An SMS helper for amateur sports teams.
If you run a sports team or pickup group, you know the drill — scrolling group chats trying to count who’s in for Saturday, badgering the same three people for an RSVP, scrambling when someone drops out the morning of the match. Headcount Buddy is an SMS helper that takes that off your plate. It texts your players, tracks who’s coming, and keeps your headcount sorted — so you can stop chasing and just show up. Initially over SMS; WhatsApp, iMessage, and email planned for later.
You text Headcount Buddy: “practice Thursday 7pm at Marymoor, need 4 for doubles.”
A few minutes later: “Asked the roster. So far: 3 yes, 1 maybe, 1 no. I’ll nudge the maybe and the non-responders tomorrow morning unless you say otherwise.”
Thursday morning: “You’re at 5. Bob said he’d skip if you’re full — want me to ask him?”
No app to install, no logins, no notifications anyone will ignore. You text, your players text, and the count just stays right.
Anyone who organizes amateur sports activities — formal team captains, club managers, coaches, and the person who runs pickup tennis on Saturday morning. First wedge: tennis scrimmage organizers (the people coordinating who’s in for the weekly pickup game over WhatsApp today). Then formal USTA tennis captains, pickleball league captains, softball/baseball coaches, and similar.
The organizer signs up. Teammates and participants interact entirely by SMS — no app to install, no account to create, no notification to ignore. Players reply when they want, on their own time.
Players too. If you’re on a team or in a pickup group whose organizer uses Headcount Buddy, you’ll find it useful for more than just RSVPs. Tell us when you’re available, raise your hand when you want to be considered for an open spot, ask what’s coming up — all by text, no app or login. The same number that asks you about Saturday’s match is also where you can say “put me in if you need a 4th this weekend.”
Are you an organizer interested in running an alpha-test group? Text ALPHA to +1 (425) 552-8339 and we’ll text you when we open up. (This is a separate organizer-recruitment channel — it isn’t how players opt in.)
Players join by texting START to the number their organizer shares. Full details — sample messages, frequency, rates, support, and how to opt out — live on the info page.
In active development. We’re running a small private pilot with tennis scrimmage groups and USTA tennis teams in 2026.
For support or general inquiries: help@headcountbuddy.com.
⚠️ Early development. Headcount Buddy is in active development and not yet generally available. The service may be intermittent (responses delayed or unavailable) and may contain bugs.