Life Hack - Attendance lists for training
As a trainer of large groups with children between 6 and 16 years old, I sought an easy way to create the participant list. The challenges were significant, and the solution was straightforward.
The challenge
A significant challenge for trainers of large groups is creating an attendance list without spending a lot of valuable time on it at the start of training. When it comes to a group of children between the ages of 6 and 16, things don't get any easier. To make it a little more challenging, on the one hand, there are regularly two to three new children, and on the other hand, children drop out during the trial period. Of course, there are the children who come regularly and some who come occasionally. It is essential to distinguish them from the newcomers so that the request to join the club and the department can be made after four trial training sessions. As a trainer gaining my first experience, I found it a big challenge and didn't quickly find a suitable solution.
My path to the solution
1st attempt: List of names in the welcome circle
My first attempt worked—I had a complete list by the end of the training. I checked off the children in the welcoming circle. That took a long time, and before I had registered all 30, most of them were already running through the hall again. I had to ask if I didn't know or understand a name. This didn't feel good and was very uncomfortable for the children whose names I hadn't yet learned. Things couldn't go on like this.
2nd attempt: list of names upon arrival
The second attempt worsened. I was left with an incomplete list and no way to correct it. I intercepted the children when they came out of the locker room and registered them. This might work as long as no one is late and I always arrive on time. However, as soon as I spent more time with a child because I wrote down a newcomer's name or exchanged a brief word with their parents, many children streamed past me into the hall.
3rd attempt: Children enter their name into the list of names
As a third measure, I laid out the list and let the children write themselves down—I had what seemed like a complete list. However, in many cases, the children checked the box in the wrong row, with another child, or in the bad column, i.e., on the wrong day. I could have laid out a new list for each training session to avoid the error with the column, but that didn't seem like the right way to do it.
My solution
The procedure
I put magnetic name tags on the benches for all the children. At the start of training, the children choose their names and attach the sign to their jerseys. I have blank signs and a black Sharpie with me for new children. While warming up, I check whether everyone has a name tag. At the end of the training, I collected the signs again to have my attendance list, which I digitized at home.
The benefits
I think this approach is excellent: The attendance list is complete. I have all the participants together by collecting the distributed signs in a separate bag.
- The names are clear. Everyone, including players and coaches, has a name tag. This means everyone can address everyone by their first name, and nobody feels left out.
- Trial training is recorded. I can mark the signs with the new names after the training. As soon as enough markings have been set, I know that the trial training has been completed. I can specifically address the children so that they can ask their parents to join the club or department.
- Magnetic signs. Thanks to the magnets, no one was injured, and the jerseys did not break.
Next Steps
I'm already looking for the following improvements: The name tags are black and white with first and last names—I think something colorful would be a good approach. Another idea is to award badges to help classify beginners and advanced players more quickly. But all of that can wait. I'm happy that the attendance list procedure works; it doesn't take much work, and I can address all the children by name.
An important note
If you help young players with the magnets, please be careful and ask beforehand whether the child can be touched.
To imitate
Here are the materials I used:
- Magnetic signs for 60 people approx. 50 €
- Perforated paper for self-printing 100 business cards approx. 10 €
Please let me know if you need a print template for a business card, and I will send you my Canva template.
