As a sports coach, you'll know that good communication is essential for helping aspiring or professional athletes reach their full potential. Whether you're planning training sessions, arranging travel to club events, liaising with sports-related organisations or building rapport with individual team members, delivering and exchanging timely information is vital.
Sports team communication can be challenging, especially if athletes or other stakeholders are located in different parts of the country (or world). One solution for reaching all parties quickly and efficiently is text messaging for coaches.
Using text messaging to reach your entire team at once
Sometimes you may need to send an urgent message to all team players, for example, if travel plans or game schedules change at the last minute. In this case, a mass text messaging service is highly beneficial.
Mass text messaging is where you send a one-way text to a large group of people, and they receive it all at the same time. This isn't the same as a group chat, where all members can see and engage with each other's responses. To each recipient, it looks like a personal text message sent only to them.
How a text messaging provider can help
An SMS provider makes the job of mass texting very quick and straightforward compared to trying to do this from your personal mobile phone. You only need to log into a platform, select your list of contacts, compose a message and send it to all. You can create different groups easily – one for athletes, another for parents (if coaching young people), another for volunteers and helpers, etc.
When researching the best provider for bulk texting, look out for the following features:
Ease of use – is the interface user-friendly, or do you need training to use it?
Safety – does your preferred platform offer a high level of data encryption?
Deliverability and reach – can texts be sent worldwide if needed using stable routes? Does the provider offer a high delivery rate?
Multimedia messaging – if you need to send photos, images or videos, can SMS be converted to MMS?
Support – what level of support is available if you run into problems?
The benefits of text messaging for sports teams
Text messages are a simple and efficient way to communicate and keep everyone on the same page. Here are some of the main advantages of using SMS for sports team communications:
Text messaging is instant – you can reach team members or key stakeholders immediately if needed. Texts rely on a cellular connection; a WiFi connection isn't required (unlike other messaging channels such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp).
SMS aids collaboration – it's so quick to send an encouraging text message to rally and motivate players, helping to boost team performance.
Best channel to contact younger people – text messaging is more convenient and less disruptive than other channels (almost one-fifth of millennials don't even check their voicemails).
When using a texting services provider, there are further benefits to be had. For instance, you can schedule text messages in advance, which makes delivering team communications more convenient for you.
And if you have two-way conversations set up, responses are routed to a dedicated, organised inbox instead of your personal SMS inbox. This makes managing communications and planning your strategy very easy.
How coaches can use text messages
As mentioned earlier, mass texting is helpful for communicating last-minute changes, e.g., alterations to the practice schedule or transport plans. Texts are also ideal for:
Communicating with venues about logistics, such as arrival times or the number of volunteers or spectators accompanying the players.
Sending regular updates to sponsors, such as how the team are performing in training, what their sponsorship money is being used for, links to helpful resources, how to get tickets for the VIP spectator boxes, etc.
Regular team communication lets you check in with every member on a more personal level to see how they're getting on and what they might struggle with.
Suggesting dates and times for new practice sessions and receiving confirmations back from members.
Chatting back and forth to discuss the finer points of game or match organisation.
Sending out event reminders to players, parents, helpers, sponsors and other key stakeholders.
Asking for fundraising donations, particularly for small-scale sports teams and clubs (you can even include a payment link in your text messages).
Six free text message templates for sports team coaches
Feel free to use the templates below to get started sending text messages to all the people involved with your team.
Sharing a game schedule:
Hi [Name], here's the game schedule for the next month: 24/02 - home, 04/03 - away, 11/03 - away, 18/03 - home. 10am kick-off. Away locations to follow.
Sending out a practice reminder:
Just a reminder that we have an extra practice session this Sunday on pitch no. 4. Please confirm you can make it (11am to 2pm).
Rallying the troops with a pep talk:
Hi [Name], we're in a strong position for the big game today. You've given everything in training, and no matter what, the Panthers will come out as winners!
Sharing a photo, video or news:
So proud of everyone today, winning by 10 wickets! Well done especially to Raj, our Player of the Match. This is what success looks like! [MEDIA]
Collecting feedback:
Hi team, so I can help you achieve your full potential, please answer this quick survey about your strengths and weaknesses. [URL]
Call for volunteers:
Could you help take the Black Tigers to victory? I need a number of volunteers to handle admin and assist at games. Reply Y if interested.
Simplify sports team communication with SMS
Whether you need to send out game schedules, event reminders, quick pep talks or important information for organisers and sponsors, SMS ensures sports teams' communication is delivered swiftly and reliably.
A texting provider gives you access to valuable features like bulk messaging, list segmentation, message preview and scheduling, and a dedicated message inbox.
With the communication side of your job effectively handled, you can focus on why you decided to become a coach in the first place – shaping the next generation of talent in the sport you're passionate about.
Discover how Messente can help with text messaging for coaches. Explore our platform.
