Top 5 Reasons Hockey Clubs Love TeamSnap
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Jim Dahline, a TeamSnap technology expert and longtime hockey organizer, breaks down five reasons hockey clubs love TeamSnap.
Hockey runs deep in my family and my daily life. I’ve got multiple kids who have participated in a number of youth sports programs. My daughter has “graduated” from youth sports, but my son is developing through youth hockey in the community, next season as a bantam. I hold multiple leadership positions with local Minnesota Hockey organizations: Director of Youth Development at Minnesota Blades and Commissioner at U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
In my free time, I’m watching, playing, or coaching hockey. Oh, and my day job has dubbed me the in-house hockey expert. But guess what: I LOVE it.
I also understand how challenging organizing hockey can be. We all know it’s an expensive sport, it requires a lot of our time and energy, and with so many different responsibilities involved: there’s a lot of organizing for our coaches, volunteers, and other staff members.
Fortunately, a youth sports management technology like TeamSnap exists. Managing and running my hockey organizations on TeamSnap has been a lifesaver. So let’s break down the top five reasons my hockey clubs (and yours) will love TeamSnap.
Top 5 Reasons Hockey Clubs Love TeamSnap
#1 Programs can be expensive, payment plans are a must for hockey
Hockey can get expensive, fast. Ice time, equipment, travel, and tournament fees can add up fast, and I’ve seen too many families struggle to pay everything upfront.
Luckily, TeamSnap makes it easy for clubs to offer flexible payment plans. Not only can parents and families spread out costs over time, but TeamSnap’s payment plans are easy to set up and offer in our registration. If I need to help any families out and change some installments (moving dates, shifting amounts), that can be done in a few seconds. You can set automated reminders to keep these payments on track and set up fee adjustments easily.
#2 Simple registration with membership verification AND automated discounts available
Not going to sugarcoat it, registration can be one of the biggest headaches throughout any hockey organizer’s season. But, with TeamSnap, it doesn’t have to be a headache.
A great capability TeamSnap offers hockey clubs is the registration integration with both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada. The technology validates membership numbers (for either USA Hockey or Hockey Canada) against the governing body’s database.
On top of the connections with USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, organizers can also set up automated discounts. Are families registering multiple athletes? Set up a discount. Are families signing up during the “early-bird” period? Offer a discount to drive earlier registrations.
Trust me when I say that families ADORE this feature.
#3 Setting up teams is SIMPLE
In my past, I’ve spent way too many nights staring at spreadsheets, trying to sort rosters and get team assignments right. TeamSnap automates this whole process. After registration, it doesn’t take long to drag and drop players onto teams and notify everyone instantly. I can even set up my teams and not immediately announce them, which allows me time to do any last-minute QA reviews. (note highly recommend using auto-rostering in TeamSnap — No more endless emails or last-minute roster mix-ups)
#4 Managing gameday assignments for team managers
Getting through a season takes everyone on the team! For your team managers, TeamSnap really helps organize the myriad of tasks parents need to help out with. Think about how much work goes into game day. You need volunteers to run the clock, run a penalty box, handle gamesheets, and even oversee locker rooms. In the past, this meant a flurry of last-minute texts and hoping someone would step up.
With TeamSnap, your coaches or team managers can assign game-day duties ahead of time, send reminders, and make sure every role is covered before we even hit the rink.
#5 Practice plans and drills available for all of your coaches
Earlier this month, TeamSnap rolled out exclusive hockey coaching content, available on TeamSnap+ Coaches Pack.
Developed in partnership with Hockey Coach Vision (HCV), this new content features 200+ drills, animated training, and expert-designed practice plans for players of all levels. From skating and stickhandling to team concepts, your coaches now have everything they need to run high-quality practices.
BONUS: Direct access to sponsorships for raising money
I know I mentioned this earlier, but we all understand that hockey can be expensive. Call this a bonus reason, but with TeamSnap, hockey clubs can get direct access to sponsorships. With TeamSnap Sponsorship, our team will help match clubs who sign up for the service directly with brand-name sponsors.
By partnering with sponsors, you can offset some of your operational expenses, making it easier to offer discounts or lower registration fees to families. Plus, the TeamSnap Sponsorship team does the work for you! All you have to do is fill out an application and get matched, and our sponsorship team helps you fulfill sponsorship requirements like printing banners or shipping sponsored warm-up shirts, all at no additional cost to you!
Jim lives in Edina, MN, and is an active sports parent bouncing between the baseball fields, hockey rinks, and golf courses in the Twin Cities. Jim has spent the past 10+ years coaching and helping with local sports programs at night, and working on the software platforms to solve those challenges during the day.
At TeamSnap, Jim leads our product marketing team focused on solutions for sports organizations. By connecting with customers and identifying industry trends, Jim helps shape how TeamSnap products and services are delivered to youth sports organizations.
Work: Product Marketing at TeamSnap, working in sports technology for 13 years
Current: Director of Youth Development, Minnesota Blades | 13U Hockey Coach | Commissioner, U.S. Pond Hockey Championships
Former: Board Member Edina Hockey Association | Director, Minnesota Super Series | Dean’s Advisory Board, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Labovitz School of Business.