A badly run team is an unsuccessful team. How can you expect to do well when the basics are not covered?

Yet every week there are still last minute drop outs, desperate replacements sought and a host of other ways to scupper you chances before you even walk onto the field.

1. You don’t have time to check who is available

We all lead busy lives. It’s a pain to be ringing round players to find out if they are on for the game next week. People have a habit of vanishing when they don’t want to talk to you.

Then there are the rumours. An old player has expressed an interest in having a run out; or has he? Someone works with a new guy who is a demon fast bowler: or is he?

It’s all overwhelming when you have not even organised teas yet.

2. You are not sure who is training

Most clubs can be split into trainers and non-trainers. Non-trainers wonder why they inconsistent form. Trainers bemoan how they never get their chance even though they rock up every week to practice; rain or shine.

If your team has serious ambitions and you are selecting from a squad then it’s a crucial part of the selection process to know who is attending training sessions.

3. Player’s are not kept up to date

Just as you don’t know the score with players, they don’t know what is happening. I remember when I was a young lad waiting to see which team I was playing in. I had to walk down to the ground to see the team sheets. Who has time for that nowadays?

You don’t want to text or call round every player so it all ends up a confused mess for players.

Fix these problems in one place

Fortunately, there are ways to solve these problems. The obvious place to do it is online; you certainly don’t have to look far to see sports team management websites that can help you.

In the UK, Play-cricket, run by the ECB, is popular. It allows you to pick your teams and upload your match results. If you are one of those modern iPhone owners you can even upload the scorecard directly from the phone.

My club uses it and despite its clunky style it does a practical job.

As the popular Teambug site is now not taking up new teams, the alternatives are My Team Captain and Teamer.net.

We have tried both at PitchVision Academy and Teamer.net is the better bet.

It allows you to send free text messages to your players. As a captain myself I know how expensive all those texts can get.  

There is a private team-member only area so you can discuss tactics, analyse stats and look at team photos.

Plus, it’s funded by advertising so doesn’t cost anything to set up a team. Around 40,000 sports teams have pages so the Teamer guys really know how to look after you.

So head over to www.teamer.net for a 2 minute demo and start feeling the pain relief.