Area Scheduler Needed

Area 8J is in need of an Area Scheduler to manage our interplay system. If you or someone you know in your region would be willing to take this role on please reach to Area 8J Director Jason Holzhausen at [email protected].

Team Count Information Deadline

The deadline to submit your region team count information is Friday, March 21.
LINK: Team Count Information Form

Welcome to Area 8J Scheduling

If you have questions or concerns please get in touch right away. I won't know there is a problem until I know there is a problem.

Jason Holzhausen
[email protected]
616-633-7419

Sports Connect Umbrella Scheduling!

For the Spring 2025 Area 8J will continue to use some of the features of the Sports Connect Umbrella Scheduling. With this system we'll be able to assure that each region has the exact same copy of the schedule within their own Sports Connect portal. This will eliminate the issue with two teams having different information for a game. Any changes to the schedule will activate the automated emails for coaches and players assigned to the teams that were affected by the change.

We'll no longer have a need for the very large master schedule sheet.

Three things that every region will need to do in order for the umbrella scheduling to be successful:
Update Locations & Fields
Name Teams with the common Team Name Convention
Submit ALL GAMES for their teams

Important Information about Area 8J Scheduling

We ask that regions do NOT schedule games with other Area 8J regions themselves. This only complicates the process and creates conflicts for other regions.
We ask that you keep Out of Area games to a minimum. If there ends up being an even number of teams in a division and a team is playing out of area, there are now an odd number of teams in that division for that week. However, if there are an odd number of teams for a division and there are out of area games then bye weeks will be unevenly distributed. We need to know about all Out of Area games by the submission deadline. Send those to Jason at [email protected].
All 12U and 14U teams should be participating.
Regions may submit 10U teams for area scheduling with the approval of the Area Director.

Review your Locations & Fields Information

With this new scheduling method each region will no longer need to have away fields listed in their Locations & Fields.

Each region needs to review their Locations & Fields within their own Sports Connect Portal.
Each region should only list Locations & Fields that they schedule home games on.
Remove any Locations & Fields that you do not control.
Review and update the physical address and Google Map URL for each location.

The Process

How The Process Works

Regions will submit their team count for each division. Remember, any coed teams will play in the boys divisions.
A pairing only schedule (team v team & date) will be created and distributed.
- This pairing will be made with respect to geography as much as possible. If a division has few teams then more travel may be needed for that division to provide a variety of teams to play against.
An Area Schedulers meeting will be hosted in Middleville where regions will coordinate to select the home team and times for each pairing.
Regions submit game details for ALL GAMES, both home and away, including games that are played with two teams of the same region.
The Schedule will be built and entered into Sports Connect at the Area level.
- This will ensure that all regions have the exact same schedule.
- This will allow for correct parent notifications to go out for each game as well as when there is a change to a game.

Game Submission

Submit ALL GAMES. Both Home and Away games, including games that are played with two teams of the same region.
This is the first check for discrepancies. If two regions submit different information for the same game we can get it worked out before the schedule is posted to Sports Connect.

The Spring 2025 Game Sheets will be editable. Each region can fill their sheets out to submit their games.

Changes?

Do you need to make changes to the Fields Sheet, or details for a game? Use the Change Request form to submit those.

LINK: Change Request Form

Meeting

Spring 2025 Area Scheduling Meeting

Wednesday, March 26, 2025
6:00 PM

Thornapple Kellogg Middle School - Cafeteria
10375 Green Lake Rd
Middleville, MI 49333
Map Link

Deadline

Submit your Team Count Information Form no later than Friday, March 21.

Pairing Sheets

LINK: Spring 2025 Game Sheets

Team Name Convention

With this new scheduling system it will be very important that each region names their teams with the same naming convention. This will be the way that the Area will be able to identify teams easily and quickly when viewing the schedule.

Teams should be named with this convention:
Region & Team Identifier - Division - Head Coach Last Name

Example:
M2 - 12UB - Doe (This is the second 12U Boys team from Middleville Region 277 coached by Jane Doe)
ALD1 - 14UG - Smith (This is the first 14U Girls team from Allendale Region 1391 coached by Stan Smith)

Region Number	Name	Abbreviation
74	Portage	PO
211	Kalamazoo	KZ
212	River Oaks	RO
277	Middleville	M
571	Ada	ADA
575	Allegan	AL
609	Wayland	W
675	Caledonia	CAL
676	Georgetown	GEO
767	Kentwood	KW
815	Byron Center	BC
826	Grandville	GV
1350	Hopkins	H
1391	Allendale	ALD
1634	Kroc Center	KC

FAQ

What if I don't have my teams built before the scheduling meeting?
You can create the team in Sports Connect without having coaches and players assigned yet. As long as a region has the team, with the proper naming convention, listed in their Manage Teams section then the team can be added to the schedule. The team does not need to be published for the umbrella schedule system. A region can add coaches and players at any time to that team.

When will the schedule be posted?
The Area will post the schedule as soon as all regions in the division have submitted their games. Ideally one week after the meeting, and at least one week before games begin.

Region Team Count Information

This form is for each region to submit their information for the current scheduling season. Yes, if this is a spring season please submit all information even if your team counts/coaches haven't changed. This is how we'll make sure we are all on the same page.

The deadline to submit this form is listed in the Meeting module in the right column. I need this information in order to create the pairing schedule and to plan for our meal.

LINK: Submit Region Team Count Information