Concession stand schedule: fill every shift without chasing
The short answer
A concession stand schedule fills itself when you first work out how many shifts each home day needs, share them out fairly between members and parents, and let everyone see their own shift in their schedule. In Koach such a shift is called a bar duty: the board fills the season in one go, and members sign up or withdraw in the app.
Making a concession stand schedule is not the problem; getting it filled is. Three weeks before the home day there are still four gaps, and the phoning around starts. Here you will read how to set up a schedule that fills itself, and how members and parents see, swap and remember their own shift. In the UK you would call it the bar rota; the idea is the same.
What goes into a good concession stand schedule?
A schedule that works answers the same five questions for everyone on it. If one is missing, you get messages instead of filled shifts.
- When. The date and the start and end time of the shift, not just "Saturday morning".
- How many. The number of spots per shift, so everyone sees whether they are on their own or in a pair.
- Who. The names, and for an open spot, the fact that it is open.
- For what. The match or tournament the shift belongs to. If a match is moved, the shift has to move with it.
- Who to call. One contact person for swaps and illness, by name.
A schedule with only names and dates leaves the rest to the volunteer's memory. That is where it goes wrong.
How many concession shifts do you need? A worked example
Start with the opening hours, not with the names. Say the concession stand is open on a home day from 9:30 to 18:30. That is nine hours, or three shifts of three hours. With two people per shift you have six spots per home day. With fifteen home Saturdays in a season, that comes to 15 × 6 = 90 spots.
Set that against who can do a shift, for example 120 members aged sixteen and over plus parents of youth members. With one shift per person per season, you have 120 people for 90 spots: enough, with thirty to spare for swaps and dropouts. If the sum does not work, you know before the season, not in February. The choice between more shifts per member, shorter shifts or a buy-out option is covered in do the job or buy it off, and how this fits into the rest of the club year in organising the volleyball season.
Sharing shifts out fairly: rules that fill the schedule
People take on a shift more readily when they see it is fair. These rules do most of the work:
- Whoever has done the least goes first. That way it is not the same core group behind the counter every year.
- Never twice on one day. A whole Saturday behind the counter is a reason to quit next year.
- Not during your own match. Not as a parent either: they want to watch their child play.
- An age limit. Young players do not do shifts; their parents do. Which age you choose, and whether alcohol is served, is up to your club and the rules in your country.
- Exemptions in writing. Coaches, board members or anyone with another regular job: record who is exempt, so nobody has to guess.
In Koach those rules are built into the button that fills the season. The board opens Match day in the club dashboard, taps the button with the three dots at the top right and, in the Bar duties sheet, chooses Fill new matches. Every home match in the next twelve months then gets a bar duty with two spots, filled from the other teams: whoever has the fewest duties first, nobody twice on one day and nobody during a match of their own team. Players aged sixteen and over go on the schedule themselves, for younger players their parents. Members without a date of birth are skipped. Anyone who is assigned gets a message about it in the app, if their notifications are on. A one-off shift, for example for a tournament, is added with Plan one bar duty. All the rules and exceptions are in the bar duty roster for your whole club.
14 days free, no credit card. Start with your own team; the club dashboard with the bar duties comes with the Club plan.
Try Koach with your teamHow members and parents see their shift
A schedule only fills itself when everyone sees their own shift without opening a list. In Koach a bar duty sits in the schedule. Tap it and you see the date and time, the match and the venue, how many spots are filled with Full or the number of open spots, the names and the empty Open slot lines. Below that is Sign up while there is room, or Withdraw if you are already on it.
Parents see the Your duties block on their dashboard. If they are assigned, it shows their next bar duty with the You badge. If they are not on any, it shows the next bar duty with an open spot (Open spot), and otherwise None planned. Players find their shift in the schedule. For players and parents, Koach is free.
The evening before the shift, everyone on it gets a reminder on their phone, for example "Bar duty tomorrow at 12:30", as long as Day-before reminder is switched on under Notifications in their profile. That is the reminder you would otherwise send yourself, message by message.
Swapping and withdrawing without leaving a gap
Everyone needs to swap at some point. The gap only appears when someone withdraws without anyone ready to take over. Koach has no separate swap button: you withdraw and your spot becomes free again. Whoever manages the club's bar duties then gets a message that a spot is open again. Still, arrange a replacement first and withdraw after that; then nobody has to go looking. The board sees the status per match in Match day: there the bar duty appears as a Bar chip with the names or the number of open spots.
If the board moves a home match to a different time, a bar duty that was set at the old time moves with it. A shift set at a fixed opening time stays where it is.
Volunteer hours requirements, buy-outs and no-shows
Many clubs link the schedule to a volunteer hours requirement: every member does a fixed number of shifts per season, and anyone who does not want to can buy them off. Whether that suits your club is a choice for the board and the members; the trade-offs are in do the job or buy it off. In Koach the Duties section keeps track of who has done their shifts; after the shift the board ticks off who did not show up. How that works is in tracking club duties. If Members see own standing is switched on (it is by default) and the club has set a target, every member sees on their dashboard how many shifts they still have to do; see your own total in the app.
The concession stand usually runs on the days your club plays at home. How to get that day itself organised, with courts, times, referees and scorers, is in organising a home match day. Bar duties and the rest of the club dashboard belong to the Club plan; what that costs is on the pricing page, and what it does for a club on the page for clubs.
Put the whole season down in one go, before the first home day. Then give everyone a week to swap among themselves. Anyone who says nothing that week simply stays on; that saves you the round of phone calls three days beforehand.
Frequently asked questions
How many concession stand shifts should a member do per season?
That differs per club. Work it out backwards: the number of home days times the number of shifts per day times the number of people per shift, divided by the number of people who can do a shift. With fifteen home days, six spots per day and 120 volunteers, one shift per person is enough, with room for swaps.
Can I swap my concession stand shift?
Yes, but arrange a replacement first. In Koach you tap the bar duty in the schedule and choose Withdraw; your spot then becomes free again and anyone who sees the duty can sign up. Let the schedule's contact person know you have swapped, so no gap appears.
Do parents of youth members also work concession shifts?
At many clubs they do: young players do not work behind the counter, so their parents take the shift. In Koach the generator assigns players aged sixteen and over themselves and, for younger players, their parents. Members without a date of birth are skipped, so fill those in before you fill the schedule.
What does a concession stand schedule in Koach cost?
Bar duties are part of the club dashboard and belong to the Club plan. The amounts are on the pricing page. For players and parents Koach is free: they see their shift in the app, sign up or withdraw, and get a reminder the evening before.
Start with your own team in Koach
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