I. Creating a Schedule
To create a schedule, you start with a spreadsheet with your division information. Go to the Scheduler Control Panel at https://sites.google.com/site/stoddertcalendar/scheduler-control-panel
Find your division and click on "Open Spreadsheet."
You need to do two things to your spreadsheet to create a schedule:
1. There is a tab named Teams which contains a list of teams.
Starting in Fall 2016, a list of team names from Blue Sombrero will be loaded automatically for each division at the team formation deadline. This is located in the tab "Teams." Team information from the previous season will be saved in a tab named "Teams" plus that season name, e.g. "Teams Spring 2016."
In the Teams tab, if you use sub-divisions for scheduling, put in a sub-division indicator for each team in the column Division. (I just use A,B,C). If you use sub-divisions, when the schedule is created teams will only be given games against teams in the same sub-division. You can later edit the schedule manually to arrange matches between teams in different sub-divisions.
The column Notes is for any special requests or other scheduling information, this will be visible to aid you during schedule editing. The columns to the right of the notes are not used by the scheduler but can be used by the commissioner to keep track of things like uniform colors, coach names, etc.
Note: In order for your schedule to be imported into Blue Sombrero, the team names have to match exactly. The most common error in schedule creation is misspelled team names. If you modify your list of teams after the automatic load please be careful to enter team names correctly.
2. There is a tab named Slots which holds a list of fields, dates and times for games.
Your game slots will be automatically populated as part of the field assignment process.
Across the top is your game dates. Down the left hand side are game fields and times. If there is a field that is not available every week, it will say “No” in the weeks where it is not available.
If you want to reserve certain slots for certain teams or sub-divisions:
If you put the name of a team or the name of a sub-division in a slot, the scheduler will reserve that slot for that team or sub-division in the initial schedule creation. You can still change that assignment when you go to edit the schedule. The team name and sub-division must be spelled exactly as it appears in the Teams tab; I recommend copying and pasting to make sure it is spelled properly.
Use this feature sparingly. Be mindful that all of our players deserve to use all of our fields. Team assignment should only be used when there is an administrative need, such as when a team has agreed to be responsible for the setup of a field, Divisional assignment should be used to ensure that every team has equal access to comparable quality fields.
Note that when the schedule is created, matchups are made before fields are assigned. If two teams are set to play each other, and both are assigned specific fields for that week, one field will be picked at random and the other will not be assigned to any game.
If your division plays on days other that Saturday:
There is a a column in the Slots tab for Day-of-Week. Most divisions have all of their games on Saturdays, and if that is the case you can ignore this column. If your division plays some games on other days (like Fridays or Sundays) the day of week for a slot will be in this column.
Once you have populated your teams and game slots you can create the schedule. Go back to the Scheduler Control Panel and click on "Launch Scheduler App."
The first time you go in, it will ask you to create a schedule. Click on the button to make the schedule. For fun, you can go back to your spreadsheet and go to the ScheduleData tab and watch the schedule be created.
Once the schedule is created you are ready to edit it.
If you don’t have enough game slots
The program will schedule as many games as will fit each week and give the rest of the teams byes. In Team View you can use the Switch Opponents feature to move the bye to a different team.
II. Editing a schedule
To edit the schedule, load the scheduler. There are two ways of viewing the schedule, by field and by team. Clicking the button at the top of the page changes the view. The functionality is the same in both views, it’s just some tasks are easier viewed one way than the other.
There are two types of edits you can do: switching opponents, and switching game times. Switching game times is much simpler than switching opponents, and generally you want to try and resolve scheduling requests by switching times rather than opponents. When you switch opponents, you often end up having to switch three or more games to avoid the same teams playing each other multiple times in the same season, and it can be complicated to straighten out.
To switch game times, click on each of the two games you wish to switch and click on the Switch Game Times button. The games have to be on the same date.
If you have more game slots than games on a certain date, the vacant game slots will be marked as available. You can use the Switch Game Times button to switch a game into a vacant slot.
To switch opponents, click on the the two teams you wish to switch and click on the Switch Opponents button. The schedule will update. The two games you are switching have to be on the same date. Switching opponents works slightly differently depending on which view you are in:
Viewing by team -- switching opponents switches the two highlighted teams. Clicking again reverses the switch.
Viewing by field -- switching opponents switches to another possible matchup involving the four teams in the two highlighted games. Clicking again gives another possible matchup. A third click returns to the original matchup. (With four teams there are three possible matchups).
If you hover your mouse over a team name, it will show the sub-division and notes that you entered for that team. This is helpful for guiding your editing.
If a team plays the same opponent more than once in a season those games will display with a yellow background. If you do not need this information you can turn it off by unchecking the box "Highlight Duplicate Opponents" at the top of the page.
Dealing with an odd number of teams
If you have an odd number of teams there will be one team each week that will not get a game scheduled. In U9 and under you can schedule 3-way games. In U10 and up, each week you can either have one team have two games or one team have a bye. You don’t have to do the same thing every week. From a scheduling standpoint a 3-way is exactly the same as a double-header, except that the games are at the same time.
What I do is at the start of each season I poll my coaches as to whether they would rather have a double-header or a bye, and I put that in their notes. Each week I look for a team that requested a bye or double-header and give them what they asked for.
If you have an odd number of teams the scheduler will initially give one team a bye each week. In the team view, if you click on that empty spot you will have the option to add a game. The opponent can be in the same sub-division or another sub-division. Set the time of the game to be either a three-way or a double-header depending on the age group.
If you have multiple sub-divisions, any sub-division with an odd number will get a bye in the initial schedule. Often a good way to resolve those is to have an inter-sub-division game.
In U9 and under, to schedule a 3-way schedule two games at the same time on adjacent fields. You will need to create a dummy team for the fourth opponent, Blue Sombrero does not allow the same team to have two games at the same time. You need to add the dummy team both to your teams in Blue Sombrero and your list of teams on the Teams tab in the scheduler worksheet. A good name for the dummy team is "3-way Game."
Starting Over
If you change the teams or fields in your division, or dates of your games, the next time you load the Scheduler it will ask you if you want to create a new schedule. You must either create a new schedule or fix your teams and slots to match the existing schedule.
Sometimes manual editing can go awry. You can view and undo recent changes in your spreadsheet, select the Schedule Data tab, and under File on the main menu select “See revision History.” However, sometimes it's easier just to create a new schedule. To start over, just go to the ScheduleData tab in your worksheet and erase the contents. The next time you load the Scheduler it will create a new schedule for you.
III. Outputting a schedule
When you are done editing, the ScheduleData tab on your worksheet will have your schedule in Blue Sombrero format. Notify Nick that your schedule is ready to be posted.
To make a schedule by field, go into the schedule editor, set the view by field, and copy and paste it into a spreadsheet. If your division uses referees send the spreadsheet to Walt.
To make a schedule by team, go into the schedule editor, set the view by team, and copy and paste it into a spreadsheet. Send that spreadsheet to your coaches.
IV. Special cases
a. What if I have a team that wants two games per week?
When you create your list of teams, create two records for that team. Give each team different names. I usually put "1" and "2" after the name. When it's time to publish the schedule let Nick know that you've done this.
b. I have some teams that are “AB” division, they can play in either of two divisions.
Put them in one division or another for the initial creation, but in the notes put in AB. As you go through your schedule switch their opponents to get a mix of divisions.
c. Split Divisions -- I share some games with another division
This requires a certain amount of coordination with the commissioner of the other division. Decide with the other commissioner which game slots you want to use for shared games. In your list of teams, create a dummy team with a name like "GU13 Guest." Create your schedule normally, and move all of the dummy team games into the shared slots and set the opponents to teams you wish to play in the shared games. The other commissioner needs to do the same. Once each division has set its schedule, send them to Nick and he will merge them.
d. I want to undo my last few changes
Go to your spreadsheet. Select the Schedule tab, and under File on the main menu select “See revision History.”
e. I want to clear the schedule and start over
If you need to add a new team or otherwise redo your schedule, go into the Schedule tab on your spreadsheet and delete all of the cells. The next time you start the Scheduler it will create a new schedule for you.
f. How do I change the order that teams appear in on my schedule? Or fields?
Teams appear in the order they appear in your Teams tab. Fields appear in the order they appear in your Slots tab. To change the order, edit your spreadsheet and refresh the Scheduler.