Fair game time for every child, without the spreadsheet.
U8 Squad plans squads, tracks game time, builds line-ups and keeps parents informed, so grassroots coaches can answer the weekly question: who plays this week, and is it fair?
Games played out of games available. Players 3 and 4 are picked first next week.
Built for a real club
U8 Squad was built for Holmer Green Minors U8s and is in use there now: about 18 children, two age groups, three teams and six volunteer coaches sharing one fixture list.
It replaces the spreadsheets and WhatsApp threads that used to hold it all together, and it's ready for more clubs and age groups.
The problem every grassroots coach knows
More children than places
Someone has to sit out each week, and it has to be done fairly.
Parents need to see it's fair
Fairness only counts if parents can see how game time is shared.
Coaches come with their children
Volunteer coaches attend when their own child is selected, so every matchday needs enough coaches' children picked.
Everything is scattered
Availability, squad sheets and fixture details end up spread across message threads.
How the fairness works
Each child gets a fairness score. The children with the lowest score are picked first.
games played ÷ games available
- A week a child can't make costs them nothing, and neither does a game that's called off.
- Children who join mid-season start with a clean slate.
- Over a season, children available for the same number of games end up within one game of each other.
- "Plan season" plans every upcoming fixture at once, so fairness balances across the whole season, not just week to week.
- Coaches can still edit any week by hand. Edited weeks are locked, so the planner leaves them alone.
From availability to the final whistle
Parent availability
Parents mark "Playing" or "Out" for each fixture from a private link. Coaches see who has replied and who hasn't. Saying "can't make it" is never penalised.
Quarter-by-quarter line-ups
Positions and subs are planned for both games of a matchday, with playing time shared evenly over the whole day. The goalkeeper role rotates, positions rotate over the season, and subs are like-for-like.
Quick changes
Tap to swap children, drag them to new positions, or change formation.
Touchline mode
One quarter at a time in large print, with the next changes shown. It keeps your phone screen on during the game.
Squad sheets for parents
For each finalised game, parents see meet and kick-off times, the venue with a map link, the teams and shirt numbers, and the player of the day. They can print it, save it as an image for WhatsApp, or add the game to Google Calendar.
Season fixtures
Each group has its own secret, password-protected fixtures page for parents.
Enough coaches every week
Makes sure enough coaches attend each fixture. Supports several groups and teams, and borrowing a child from another group.
Postponements handled
Postponed and cancelled games don't affect anyone's fairness score.
Player of the day
Recorded after each game, and it has no effect on selection.
A look inside
Privacy and safeguarding by design
- Parent links contain a long secret code and can be replaced if they're shared too widely.
- Separate passwords for coaches and parents.
- Hidden from search engines.
- Hosted in the EU, in Dublin.
- Parents can have their child's data deleted on request. Past team sheets then show "Left squad".
- Season clear-outs remove children who have left.
- Scores and results are deliberately not recorded at U8.
Open source
U8 Squad is open source. Built with Nuxt and TypeScript, with fully unit-tested selection and line-up engines, and updates that sync live across coaches' devices.
Want it for your club or another age group? Get in touch.