How Much Will it Cost?

That’s a common question which always gets asked when a topic like this appears, but the truth is that this varies between the different services. Some services may be completely free with an option to purchase additional features for each sport, whereas other services may be completely subscription-based. However, it’s recommended that you choose the service which provides you with all the necessary features, as opposed to the cheapest available service.

Which Sports Does it Cover?

Online sports team management tools cover a wide variety of different sports. In fact, they even cover obscures sports like dominoes. Each service is unique to each sport, so there is sure to be something for everyone involved in every single major and minor sport.

Interactivity

If there’s anything that makes running a sports team difficult, it’s getting in touch with everybody. There’s nothing more irritating than rescheduling a training session only to discover that half the team didn’t turn up. But this isn’t a problem with online sports team management because players have their own personal login in order to check for things like this a few days in advance. If there’s anything that the internet has provided the world then it’s certainly an easier way to interact with others.

Reduce Clutter

As we already mentioned, moving the management efforts of a team on to the computer can completely eliminate the need to have a bulging filing cabinet in a corner. This is because these online services allow team members to fill in information about themselves, add photographs, and review team tactics and fixtures.

It also makes it easier for the manager to quickly review any special information about each team member, such as which players are on holiday or injured.

24/7 Management

If you decide to manage your team on a purely offline basis then you can quickly forget information. If you remember something important an hour after the team has gone home then you are left panicking because now your team is not fully prepped on an upcoming training session or match. But if you decide to use an online team management service then this is not a problem because all you have to do is add a message on to the website and every team member can see it whenever they decide to log on.

Simple Changes

One advantage that an online style of management provides is the fact that changes are easy to make. If a mistake is made on paper then the whole page will usually have to be thrown out or lots of unsightly markings will have to be made. But when you’re online, all you have to do is delete the parts you don’t want/need and polish off your tactics, fixtures, and rosters with the greatest of ease.

I Remember Everything

Remembering everything about your team is imperative if you are to chart your next course of action, but unless you have an Eidetic memory like Superman then this isn’t going to work. The only way you can resemble this is by utilising everything around you. Firstly, get a notebook so you can remember everything, and make sure that it’s easy to refer to later on.

Next, you have to utilise those around you. Whether you have an assistant coach or a team captain as your second in command, use them to get in touch with the team. They can tell you things that you won’t ever notice because the role of the head coach/manager is to manage the whole operation, whereas a team captain is going to know much more about the individuals on a personal level.

Superhuman Strength

Strength is not just physical, it’s also mental. Superman possessed both of these, but you don’t have to. If you can master the mental strength part of it then your sports team will be better for it because you will be the glue that holds the team together. It takes a strong manager with superhuman mental strength to not crumble under the pressure of a close game or to lift the team up after a crushing defeat.

Unyielding Stance

Fans of Superman will remember when he shunned one of the heroes who saved his life; Wonder Woman because she killed Lord which went against his moral code. In a way, this staunch moral code has to apply to a sports team because if you want to make it the very best team around then you are going to have to put the team first.

This means that you can’t suddenly call off training because your wife or girlfriend wants to go shopping. You have to put your foot down and put your team first in all things.

Gold Through to Modern

If you look at the progress of Superman through the Golden Era to the Modern Era then you’ll notice that he and the characters he interacts with have changed dramatically over time. But what you will always notice is that Superman continues on as strong as ever. When it comes to a sports team, this is a lesson you can also enhance yourself with as you will remain as coach for years, but players will move on. That’s why you have to make sure that you can emotionally detach yourself from this or your management style and performance will suffer.

Learn to Talk

Many people are shy and reclusive, but this can be solved by joining a sports team. In a sports team, success is created through integration, teamwork, and general interaction. People are forced to do this or they don’t last in the sport for a long time. If you know someone who’s reclusive then tell them to join a sports team and the chances are they will enhance their social skills and make new friends. Sport has the uncanny ability of bringing people out of their shells so they can play an active role in the team.

It will allow them to experience empathy for others, to receive feedback, to give constructive criticism, and learn how to solve problems in a constructive manner with others. Think about many of the common situations which appear in life and you will soon discover that developing all of these skills are imperative for living a fruitful and healthy life.

Concentration

What do all successful athletes have in common? They have the ability to concentrate on what they are doing. They have sharpened their concentration skills to such an extent that they transcend the boundaries of how long an average human can concentrate on something for. But they didn’t develop this through genetics or plain luck, they did this through joining a sports team.

Sport helps develop your concentration because you always have to keep your eye on the game, on your teammates, and everything else around you if you’re going to succeed. Over time, these concentration skills will sharpen themselves and it will aid you in daily life. You will be more aware of your surroundings and you will be more likely to notice things that others can’t.

Stress Management

If there is anything which all humans on earth have in common it’s most certainly stress. Stress is a problem for many people as it can lead to mental breakdowns, deterioration in concentration, and a general bad attitude. But sport is the tool to help people manage their stress.

Stress can be built-up by inactivity as there’s no release for all that extra energy inside you, but vigorous activity as part of a sports team can completely eliminate this energy in a healthy and manageable way. This consistent release of energy and stress will ultimately make you a more laid-back person and will also give you the ability to relax in stressful situations, which is invaluable in the stress-filled world we live in today.

Give yourself the ultimate advantage in all that you do and join a sports team today!

Skill not Power

Many beginners and novice tennis players believe that when someone tells them to go improve the tennis serve they think that it’s just about hitting the ball harder. They are not stupid for thinking this because a more powerful serve is a strong weapon to have in one’s arsenal, as shown by the tennis greats dominating the sport today. But it’s also about skill. Power comes with skill. If you can get the technique right then the power will come on its own.

First of all, plant your feet correctly so you can keep your balance when you hit it. Stability enables you to get into a ready position when the receiver hits the ball back to you. Make sure that the knees are bent so more power can be found when you coil upwards and smack the ball towards your opponent. And make sure the shoulders are rotated for that extra power and accuracy. The power comes from your shoulders not your arms. Put your whole body into it for the best results.

Finally, make sure that all of these movements are fluid and not jerky because it can easily put you off your timing, and if just one of these aspects are done out of time then it can ruin the serve.

Increase Your Repertoire

Even if you get the perfect serve it won’t make any difference if your opponent has anticipated it. This is a problem for many young tennis players because they only ever learn one basic serve, and this will soon make the serve ineffectual. Learn some extra serves so you can keep your opponent on high alert and so you can become as devastating as possible.

Most young tennis players start out with a single flat spin serve, but as players grow they should take a look at the other three tennis serves, and they are; the American twist serve, a slice serve, and an underhanded serve. A lot of these serves can be reversed too.

Follow Through

This is perhaps the most important way to improve the tennis serve because it will not only increase the power on the shot, which is always important, but it will also increase the accuracy of the ball itself. Furthermore, you may have seen many tennis players move forward as soon as the follow through is done, this is because it can help get the server moving as quick as possible, which means they can get into position for the return. The last thing you want is for your opponent to put you on the defensive.

Men’s best successes come after their disappointments

This first quote is presented by Henry Beecher who was a famous doctor and was instrumental in creating the federal rules on human experimentation and the ethical uses of medicine. While not really related to sport, his quote is something which can really turn around a team who are down at half-time.

This quote presents your team with something to look forward to and urges them to avoid dwelling on their disappointments, which can be fatal to any game. Part of motivating your team after a bad period is to try and make them forget about that bad period in order to reset their minds to how they were at the start of the game.

He who hesitates is lost

This famous proverb has endured long throughout history and has served many people well, and now it’s your turn to utilise it for your team. This can lift any team if there has been a barren period where your team has refused to any risks or they are behind because of their failure to take any risks.

While you always want to tell your team not to take any rash decisions based on stupidity, you also want to make sure that they take calculated risks immediately because that’s how great men were created. Look at Messi, Pele, Ronaldo, or any of the other great footballers throughout history; when they go on a run and take on four or five players they are taking a risk. Remember, if your team hesitates then they are lost, the game is lost, and maybe even the tournament is lost.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm

Our next quote comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson who was an American poet, essay writer, and lecturer. He also wasn’t related to sports, but his quote is true as when one is upset, sad, or down, very little is completed. However when one is enthusiastic it creates a kind of ecstasy which drives us and directs us towards our goal.

Every artist was once an amateur

Another quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, this is designed to be used after a defeat in order to lift your team up again. Defeats can be very demotivating and it’s important to not only be able to win a game through motivation but also to be able to pick your team up after a defeat because defeats are inevitable in the end.

All of these tips are designed to apply for hobbyists and full-time professionals alike.

Study the Best

To know what you should do first you should monitor some of the best tennis players in the world. Study their technique, their movement, how they pace themselves in big games, and then apply it to your game.

Tennis players which you should study, preferably in person, include Rafael Nadal and Rodger Federer. We haven’t included Andy Murray here because we want you to become better by learning from the best in the world, in other words tennis players who tend to actually win!

Serving Suggestion

A key part of tennis is the serve. The best tennis players know how to hit it as hard as possible while still keeping it in the court. When most tennis players attempt to hit it as hard as they can, though, then they end up hitting it into the crowd.

Go to the tennis court by yourself and start serving on your own. Work on how to increase your velocity while still keeping it within the bounds of the court. If you want to get fancy then try adding a little spin to your serve too.

Confidence

The thing that holds many people back from winning is the fact that they have no confidence. If the world number one came up to them and asked them for a game then their immediate thought would be that they have no chance of beating them. While this would probably be true, it’s still the wrong way to think about it!

Build a winning mentality for every game and every tennis event is so important so that you won’t be afraid of taking on any player. When you have reached a level where you can be beaten and have no issue coming back for more then you are Andy Murray. And when you have reached the level of Andy Murray you can work on your technique and become the best!

Tennis Challenge

The only way to get better is to take people on who can beat you. This might sound silly as losing is no fun, but you will never become a better tennis player if you decide to take on a random ten year old kid at the park every time.

What do you think? Comment on our Facebook page!

Read on to find out our top 5 football managers of the noughties.

1. Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

In the twilight of 2011, Sir Alex marked 25 years in charge of Manchester United. Arguably it was the noughties which truly made him who he was though because he not only won everything there was to win, but he did it multiple times. This man’s ability to build and transition teams while still winning trophies makes him one of the most unique managers around. It’s just a shame he couldn’t pass his winning ways on to his offspring!

2. Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)

Arsene Wenger may not have got off to the best start in this decade, but the fact that he still holds his job is a testament to how much respect he has amongst both the board and the fans. As the creator of the infamous team of “invincibles” and the man who nurtured such creative talent like Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas he did all this without spending millions and millions of pounds like so many other clubs have been forced to.

3. Jose Mourinho (Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid)

With two European Cups and countless other trophies, this is probably the most well-known football manager on the planet. His ability to transition between multiple different styles of football and still win puts him among the greatest managers in history. If any young manager wants to know anything about managerial mind games then they should certainly study Mourinho because arguably he is up there with powerhouses like Sir Alex Ferguson.

4. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)

Mr. Guardiola is an interesting case because many people argue that he has only won so many trophies because all the pieces were already in place prior to him arriving. This is true, but you can’t win all of those European Cups and a sextuple if you are a bad manager; even if you have all the pieces in place to start with.

5. Carlo Ancelotti (Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea)

Italian football has slipped under the radar during the noughties, but Carlo Ancelotti has still stayed successful regardless. Reaching three Champions League finals, and winning two, he has also obtained various domestic trophies in both Italy and England which certainly makes him one of the most successful managers of the noughties; even if Ruskie Roman Abramovich did sack him for only winning TWO trophies.

What do you think? Comment on our Facebook page!

We thought we’d start off by letting you know about where Arrange My Game can not only make organising your team and games hassle free, but make your life easier!

Do you play a lot of sports?

If you’re like me, you’re probably out at least 4 times a week playing lots of different sports (I play tennis, football, rugby and squash each week!). Before Arrange My Game, I was arranging games over the phone by text with friends, which inevitably meant I forgot those key training sessions for the big game, or that squash game arranged weeks in advance!

Once I started using Arrange My Game, life is so much easier, and I don’t get called the forgetful one!

One of the best features of AMG is that you can register once, and then be a member of as many teams as you’d like. You can even be a team manager or organiser for one team, whilst just being a team player for another!

Busy bee? Get notified of games and reply by email!

When we set out making Arrange My Game the easiest team management tool on the internet (don’t forget, it’s also free!), we knew we had to have a feature that makes confirming your availability for games so easy, you could do it with your eyes closed!

Firstly, your team organiser can send out emails with details of your next game, and ask if you’re available to play. If you are, you simply reply back with the word “#yes#”. If you can’t make it, then reply with “#no”. If you’re not sure, then “#maybe#” or “#undecided#”.

If that’s not easy, I don’t know what is!

Not at your computer that often? Get notified of games and reply by text!

Yep, this is even easier!

Your team organiser can send send messages direct to your phone, including game notifications – you can also confirm your availabilty by text message, exactly the same way as above.

What do you think?

How can we make Arrange My Game even easier for you to use? Leave a comment below, or join us on Facebook!

Setup and manage multiple Teams, Squads or Groups
Schedule games or events for your Teams – both one off and repeating
Easily contact your participants by email, text, social networks or web
See simple web pages for event availability, player numbers and much more
Invite your lists of players/participants
Handle and track subscription payments
Record and report player and event history
Allow players to set their availability for events by web, email or text.

Whether you are running formal cricket, hockey or tennis teams with managers or an informal 5 aside football gathering for a kickabout
the online event and team management features in ArrangeMyGame make it simple to organise. Best of all it’s absolutely FREE.

To find out more, click on more of the links below or better still, register now and give it a try !

Assistant manager Steve Davis will take control of first-team affairs at Alex.

Gradi, 70, was appointed as manager in 1983 and spent 24 years in charge, before two years as technical director and another two as manager.

He was booed by a section of the home supporters following last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Torquay, a result that leaves them 18th in League Two.

Gradi, who will remain in his role as director of football and board director, won four promotions during his time in charge of Crewe.

He was also responsible for producing a number of players who would go on to be internationals, including David Platt, Geoff Thomas, Neil Lennon, Rob Jones, Robbie Savage, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton, bringing in around £25m for the club.

Following the defeat by Torquay, Gradi insisted the fans would not drive him out, saying: “I shall hand over when it suits or when somebody else tells me that it’s time to go. It certainly won’t be because of the supporters.”

But he now hands over the reins to 46-year-old former Northwich and Nantwich manager Davis, who played under Gradi at Crewe between 1983 and 1987.

Davis will be assisted by Neil Baker, who has been at the club for 17 years as assistant manager, coach and scout.