Soccer match day

About 10 minutes. Do it before game day.

1. Create your team

   Open Kickd and sign in. Tap Create Team, then enter the team name, the sport (Soccer) and the age group off your rego.

   The age group sets your side size and half length for you, so there's nothing to work out.

2. Add your players

   Go to the TEAM tab at the bottom of the screen. Tap + Add Player and enter a name and shirt number. You can add or edit players any week.

   Under Plays, tap Forward, Mid or Defence. Rotations then suggest subs that fit the line. Leave it blank for anywhere.

3. Check the format

   On the same TEAM tab, check the AGE GROUP. It locks after your first match, so fix it now if it's wrong.

   Halves start at the usual length for your age group. Tap a HALF TIME chip to match your comp (10 to 45 minutes).

   

4. Set your sub rhythm

   Under ROTATION, set how often Kickd calls a rotation (2 to 15 minutes). See Rotation alerts.

   The clock counts up through the game, like a referee's watch. To count down each half instead, choose COUNT DOWN under MATCH CLOCK.

5. Invite parents and helpers

   On the TEAM tab, tap Share Join Link under INVITE PARENTS/GUARDIANS (INVITE SUPPORTERS on an Opens team) and send it to your team chat. Parents follow the score live on their own phones. The link is for adults only.

   Want a helper to run the clock and log the game? Tap Share PA Link under PERFORMANCE ANALYSTS. They join as your Performance Analyst and run the live screen while you coach.

   Borrowing a player for the day? Tap + Add Guest Player. Guests play and get minutes but stay out of your season stats.

Kickd's defaults. Change the half length under HALF TIME.

Until your first match, HOME shows a BEFORE YOUR FIRST GAME checklist. Tap any line to go straight there. Your three free matches include every stat, so you can see what Team Stats adds before you choose a pass.

About 60 seconds on the sideline.

1. Mark who's here

   On the home screen, tap any player who didn't turn up to grey them out. Everyone else is in.

   Type the other team's name under OPPONENT if you like. It shows on the live screen.

2. Pick a formation

   Tap Set Formation. Kickd lists the formations for your age group's team size, each with a picture of the shape and a line on how it plays. Tap one to use it.

   

3. Set your first half

   From U8 up, tap the gold GK spot and choose your keeper.

   Tap Auto fill to fill the other spots from who turned up, fewest season minutes first. Or tap each empty spot and pick a player. Then tap Save & Back.

   You only set the first half. The second half starts from where the first half finished, and you can change it at the break.

   

4. Tap Start Game

   The clock starts. If the first half isn't set yet, Kickd takes you straight to the formation screen instead.

   

The live screen. Almost everything is one tap.

1. Watch the top bar

   The half, the score and the clock sit across the top the whole game. Parents follow the same score live in their Kickd app.

2. We scored

   Tap the US + GOAL cell, then tap the player who scored.

   

3. They scored

   One tap on the blue THEM + GOAL cell. No name needed.

4. Subs and swaps

   Tap a player on the field, then a bench player, to swap them. Tap two players on the field to swap their positions. Tap an empty spot to fill it from the bench.

5. Keep it fair

   Every player shows their minutes, on the field and on the bench. Anyone getting too much game time turns amber. Your keeper always shows in gold.

6. If a player can't go on

   Long-press them and choose Mark Unavailable, then tap a bench player to fill the spot. For a no-show, choose Not Here - Mark Absent. It clears their minutes.

7. Fix a mistake

   On a phone, tap the Undo bar above the field to reverse the last thing you logged. On a tablet, tap Undo in the match log. Or say "undo".

   

Goal times

Once you score, a GOALS card appears under the rotation card. It lists each scorer with the minute of every goal, like 12', 35'. The same times show on the results and in your match history.

Cards, U13 and up

Yellow and red cards come with every pass. On a phone, tap the round stats button at the bottom left, pick the card, then tap the player. On a tablet, pick the card in the column beside the field.

A red card takes the player off for the rest of the match. Their spot shows SHORT and can't be filled, so the team plays a player down.

Match stats

Match stats come with Team Stats. Log them the same way: pick the stat, then tap the player.

• GK Save, at every age with a keeper. It goes straight to your keeper, with no second tap.
• U13 and up: shots on and off target, assists, tackles won, intercepts, fouls conceded, fouls won and own goals.
• Own Goal is a player stat only. It doesn't change the score, so tap THEM + GOAL as well.

It all adds up in each player's season stats.

Kickd tracks game time and tells you when to sub.

At your ROTATION interval Kickd buzzes, and the amber ROTATION TIME! banner lines up exactly who comes off and who goes on.

• One tap to rotate. Rotate Now swaps the whole group in one go. Dismiss clears the banner without subbing, and you can still make a single swap yourself on the field.
• Big bench? Set SUBS PER ROTATION on the TEAM tab to swap a few players at a time instead of a full line change.
• NEXT ROTATION card: it sits below the field and pairs each player GOING ON with the player COMING OFF. Drag to reorder who goes on, or tap a player coming off to pick a different one from the pitch.
• To change who comes off, tap a player coming off, then a different player on the field.
• Even minutes. Kickd evens out game time across the team, so every kid gets a fair go without you tracking it. Your keeper stays in goal. Rotations cover the outfield.
• Subs that fit the line. Kickd prefers a bench player tagged for that line (Forward, Mid or Defence). If nobody fits, the next player waiting on the bench goes on anyway, with an amber warning mark.
• Keep a player on (U12 and up). Long-press them and choose Mark as Sticky (Skip Rotation). Rotations skip them until you unstick them.
• Junior matches (U6 to U11) get a Fairness % plus a season chart on the stats screen.
• When a parent asks why their child didn't play more, the minutes are on the screen.

Stoppages, early whistles, late arrivals.

• Tap Pause for a long stoppage and Resume to go again. On a phone it sits under the field. On a tablet it's the pause button in the top bar.
• The clock stops itself at each break. To end a period early, tap Finish Half (or Finish Q1 and so on for quarters) and confirm.
• At the break, make any changes, then tap Start 2nd Half (Start Q2 and so on for quarters).
• Clock beat the whistle? On the break screen, tap Half not finished, keep playing (Quarter for quarters). Keep logging as normal, nothing spills into the next period, then tap End 1st Half when play stops. Full time has the same button.
• You can lock your phone. The clock keeps running and alerts still come through. If play was stopped while you were away, tap Rewind, play was stopped when you come back.
• Someone turns up late? Tap + Add to Game next to their name under Absent on the live screen.

A minute at the break.

1. Check the report

   U6 to U11: the 1ST HALF FAIRNESS card says ON TRACK or NEEDS ATTENTION, and lists anyone who NEEDS MORE MINUTES. U12 and up: you get a summary of the first-half stats.

   

2. Set the second half

   The second half starts from where the first half finished, keeper included. Tap Edit H2 Formation to change the formation, the keeper or anyone's position.

3. Start the second half

   Tap Looks good, Start 2nd Half. If the second half still has spots you could fill, Kickd takes you to the formation screen first.

No rush at the huddle.

End the game and pick your player

1. At full time, tap End Game at the top of the screen. The match ends straight away.

2. Pick your Player of the Match on the results screen when you've got a moment. You've got an hour after the whistle, and Kickd sends a reminder if you haven't picked.

Who votes, and when

• Juniors (U6 to U12): parents vote Players' Player on their child's behalf, for an hour after full time. It's on by default, under PLAYERS' PLAYER on the TEAM tab.
• Every vote builds the season Players' Player leaderboard. Parents never see the tally.
• Seniors (U13 to Opens): turn on PLAYER VOTING on the TEAM tab and players vote after each match. Opens players join with your Player Code (TEAM tab). U13 to U18 players need a parent to switch on their login under PLAYER LOGINS on the parent's TEAM tab.

After the game

• Tap Share result to the team on the results screen to send the score to your group chat.
• Every match is saved on the STATS tab under HISTORY. Tap one for the full match.
• On Team Stats, tap Share PDF there to send the match report to your club or parents.
• Ran a test game by mistake? The head coach can remove it with Delete Match.

Dead spots, country grounds, carnival days.

• The whole match runs on your device. The clock, the lineup, scores, stats and subs don't need the internet.
• Finished games wait on the device and save to your season as soon as reception returns.
• Parents' live view needs signal. Their screens catch up once they're connected again.
• Voice works with no signal too, once the voice pack is on your phone. Download it at home on Wi-Fi: on the TEAM tab, tap Download in the KICKD CALLOUT row (about 68 MB).

Kickd Callout comes with every pass, at every age.

1. Pick your mic

   On HOME, tap Bluetooth headset or Phone mic (Tablet mic on a tablet). A headset with a boom mic holds up in crowd noise. The phone or tablet mic suits training or a quiet ground, and you tap the mic button each time you want it to listen.

   

2. Arm the mic

   If you picked a mic on HOME, it arms itself at the start of play. Otherwise tap the mic button in the top bar. Red means it's logging what it hears, and the bar shows what it heard and what it logged.

3. Mute when you step away

   Tap the mic again to mute for sideline chats or stoppages. On the phone or tablet mic, press and hold to mute. Nothing logs while it's muted. The mic stays armed through the break and switches off at full time.

Which headset

A Bluetooth headset keeps you hands-free, with your eyes on the game, so one person can log the whole match by voice. Most Bluetooth headsets work, and coaches have even used smart glasses, but results vary with noise cancelling. The Shokz OpenComm 2 boom mic is the best tested on a noisy sideline.

Mix taps and voice freely. Undo fixes either.

Speech recognition runs on your device. Your audio is never recorded, stored or sent anywhere.