long gone.  Today, clubs have access to cutting edge websites, packed with eye-catching technology and mind-blowing functionality.  With so many online possibilities available for soccer clubs, perhaps a new website should be on your organization’s short list for 2008.

Let’s look at three website necessities for 2008:

Flash and Visual Appeal – Flash technology first hit the scene in 1996.  Over the last decade, companies around the world have utilized these files to add a host of varied animation and interactivity to their sites.  While a high quality flash animation can captivate your website viewers, a low quality file will send prospective members running for the virtual hills.  Click Here to see how Flash can enhance your organization’s website.

Clubs must remember the importance of first impressions when considering website upgrades.  Your front end website is essentially the face of your organization.  A simple yet sophisticated home page will attract online interest like a moth to a flame.  People will be enticed to learn more about the club.  Click Here to see a clean website layout.

Easy Website Manipulation – Today’s club technology has shifted its focus away from the “Tech-Obsessed” to the “Average Joes”.  Known as Point-and-Click technology, this approach to website manipulation allows any administrator to skip the coding aspects of website management, putting the overall control of the website back in the hands of the club.

With Point and Click technology, an administrator can create an entire website filled with gripping media (video, Web 2.0 functionality, image galleries, player profiles, surveys, etc.) in a matter of hours instead of weeks.  With all the additional time savings, your staff can work to grow the organization, instead of simply keep its collective head above water.

Social Networking and Communication – You website should be the interactive hub of the club.  Nearly all club-focused communication can be done through your website by instituting a myriad of social networking and communication options.  With tools like blogs and forums, administrators and members alike can discuss pertinent club-related issues in a candid community setting.  RSS (Really Simple Syndication) allows administrators to automatically send club-wide information when members subscribe to a feed.  Furthermore, a "slice and dice" bulk email tool allows your club to send targeted mass emails throughout the club in minutes.  Social networking capabilities are great for creating a sense of belonging within your organization.

The fact is there’s a new world of website technology available to forward-thinking clubs.  New possibilities abound for organizations that want to enhance their virtual position.  Online club management providers are working hard to stay ahead of the latest technology.  Contact a soccer club management provider today to learn more about all the great tools available for your organization.  The applause you receive at your next board meeting will be worth the effort!

The Administrator wants to know how your club has pushed the boundaries of club website technology.  Are you light-years ahead of the pack or do you feel that all this technology mumbo-jumbo is a waste of time.  Post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

TATMAIT! Website Backend for Dummies

TATMAIT (There Are Too Many Acronyms In Technology) pretty much sums up most administrator's opinions of the current online environment.  Not only are there too many terms to remember but technology changes rapidly and for the most part very subtly (excluding major breakthroughs).  As administrators, we don't have the time or energy to keep up with all the advances. 

This week The Administrator created a short Dummies' Guide to the backend of your website.  This will help you speak the language of your webmaster so that nothing will be lost in translation.  First, we will offer a formal definition of each piece of technology, and then break it down for you into laymen's terms.

Content Management:  Content Management allows you to control the information of a dynamic website display.  Translation: You can update your website whenever you want.  Instead of manipulating code and page schematics, you are able to update through a template.  This prevents the everyday user from having to learn code, allowing just about anybody to use web technology including your club.  You may have seen this in the form of web photo galleries and WYSIWYG's.

Rich Text Editor:  A rich text editor is a UI (user interface) that substitutes for the standard HTML text area.  Its plug-in architecture allows for a high degree of customization in the rich formatting of text content.  Translation:  It's like using Microsoft Word to create your website.  You can manipulate the text in the preview box and all the information is translated exactly onto your web page.  Before this type of technology, administrators had to make educated guesstimates of how things would look via trial and error.

CSS:  Cascading Style Sheets are a vital part of today's web standards.  Think of it as a rich text editor, but one step further.  They allow for a uniform creation of colors, fonts, and styles from one page to another in a website.  They also allow the same preview capability before implementation in order to avoid painful redesign.  Translation:  If your homepage is purple and has yellow font, so will the rest of your site if you use the same CSS.

XHTML:  Extensible Hypertext Markup Language conforms to the XML syntax while maintaining the same depth of expression as HTML.  The change from HTML to XHTML was due to the need to translate web technology to multiple devices (like your cell phone).  The biggest change is that XHTML is case sensitive which allows a broader range of possibilities.  Translation:  Hypertext Markup Language is the way computers translate words into what you see.  In the same way English has its specific rules, so does XHTML in order to function properly and be understood widely.

AJAX:  Sorry this isn't the football club.  Asynchronous JavaScript and XML are used to create interactive web applications.  It makes web pages seem responsive by exchanging small data packets with a server behind the scenes to the entire page does not have to be continually reloaded when the user changes it.  Translation:  Your page moves faster.  This is because the extra data from the server is being loaded in the background without interfering with the display or behavior of a particular page. 

Limited Access Roles:  Limited access role require authentication through a pre-approved  process. Translation: They are like having security badges but for the web.  These roles are so helpful in keeping your site secure and allowing only those vital to the club to update the content.

We could go on forever but it is Friday and that would be mean.  Let us know any technology backend questions you have and we'll be glad to add them to our guide.  Post a comment below, send an email to Sam@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.