Sports app for parents
A sports app for parents: every child's team, one calm week
This page is for parents and guardians with more than one child in youth sports, or one child on more than one team. The routine is simple to follow; the product section comes after.
Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams.
Watch the video guide
Read the video transcript
One calm sports week for all your children
0:00 By the end of this video, you will have a calm routine for your children's sports week. Games, practices, changes, rides and volunteer jobs will sit in one place. We will cover one rule for trusting the schedule and a short Sunday check. Then come rides, volunteer jobs, and a worked example with three children on three teams.
How do I keep track of my kids' sports schedules?
0:24 Start with one rule. Each team's schedule lives in one place, the team's own calendar. Screenshots and forwarded messages go out of date. When two versions disagree, trust the team calendar.
0:36 Then add one habit. On Sunday evening, spend ten minutes on the week ahead. Go child by child. Check each game and practice, the arrival time, and who is driving.
Answer RSVPs the same day
0:48 When a coach posts a game or practice, answer the same day. The choices are Going, Maybe or Can't go. Coaches see the counts and the names. An early answer helps them plan the lineup.
What happens when a game time changes?
1:00 Games move for weather, fields and many other reasons. When a team event, team game or club game changes, affected families get in-app, email and push notices by default. You can opt out of event email and push in your settings. To see those notices on your phone, install the app from the website, on iPhone or Android.
1:19 Then tap Turn on notifications. On iPhone, add the app to the Home Screen first.
Share the rides and the volunteer jobs
1:25 Rides are where a busy week gets lighter. Event carpools let drivers offer seats and riders request a ride. Clubs also post volunteer jobs for events, such as scorekeeper or snack table. Team volunteers can take them.
1:40 Many families also keep their own calendar. You can add a single event to Google or Apple Calendar with an ICS link. Today, games go into your own calendar one at a time, so add the week's games on Sunday.
A worked example: three children, three teams
1:53 Here is a typical example. It is illustrative, not a specific club. One parent has three children on three teams. This week holds seven events: four practices and three games.
2:05 The oldest plays soccer, with two practices and a Saturday game. The middle child plays basketball, with one practice and one game. The youngest plays hockey, with one practice and one game. That is four practices and three games.
2:21 On Sunday evening, the parent switches between the three children in one account. They answer all seven RSVPs. Then they add the three games to the family calendar. Saturday is the tight day.
2:34 The soccer game starts at nine and ends at about ten fifteen. The drive to the gym takes thirty minutes, so they arrive at ten forty-five. That is fifteen minutes before the eleven o'clock call for the eleven thirty game. On Friday, the soccer game moves to ten thirty.
2:50 The parent sees the new time in the app and spots the clash with basketball. They request a ride in the basketball game's carpool, and another driver offers a seat.
What to ask your club
3:00 Here is what to ask your club. Ask them to link your account as the guardian for each child. Ask where schedule changes are posted. And ask which volunteer jobs need people this season.
How Play 2 Earn Sports helps parents
3:11 Now, how Play 2 Earn Sports helps parents. One parent account switches between several children on different teams. Each team has a Parents channel, where coaches and guardians post. Guardians can also read their child's Team channel.
3:26 The team and club calendar shows games, practices and events on web and phone. A player on two teams sees both on the web. Carpools, volunteer jobs and single-event calendar links sit beside each event. Live data needs a connection.
3:42 Keep one source for each team, check on Sunday, answer early, and share the rides. The full guide is on the page linked in the description. Ask your club to take a look: Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Thanks for watching.
Why several children make the week harder
- Each team has its own rhythm. A soccer team may practise twice a week, a basketball team once, a hockey team at a different rink each weekend.
- Changes arrive from different people. Each coach and club posts in its own way, so a change for one child is easy to miss among messages about another.
- Saturdays stack up. Two games an hour apart look fine on paper until you add the drive and the arrival time.
- Rides and jobs multiply. More teams means more carpools, more snack tables and more scorekeeping shifts.
None of this needs a heroic memory. It needs one source per team and one short weekly check.
Step 1
One source for each team
Pick one place where each team's schedule lives, ideally the team's own calendar in the club's app. Screenshots, forwarded messages and printed sheets are snapshots: they were right on the day they were made. When two versions disagree, trust the team calendar, and ask the coach to correct anything that looks wrong there.
If your children's teams use different apps today, write down which app holds which team. That short list is the start of your family's system.
Step 2
A ten-minute Sunday check
On Sunday evening, go child by child through the coming week:
- Every event. Each game and practice, with the start time and the place.
- Arrival times. Many coaches ask players to arrive twenty to thirty minutes before a game. Write the arrival time, not just the start.
- Answers. Reply Going, Maybe or Can't go for each event, so the coach can plan.
- Drivers. Who takes whom, and who brings them home.
- Jobs. Any volunteer job you have taken, such as the scorekeeper's table or snacks.
- Clashes. Any two events closer than the drive between them.
Step 3
Answer RSVPs the same day
When a coach posts a game or practice, answer the same day. Coaches see the counts and the names, and an early answer helps them plan the lineup, the minutes and the rides. A "Maybe" is helpful too, as long as you turn it into a yes or a no as soon as you know.
Step 4
Know how changes reach you
Games move for weather, field closures and many other reasons. Find out, once, how your club posts changes and how they reach your phone. In Play 2 Earn Sports, when a team event, team game or club game changes, affected families get in-app, email and push notices by default, and you can opt out of event email and push in your settings. To see notices on your phone, install the app from the website and tap Turn on notifications; on iPhone, add the app to the Home Screen first.
For the club's side of the same problem, see when parents miss schedule changes.
Worked example
Three children, three teams, one week
Illustrative example, not a specific club.
One parent has three children:
| Child | Sport | Practices | Games | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest | Soccer | 2 (Tuesday, Thursday) | 1 (Saturday 9:00) | 3 |
| Middle | Basketball | 1 (Wednesday) | 1 (Saturday 11:30) | 2 |
| Youngest | Hockey | 1 (Monday) | 1 (Sunday 10:00) | 2 |
| Total | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Sunday evening. The parent switches between the three children in one account, answers all seven RSVPs and adds the three games to the family calendar.
The tight day. Saturday has two games:
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 9:00 | Soccer game starts |
| about 10:15 | Soccer game ends |
| 10:15–10:45 | Thirty-minute drive to the gym |
| 10:45 | Arrive at the gym, fifteen minutes before the 11:00 call |
| 11:30 | Basketball game starts |
The change. On Friday, the soccer game moves to 10:30, so it now ends at about 11:45, after the basketball game has started. The parent sees the new time in the app and spots the clash. They request a ride in the basketball game's carpool, another basketball parent offers a seat, and the parent stays with the soccer game. Then they replace the soccer game in the family calendar with the new time, so both calendars match.
A one-page checklist for the season
Checklist: a calm sports season for several children
- Your account is linked as the guardian for each child.
- You know which app or calendar holds each team's schedule.
- Notices are turned on for your phone, and you know your settings.
- A ten-minute Sunday check is in your own calendar, every week.
- RSVPs answered the same day; maybes turned into yes or no.
- Arrival times written down, not just start times.
- Drives checked between back-to-back events.
- One volunteer job taken early in the season.
The club parent handbook is a good place for your club to explain its own version of these steps.
What to ask your club
- "Can you link my account to each of my children?" Linked guardian accounts are how notices and team channels reach you.
- "Where are schedule changes posted?" One answer for the whole club saves families and coaches time.
- "Which volunteer jobs need people this season?" Ask early, and pick one that fits a game you already attend.
How Play 2 Earn Sports supports parents
Play 2 Earn Sports is one app for the whole team and club. For parents:
-
Several children, one account
One parent account switches between several children on different teams. A player on two teams sees both teams on the web.
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One calendar
The team and club calendar shows games, practices and events on web and phone.
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Clear answers
Players and parents answer Going, Maybe or Can't go, and coaches see counts and names.
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Changes
When a team event, team game or club game changes, affected families get in-app, email and push notices by default. Families can opt out of event email and push.
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Parent channels
Each team has Team, Coaches and Parents channels. Coaches and guardians post in Parents, and guardians can read their child's Team channel. A private adult-to-minor chat brings a parent or guardian into the conversation until the player turns 18.
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Rides and volunteer jobs
Event carpools let drivers offer seats and riders request a ride. Clubs post volunteer jobs for events, such as scorekeeper or snack table, and team volunteers can take them.
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Your own calendar
Families can add a single event to Google or Apple Calendar with an .ics link. Today, events go into your own calendar one at a time, and the Sunday check is the moment to add the week.
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On your phone
The app installs from the website on iPhone and Android. Tap Turn on notifications to get notices on the phone; on iPhone, add it to the Home Screen first. Live data needs a connection.
Coaching or managing one of your children's teams? Start a free club account for your team.
Questions
Frequentlyasked questions
Use one source per team, ideally the team's own calendar in the club's app, and spend ten minutes on Sunday evening going child by child through the week: events, arrival times, answers, drivers and jobs.
If your children's clubs use Play 2 Earn Sports, one parent account switches between several children on different teams, and the calendar shows games, practices and events on web and phone. If the teams use different apps, keep a short list of which app holds which team and do the same Sunday check.
Yes, one event at a time. Families can add a single event to Google or Apple Calendar with an .ics link. Today, there is no whole-team calendar feed, so add the week's games during your Sunday check, and update any game that moves.
When a team event, team game or club game changes, affected families get in-app, email and push notices by default. You can opt out of event email and push. Install the app from the website and tap Turn on notifications to see them on your phone.
Event carpools let drivers offer seats and riders request a ride for a specific event. Agree simple rules as a team: who drives, pick-up times, and car seats or boosters where the law asks for them.
Guardians can read their child's Team channel, and coaches and guardians post in the Parents channel. A private adult-to-minor chat brings a parent or guardian into the conversation until the player turns 18, and players under 14 can only DM teammates.
Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Pro is $49.67 USD a month for 11 to 25 teams. Unlimited is $99.67 USD a month for 26 or more teams. Every organization feature is on every plan. See pricing.
