Top 5 Reasons You Should Create a Game Day Program for Your Team
Creating a game day program may seem like just one more thing to do before the season gets started but it should be an essential part of your team. Game day programs provide so many benefits to a team, its players and the community. Read below on why your team should create a game day program this season.
1 - Game Day Programs Help Build Your Team’s Brand
Game day programs are not just a “nice to have” addition to the season. They are essential to building your program’s brand and presence within the community. While building a high school sports team’s brand may seem a little over the top it’s important to establish your team’s identity. Your team’s presentation matters! It’s how you create fans, generate buy-in from players and parents and get community support. People want to be a part of something that matters and that is taken seriously. You want your team to be put together and well polished on the field but also off the field. A game day program shows that your program is organized, established and worthy of having media coverage. It gives your program a little more legitimacy and helps build a serious presence and presentation. Game day programs show that the team cares and holds themselves to a high standard.
2 - Game Day Programs Highlight Players
One of the key aspects of a game day program is being able to celebrate your players. Everyone loves to be featured in the program. Being able to see a player’s photo, position, grade, etc. is special to that player and their parents. Highlighting all your players is important as only a select few will have their names cheered on game day and will be featured in news articles. A game day program allows all players to get their moment and feel important and a part of the team. If you have a dedicated group putting the game day program together consider doing senior spotlights or player spotlights. These are typically single pages dedicated entirely to one player. Teams may ask each player or senior to fill out a survey with their favorite memories, quotes, pregame songs, etc. They then add these responses to the player spotlight page for additional personalization. Game day programs overall are a great way to ensure all players feel included and valued. Game day programs can help build team cohesion and player inclusion.
3 - Game Day Programs Are a Keepsake
When players feel valued and are highlighted, that game day program becomes less of an informational document and more of a keepsake. Game day programs can be a really special memento from the season. They are like small time capsules that allow players and parents to revisit the season for years to come. Print programs are best for keepsakes as they are a tangible reminder of the season. Despite not having as much sentimental value, digital programs are more cost-effective and are easy to distribute. Teams face a dilemma when deciding whether to do digital or print as they may want easy distribution while still having a great keepsake.
Thankfully there are some great options for doing both print and digital. Story of the Season is the best option for game day programs because they offer a digital version and printed keepsake version. They provide teams first with a digital option that can be updated, shared and used at games throughout the season. They also will then create a print version to be shared with the community before the season (pre-season programs) or after the season as a final keepsake (end-of-season yearbook). Teams get a lot more flexibility when they work with Story of the Season as they can customize their game day program to meet their needs.
4 - You Can Create a Game Day Program Easily
Teams can create their own game day programs fairly easily using free templates like the Free Game Day Program template that Story of the Season offers. It’s great for creating both printed game day programs and digital programs. Teams also can buy templates from subscription-based sites like Canva or Gipper (digital-only). Templates are the easiest way for teams to create their own game day programs because most of the design work is already done for you.
If you're pressed for time, don’t want to create your own or have a large-scale program you may want to consider paying a company to do it for you. Story of the Season offers personalized game day programs for teams of all sizes. They have one-time media guide options as well as a weekly game day program option that is updated throughout the season. They also provide sponsorship support if your team is looking to sell ads. You can learn more about Story of the Season’s game day programs here.
5 - Game Day Programs Inform Fans and Build Community
Game day programs are a great way to bring the community together. They inform fans of when the home games are, who the players are and give local advertisers great visibility. Game day programs allow fans and local businesses to connect with the team. If you can create a strong connection between the community and the team, then your team becomes something bigger. Your team becomes a staple in the community and something to rally behind. Game day programs are just a small way you can build community and strengthen your fan base.
