I’m Kayla, and I coach youth soccer. I also handle websites for our little club, a middle school basketball team, and my brother’s beer league hockey squad. It’s a weird hobby, I know. But I like it. And I’ve used a bunch of sports team website builders this past year—TeamSnap Sites, SportsEngine, Jersey Watch, and WordPress with SportsPress.
If you’re curious about the full breakdown of all four builds, I mapped out every step in this behind-the-scenes recap.
You know what? They each did the job. But they didn’t all make me smile.
Let me explain.
My quick background (so you know I’m not guessing)
- U12 soccer club site (fall): TeamSnap Sites
- Middle school girls’ basketball team page (winter): Jersey Watch
- Adult rec hockey team hub (spring): WordPress + SportsPress
- Rec league home base with registrations (year-round): SportsEngine
Four sites. One tired coach. Many late nights with tea and a hoodie.
TeamSnap Sites: Fast setup, happy parents
I used TeamSnap Sites for our U12 “Green Rockets.” I built it in one weekend before our fall season.
- Setup felt easy. Well, after the first hour.
- I picked a clean template, added our logo, and set the team colors.
- I put the schedule on the homepage. Parents loved that. No digging.
- Game reminders by email and push worked like a charm.
Real win: I posted our Saturday match with a map to the park. Three new families said, “We found the field with no stress.” That’s the dream.
What I liked:
- Quick schedule pages with filters (home, away, tournaments)
- Photo gallery that didn’t break on mobile
- Roster with headshots and jersey numbers
- Sponsor logo strip at the bottom (our local pizza place was happy)
What bugged me:
- The editor felt a bit stiff. I wanted to drag blocks anywhere.
- Custom forms were limited. I had to use a basic contact form for tryouts.
- Price adds up if you want more than just a team page (club tools cost more)
Who it fits: Busy coaches who need a solid team site with great reminders. If you don’t want to fiddle, this is it.
Jersey Watch: Simple, bright, and cheap to keep
For the middle school basketball team, I wanted calm. The parents aren’t tech fans. Jersey Watch felt like the right call.
- I made a clean site in one evening.
Earlier in the year, I compared three different sports website platforms side-by-side, and the lessons from that experiment still hold up—check out the details in this comparison. - The calendar was simple, but it synced fast.
- Posting a news blurb took two minutes.
- I added a “Game Day” banner each week. Kids liked seeing their names.
Real example: During a snow week, I updated the banner to “All practices canceled.” Ten minutes later, three parents thanked me at pickup. Less chaos. More dry socks.
What I liked:
- Easy news posts with photos
- Sponsor section looked nice without fuss
- Good phone layout out of the box
What bugged me:
- Fewer design choices
- Stats and standings felt basic
- No deep roster permissions (like coaches-only notes)
Who it fits: Schools and small teams that want clear info fast. No fancy parts, just clean pages.
WordPress + SportsPress: The power tool for stat nerds
I built our adult hockey team’s site on WordPress with the SportsPress plugin. I used cheap hosting, a free sports theme, and SportsPress Pro.
- It took longer. I won’t lie.
- But the match stats made me grin. Lineups, point leaders, the whole lot.
- I linked our YouTube highlights. Each game got its own recap.
- Our goalie begged me to fix the font. I did. It looked sharp.
That learning curve felt a lot like my trial with Octane when I built three separate sites—here’s what felt real during that run.
Real example: I posted a season page with standings and player rankings. The guys argued about faceoff wins for a week. That’s a good Saturday problem.
What I liked:
- Real stats pages and player profiles
- Flexible layouts with blocks and widgets
- Tons of add-ons (photo sliders, forms, merch)
What bugged me:
- Updates break stuff sometimes (I had one plugin fight)
- You manage hosting, backups, and SSL (not hard, but not nothing)
- Takes time to learn if you’re new
Who it fits: Teams that love stats and want full control. If you enjoy tinkering, this feels fun.
Quick side note for adult squads: our beer-league crew often spins up Kik group chats to coordinate post-game drinks—and, let’s be honest, some of the single skaters use the same app to flirt off the ice. If that after-hours vibe is part of your team culture, you’ll appreciate the straight-talk guide on finding like-minded Kik contacts for casual fun over at SextLocal, which breaks down the best public rooms, safety tips, and etiquette so you can skip the spam and jump right into real conversations.
A similar heads-up for teams traveling to tournaments in the Pacific Northwest: when a few of our single players wanted a no-strings meetup after a late game in Bellevue, I pointed them to this local guide—Skip the Games Bellevue—because it cuts through endless swipe apps and lists reliable spots, safety checks, and messaging tips so you can actually enjoy your night instead of wrestling with flaky matches.
SportsEngine: Big league feel, big tools
We moved our little rec league to SportsEngine because we needed online sign-ups, payments, and teams under one roof.
- Registrations were smooth. Fees went straight to the treasurer.
- Teams got their own pages. Coaches managed rosters.
- Messaging worked, though sometimes delayed by a few minutes.
- Support replied next business day. Clear and calm.
Real example: We had 230 kids sign up in spring. We formed teams and published schedules in one weekend. I went from 80 texts to maybe 8. My family noticed.
What I liked:
- Strong registration and payment tools
- Permissions by role (coach, manager, parent)
- Good for multi-team clubs
What bugged me:
- Learning curve—for admins, not parents
- Design can feel a bit “template-y”
- Costs more than simple tools
Who it fits: Clubs and leagues with real admin needs. If you handle fees, waivers, and lots of teams, it’s worth it.
If you’re stuck choosing between just these two heavy hitters, this in-depth analysis of SportsEngine and TeamSnap breaks down where each platform shines and where it falls short.
Things I didn’t expect (but noticed anyway)
- Photo upload speed matters on game day. TeamSnap and Jersey Watch were snappy. WordPress depends on your host.
- Color contrast can make or break your site. White text on yellow? Hard to read at the field.
- Parents want a phone-friendly menu first. Desktop design is second.
- A short homepage wins. Put schedule, news, and contact there. Save the rest for subpages.
Money talk (what I actually paid)
- TeamSnap Sites: team site plan for our season. Not cheap, but fair for the time saved.
- Jersey Watch: month-to-month for basketball. Budget-friendly.
- WordPress + SportsPress: hosting plus plugin. Lowest cash, highest time.
- SportsEngine: league plan. Bigger bill, but it replaces other tools.
Prices change. But that’s how it felt on my card and my calendar.
Real hiccups I hit (and how I fixed them)
- Domain pointing took a night to settle on two sites. I told parents to use the short URL until it flipped.
- A game time change didn’t sync on one calendar. I posted a news alert and sent a text.
- An image carousel broke on Android. I swapped it for a simple grid. Looked better anyway.
- A coach wanted private notes on players. Only SportsEngine and WordPress handled that cleanly.
Who should use what? My plain advice
- One team, busy coach, wants reminders: TeamSnap Sites
- School or small club, needs a simple site fast: Jersey Watch
- Stats fans, custom look, time to tinker: WordPress + SportsPress
- Big club or league, payments and rosters galore: SportsEngine
For even more nuance on feature sets across the market, check out this comprehensive comparison of sports team management platforms, including TeamSnap, Jersey Watch, and SportsEngine. It dives into details I could only skim here.
If you’re still unsure, start with Jersey Watch or TeamSnap Sites for a season. Then move up if you grow. No shame in simple.
For a broader look beyond these four, check the latest head