How to Create and Archive Seasons

Intro

Seasons are the backbone of your club’s planning. They let you group sessions, rosters, and finances into clear time periods, assign age groups, and track progress over time. When a season ends, archiving it preserves all its data in a read-only state so you can refer back without cluttering your active workflows. This guide walks you through setting up a season from scratch and safely putting it to rest.

Prerequisites

• A club administrator or coach account with the manage_seasons permission (or equivalent role that can create and archive seasons).
• Your club profile is fully set up (name, address, etc.) in the system.
• At least one age group defined (e.g., U10, U12) in your club’s Groups or Age Groups settings.

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to the Seasons Page

Log in to BallersBook. In the main navigation menu, click Seasons. If you don’t see this item, check your active role - you may need to switch to a role that includes manage_seasons using the role switcher in the navbar.

2. Start Creating a New Season

On the Seasons page, click New Season. A form opens.

3. Enter Season Details

Fill in the following fields:

• Season Name - A descriptive name, e.g., “Fall 2026” or “2026-2027 Competitive”.
• Start Date - The first day of the season. Use the date picker or type in MM/DD/YYYY format.
• End Date - The last day of the season. Must be after the start date.
• Age Groups - Select one or more age groups that this season applies to. You can hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) to select multiple groups. If no age groups appear, you need to create them first in your club’s Groups settings.

💡 Tip: Set the end date a few weeks after the last match or event to allow for wrap‑up activities (e.g., final reports, billing).

4. (Optional) Configure Additional Options

Some clubs add extra fields like registration deadlines or notes for parents. Look for checkboxes or dropdowns labeled Requires Registration, Allow Late Enrollment, or Notes. Fill them as needed.

5. Save the Season

Click Save at the bottom of the form. The new season appears in the season list with an Active status.

You can now assign players, schedule sessions, and link invoices to this season.

6. Archive a Season When It Ends

After a season concludes, you want to make it read-only. Go back to the Seasons page. Find the season you want to archive. Look for an Actions menu (three dots or a gear icon) next to the season name. Click it, then select Archive.

A confirmation dialog appears. Confirm - the season’s status changes to Archived.

⚠️ Warning: Archiving prevents any new edits to season players, sessions, or finances. Make sure all bills are paid and final reports are generated before archiving.

7. Verify the Archival (Optional)

Click the archived season to open its details page. Most fields should be greyed out or have a read-only icon. You can still view past sessions, rosters, and financial records, but you cannot add new items.

Tips & Pitfalls

• Date conflicts: BallersBook will warn you if a season’s date range overlaps with an existing active season. It is best to stagger seasons with a small gap to avoid scheduling confusion.
• Age group consistency: If you change age group names later, archived seasons still reflect the names that were in effect when the season was created. This is by design for historical accuracy.
• Archiving is reversible? Once archived, you cannot unarchive a season. Double‑check that the season is truly finished before archiving.
• Bulk operations: If you have many seasons to archive, you may need to archive them one by one. There is no batch archive feature at this time.

Summary

You now know how to create a new season with start/end dates and age groups, and how to archive it once it is over. Use seasons to keep your club’s data organized and archived seasons as a permanent, read‑only record. Next, consider linking your new season to a Session Plan or creating Invoices for players enrolled in that season.