Should I Build It Should I Build It
11 Apr 2025
Sports

an app to keep track of people in a hockey team, and how long they ...

...have been on the field or on the sideline

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a space similar to other apps designed for team management, specifically in sports. Our analysis indicates that this is a "Swamp" category, meaning that there are existing solutions, but none are particularly beloved or successful. The fact that we found 3 similar products signals moderate competition, meaning it's not a completely green field, but it's also not oversaturated. Engagement with similar products is low (average of 2 comments). This suggests that while there's some interest, it hasn't translated into significant user activity or excitement. There were no use or buy signals detected in the similar products, reinforcing the idea that these solutions struggle to gain traction. Given this landscape, tread carefully.

Recommendations

  1. Before diving into development, deeply investigate why existing hockey team management apps haven't resonated with users. Look at app store reviews, forums, and even talk directly to coaches and players to understand their pain points and unmet needs. Understand what they liked or disliked about alternatives, as there are usually insights in the shortcomings of alternatives.
  2. If you decide to proceed, avoid generic team management features. Focus on a very specific niche within hockey, such as youth leagues, specific player positions, or even a particular style of play. By catering to a very specific group you can differentiate yourself and build something that really resonates with a dedicated user base.
  3. Instead of building a standalone app, explore building a tool or integration for existing sports management platforms or even for tools that hockey coaches already use (spreadsheets, messaging apps, etc.). This will allow you to test your core functionality within an established ecosystem without the need for a complete app build-out.
  4. Consider broadening your scope to adjacent problems that coaches and team managers face. This could include tools for player development, nutrition tracking, or even game analysis. These areas might present more promising opportunities with less direct competition.
  5. Based on the user feedback from similar products, focus heavily on intuitive design and clear terminology. Address potential usability concerns with user testing and iterate based on that feedback. The comments on the 'football/soccer formation' app highlight the importance of a polished and user-friendly interface, especially regarding icon clarity and intuitive drawing modes.
  6. Explore how you can create features that coaches are already trying to 'hack' together themselves. For example, the user who built a similar 'board at an amateur level that includes a timeline' demonstrates a need for such a feature. Think about how you can build upon that idea and make it even more useful.

Questions

  1. What are the top 3 frustrations hockey coaches and managers face when tracking player time and performance, and how can your app uniquely solve those problems in a way that existing solutions don't?
  2. What is the smallest, most focused niche within hockey that you can target initially to gain traction and build a loyal user base, and what specific features would cater to their unique needs?
  3. Instead of building a full-fledged app, what is the simplest possible integration you can create within an existing platform that would deliver immediate value to hockey coaches, and how would you measure its success?

Your are here

You're entering a space similar to other apps designed for team management, specifically in sports. Our analysis indicates that this is a "Swamp" category, meaning that there are existing solutions, but none are particularly beloved or successful. The fact that we found 3 similar products signals moderate competition, meaning it's not a completely green field, but it's also not oversaturated. Engagement with similar products is low (average of 2 comments). This suggests that while there's some interest, it hasn't translated into significant user activity or excitement. There were no use or buy signals detected in the similar products, reinforcing the idea that these solutions struggle to gain traction. Given this landscape, tread carefully.

Recommendations

  1. Before diving into development, deeply investigate why existing hockey team management apps haven't resonated with users. Look at app store reviews, forums, and even talk directly to coaches and players to understand their pain points and unmet needs. Understand what they liked or disliked about alternatives, as there are usually insights in the shortcomings of alternatives.
  2. If you decide to proceed, avoid generic team management features. Focus on a very specific niche within hockey, such as youth leagues, specific player positions, or even a particular style of play. By catering to a very specific group you can differentiate yourself and build something that really resonates with a dedicated user base.
  3. Instead of building a standalone app, explore building a tool or integration for existing sports management platforms or even for tools that hockey coaches already use (spreadsheets, messaging apps, etc.). This will allow you to test your core functionality within an established ecosystem without the need for a complete app build-out.
  4. Consider broadening your scope to adjacent problems that coaches and team managers face. This could include tools for player development, nutrition tracking, or even game analysis. These areas might present more promising opportunities with less direct competition.
  5. Based on the user feedback from similar products, focus heavily on intuitive design and clear terminology. Address potential usability concerns with user testing and iterate based on that feedback. The comments on the 'football/soccer formation' app highlight the importance of a polished and user-friendly interface, especially regarding icon clarity and intuitive drawing modes.
  6. Explore how you can create features that coaches are already trying to 'hack' together themselves. For example, the user who built a similar 'board at an amateur level that includes a timeline' demonstrates a need for such a feature. Think about how you can build upon that idea and make it even more useful.

Questions

  1. What are the top 3 frustrations hockey coaches and managers face when tracking player time and performance, and how can your app uniquely solve those problems in a way that existing solutions don't?
  2. What is the smallest, most focused niche within hockey that you can target initially to gain traction and build a loyal user base, and what specific features would cater to their unique needs?
  3. Instead of building a full-fledged app, what is the simplest possible integration you can create within an existing platform that would deliver immediate value to hockey coaches, and how would you measure its success?

  • Confidence: Medium
    • Number of similar products: 3
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 15.0%
    • Positive use signal: 30.0%
    • Negative use signal: 15.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

GameTime: Youth Sports Time Tracker

06 Oct 2024 Sports

First attempt at an iOS app, I wrote it for my Sons recreational soccer team. We were trying to use a piece of paper to manage the substitutions, but the reality never matched the plan as kids got hurt, complained they were tired, people don’t show up or the kids actually manage to keep the ball in bounds and there aren’t enough play stoppages to do the substitutions.

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2
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Relevance

I made a football/soccer formation and squad app

11 Oct 2024 Football Sports

Inspired by watching my sons coach using a carry around whiteboard, plus also starting to coach my wifes over 30s womens amateur team I wrote a mobile app for amateur football/soccer coaches.It allows you to add your players information, manage substitutions during games (who's on the field, whos on the bench) as well as drag around players into formations, draw tactics on the screen and share using the IOS share features to email, messages etc. Build your tactic and share it with the team between games.It's free and its designed to just be an easy thing for coaches to take around with them and has no cost.I know I'm not the first to do this but many of them are targeted towards professional coaches and a lot more complex than they need to be in my opinion. Some are attached to expensive hardware subscriptions for more in-depth player management than amateur coaches need.Appreciate any feedback and thanks for giving it a go if you do :)

Users commented on a Show HN product, suggesting a change in the AI icon and noting the app's usefulness for amateur coaches, though it requires improvements. One user mentioned having built a similar board at an amateur level that includes a timeline but is outdated. There's excitement about the Football Manager tactics feature, and a clarification question about the type of football being discussed. Lastly, a comment appears incomplete or unclear with 'Looks so.'

Users criticized the Show HN product for having an AI icon that suggests low quality or scam, a player icon that jumps leading to confusion, a drawing mode that is not intuitive, and suggested using the Apple share icon instead. Additionally, users noted that graph connections do not move in unison, and the product's terminology is ambiguous and unclear.

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