How EKS Communicates

The Parent Portal (the EKS Parents app) is where you find the schedule, changes and cancellations, announcements from the coaches, forms, payments and your player's information, and where you message the coach or team manager.

Add it to your phone and turn on notifications. A red number on the Messages icon shows how many messages are waiting for you.

• A question for your player's coach or the team manager: Messages → Message the coach. Choose the whole team staff, the head coach or one person.
• Talking with the other parents on your team: Messages → Chats. The team parents' chat is there, and you can start a chat with one parent or a small group.
• Announcements from the coaches (schedule changes, line-ups, tournament details, decisions): Messages → From the team.
• A question about how the app works: More → Get help. Ask a "How do I…?" question and the answer comes right away.

Call or text a coach or manager only when it can't wait: an injury, you can't find the field, or you are running late to a game or practice. For an emergency, call 911 first.

From 3 hours before a game or practice until it ends, its page in the app shows Call / Text (urgent only). At any other time, use Message in the app.

Teams U12 and younger may keep their parents' WhatsApp group for quick everyday chat. Anything official still comes in the EKS app: schedule and changes, team messages, forms, payments and player information. If it matters, it is in the app.

U13 and older teams use the app only, with no WhatsApp groups. Players on these teams have their own view in the app, and coaches don't message players outside it. That keeps players safe, and parents see everything their player sees.

Coaches don't give out their personal phone numbers for everyday questions, and we ask families not to ask for them. Send the question in the app and the coach will see it. That way every question gets an answer, the right people can help, and coaches aren't asked things at all hours.

• EKS staff answer messages within 24 hours.
• Staff don't answer messages between 9 PM and 7 AM, except for urgent game-day matters. A message you send at night is answered the next morning.

• Use the EKS app for everything official with families: the Family inbox for their messages and Team messages for announcements. Schedule, changes, forms and payments always come in the app.
• Teams U12 and younger may keep their parents' WhatsApp group for quick everyday chat. A team message goes to the app first, and you can post it to the group too.
• U13 and older teams use the app only: no WhatsApp or text groups, and no messaging players outside the app. Players have their own view in the app, and their parents see everything they see.
• Use EKS Chat for everything between staff: the club room, your team staff room and direct messages. Not WhatsApp or text groups.
• Don't give families your personal number for everyday questions. Point them to Message in the app. Call or text only for something urgent on the day.
• Answer within 24 hours. Don't answer between 9 PM and 7 AM unless it is an urgent game-day matter.
• You can still call or text a family when something urgent happens on the day.