It started with a gym schedule

The problem

In Ste. Gen youth sports, practice time was divided the hard way. Coaches sent their preferences by email and text, someone chased the ones who hadn't answered, and then sorted out the conflicts when two teams wanted the same night. The volunteers doing it worked hard, and coaches still wondered whether the order was fair.

I coach and volunteer in Ste. Gen youth sports. My wife coached volleyball and helped run the volleyball program as a volunteer, so we saw the sign-up from both sides: waiting on a time, and chasing everyone else for theirs.

I spend my working life in consulting, helping clients with operations, process improvement and AI-enabled solutions. This looked like a process problem more than a people problem. Nobody needed to work harder. The order needed to be agreed before anyone picked, and then simply kept.

What I built

• An order agreed up front. Groups open in an order everyone can see before the sign-up starts.
• A turn for everyone. Each group gets its turn to pick from what's left. Coaches get a personal link, with no passwords or accounts.
• No double-booking. When two people reach for the same time, the first to confirm gets it and the other sees what's still open.
• A calendar and a record. Every pick lands on the calendar, and every change is written down, so “why did they get Tuesday?” has an answer.

The Ste. Gen volleyball program ran its Fall 2026 practice sign-up on Ordallo first, and a volunteer administrator ran it, not me. Read how it went.

What people said

The same problem, everywhere

Once you notice it, you see it all over: hockey associations dividing ice, leagues sharing fields, families taking turns at a cabin, duck clubs drawing blinds, teams scheduling vacation by seniority. Different words, same job. There are only so many spots, people need a fair order, and someone has to keep track of who got what.

Ordallo is one engine for that job, starting with gym and court practice time. See where else it fits, and which uses are live today.

What I care about

• Fair you can check. The order and every pick are visible, not decided behind someone's inbox.
• Plain language. Coaches and parents should understand every screen and email the first time.
• Less work for volunteers. The people running sign-ups are usually doing it for free. The tool should carry the work, not add to it.