Setting Up and Changing Events
Whether you’re pulling together a Saturday scrimmage or rescheduling a practice that got rained out, Headcount Buddy handles it all over text — no app, no login, just a message. Here’s how creating, editing, and canceling events works.
Creating an event
Text Headcount Buddy the basics: what kind of event, when, and where. That’s all it needs to get started.
Example:
You: Hey, can you set up a scrimmage for Saturday at 10am at Riverside Park courts?
Headcount Buddy: Done! Scrimmage Saturday at 10am, Riverside Park courts.
If you forget the location, Headcount Buddy will ask before doing anything — location is always required.
You: Schedule a practice for Thursday at 6pm.
Headcount Buddy: Got it — where’s the practice happening?
You: Memorial courts, court 3.
Headcount Buddy: Set! Practice Thursday at 6pm, Memorial courts (court 3).
Start time is enough
You don’t need to give an end time. If you just say “Saturday at 10am,” Headcount Buddy saves it open-ended. If you do give an end time, it’ll confirm the full window back to you.
You: Scrimmage Saturday 10am to noon at Riverside Park.
Headcount Buddy: Done — scrimmage Saturday 10am–12pm at Riverside Park.
Changing your mind mid-message
If you describe the event and tweak it in the same breath, Headcount Buddy treats it as one event — not a draft plus an edit.
You: Add a practice Saturday at WSC — actually, make it a scrimmage.
Headcount Buddy: Done — scrimmage Saturday at WSC.
Changing an event
Just tell Headcount Buddy what changed. It makes the update immediately — then notifies affected players automatically and checks whether the change affects anyone’s headcount.
Moving the time
You: Move the Saturday scrimmage to 11am.
Headcount Buddy: Moved — scrimmage is now Saturday at 11am at Riverside Park. Five players had already responded, so I’ve let them all know and asked them to re-confirm (texted Sarah, Mike, Jordan, Dana, and Chris — couldn’t reach anyone without consent on file).
Headcount Buddy doesn’t ask “are you sure?” before making the change — you already decided. It makes the update first, then notifies the right players automatically.
Changing the location
You: Actually, let’s move it to Elmwood Park instead.
Headcount Buddy: Updated — scrimmage is now at Elmwood Park. I’ve texted the players who said yes to let them know.
Adjusting courts or capacity
You: Drop to one court for Saturday.
Headcount Buddy: Done — Saturday’s scrimmage is set for one court. Heads up: you currently have 7 confirmed, so 3 would be over capacity. Want me to help sort that out?
How player notifications work
When you make a material change — time, location, end time, opponent, or notes — Headcount Buddy notifies the affected players automatically, right away. You don’t need to ask, and it won’t ask your permission first. It will tell you who was notified and flag anyone it couldn’t reach (for example, players who haven’t opted in yet).
| What changes | Who gets notified automatically |
|---|---|
| Time changes | Everyone who responded — including players who said no, since their availability may have changed |
| Location changes | Players who said yes (you can ask Headcount Buddy to include the nos too) |
| End time, opponent, or notes change | Players who said yes |
One nuance for last-minute changes: if you make a change within a couple of hours of the start time, notifications go only to players who are committed (a yes or soft yes) — a maybe or non-responder isn’t counting on the event the same way.
Players who never responded to the original invite aren’t re-contacted on changes — only the people who weighed in.
Canceling an event
Canceling takes one extra step: Headcount Buddy reads the event details back to you and asks you to confirm before anything is made official. This protects you from accidentally canceling the wrong event.
You: Cancel the Saturday scrimmage.
Headcount Buddy: Just to confirm — you want to cancel the scrimmage this Saturday, October 18 at Riverside Park?
You: Yes.
Headcount Buddy: Canceled. Players who had responded are being notified now.
If you give a reason, Headcount Buddy passes it along to the team automatically.
You: Cancel Saturday — courts are flooded.
Headcount Buddy: Got it. Canceling the scrimmage Saturday at Riverside Park — courts flooded. Want to confirm?
You: Yes.
Headcount Buddy: Canceled. Players who responded are being notified now (I’ve included “courts flooded” in the message).
What players see
Once you confirm a cancellation, players who responded get a text automatically. They don’t need to do anything — they’re just kept in the loop. The notice includes any reason you provided.
Letting players create their own events
By default, only you can create events. If you’d like to let teammates set up their own practices or scrimmages, you can turn that on:
You: Let players set up their own practices, up to 2 courts.
Headcount Buddy: Done — players on your team can now create practices, up to 2 courts each. You’ll get a heads-up whenever someone sets one up.
You can restrict which event types players can create, cap how many courts they can request, and limit how often a single player can create events. Competitive events like matches and games always remain organizer-only.
Delegating an event to a teammate
Need someone else to manage a specific event? You can hand it off to a co-captain or trusted teammate. They’ll take over that event’s logistics — headcount alerts and all — without becoming a full organizer.
You: Have Jordan run the Thursday practice.
Headcount Buddy: Done — Jordan is now managing the Thursday practice at Memorial courts.
This only applies to that one event. Their role on the team stays the same.
A few things to know
- Headcount Buddy confirms what it did, not what it plans to do. When it says an event is scheduled, changed, or canceled, it’s already done.
- You can combine instructions. “Move Thursday’s practice to 7pm” is one message — Headcount Buddy makes the change and handles notifications in one go.
- If there are several upcoming events and it’s not clear which one you mean, Headcount Buddy will list them and ask — it won’t guess.
Questions or ready to get your team set up? Reach out at help@headcountbuddy.com.