Coach's Guide to Subs & the Sub Tracker

Welcome! Whether this is your first time coaching or your first time using this tool, this guide will get you going in a few minutes. No experience needed.

How subs work: every 5 minutes

We sub after every 5 minutes of playing time. When 5 minutes are up, you make your subs, then start the clock again for the next 5.

The golden rule when you sub: everyone who was sitting on the bench comes onto the field. Nobody waits two shifts in a row. The tool makes sure of this automatically — it also picks who comes off fairly, so the same kids aren't always the ones getting pulled.

Using the tool — step by step

1. Open the link on your phone. Bookmark it or add it to your home screen so it's easy to find at the field. (It needs internet the first time it loads, so make sure you've got signal.)

2. Pick your team from the list.

3. Set your lineup before the game:

• Set how many players you want at each position (goalie, defense, midfield, forward). Tap the + and − buttons.

• Each player has a position tag. Tap it to change where they play.

• If a player is away, tap "Away" next to their name so the tool skips them. (If they show up late, just tap "Back" and they'll rotate in.)

4. Tap "Start game" when your lineup is set.

5. During the game — this is the easy part:

• The screen shows who's on the field, grouped by position, so you can read names right off it.

• When 5 minutes are up, tap the big "Next Shift" button. That's it — the tool subs everyone who needs to come on and tells you who's going in.

• Made a mistake? Tap "Undo."

• Need to make a specific swap yourself? Use "More options."

6. Check fairness anytime with the "Game summary" button — it shows how many shifts each kid has played.

A few tips

• Trust the "Next Shift" button. It's doing the fair-rotation math for you. You don't need to track who's played what — just tap it every 5 minutes.

• The read-aloud list on the game screen is ordered so you can call names out loud quickly when subbing.

• "Flex" players rotate through different positions each time they come on — handy for kids who want to play anywhere.

• Your game saves to your phone. If you switch phones, you'll start that team fresh — no big deal, games don't carry between weeks anyway.

• Starting a new game day? Use "Start completely fresh for [team]" to reset cleanly.

If something looks off

If a new player isn't showing up, or the tool seems stuck on an old lineup, tap "Start completely fresh for [team]" to reload the roster.