David
Pickup Organizer
Saturday Football Crew (20-30 players)
The Pickup Game Coordinator
Never asks for money anymore
David's Weekly Balancing Act
What began as "Anyone want to kick around Saturday?" became a weekly event for 20-30 regular players. The problem: David was spending more time organizing than playing.
Every Tuesday, David posted: "Saturday at the usual place. Who's in?" By Friday, he had counted 14 "yes" responses. Saturday morning, 9 people showed up. The turf cost the same whether 9 or 14 played.
Turf rental: J$10,000. If 10 people show, that's J$1,000 each. But only 8 showed, so J$1,250 each. James paid last week but forgot this week. David kept a mental tally that was probably wrong.
"Hey, my cousin's in town. Can he play?" David said yes. The cousin wanted to join regularly. But adding people to the WhatsApp group felt permanent. David had no good way to onboard new players.
The New Reality
A player mentioned Balla Stats had pickup game features. David was skeptical - he'd seen apps built for serious leagues that overcomplicated casual games. He tried it anyway.
David created a group called "Saturday Football Crew" and added one team called "Regulars." He created a match for Saturday with registration enabled in "flexible" mode - players could sign up for either team.
David shared the match link in WhatsApp: "Tap here to RSVP for Saturday." Within 24 hours, 16 people had registered: 12 Confirmed, 3 Tentative, 1 Interested. David could see exactly who was coming.
David set the turf cost at J$10,000. The app calculated J$625 per person for 16 players. As payments came in, David marked them in the app. Everyone could see who had paid and who hadn't.
When someone's friend wanted to join, David shared the public match link. The new person clicked "Request to Join," created a profile, and David approved them with one tap.
David's New Reality
Saturday morning: David checks the app, sees 18 confirmed, game is definitely on, cost per person auto-calculated, new player already approved for next week.
RSVP certainty
No-show surprise
Money conversations
New player setup
Favorite Features
- +4-status RSVP: Confirmed, Tentative, Interested, Declined
- +Automatic cost splitting: Per-person calculation
- +Payment visibility: Everyone sees the status
- +Self-onboarding: New players request to join
"I actually enjoy organizing again. And I never have to ask anyone for money anymore - the app does it for me."
David
Pickup Organizer
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