Soccer Tournament Review

This morning, I read an email from a coach attending a tournament that attracts very competitive teams. His team had been scheduled “around” a group of four teams that were coached by one coach. As it turned out, he got a schedule that has him playing one early morning game and then then not again until very late in the afternoon on the first day. And then, again very early in the morning on the second day.

He was quite upset, and with good reason. He paid the same price to get in the tournament. He has the same expectations of good competition and should be given the same opportunity for a trophy as the four teams coached by the same coach. I doubt, however, the tournament can do little to even out the play. And this coach will probably not be back.

Our advice: As more and more clubs adopt the multiple-team-one-coach policy as a way to save money, consolidate skill, etc, etc, dealing with these teams is having effects on your tournament schedule in ways that had not been anticipated. NOW is the time to craft a policy, publish it and stick to it consistently!

If your policy is designed to attract teams that are coached by on coach and your marketing push is a schedule that suits them, be prepared to reject teams that have their own coach. Long term, we believe a multiple-team coach system is bad business for tournaments. It takes control of the schedule and brand away from the tournament and hands it over to the teams. While scheduling multiple-team coaches for no conflicts may look like “customer service” from the onset, it is usually the first step in the demise of the event. The next step is price breaks for multiple teams, comp rooms for the coach, etc, etc. If all you attract are mutiple-team coaches, you don’t need an MBA to see where that ultimately leads.

Never forget: The coaches are primarily interested in what gives them the best deal, not what is best for the tournament event.

Elizabeth Weimer with SiteSearch shares some tips and techniques to ensure that your soccer tournament hotel stay is enjoyable and above all, safe. Listen to the podcast for things you can do to incorporate into your “hotel common sense”.

You can reach Site Search at 502-292-3198

Elizabeth Weimer, Site Search

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Recently, I was at a business conference that had nothing to do with soccer… but everything to do with customer service. We stayed at the J.W. Marriott in Tucson, AZ (which I recommend if you are planning a vacation soon!)

The entire conference was good. On the morning we were leaving to the airport, we got a car, but had a fifteen minute wait. “No problem,” the valet said, “If you want to grab a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in our lobby, we’ll come and get you when the car is ready.” Ok, so we did.

I ordered a grande, decaf, the clerk smiled and said all the right things. But when she gave me back my change, she just plopped it down in my hand with a bit of attitude, the whole time smiling and wishing me a good day.

Our advice: Words speak softly, but body language SCREAMS!! Make sure your committee, volunteers.. anyone who has any interaction with your guest teams, vendors, suppliers and sponsors understand that it is their role to manage the entire experience, not just to do a particular function efficiently.

Unfair as it is, my take-away from the otherwise good 4-day conference will be forever marked by the feel of change being slapped into my hand by the Starbucks clerk with a bad attitude.

Cameron Woo, the publisher of The Bark, the New Yorker of Dog Magazines, shares some insight for building a brand within a niche market. Woo started The Bark as a newsletter to increase the amount of dog-friendly park space and expanded to become the premium dog magazine brand fewer than ten years later. The path he carved mirrors a soccer tournament growth plan almost turn for turn. Start with your loyal core group, find some common interests with those who can help you grow but may not be as passionate and.. well, I’ll let him tell it…
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