Getting Evaluators Familiarized With SkillShark

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Athlete evaluation software is designed to eliminate the manual data entry that comes with a sports evaluation while generating insightful reports based on the evaluation data collected. Nevertheless, in order for athlete evaluation software to be utilised, it needs to be easy to use for the end users: the evaluators.

If evaluators find that software is too feature-heavy, difficult to navigate, or technically complex, they will simply hit the “delete” and abandon usage. To help evaluators successfully implement SkillShark, a powerful athlete evaluation software, here are our tips to help get your evaluators acclimated.

1. Get their account set up

Knowledge is power. The first step to getting your evaluators familiar with a new app is helping them with the account setup.

Once an event is created in SkillShark, emails will be sent out notifying your evaluators that they have been chosen to evaluate your next event (a tryout, camp, or mid-season evaluation). When evaluators open the email, they will follow the on-screen instructions to create their own username and password for access.

After their profile is created, give your evaluators time to get informed about the event being held and the evaluation template that you have customized for your assessment (the metrics and skills you have chosen for them to evaluate).

2. Show them how to score athletes

The next step in getting your evaluators ready to use SkillShark is showing them how to score athletes. It is important that your evaluators know exactly what you as the coach are looking for in terms of skills, attitude, and effort, so a quick conversation can help in this process.

Show evaluators how to access specific player lists, check in players, or sort players by last name, jersey colour, and jersey number for easy evaluation. Additionally, show evaluators how to input scores if they are just evaluating one skill at one station.

3. Show them comment features

After the evaluators have the basics of SkillShark mastered, show them how to add comments under an athlete’s scores. There are multiple options for comments, including voice-to-text, pre-fill comments, and adding video. Adding comments to the evaluation template provides a newfound level of detailed feedback to your athletes, showing them what they did well or what they need to work on. Evaluators will understand this means no more notes scribbled wherever there is room on the paper.

4. Choose to upgrade evaluators to admins 

Decide if you would like to upgrade one or more of your evaluators to an admin, which will give them the same permissions that you have within the group. Admins can do everything within SkillShark, including adding players, running reports, editing report content, and more, while evaluators only have permission to evaluate players and give them scores. If you make this decision, talk to the evaluators who will have new capabilities within the software.

By briefing your assistant coaches and evaluators about the SkillShark platform before the tryout date, you will set yourself up for a smooth, stress-free tryout. Be open about how much time and effort using this software will save you and the organization, and use this to increase buy-in from hesitant evaluators. Time and time again, evaluators instantly understand the ease of use and completely cast aside any preference they had for pen and paper.