BenchApp alternative: run an adult rec hockey team in one place

A calmer rec hockey night

0:00 By the end of this video, you will have a calmer way to run an adult rec hockey team. The replies, the spare calls and the dues all stay in one place. This video is about rec and adult hockey teams. We will cover the team's week, two worked examples, and why teams switch to Play 2 Earn Sports.

Why teams look for a BenchApp alternative

0:20 Play 2 Earn Sports keeps the team's week in one place: the replies, the spare calls, the dues and the rink news. Coaches can see who has not replied, and notices go to the team's existing chat. Play 2 Earn Sports goes further: the team's week and the league season, built from the ice you hold, in one place.

The team's week, step by step

0:43 Start with the team's week. First, keep a roster of who plays and which spot they fill. Second, ask for an RSVP before each game, so you know who is coming. Third, keep a spare list, and call one when a reply turns to no. Fourth, track dues in one place, so nobody has to ask the room twice.

1:03 Fifth, set the lines once you know who is in: who plays the middle, who is on defence, who is in goal. Sixth, keep the rink news in one thread, not six.

How many spare players does a rec hockey team need?

1:14 Here is a typical example. It is illustrative, not a specific team. A rec team rosters sixteen players and dresses eleven each night. That leaves five in reserve.

1:23 When six players mark themselves out, the list drops to ten, and the manager needs one spare. The spare list turns that ten back into eleven, and the game stays on. Now the time. If chasing replies by hand takes about ten minutes a week, a fourteen-game season adds up to two hours and twenty minutes. One place for the replies gives that time back.

A worked example: eight teams on two sheets

1:46 Here is a typical league example. It is illustrative, not a specific league. Eight adult teams share two ice sheets on Tuesday nights, in ninety-minute slots. Two sheets, two slots each, makes four games a night.

2:01 A double round robin for eight teams is fourteen rounds of four games, so the season is fourteen Tuesdays. The rink window is eighteen weeks. Two weeks are blocked for holidays, so sixteen Tuesdays are playable. Fourteen rounds fit, and two spare Tuesdays stay open.

2:18 Before you publish, check it team by team and rink by rink. One game at a time on each sheet, and a spare call for every team that needs one. Publish once, and treat it as the only version. When a game moves, tell the people in that game, so nobody drives to the wrong rink.

How Play 2 Earn Sports helps

2:36 Now, how Play 2 Earn Sports helps. Teams keep their practices, games and RSVPs in one place. Coaches can see who has not replied, and notices go to the team's existing chat. The app installs from the website on iPhone and Android. Families join free, and a guardian can be linked to more than one child.

How Play 2 Earn Sports supports the league

2:57 For the league around the team, each rink is entered with its real availability. The league sets the allowed nights and the earliest and latest times. The scheduler builds the season with round robin, divisions and home and away balance. It flags a sheet or a team booked twice, and you review the draft before you publish.

3:16 Once published, the season is not regenerated over. You move one game at a time, and each move runs the same clash checks before it saves. When a published, upcoming league game moves, a notice is queued for the people in that game, and updates go to the existing team chats. Email and push depend on each account's settings.

Try it with your own team and rink

3:35 Keep the replies, the spares, the dues and the chat in one place. The full guide is on the page linked in the description. Try it with your own team: Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Thanks for watching.