Registration Green Light
We've been so busy on the field that its been a while since we posted to the TotSpot Blog... hope that you've been having so much fun that you didn't mind! :)
I wanted to address the topic of registrations for our SoccerTots classes. Our registration process often seems more chaotic than having the "messy monkeys" kick over the cones! Everyone is trying to get to the website and call at the same time for a limited number of spots. To keep our classes great, we limit the tot:coach ratio; this combined with the selected hours of field space we can use leads to a limit on the number of classes we can offer. One of the downsides to SoccerTots' popularity is that many of our classes fill up very quickly, especially the weekend ones. As a result we are frequently unable to provide a spot for everyone who wants to participate.
For some time, we've been searching for a fair solution to this issue. Many parents have requested that they be automatically re-enrolled. Unfortunately, that isn't a workable solution since it means that very few new children would ever be able to participate in weekend programs and not every parent or tot wants to keep coming back each season... hard to believe, but true! ;-) Our current first come, first served system also isn't ideal since some of our loyal parents might miss the email announcement, be out of town, not at the computer, or otherwise not able to register that very day.
This Summer Season we are making some changes that we hope will make it easier & fairer for everyone:
- compress the schedule so that all classes in one season start within a week of each other
- schedule coaches in advance so you can select classes based on level, day, time, and coach
- registrations will open in the middle of the week (Tuesday - Thursday)
- Currently enrolled tots will be able to register for the next session around the 5th week of class
- We will announce the start of registration in advance for current enrollees
- After 1-2 days, we will open up registration to everyone via our website
We hope this balances the need to allow an open registration process, while still providing returning tots with the ability to stay in the classes they enjoy. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Thanks.