How Athletic Association Cuts 80% of Its Scheduling Workload
In the world of youth sports, dedicated individuals often labor behind the scenes to ensure that young athletes have the opportunity to thrive. Among them is Ryan Ketterling, the director of boys basketball at Andover Athletic Association in Minnesota.
With over 30 years of serving the community, Andover Athletic Association consists of over 1500 athletes and 72 teams.
The association offers a youth recreational sports program that helps athletes build confidence, sportsmanship, teamwork, friendships, and more importantly maximizes fun.
Via Andover Athletic Association Facebook
Ryan's new role as the director of boys basketball is multifaceted and demanding, but he saw an opportunity to optimize operations starting with their current scheduling process.
In this case study, we will explore the challenges he faced and the solutions he found in Diamond Scheduler.
The challenge: Manually scheduling complex constraints
As the director of boys basketball, Ryan's role requires an array of skills including communication, time management, scheduling tournaments, and coordination.
From budgeting to recruiting coaches, his responsibilities span the entire spectrum of running the boy’s basketball program.
However, one challenge stood out amongst the rest—scheduling matchups, eliminating or reducing scheduling conflicts, and dealing with the expectations of parents.
The complexities of manually scheduling games and practices for teams, which also include running doubleheaders while having to deal with multiple coaching restrictions, is a daunting task.
Ryan’s priorities of also ensuring a smooth experience for parents and athletes posed its own set of challenges. The mission was clear: valuable time needed to be reallocated to continue the growth and success of the sports program, starting with streamlining scheduling.
The solution: A professional scheduling software that can manage constraints
Amidst the challenges, Ryan embarked on a quest to find a scheduling solution that could alleviate the burden and streamline the process. This quest led him to discover Diamond Scheduler, a versatile scheduling software known for its ease of use and robust features.
Unlike other platforms, that required users to purchase bundled services, Diamond Scheduler was solely focused on scheduling and didn’t push users to purchase more features, integrations, or add-ons to use its scheduling software.
Ryan also noticed that Diamond Scheduler could easily connect to SportsEngine without any hassle, a big plus for their association.
“I worked with other software in trial mode but, they couldn't handle the complexity of scheduling or they were too difficult to use or they required switching off SportsEngine to use their platform,” says Ryan. Creating schedules for 72 teams, each having its own set of constraints or restrictions, is a complex challenge. Ryan quickly noticed that other scheduling software couldn’t handle the task of managing multiple constraints. Diamond Scheduler resolved scheduling issues that involved multiple constraints, and with support staff being a “click-away,” the platform became an ideal choice for the Andover Athletic Association.
The result: Andover Athletic Association cutting 80% of its scheduling workload
The impact of Diamond Scheduler on the Andover Athletic Association was transformative. It wasn't just about saving time; it was about eliminating the headaches and uncertainties that plagued previous seasons.
One standout feature of Diamond Scheduler was its constraint-checking capabilities. With 72 teams and multiple coaching restrictions, scheduling conflicts were a common occurrence in the past.
“In past years, we had double-booked games that were a result of creating schedules manually, It was hard to validate. With Diamond Scheduler we did not have that issue anymore.
“Diamond Scheduler automatically looks for constraints and scheduling conflicts, without me doing it manually, which helps out a lot,” says Ryan.
Ryan noted that Diamond Scheduler saved him at least 20 hours of work, if not more, over the course of a season. What used to be a time-intensive process now took only three to four hours, thanks to the efficiency brought by the software.
Recap
The transformative scheduling journey Andover Athletic Association experienced with Diamond Scheduler exemplifies how the right software solution can revolutionize the operations of a youth sports league.
With Diamond Scheduler in place, Ryan Ketterling and the entire association can focus on their ultimate goal—ensuring that young athletes enjoy their sports while saving valuable time in the process.
Deidra Hunter is a former athlete that now thrives as a content marketer and brand strategist. Her passion for sports has enabled her to contribute to diverse branding, content creation, and writing projects. In her downtime, she engages in lively discussions about sports and business with her friends and family.
About Diamond Scheduler
Diamond Scheduler makes planning your league’s complex season easier than ever. Create your first schedule in minutes for free. It's fast, fun, and simple.
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