Early bird signup and backup goalie features!

by Andy Baird

We have a couple new website features we’re really excited to rollout and we think you might be, too. No joke this time!

Here’s a quick summary of the new features:

• Early signup for games. No more staying up until midnight to signup for your favorite session! People have been asking for this for years and we’re happy to finally make it happen. At one point in time, it didn’t make sense for our league because of the way we scheduled games, but now we plan out our games so far in advance we found that this was something we could now offer to everyone!
• Backup goalie signups. This is like the notify list on steroids: sign up for a game as a backup goalie and you will automatically get moved to the goalie spot if a goalie cancels.

Early signup for games

At the bottom of the Games page, you’ll see a “Load more” button. Click it, and you’ll see the next 7 days worth of games. Click it again and you’ll see the next 7 days beyond that. You’ll be able to see and signup for games up to 28 days advance. Note: not all of our offerings are necessarily setup that far in advance. Some weeks far out into the future may seem sparse or incomplete – keep in mind that some games cannot be posted for reasons beyond our control (due to rink contract negotiation, calculating demand for a given session, or some other last minute shuffling we have to do to keep everything balanced)

Backup goalie signups

Example of the “signup as a backup goalie” feature on JMSHockey.com

Goalies – you’ll see this when a game you qualify for is full. This feature gives you the opportunity to sign up as a backup goalie, which means that if a goalie does cancel, you’ll be immediately placed into the goalie spot with no confirmation on your end. We think this will be a great way to keep our games staffed with goalies and provide a way for our goalies to get the games they want.

Here’s what it will look like when a backup goalie signed up for a game. Note: I don’t actually play goalie because I don’t enjoy being peppered by small vulcanized rubber disks. You might, and that’s why this feature might be for you.

Skaters – here’s a teaser of what it will look like when you go to sign up for a game that has a backup goalie. These games will benefit you because you’ll be able to rest assured that the game you signup for will almost certainly have a full set of goalies for the game.

Since goalies are so important to a healthy pickup game and a backup goalie could be necessary at the last minute, it is required that you have enabled text messaging for your account to signup as a backup goalie. To do so, verify your mobile phone number on your notification settings page.

Note that if you’re not quite sure if you can commit to being a last-minute goalie, you can still signup on the normal notification list which will require you to login and sign up for the spot manually (or reply over text message on your phone) once you receive a notification. So, depending on your own personal preferences, you still have the best of both worlds!

We hope you’re as excited as we are to see these new features on the site and we hope you get good use out of them!

Amazing opportunity!

by barbaragarn

Mighty Ducks 4! Hollywood is making a fourth movie about Charlie (all grown up) and they are scouting for extras who can skate. The story needs adult hockey players of various ability levels.

We were contacted by a casting agency and will hold a “tryout” game on April 13. It’s FREE! The first 22 skaters and 2 goalies will get to play and meet the casting agent. We may hold another game later, if they decide they need more people.

Minnesota location filming will be three weeks this summer (late June/early July) on Highland’s south rink. Extras will receive a daily stipend and there are some roles for interaction with the lead characters. If you think this is too good to be true, you’re right: april fool’s–we made it all up. Because nothing is cooler than Mighty Ducks hockey!

So get ready for some great fun! Sign up here: http://jmshockey.com/games/5033

April 2 update: Yes, this was a practical joke. Italics added above.