ID Cards for Youth Sports

Plastic ID Cards in Youth Sports

There are several things to consider when it comes to youth sports and if photo identification cards make sense.

This article reviews several aspects of integration.

Everyone wants to be sure the opponent is playing by the rules when it comes to competitive sports. Regardless of the issue, the participant’s age, weight or home town, it becomes critical to determine the eligibility of the player. Photo identification cards can be a great way to assist in monitoring these aspects of competitive play.

Using photo identification cards and an online tracking system for players and coaches allows all of the documentation required for a player to only be checked once. Presently many organizations manage their paperwork for each player several times a year to verify eligibility. And most players participate in a sport for several years during their childhood. Anytime a player advances in a championship event, as well as invitational events, people want to be sure the other coach is playing by the rules so paperwork has to be verified at each event. And then the question still remains, did the coach have documentation for one player and bring another?

By implementing a registration solution, an organization can eliminate most of the paperwork review when it comes to eligibility. A good registration system tracks the player from the day they first enter the program until the day the participant graduates from the organization. Upon the participant’s initial registration, the paperwork can be provided and recorded and then tracked by the system from that point forward. But couldn’t a coach bring the wrong documentation to the first registration? Of course he can, but someone will catch the player sooner or later and then the system can be corrected. Our company has produced millions of ID cards and it’s a rare case that someone has provided the wrong documentation intentionally. Face it; the manager is the one being tracked on the system at the time of registration!

Team VS Individual Registration

There are some sports that are handling registrations by the team and others by the players. One of the initials reasons that team registrations were created was in the ease of only tracking one name instead of every name on the team. I mean even an 11 man football team commonly has 25 players. So do the math: if an organization has 500 teams, it’s a lot easier to track the 500 teams than the 12,500 players.

Because of the registration solutions that have been developed today, there are benefits to registering the participants instead of just the teams. The advantages range on individual registration from getting better rates on liability insurance to tracking the participant’s movements from team to team from year to year.

Incorporating background checks is another great thing that can be included in a good photo identification program. We are all aware that in today’s society, there are bad people in the wrong places. As our children play in organized sports, it’s critical to be sure that everyone on the playing field has been properly screened. We have watched several organizations begin to require their coaches and managers to wear photo identification badges whenever they are on the field. An effective registration system will only allow photo identification cards to be produced after individual has been through a background check.

There are many other things that can be integrated into a photo id program such as team and league management features. If all of the participant’s information is captured in an online system, these records can be used to assist the coaches, tournament directors and league directors in better managing their programs. Printing rosters, building brackets, and scheduling league play can all be easier to manage if tools are developed to use those registration records. These tools can also be utilized to track the movement of the players from year to year, game to game and team to team.

Another good reason to add a photo identification program to your sport is because of the marketing and branding opportunity it offers. We always suggest creating two cards for every player; this way the coach has one to check the players into events while the player has a badge of honor that carries their picture and your organizations name and logo.

Ultimately, there are several reasons you should thoroughly consider adding photo identification cards to your program, but the largest reason is most likely the paperwork time that will be saved and the mistakes that are caught earlier rather than when it’s too late.
Some organizations manage registrations by the team and others by the player. Initially, one of the main reasons teams were registered was because of the ease in tracking. Even an eleven man football team frequently has 25 participants. The difference in an organization of 200 teams is the ease in tracking the 200 teams as opposed to the 5,000 players.

But now with the systems that exist today and others that will be developed, there are advantages to registering the individuals instead of the teams alone. The benefits span on individual registration from tracking player movements from year to year and team to team through getting better rates on accidental and liability insurance.

Incorporating background checks is another great thing that can be included in a good photo identification program. We are all aware that in today’s society, there are bad people in the wrong places. As our children play in organized sports, it’s critical to be sure that everyone on the playing field has been properly screened. We have watched several organizations begin to require their coaches and managers to wear photo identification badges whenever they are on the field. An effective registration system will only allow photo identification cards to be produced after individual has been through a background check.

Other items that can be added to a good registration system are enabling team and league management features. Since all of the player’s information is captured in the registration system, these records can be utilized to assist league and tournament directors, as well as teams.