How Coach Binder Fits Together

Coach Binder holds the schedule, practice plans, rosters and notes for a hockey season.

Workspace

The space your teams, players and plans belong to.

Club workspace

A workspace for a club. Many coaches share one set of teams.

Solo workspace

A workspace for one coach.

Current workspace

The workspace you are in. The top of the left menu shows the workspace name.

Every practice follows the same cycle.

1. Plan the practice at your computer and print the plan.
2. Run the practice from the paper.
3. Type the results back in.

Each main record has its own page. Most pages link to related records.

The records connect in one line, from a season down to a single note about one player.

Season

Holds teams and programs. Use the season switcher in the menu to select the season shown.

Team

Has a roster and a schedule of events. The team's season planner plans the season week by week, with a theme and a focus for each week.

Event

Takes a plan. A plan attached from the library becomes the event's own copy. A plan from library to ice explains why.

Plan

Made of blocks. A drill block copies its name and minutes from a drill in the library.

Event roster

Lists everyone taking part. Combines the team's roster with any added team, player or custom roster.

Custom roster

A custom roster is a chosen group of players, such as a goalie group. Any event can include a custom roster.

Note

Belongs to the event and names players on its roster. Each player's page lists every note about that player.

Coaches and club admins create an account first. Next they create a workspace. Parents and players join through a coach instead.

1. Open Create an Account from the homepage. Enter Your Name and Email.
2. Enter a family's code in Referral Code if you have one. Otherwise leave the field empty.
3. Click Create an Account. Open the email from Coach Binder and click its link.
4. Select Start a Club or Coach on My Own.
5. Enter the Club Name or the Workspace Name.
6. Click Create the Club or Create My Workspace. You become the Owner of the new workspace.

While new coach accounts are closed, two pages change.

Create an Account

Takes your email for the interest list in place of an account. Click Join the Interest List to add your email.

Log In

Shows Join the Interest List in place of Start a Free Trial.

For details, see Referral codes, Free trial and locking and Several workspaces.

A season is the stretch of dates that teams, rosters and events belong to, such as Fall 2026. Every team belongs to a season. Create a season first.

1. Open Seasons in the menu and click New Season.
2. Enter a name, select the sport, and set the first and last day.
3. Click Save at the top of the page.
4. Select your new season in the season switcher in the menu. Most pages show only the selected season.

For details, see Season details and the season switcher.

A team is a group of players who practice and play games together. The roster is the list of players on a team.

1. With your season selected, open Teams in the menu and click New Team.
2. Fill in the name. Leave the abbreviation blank to use the first letters of the name.
3. Click Save. The team's page opens.
4. In the Roster panel, click Add Player.
5. Enter each player's first name, last name and birth year.

Abbreviation

A short code for the team, such as U12A. A blank abbreviation takes the first letters of the name. The abbreviation starts the event key, the short code on each sheet that matches a filled sheet to its event.

Import CSV

Adds a list of players from a spreadsheet file. See Importing a roster and the team roster.

Coaches panel

A role with Team at Edit adds other coaches in this panel. Invite a coach to the workspace first. See Inviting staff.

Program

A clinic, camp or training group that is not a team is a program. Create a program the same way from Programs in the menu. See Programs.

An event is a practice, game or other session on the schedule. A plan is the running order for the session. A block is one part of the plan, like a drill or a water break.

1. On the team's page, click Add Event in the Schedule panel. Or use New Event on the Events page.
2. Select Practice as the type, set the date and time, and click Save.
3. Open the practice and click its Plan tab.
4. Fill in the plan one of the two ways below.
5. Click Save at the top of the page when the plan is ready.

Attach a saved plan

The library holds saved plans. On an empty plan, type a plan's name in From the Library above the blocks. Then select the plan.

Build your own

Add blocks from the bar with Drill, Game, Stations, Break or Misc. Then set each block's minutes.

Save to Library

Saves the plan you built here to the library for later practices.

These articles cover each part in more detail.

• The Plan tab describes every control.
• A plan from library to ice explains the copies.
• The drill library stores drills for reuse.
• Adding an event also covers a weekly series of practices.

Print the packet and take two sheets to the rink.

1. Open the practice.
2. Select Packet from the Print menu at the top.
3. Select the sheets you want and click Print.
4. Print from the browser's print window, or save a PDF from that window.

Plan sheet

The practice's running order. Put the plan sheet on your clipboard for the bench.

Event sheet

An attendance checklist with space for notes. Fill in the sheet by hand during practice.

Printing lists every sheet.

Run practice from the plan sheet and mark attendance and notes on the event sheet. Afterward, type the paper back in.

1. Open the practice at your computer. The page lists its fields in the same order as the sheet.
2. Read down the paper and press Tab to move to the next field.
3. On the Roster tab, select Here in the Players panel for each player who came. Or select another status, such as Absent or Late. Each change saves immediately.
4. In the Post Session Notes panel, type your notes. Type @ and a player's name to add the note to that player's page too. Only you can read a new note until you share the note.
5. Take a photo of the filled sheet, add the photo under Attachments and click Add 1 File.
6. Mark the practice as Completed. Completed locks the plan as it ran.

You can also send short notes from a phone during practice.

Captured note

A captured note is a note sent from a phone. When the match is clear, Coach Binder files the note on the matching practice and player.

Inbox

A note without a clear match goes to the inbox. File those notes by hand.

Token

To send notes, you need a token. A token is a key that lets another app send notes, such as a shortcut on a phone.

For details, see Bringing the paper back, the Players panel and Captured notes and the inbox.

Most weeks in the season follow this routine.

Home

Open Home in the evening to see today, the next 7 days and anything that needs attention.

Season planner

Check the season planner for the week's theme and focus skills.

Plans

Open a practice and attach or build its plan on the event page.

Printing

Print the packet. The plan sheet goes on the clipboard and the event sheet goes to the rink.

Typing the Paper Back In

After practice, type attendance and notes from the paper into the event page. Notes sent from a phone appear as captured notes.

Inbox

Review the inbox. The inbox holds the phone notes Coach Binder could not match to a player or event.

Lists the pages you will use most after your first practice.

Home

Shows today, the next 7 days and anything that needs your attention. Open Home first each evening.

Season planner

Plan the season week by week in the season planner. Each week gets a focus, the skills for its practices. Practices show that focus as a hint.

Drill library

Save drills and their diagrams in the drill library to use in any plan.

Members and families

A role with Members and Roles at Edit invites other coaches on Members. Invite parents from each player's page. Family accounts covers what families see.

Reading a page

Reading a page explains saving, removing records, filters and the other parts every page shares.

The printed sheets and the event page list their fields in the same order, top to bottom.

Typing from a sheet

Read down the paper and press Tab for the next field.

Event key

The short code on every printed page that matches a filled sheet to its event. The event key starts with the team's abbreviation. Type it in Search to open the event. An event that has started opens on its Roster tab.

Attachments

Add a photo or scan of each filled sheet under the event's Attachments.

• Roles and Access Who can see and change each record.
• Reading a Page How headers, panels, saving and confirmations work on every page.
• A Plan From Library to Ice What happens to a plan between the library and the ice.