An SMS helper for amateur sports teams.
These are sample conversations between Headcount Buddy and a player or an organizer (a team captain, coach, club manager, or scrimmage organizer — whoever runs the group). Anything you receive from us will look like one of these patterns. We never send proactive messages to a player who has not first texted START.
This page is split in two sections, both listed below: basic flows cover opt-in, opt-out, and account management — these are implemented today and govern every interaction with Headcount Buddy. Functional flows show what the service will do once a player is enrolled — these describe the design and are not yet implemented.
In the examples below we use “Mike” as the organizer (in his case, a USTA tennis captain) and “Bob” as a player. The same flows apply whether Mike is a formal team captain, a softball coach, or someone who organizes Saturday pickup tennis.
In the transcripts below:
These flows are implemented and govern every interaction with the service.
Bob’s captain Mike has told Bob to text the team’s Headcount Buddy number to opt in.
Bob → hello
Headcount Buddy → Hi! I’m Headcount Buddy, an agent for sports groups. Reply START to opt in — after that, I’ll text you about your group’s games, scrimmages and other events. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out. Msg & data rates may apply.
Bob → START
Headcount Buddy → You’re in — Headcount Buddy. I’ll text you about games, scrimmages and other events once your organizer adds you to a group. Msg frequency varies, msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
After Bob replies START, we record his consent. No message is sent to him until that point.
This is the captain’s experience. Mike opens his dashboard and adds Bob to the Lake Tigers roster by entering Bob’s name and phone number.
Any player can opt out at any time from any state.
Bob → STOP
Headcount Buddy → You’re opted out of Headcount Buddy. Reply START to resubscribe.
After this, no proactive messages go to Bob unless he texts START. The organizer sees his status change in the dashboard.
STOPALL, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, OPTOUT, and REVOKE all do the same thing as STOP.
Note: your mobile carrier may also block messages on top of our own opt-out, and may keep them blocked until you reply START. Because of that, the confirmation you actually see for STOP (or START) may be sent by your carrier rather than by us, and may differ from the wording above. Carrier behavior varies and we don’t control it.
For someone who hasn’t opted in yet (or has opted out), INFO / HELP returns a brief summary plus links to this site and the START/STOP keywords:
Bob → INFO
Headcount Buddy → Headcount Buddy helps sports groups coordinate games, scrimmages and other events. Reply START to opt in. You can always reply STOP to opt out. For help, email help@headcountbuddy.com. Terms:
/legal/terms Privacy: /legal/privacy More: /info Msg & data rates may apply.
For someone who has already opted in, HELP is also our feedback channel — anything you tell us afterward is automatically captured. You can also email support directly:
Bob → HELP
Headcount Buddy → Headcount Buddy helps sports groups coordinate games, scrimmages and other events. Problem or feedback? Just text me about it or email help@headcountbuddy.com. Want to organize an alpha-test group? Reply ALPHA. Terms:
/legal/terms Privacy: /legal/privacy More: /info Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
Once opted in, you can text feedback in plain words — no special keyword required. It goes to the team that builds Headcount Buddy, not to your organizer.
Bob → the reminders come way too late to be useful, would love them the night before
Headcount Buddy → Thanks Bob — I’ve passed that along to our team. Appreciate you flagging it.
While Headcount Buddy is in early development, organizers interested in running a test group can sign up for our alpha tester list. ALPHA is processed only after you’ve opted in — if you text ALPHA before opting in, we’ll send you the same welcome message as any other unknown reply (asking you to text START first). Opt in via START, then reply ALPHA:
Jane → START
Headcount Buddy → You’re in — Headcount Buddy. I’ll text you about games, scrimmages and other events once your organizer adds you to a group. Msg frequency varies, msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
Jane → ALPHA
Headcount Buddy → You’re on the Headcount Buddy alpha-tester list — we’ll text you when we open up. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
Texting ALPHA a second time confirms you’re already on the list without sending duplicate messages later:
Jane → ALPHA
Headcount Buddy → You’re already on the Headcount Buddy alpha-tester list. We’ll text you when we open up. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
| Reply | What happens |
|---|---|
START / UNSTOP |
Opt in to receive messages (or re-opt-in after a previous opt-out). |
ALPHA |
Sign up for the alpha-tester list. Processed only after you’ve opted in; pre-opt-in ALPHA is treated like any other unknown reply. |
STOP, STOPALL, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, OPTOUT, REVOKE |
Opt out. We will not text you again until you reply START. |
INFO, HELP |
Receive a summary + links to this site. |
| Anything else | We reply based on what we know about you. If you’re not yet opted in, we’ll prompt you to. |
These describe the operational work the service will handle for enrolled, opted-in players. They are part of the product design and not yet running.
This is what we expect a typical RSVP exchange to look like once the assistant ships.
Headcount Buddy → Bob: Hi Bob! Lake Tigers practice this Sat 10/12 at 9am, City Park courts. Reply YES, NO, or MAYBE. Or tell me anything else — happy to relay to Mike.
Bob → yes
Headcount Buddy → Got it, you’re in for Saturday. See you there.
A more nuanced reply also works:
Headcount Buddy → Bob: Hi Bob! Lake Tigers practice this Sat 10/12 at 9am, City Park courts. Reply YES, NO, or MAYBE.
Bob → yes, but I can skip if you’ve got enough people
Headcount Buddy → Got it — you’re a yes, willing to skip if we have plenty. I’ll let Mike know if it gets tight.
The captain is informed about state and can give instructions.
Headcount Buddy → Mike: Just got one more RSVP — Saturday’s practice is on with 5 players for 2 courts.
Mike → Let’s do one court only.
Headcount Buddy → On it. Bob is a yes but said he’d skip if needed — asking him now.
(A minute later)
Headcount Buddy → Mike: Done. Bob is skipping. We have 4 for one court.
We’re working on additional coordination flows beyond core RSVP and headcount. We’ll add them here as they ship.
⚠️ 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.