Soccer Tournament Review

We are now at a point when several tournaments have accepted teams and are sending out the notice to confirm. I can always tell when a tournament accepts teams because the email server starts whipping the confirmation notices back to our tracking email inbox. It’s like someone turned on the switch at a circus merry-go-round; it’s that exciting to see.

What is REALLY more exciting is to see this flurry of activity even before the official “Congratulations” email goes out from the tournament. That means the teams have been checking their status by logging in, some probably almost hourly, to see their status go from Pending to Accepted.

Our advice: Keep track of those teams that confirm early; they are your biggest fans. (we now have a track tool in the Team Apps Module) Connect early and often with teams and make sure you know they are coming. Use this excitement to build ownership with your tournament event. Until you accept a team, they really aren’t “invested” in your event. But, after they confirm, they are in, mind, heart and soul. Don’t squander that ownership thorough apathy, poor communication or bad customer service.

Lynn Berling-Manuel, Publisher and CEO of Soccer America, shares some changes she has seen with the soccer tournament landscape. Take advantage of something free from Soccer America (but you have to listen to the entire podcast to find out what it is!) Find out what new things Soccer America is working on for tournaments.
The Soccer America Tournament Directory

Recently, a “question” was sent to a tournament from a parent asking why the U9 players are not required to wear headgear? She cited all sorts of studies about headballs, headgear, etc. and then ranted a bit about how the tournament was being irresponsible and providing an unsafe environment for the children. The proper response, of course, was that while head gear was not mandated, it was also not excluded. If the parent felt the play was unsafe for their child without head gear, they have the right and responsibility to require their child wear some. She also had a right to not sign the liability form and that by not signing, her child would not be allowed to play. Moreover, her issue was really with the coach, not the tournament.

But, the response was not given before a few “suggestions” got passed around the tournament staff, my favorite is posted above.

Head injuries are not funny and should not be laughed at. We’re not doing that. What is funny is a cat wearing a citrus peel as a helmet and parents who are so overprotective of their kids that they suck the fun out of everything they do. It is also quite sad that in 10 short years, these are the same kids who will be voting, never having seen any environment other than the one artificially created for them by their well-meaning parents. But, I digress.

Our advice: Never lose your sense of humor. Soccer is, after all JUST A GAME! Have a bit of fun along the way. Managing a tournament is a lot of hard work just communicating with coaches, not to mention all the parents who have easy access to you. Find fun where you can. It will keep you young and keep the tone of the tournament light.

I’m a bit amused whenever I see a question come across on one of our sites, framed something like:
“I wanted to know about <something> but I could not find it on your site. Is it not available or is your website not updated?” (emphasis is mine)

But my amusement quickly turns to frustration because I am suddenly and painfully aware that years and years of really, really horrifically bad soccer tournament web sites have conditioned your potential guest teams to assume and accept that your tournament web site is going to be out of date; almost always. And as you are expected to do more and more for teams in real-time, the task of keeping a traditional web site updated gets pushed further and further back.

Our advice: If you have a TourneyCentral web site, it is easy to keep current at all times. Post a message on the front page of your site that says with confidence that EVERYTHING about your tournament is posted on the web site and that it is CURRENT. Keeping your web site REAL TIME tells your guest teams that you are a tight organization who has its act together. It is the one bit of competitive advantage that is easy to gain and maintain.

And, if you don’t have a TourneyCentral web site and you want to project an image of real-time, what is holding you back? I’ve just now checked the dial tone on our phones and it still works. Call today.

Teri Vogt, the tournament director for the Schwann's USA Cup and host of the 2007 Tournament Director's Symposium held in Minneapolis, September 2007 talks about the challenges of running a large international tournament. Also discussed is the symposium and why EVERY soccer tournament director needs to put this on his/her calendar as a must attend event.

The big question of the season appears to be along the lines of “We are bringing our entire club to your tournament and we want a discount.” There are some variations to that statement, some saying they are “going to bat” for your tournament with their club, board, etc., but the bottom line is they are looking for a discount.

On the surface, this sounds like a good deal for the tournament. You get a volume number of teams and all you need to do is give them a discount. But, as always, we are going to examine this issue just a little bit more in-depth.

Our advice: Don’t do discounts. Once you do, the discount price is the “real price” of your tournament and other teams will find out.

Firstly, is price the ONLY thing that is determining the club’s decision to play in your tournament? If so, why is this? Pass on any club that makes this all about price. If you are a quality event that meets the club’s development and competition goals, the club will want to play in your tournament. After all, an average tournament only costs each player about $20-$35 in fees.

Secondly, there are hidden costs with accepting clubs that have nothing to do with the tournament fee. Will you now have excessive coaching conflicts? Will they now demand reduced rates from your hotels, asking for a coaches’ room for free. If you are a competitive tournament, what will their “B-teams” do to your brackets and overall reputation? What if a team pulls out; will they find a replacement for you?

Club-block applications are not going away, so you must come up with a policy to deal with them. At minimum, you should post your policy in your FAQ section. You may also want to accept them with “terms and conditions” in place. A couple of these might be that coaching conflicts are theirs to resolve and that if a team in a club block pulls out, the club is penalized with a bond fee. Whatever your policy, make the club own their participation in your tournament as much as you do.

Larry Miller, publisher and owner of www.backofthnet.com and BOTN Radio, shares some insight on marketing and advertising your tournament to Long Island teams. Always controversial, always entertaining, the self-styled “Howard Stern of Soccer” is a must-listen podcast interview. Online at www.backofthenet.com and www.botnradio.com.