The Spreadsheet Is Dead: Majestri’s Fix for How Clubs Actually Assess Players

If you’ve ever sat through a club’s end-of-season review, you’ll know the drill. A coach pulls out a folder of notes, someone half-remembers what a player was like back in Round 3 and a parent quietly wonders what they actually got for their rego fees beyond a team photo. Football club platform Majestri says it has a fix for that, and it’s built directly into its Player Assessment module.

Why clubs bother assessing players in the first place

According to Majestri, clubs run player assessments for one of three reasons – usually more than one at once. Some are chasing genuine development, using the data to lift the level across their high-performance squads. Others are after a fairer way to pick teams, putting every player on the same measurable scale so selection is based on evidence rather than a coach’s gut feel about who “looks the part.” And for clubs operating under a Football Australia or state federation licence, assessments at set intervals often aren’t optional – they’re a compliance requirement, with the paperwork to prove it when asked.

Whatever the motivation, Majestri’s pitch is the same: don’t let that assessment data die in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop.

Build your own assessment, your way

There’s no one-size-fits-all template here. The Assessment Designer lets technical directors set their own criteria, sort them into whatever categories their coaching staff already use – think core skills, possession, defending, attacking – and decide what each point on the rating scale actually means. Crucially, every criterion also gets a comment field, because a bare number rarely tells the full story of a player’s development.

The Assessment Module Builder for an NPL Juniors assessment
The Assessment Module Builder, showing an NPL Juniors assessment with a 1-10 rating scale banded from under performing through to excelling and role-specific criteria grouped into core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

Build it once and it’s reusable every time that assessment cycle comes around, so every player and every coach – is working off the same yardstick.

Something for the parents to actually take home

One of the more relatable pain points Majestri is targeting: most families never see much tangible return from a season of fees beyond a team photo. Player Assessment addresses that with report cards – colour-coded against the same scale coaches used, grouped by category with averages calculated automatically, and delivered as a PDF or an interactive web page a parent can read without needing a coaching badge themselves.

A player report card for an under-15 player
A report card for an under-15 player, colour-coded from under performing to excelling, with a score for every criterion and a group average across core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

 

Turning the numbers into something useful

The real value, though, sits in what Majestri calls the Player Analysis Lab. This is where clubs can plot a player against their team-mates or an entire age group across two categories at once, spotting clusters and outliers at a glance. Every score gets read against the group average – so a “7” actually means something in context – and clubs can report at the broad category level or drill into individual fields underneath. The results can be filtered down and exported for selection meetings or grading purposes.

The Player Analysis Lab comparing players in an under-15 and under-16 squad
The Player Analysis Lab comparing seven players across under-15 and under-16 squads, with a scatter plot, a sortable table of scores against the player average, and controls for choosing which categories and fields to report on. Source: Majestri.

The admin side nobody enjoys, made easier

Beyond the flashy analytics, there’s a practical layer built for the volunteers actually running the process:

  • Sweep monitoring – a quick view of which assessments are done and which are still outstanding, organised into defined assessment periods so progress can be tracked against peers.
  • Individual development plans – every player gets a personalised plan, and clubs can group common improvement areas to run cross-team training sessions that lift the whole club rather than just one squad.
  • Access control – coaches and technical staff can only see assessments for the teams they’re responsible for, and completed assessments are only visible to people linked to that player’s registration.
“Hard numbers to draw on when you review coaching staff and curriculum – and something tangible for the players and parents who pay the fees.” – Majestri

 

The bigger picture

Majestri frames all of this as sitting on top of the club’s own data – assessment results live on each player’s profile inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet that walks out the door when a technical director moves on. For committees, it also means hard numbers to lean on when reviewing coaching staff or curriculum, rather than relying on anecdote.

It’s a fairly clear read on where club administration software is heading: less about digitising paperwork for its own sake, and more about making the data clubs already collect actually work for player development, team selection and compliance  without adding to the workload of the volunteers who run the show.

For more information on Majestri’s Player Assessment module, visit majestri.com.au/player-assessment.
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Shepparton Cup – Victoria’s biggest junior football tournament – set for 2026 edition

Victoria’s largest junior football tournament is set to kick off in style as the Shepparton Cup returns for 2026. With age groups from under-sevens through to under-17s, the Shepparton Cup welcomes players of all genders and abilities as the perfect way to end the 2026 club season.

The tournament kicks off on the 23rd of October with an Olympic-style opening ceremony. The 2025 edition saw 385 teams and 4,600 players take to the pitch across both Liga and Copa Divisions. The Liga Division is for grassroots teams of all abilities who want a fun competitive experience; the Liga Division is for NPL and state league teams who will compete in a competitive carnival.

Rolando Navas, Managing Director of Sports Group Melbourne, says the tournament is not only beneficial for young players but also for the community of Shepparton.

“The Shepparton Cup is a great opportunity for families and the wider Shepparton community to embrace the regional community and provide a platform for young players to participate and experience a competitive and fun three day festival of football.”

The 2026 Shepparton Cup will be held from 23rd to 25th October 2026 at Shepparton Sports City. For more information about the Shepparton Cup, click the link here.

Australian Sports Group reveals ambitious blueprint for Canberra United

New Canberra United owners, Australian Sports Group, have outlined an ambitious investment blueprint for the future of the club.

The plans centre around strengthening the club’s foundations, establishing elite academy pathways, and the introduction of an A-League Men’s team. More broadly, it aims to create a stronger football ecosystem that connects players, clubs and communities across the Australian Capital Territory.

A key pillar of the strategy is the development of an elite academy. The proposed pathways will create opportunities for emerging talent to progress towards professional football, strengthening the connection between grassroots participation and the elite game. The academy would form an important foundation for the proposed A-League Men’s team. ASG are targeting an entry into the Men’s competition from 2028/29, pending required process.

The introduction of a men’s team would expand the club’s professional offering and create additional opportunities for players, coaches and football staff. It would also give local talent a clearer pathway towards senior football without having to leave the region.

Infrastructure investment is another central component of the blueprint. The group plans to improve football facilities and secure a long-term home for the club. These developments would support the women’s program while laying the groundwork for future expansion.

The strategy also prioritises stronger engagement across the ACT football community. The ownership group plans to work with local stakeholders and government to align the club’s growth with broader priorities for sport and community development.

The immediate focus remains on stabilising the women’s program and building the structures needed for long-term success. This approach provides a foundation for the club to expand its operations while maintaining its existing identity and community connections.

The investment blueprint signals a broader ambition for Canberra United. By combining elite player development, improved infrastructure and the potential introduction of a men’s team, the group aims to establish a sustainable professional football model for the capital. The vision positions Canberra United as a platform for growth across the region, with a pathway to connect grassroots participation, academy development and professional competition.

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