The Administrator

3rd Annual User Forum on the Horizon

We had a great turnout for our 2nd Annual Blue Sombrero User Forum at the 2011 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, and we’re looking forward to another great turnout this year in Kansas City! We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, but it’s a great opportunity to meet our customers face to face and get indispensable feedback!

We have continued to improve our software over the years in large part by listening to you - our customers.  After all, you all are using the system every single day and have a unique perspective on how it works and impacts you as Club Administrators.  We ask for your feedback not because it makes us appear to care, but because we genuinely do - and I personally think that’s one thing that makes us stand out from all the rest!  

Some of the most significant changes and enhancements made to the system have come directly from our discussions at past user forums.  Here are just a few of the features discussed last year that were implemented in 2011:

• Club Store
• SMS Messages
• Payment Plans
• Tryout Process Changes
• Limited Access Roles

Reserve your spot today, for the 2012 NSCAA User forum on our website. Whether you can attend this year or not, please remember the Admin Forum on our 24/7 Support Site is there for you to provide your feedback and make suggestions as well. 

Have a great day and see you in Kansas City!

 

If you attended the NSCAA Soccer Convention back in 2008, then you may remember the buzz around our Soccer Tennis Event and how much fun it was for the coaches, players, and other attendees.

Trade shows in general tend to have the same exhibit layout with vendor booths set-up offering their information and sometimes free giveaways.  Well, back in 2008 Blue Sombrero created such a fun atmosphere at the show that people were lining up to see the live event.  I even overheard several folks talking on their cell phones to their friends saying “you need to check this out…meet me under the Blue Sombrero guy hanging from the rafters and come watch the Soccer Tennis event”. 

To recap, the 2008 Soccer Tennis Tournament ran all day on Saturday featuring past high-level collegiate and pro players including a few former National Team Players such as Thomas Dooley and Marcello Balboa.  Of course mixed in with the former Soccer Pros were amateur, non-soccer guys like myself and our Director of Support who were just surviving on heart and effort alone (and an aggressive net-rushing style which caught several players off guard I may add).  

With that said, we have some exciting news for all the 2012 NSCAA attendees, Soccer Tennis is BACK and BIGGER than ever with a larger playing area, more hype and exposure, and a showcase final during the 5-on-5 event Saturday evening. 

If you plan on attending the coaches show in Kansas City, we would love to have attend our Soccer Tennis Event which will be held on Saturday January 14th, 2012.  The preliminary rounds will be held from 10 am until 4pm with the final two teams playing round robin style against two teams of professionals during the final round ar 4 pm Saturday evening  You can watch some exciting play, meet the Blue Sombrero Team,  and even take part in the event if you like.  Register now to reserve your spot to play! If you have any questions check out our website at www.bluesombrero.com or call us at 866-981-BLUE.

-Adam Abney, Blue Sombrero Regional Manager

A Few Tips For Improving Sportsmanship

As I make my way from state to state and visit with our partners, I love hearing about their success stories, whether it’s a tournament that they recently held or a player who earned a college scholarship. Running a youth sports organization is hard work though, and whether you’re a competitive club with just a handful of teams or a large rec association, some challenges are universal across all levels of youth soccer. 

One issue that consistently comes up at all levels of play is sportsmanship. How do we keep players, coaches, and parents from behaving badly in the heat of competition? How do we keep rec teams from running up the score against less experienced opponents? Having run a nonprofit that focused exclusively on these issues, I can tell you that there’s no magic bullet. Here are a couple of things to consider though:

• In rec play, have the coaches meet before the game to discuss a plan to keep the scores down in the event that the teams are unbalanced. Just having this mutual acknowledgement before the game will make them more inclined to “call off the dogs” if it looks like one team is going to win handily. As an administrator, you should send out a bulk email to your coaches the day before the game, urging them to follow this policy. With the communications tools provided by some online registration providers, you can send out this type of communication in seconds.  

• Have players, coaches, and parents agree to a code of conduct policy. You can include this type of custom waiver as part of your online registration process. Once this policy is in place, you must enforce it. Remember, every coach, player, and parent is an ambassador for your club or association, and should behave that way. No matter how valuable a player or coach is, everyone needs to be held to the same standard.

These are just some basic ideas to get you started. To learn more about what we’re up to here at Blue Sombrero, visit our website, and keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter."

 

-Tom Arnett, Regional Sales Manager at Blue Sombrero