How leading-edge technology brought efficiency, clarity, and drive to a national governing body's mission to make soccer a "sport for life". Let's look back at how USASA utilized SportsEngine to promote its organization.
We want all our members to not only feel connected but also receive tangible benefits that help them elevate their programs. The SportsEngine Platform lets us do both better than ever.
- John Motta, USASA President
The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is the largest organization of its kind in the country. With 55 state associations, plus national and regional leagues, the official governing body of U.S. adult soccer strives to "develop, strengthen and promote a unified soccer community"—no easy feat when you're talking about 250,000 players spread out over every state in the nation.
This is why the Chicago-based organization enlisted SportsEngine and the power of its national website network to elevate its brand, improve communication, and provide a one-of-a-kind benefit to positively affect membership in a very real way, every single day.
World-Class technology is now an expectation.
As USASA President John Motta explains, the benefits of joining the website network showed themselves almost immediately to membership.
"Being part of the network provides our members with cutting-edge website design at a reduced cost, a powerful content management system, and the capability to mirror USASA and member content like scores, event calendars, and social media throughout the entire network of member sites."
No coding. No web experience. Just about anybody is able to chip-in to keep content updated and accurate – and do it quickly.
And because SportsEngine's Sitebuilder Content Management System (CMS) is built specifically for sports (as opposed to a generic CMS like WordPress), volunteers can choose from an entire library of sports-related elements they can simply drag and drop to wherever they're needed on a page. No coding. No web experience. Nobody can chip in to keep content updated and accurate – and do it quickly. Are you creating a new article? About as simple as putting together an email.
"World-class technology is now an expectation," says Motta. But world-class technology that exceeds expectations and doesn't take a world-class technical ability to figure out? Well, that's a game-changer.
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Since joining the USASA Website Network, members like the Connecticut State Soccer Association have enjoyed improved website design, simplified content management, and enhanced connectivity with its governing body and membership.
Dedicated support included.
Every USASA network member received expert support for their considerable website upgrade, including a dedicated Account Manager and full access to the online Help Center's extensive library of tutorial videos and articles.
SportsEngine even handled the imposing task of migrating all the content from old sites to new ones.
When you're talking about volunteers trying to do their best with limited time and resources, knowing someone out there has their back is a huge selling point.
"The support offered by SportsEngine has been excellent from the start," says USASA Executive Director Duncan Riddle. "We're a volunteer-led organization, and they've been very patient with our members who can't always respond quickly."
SportsEngine customer service and support is amazing and makes my job much easier…which gives me more time to spend working with our members.
- Jen Weston, Executive Director, Florida State Soccer Association
That sort of personal attention played a large part in the Florida State Soccer Association's (FSSA) decision to join the USASA Website Network, says FSSA Executive Director Jen Weston.
"SportsEngine customer service and support is amazing and makes my job much easier…which gives me more time to spend working with our members."
Though still relatively new to SportsEngine and the USASA Network, Weston couldn't be happier with the gains already made in organizational efficiency (through the user-friendly Sitebuilder CMS), communication (with FSSA membership and the USASA), and public perception (thanks to the thoughtful work done on their website by SportsEngine's in-house design team).
FSSA has also started using SportsEngine to help better manage their tournament and team registration.
"By giving us the opportunity to become part of SportsEngine at a member price, USASA is helping FSSA improve how we operate, interact with current membership, and our ability to reach new members," says Weston.
How's that for a member benefit?
Attracting sponsors.
As the USASA Network grows, benefits to the governing body's bottom line could grow right along with it. That's because mirroring technology that allowed USASA to broadcast news, calendars, and social streams to its network of websites can also be used for displaying sponsor ads.
By placing an ad on the USASA website, sponsors are guaranteed visibility on every website within the USASA network through mirroring.
And since turning on a network-wide advertisement is a simple one-person/one-task process, sponsors can easily swap out their ads to ensure they present the most relevant, timely message to their audience.
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As it turns out, the same mirroring technology that made it possible for USASA to broadcast content to its network of websites also held a special allure for potential sponsors.
Though USASA has not yet implemented network-wide ads, the potential has already proven enticing. "We gained a new national sponsor because of it," says Motta. "They were very excited to push ads out to all the websites in the network."
Into the future.
After experiencing how it has positively impacted her organization's operation, communication, and brand perception, Jen Weston expects participation in the USASA Website Network to increase rapidly.
"The two biggest benefits to us have been increased efficiency and a more professional look…I would recommend that other USASA state associations join the network based on that alone," says the FSSA Executive Director.
It's an endorsement that rings true with Motta's assessment of the program's value as he anticipates growth to include over 25 state associations and dozens of adult leagues.
"We believe that with SportsEngine and the national program we have put together, their experience will be second to none."
