Attendance for most weekly pickup hockey games runs today on promises. The organizer contacts their list of subs and asks who wants the x available spots this week. Ideally x people promise they will play.

One of the main lessons we learned in early testing of our platform to run pickup hockey is that we prefer payments not promises!

A sub player making a payment to play represents a commitment. Having to pay online, ahead of time, to secure your spot forces you to stop and think….”can I really make it out this week?” Or is there a chance I may fall asleep on the couch, have to drive my kid to soccer, forget to get my skates sharpened etc etc….

That’s great! Forcing someone to make a real commitment, with their dollars, results in more consistent attendance for your hockey. That means better games every week, which means more demand to get spots in your game. It also means healthier finances as your organizer has money in pocket to cover icetime costs. Healthy finances means your organizer will likely keep running your game.

A player making a payment also shifts the risks of your icetime costs from one person, the organizer, to many, your players. The main reason an organizer stops running a weekly pickup hockey game is poor finances. One person loses hundreds, or thousands, trying to run a pickup hockey game for their friends.

At this point, I don’t think there are many people left who don’t know how to purchase something online. If you have a few players expressing hesitation about having to purchase their sub spots ahead of time. Take it from us, it’s for one reason, they don’t want to commit. If they can’t commit, and in doing so share the financial risks, allow someone else to commit to that spot!

Your organizer shouldn’t have to shoulder all the risks or fund your weekly pickup hockey.