Tryout Preparation Checklist
For most clubs, tryouts are the primary driver for player registration, team rosters and club size for the subsequent year, but the real work doesn’t happen during tryouts—it starts now. Is your club prepared? Here's a quick checklist to get you started:
Player Retention
Start by making sure that the players you’ve got now are going to come back next season. Acquiring a new customer is >5x more expensive than retaining an existing one. Your club will be in a much better spot with 80% player retention than 60%, right? So be sure to reach out to your players and keep your finger on the pulse of their experience. Key Tip: Talk to Sprocket about our GRO Program for retention and recruitment as well as easy-to-use tools that coaches can use to track player registrations and communicate with families.
Website
Is your club’s website for parents and prospects easy to navigate and register for tryouts? Make sure all information on your website is up-to-date, engaging, and explains how your club is different from the competition. Key Tip: Most current families visit their club’s Mobile App multiple times per week but rarely go to the website. Sprocket’s all-in-one platform makes it quick and easy to share updates on all your channels – your club website, Mobile App, email, and social channels – in just a few clicks.
Marketing
Attract new players and maximize participation at tryouts by spreading the word through announcements on your website, local advertising, yard signs, social media posts and “reels” and reminder emails to your families. While many clubs feel pressure to create a constant stream of videos for social media hoping to catch a few “likes,” our experience working with many growing clubs has shown that quality trumps quantity. When it comes to social media, don’t just post for the sake of posting – create content that supports your marketing strategy and always strive to be authentic. Key Tip: Check out Sprocket’s 5-Step Marketing Guide and talk to Sprocket about our video and social media services.
Tryout Process
It’s time to start prepping for the many details that make Tryouts a smooth process, including recruiting volunteers, assigning staff, finding the right photographer, planning your player ranking process, and more. Key Tip: First impressions count, so make sure that your Tryout check-in process is efficient and gets players on the field quickly!
Post Tryouts
Leverage technology to manage the process of invitations and registrations. There is no longer any need to manually enter data into spreadsheets and do mail merges. Key Tip: If you haven’t seen a Sprocket demo yet, then you haven’t seen the state of the art in terms of a modern Tryout process and system. Contact Sprocket now to see for yourself