Beyond the Field: Improving MSA's Community Connection Through Digital Presence

Medina Soccer Association (MSA) in Tennessee is a youth recreational soccer league that every Spring and Fall sees hundreds of kids filling the fields at the Community Park in Medina, TN, from ages 2 to 17.

I had the opportunity to work with the league as a soccer referee during my stay in West Tennessee. The organization runs on volunteers, and managing all these players, coaches, and parents is not an easy task. Surprisingly, at that time, MSA didn't even have a functional website, so communication with parents was limited to email and social media posts.

When the MSA president asked me to look at their website, I was surprised to discover that someone had started the process of acquiring the domain and web hosting plan but had only installed a generic template about "green energy" that was actually live - not even an "under construction" page!

Although I find the industrial sector my favorite industry to work with, I truly enjoyed this project, especially because parents and coaches would now be able to find information about the league, fees, registration links, and rules of the game in one place. How hard is it to find a registration link on Facebook after several new posts have pushed it down in the feed? A website is where content resides, and social posts should just encourage followers to click through to your website.

Furthermore, building the website for MSA has given the organization a more professional look, especially with potential sponsors who want to know more about the organization. With clear sponsorship level cards directly connected to Stripe, sponsors can make their payments and support the teams and players in an area where there aren't many alternatives to expensive club soccer for kids who love this sport. We also added a Donate page for people who would like to simply donate any amount or sponsor a child's season.

During the website development, we also fixed some issues with the Facebook page by creating an easier-to-remember URL and added the website to Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track performance and traffic.

I have been able to work with MSA on the field and behind the scenes, and the passion for the sport and love for the community is what drives the people at MSA to do what they do. In the end, whether you're on the field as a referee or sitting outside cheering for your child's team, watching these young players having fun and learning about this great sport is what matters most.