How to prepare for a soccer tournament

Tournaments are great fun – but also hard work.

If you want your players to make the most of the day, you need to sweat the detail on their behalf.

The following guidelines should set you up to be organised and ready for the event...

Date and time

Check the date against all the other potential clashes in your players’ calendars.

Okay, not everyone will be able to make it, but give yourself the best chance at a sizable squad by avoid weddings, parties and other sports tournaments, which can suck large chunks of your squad. Put the date in the diary early.

Travel

Check with the venue as to what space there is to park if travelling by car or coach.

Work back from the arrival time to establish the best time to set off. Publish this early, too.

Work out who is available to share the driving and then organise a fuel pool so the cost of travel is shared across the driving group.

If travelling by train or another form of transport, organise tickets early to make sure you get some.

Food and drink arrangements

Food will likely be available at the tournament but it is better to be prepared because you need to manage this aspect carefully. Dehydrated or hungry players will cause lots of problems.

Take some food of your own and ask that players bring food too. Consider drawing up a suggested food list for the day – including the basics like water and a banana.

Player selection

This should be in line with the team’s objectives and expectations.

You should consider the balance between game time and tournament time. If you have a player who travels and spends a whole day at a tournament, what is a reasonable amount of game time?

As a rough rule of thumb, anything less than half of the total playing time is not enough. That means you might have to trim the number of players you take.

Sometimes, players and parents are happy with less playing time, as long as it works out roughly even over the entire day. Clear, early communication about playing time is important.

If you do have to limit numbers and have several tournaments in the season, you might be able to spread out who you take across those tournaments.

Often, not taking your strongest team to a tournament matters very little when you look back. What is more important is that everyone is given a chance.

"Some families can cover the cost of a trip away – it will be an issue for others..."

If you aren’t taking the whole squad, do you have players who are available to travel should someone drop out? This is a luxury for some teams, but well worth having in place if you can.

Cost

While some families can easily cover the cost of any trip away, this will be an issue for others.

Much like you should do with other costs associated with your club, you should think about how you fund the tournament. 

Can you get funding to reduce, if not nullify, the cost? Can you split the cost over a number of payments? Can you take money from club stores?

Weigh up the cost of the event alongside other costs for the season to understand what you can do.

Equipment

A quick checklist of things you might need: a notebook, bags for trash, spare kit including shin pads, boots/cleats and other clothing, medical supplies, a portable phone charger, water and a print-out of tournament guidelines.

While it is not a look everyone wants, a clipboard is a brilliant tournament portable desk. Oh and bring toilet roll!

Reminders

Little and often is best with reminders. In the run up to the event, send out small reminders of what is required in terms of timing and other organisation.

Always start the message with the day, date and leaving time, then drop in key bits of information. 
This system also offers players a chance to drop out if necessary.