Youth sports organizers understand the importance of having reliable league management software. It can save you countless hours and headaches and help make your season easy. However, with so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know which solution is right for your organization. To help you make an informed decision, here are some important questions to ask when evaluating your choices.
1. What features does your software offer?
This seems like an obvious one, but it’s important to get into the nitty-gritty and ensure the offerings align with your league’s needs. Common features include registration, scheduling, roster management, and communication tools. Make a list of your organization’s priorities and make sure the software you are considering offers those features all in one place.
Sports Connect has all the tools you need to manage your youth sports season under one umbrella. As part of the Stack Sports ecosystem, you also have access to additional services for officials management, college recruiting, tournament solutions, and more.
2. How user-friendly is it?
Youth sports admins are often volunteers without much spare time to learn new tools. Make sure the league management software you choose is easy to use, even for those who may not be tech-savvy. Ease of use is also essential for the parents/guardians who are registering their players.
Sports Connect offers website designs that don’t require any coding experience, making it easy to give your organization a professional look. Additionally, online player registration is Mobile-First, meaning it was built for parents on the go, making registration easier than ever.
3. Do you have customer support?
Ensure the software provider you choose offers adequate customer support, and inquire about the methods available. Do they have live phone support and will those calls require an appointment? Some providers may also offer online support, chat, or a knowledge base.
Our friendly support team is the backbone of our company and is there when you need them most. But don’t just take it from us. Hear what other Sports Connect users are saying about our support:
“Each person who has taken my calls has been so pleasant to speak with, patient, and extremely helpful. Sports Connect has been a dream compared to the last company we partnered with.” – Mandy P.
4. What web hosting provider do you use?
This is a more technical question, but the answer is worth knowing. Most league management providers utilize a web hosting service to host their customers’ websites and store the data collected. The website hosting provider can have a significant impact on the performance of the software and your website. If the league management provider uses a reliable service, you can expect fast load times and minimal downtime and ensure that your league information is always accessible and up-to-date. If they use an unknown or untested hosting provider, it’s possible that their software and website could experience performance issues or downtime.
Sports Connect invests in top-of-the-line infrastructure to ensure your data will be accessible when you need it most. In 2022, our systems reported 99.99% uptime. Additionally, your data is backed up near real-time to minimize the potential for unexpected data loss.
5. How secure is our members’ data?
Security is a top concern for any software that deals with sensitive information. Ask about the provider’s security measures, such as data encryption and access controls, to ensure that your league’s data is protected.
There is nothing more important to us than protecting your sensitive data. Youth sports organizations oftentimes collect birth certificates, background checks, credit card information, and more. With Sports Connect, you can rest assured that great and necessary measures are taken to protect it.
6. How often do you update your software?
Youth sports organizations evolve from season to season, and your needs can change with growth. It’s important that the league management provider that you use is committed to updating their software regularly to meet your changing needs.
Sports Connect releases new features, enhancements, and fixes every two weeks. We love to hear directly from our partners and plan our product roadmap based on the feedback from people who use our tools every day.
In Conclusion
Choosing the right league management software can have a big impact on the success of your organization. By asking these important questions, you can make an informed decision and select the software that best fits your needs.
Sports Connect has been serving youth sports organizations for over 20 years. We strive to provide a reliable and robust resource for your admins, so you can spend less time behind the computer screen and more time growing sports in your community. But don’t just take it from us, read our online Capterra reviews from youth sports volunteers and staff like you.
