FAQs: how it works & saves you time
For screenshots and an idea of how it actually works, see the demo.
Tip: hover your mouse! Most buttons/fields/things, a tip will pop up when you move your mouse over them.
How does it work?
HappyTC lets you “fire & forget” — once you’ve set up the schedule and roster, everything runs automatically!
- game reminder emails are automatically sent to players
- a “game status” email is automatically send to the captain before each game
- everyone’s attendance is tracked, leaving you plenty of time to call up subs when needed.
Do it like this:
- create a simple team schedule and roster
- one click invites players to the games, sending out invites via email
- every player gets a reminder email before each game, where they can update their planned attendance (yes/no/maybe) — just by clicking links in the emails. No need for your players to mess with user IDs or passwords!
- you get a “game status” email a few days before each game, showing who will be there and who won’t — so you have plenty of time to contact subs
Everyone — you and your players — can view the entire team schedule or “dashboard”, including who’s going to be at what games.
Everyone can add notes and bulletins for everyone else to see on the team dashboard.
How does it save you time?
Unlike many sites out there, HappyTC is designed to save time, not suck time.
HappyTC saves you time by:
- taking care of the simple but annoyingly repetitive task of “taking attendance” for your team;
- cutting down on reply-to-all team email traffic;
- letting all players see who else will be at the game (meaning fewer emails for you to answer);
- keeping the info tracked to an absolute minimum: just player names and game dates, if you want (you can track more things if you want, like field position, gender, or game location);
- making it really quick to enter your team’s info (select a range of game dates, cut & paste a list of your team’s email addresses, and away you go).
To keep things simple, HappyTC does not try to do all sorts of fancy things that are already done by 1001 other “social networking” and sports team stats sites out there (Facebook comes to mind). That means no posting pictures of your dog, no “poking”, no tracking player stats the past 10 seasons, etc. — just more time saved in the real world, and a better sports team experience.
HappyTC’s goal is to save you time and hassle– if it doesn’t do that, you won’t use it. (And you’ll continue using your own ways to run your team, usually email and Excel… sometimes eVite, which is good for parties but doesn’t have the convenient “all upcoming games” view or other team-related features.)
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How does it work?
A: Check out the demo. - Q: How much does it cost to use?
A: Nothing, it’s free. (We feed ourselves off the profits of advertising revenue.) - Q: I’m a player; do I always have to dig through my email to find my schedule link?
A: No, you can bookmark or “add-to-favourites” your link so it’s always just a single click away, or use the handy “remember me” feature so you’re instantly signed in whenever you visit happytc.com. (Not recommended on shared computers, though.) If you want, you can also register and create your own HappyTC account with a user ID and password — that way you can sign in like a grown-up, if you choose. - Q: I’m a captain; can I delegate to my assistant captains?
A: Yes. Assign assistant captains via the player “edit” link. Then empower your assistants via “Team settings”, on the “Player” tab. Now tell your assistant captains to register themselves via the “Register/add team to account” link, and voilà: when they sign in, they can do almost everything you can do (add games/players, contact the team on your behalf, etc.). Assistant captains can’t delete the team, delete players, or unassign people from being assistant captain. - Q: Are players’ email addresses viewable by just anyone (general public, spammers, spiders, etc.) since players don’t need passwords?
A: NO, not at all. Player emails and other team info is only displayed when a player’s “secret link” is clicked. The concept is similar to how other online event services work (like eVite). - Q: What does the x [button/field/checkbox/thing] do?
A: Hover your mouse over it, and a tip should appear explaining what it does. (If we’ve forgotten something or it makes no sense, please drop us a line!) - Q: How do players use it if they have no user ID/password?
A: Players get special links sent to them in emails, which give players customized access to the team (so they can’t update someone else’s status). Players can bookmark the links if they want (but emails are sent out a few days before each game). Players can also request to be re-sent their link, or register and get themselves a user ID and password. - Q: Can I use HappyTC for my kid’s little-league team?
A: Sort of; HappyTC is meant to be used by adult, internet-savvy, rec sports team players who are responsible for their own schedules and whereabouts. That said, you could probably set up the parents of all the kids on the team. (Let us know if you do.) - Q: What if I decide I want to move my team to a different system?
A: No problem – first, the amount of info you need to enter to use HappyTC is minimal. Second, we will be providing an export feature, allowing you to export your team in a common file format (”CSV”). - Q: I run a recreational sports league; how can I use HappyTC to increase customer satisfaction?
A: More info regarding HappyTC and leagues is here. - Q: Can my HappyTC team schedule automatically pick up games from my league’s website?
A: Yes – provided that your league provides an “iCalendar feed” of your team’s schedule. More info.
