From Snowstorms to COVID: A Platform That Helps Through It All

When Nick LaPierre joined the Hampton Youth Association, they were still using paper registrations and a cobbled-together communication system.

Their all-volunteer staff was getting frustrated with all the hours spent on administrative tasks. It was clear something needed to change to better serve the athletes, parents, and volunteers. 

They offered a wonderful athletic experience across 8 sports. But the experience of registering was less than ideal. 

So LaPierre and the others on the Hampton board brought in SportsEngine HQ to add an online registration process and improve the digital presence of its teams and programs, serving more than 1,000 athletes per year. 

Nick LaPierre has a background in professional design. But it didn’t take a career in design to realize Hampton needed some help with its digital presence. “We were a bit of the Wild West when I started,” notes LaPierre. “Some teams had websites of varying quality. We were all doing paper registration.”

Their volunteers were being taxed with trying to hold it all together—but that gave them less time to spend where it mattered: helping the kids enjoy the life-long benefits of sport.

Enter SportsEngine HQ. “We moved everything from registration to communication online,” says LaPierre. “And you can’t imagine how much time that saved us.”

LaPierre and the other volunteers really appreciate the powerful, intuitive design features of SportsEngine HQ and how simple they are to use. “I love that it doesn’t matter your background or expertise. Anyone can build a site that looks amazing in no time at all.”

Another benefit of SportsEngine HQ Hampton is counting on is the improved messaging functionality. Now they can avoid cumbersome emails and different platforms. 

In addition, as a seaside town in New England, snow can wreak havoc on schedules. “With the messaging functionality, we can quickly let all the parents know if a game is canceled. So they don’t have to head out when the weather’s bad,” notes LaPierre.

Throughout the pandemic, Hampton relied on SportsEngine HQ in new ways. “We love the RSVP feature and how it helps us keep up with contract tracing,” says LaPierre. “It’s especially important that coaches can edit the RSVP list to have an accurate list of who was there.” 

What started as a relationship-centered on online registration has grown into so much more. “Through it all, the communication and support from the SportsEngine team have been amazing,” says LaPierre. “We’ve always been able to get the support we need whenever we need it. And that’s made all the difference.”