Elite Athletic Training finds the right fit for registration

Founded during the gold rush in the mid-1800s, Golden, Colorado is a beautiful, outdoorsy city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. A stone’s throw from Denver, Golden is best known as home to the largest brewing facility in the world, Coors Brewing Company.

Elite Athletic Training & Consulting is a baseball and softball club and training organization started by a former baseball pro who spent six years with the Minnesota Twins organization. Shortly after opening, Chris Taylor, a former Division 1 player and marketing communications professional, came on board to help Elite Athletic scale to 15 teams and over 150 players, ranging from 8U to 18U.

Chris shared that Elite Athletic has a very niche focus: “We want to train and develop kids not only as players but also as people.” This is a primary goal that often seems to get lost in the world of sports. “Culture around baseball or softball has drifted into just play games, play games, play games, without the instruction and skill development that we feel the kids need to be successful players later on in life or become successful members of society.”

Needing A Better Fit

Going into 2019, Chris knew that there had to be a better tool to help them manage their organization. They were using ZenPlanner, which was great for gyms and fitness studios but was built around a different type of business than Elite Athletic. “We were able to do registrations, but for the documents that I needed to collect, such as financial agreements or the player Code of Conduct, I was having to collect via paper or PDF and track it in a spreadsheet.” For Chris, this led to many questions that were difficult to answer with- out clear tracking and visibility.

It was crucial for Chris to find a tool that would deliver a great experience for all involved. “With our past solution, you were able to register and sign waivers, but it was cumbersome for the parents, as well as for me, when going through the setup process.” This was the perfect chance for Chris to find an easy-to-use, all-in-one solution, “This gave us an opportunity to streamline everything. We actually had to use different software for team management, but it wasn't being utilized. The coaches weren't using it because they didn't find it useful.”

“For me, setting up the registration forms is significantly faster than what I was doing before. I like the ability to pass on transaction fees so we're not eating the costs, and the document collection process has been super easy” — Chris Taylor

Enter TeamSnap

With his needs clearly laid out, Chris took a look at the options he had beyond his existing solution. “I looked at some of the other solutions that exist, but they were just not the right fit. It was one of those things where I was prob- ably going to either stay where I was or make that switch to TeamSnap.” For Chris, there were just a few key questions to answer before making the decision, “Does TeamSnap take away the hours I was having to spend chasing stuff down and make me more productive, and can it replace this other tool that had been getting increasingly expensive?” The simple answer was yes.

Chris has been extremely pleased since making the switch and his members have also felt the benefits, “I had one of the parents say, ‘Hey, this was way easier than what we were using before, hopefully, it's easier for you to set up too.’” Again, the answer was yes. “For me, setting up the registration forms is significantly faster than what I was doing before. I like the ability
to pass on transaction fees so we're not eating the costs, and the document collection process has been super easy.”

Refine and Grow

Chris has taken a learn and refine approach. First, he rolled out TeamSnap registration with their training programs, then tackled his high school teams, and has since begun using it to collect club registration for their upcoming season.

Registration has always been a stressful process for Chris, but TeamSnap has allowed him to rest a little easier. “There was always that anxiousness around whether the form is going to get completed, that it is correct when it goes out to folks and that it’s easy for them to use. I don't want to get seventeen emails back saying I can't figure out how to register my son. I haven't gotten very many of those since switching.”