Welcome to the Linear Ranking Tourney application! This tool is designed to help you run structured, competitive, and mathematically balanced tournaments directly within your practice sessions.
The goal of this system is to move beyond simple scrimmages by providing a framework that maximizes fair competition, tracks player performance over time, and creates a data-driven path for skill development. By using this application, you can easily plan and execute engaging competitions that will keep your players focused and motivated.
This guide will walk you through everything from setting up your first session to integrating the app's features into a 12-week training program.
2. Getting Started: Your First Session in 6 Steps
Follow this guide to get your first competitive practice up and running.
Create or Select a Tournament
Click the button. For a 12-week program, you might create a single tournament named "Spring Season 2025" to track stats over the entire period.
Note on Cloud vs. Local Mode: If you are not signed in, your tournament will be saved in "Local Mode." This means the data is stored only on your current computer. Signing in allows you to save to the cloud and access your data from any device.
Add Players & Define Pools
Add players manually or import them from your roster. Use the "Pool" dropdown to assign each player a skill level:
Gold: Your top, most competitive players.
Silver: Your intermediate, developing players.
New: New or injured players. These players will be automatically designated to sit out of planned tournaments.
Check-In Your Players
Use the checkboxes to mark which players are present for today's practice. Only checked-in players are included when generating rounds, making it easy to handle daily attendance changes.
Generate a Round
In the "Team Generation" card, click the button. The app will instantly create fair, random teams, respecting the Gold and Silver pools you've set. The player table will update with Team and Net numbers.
Play and Record Scores
After the game, use the "Game Log & Recording" form to enter the winning team, losing team, and point difference. Click Record. Player stats (GP, W, L, Pts) will update instantly.
Repeat and Save
Click "Generate Random Round" again for the next game. Repeat as many times as you like for your practice session. When you're done, click Save! All stats are preserved for the next session.
3. Choosing the Right Tool: Generation Methods Explained
The "Team Generation" card has two powerful buttons. Knowing when to use each one is key to getting the most out of this application.
Generate Random Round
Best for: Ongoing, week-to-week practices.
This is your go-to button for daily training. It is designed for flexibility and perfectly handles fluctuating attendance. It instantly creates balanced, random teams within the Gold and Silver pools for a single round of play.
Over a multi-week season, the accumulated stats from these random rounds will provide a clear and accurate picture of player performance.
Plan Full Tournament
Best for: Single-day events or special "Ranking Days."
This button generates a complete, multi-round schedule using the mathematically balanced Bjerring formats. It requires a fixed number of players and is ideal for self-contained events like:
A pre-season ranking tournament.
A final tryout session.
A special weekend competition.
4. Integrating into a 12-Week Training Program
This app is the perfect companion for a season-long development plan. The key is to use Generate Random Round for your daily practices and reserve Plan Full Tournament for special assessment days.
Weeks 1-4: Baseline & Acclimation
Goal: Establish a performance baseline and get players comfortable with the competitive format.
Execution: At each practice, use the Generate Random Round button to run several competitive games. Record all results. The app will track stats cumulatively.
Action: At the end of Week 4, use the total points and W/L records to formalize your Gold and Silver pools. Schedule a special **Ranking Day** and use the Plan Full Tournament button for a formal assessment.
Weeks 5-8: Performance Analysis & Skill Focus
Goal: Use the ongoing tournament data to identify player weaknesses and inform your drill selection.
Execution: Continue using Generate Random Round in daily practices. The data is now rich enough to spot trends. Is a player struggling with their win rate despite high points? This data gives you specific, actionable insights for coaching.
Action: Promote/demote players between pools based on the tracked performance. Consider another formal **Ranking Day** at the end of Week 8.
Weeks 9-12: Competitive Peak & Final Ranking
Goal: Use the long-term data to finalize rankings, determine starting positions, and prepare for high-stakes competition.
Execution: Your rankings are now a reliable reflection of player performance under pressure. Continue using Generate Random Round to keep practices sharp and competitive.
Action: Hold a final **Ranking Day** using the Plan Full Tournament button to serve as a capstone event for the season. The final standings are a powerful summary of each player's progress.
Appendix: Full Tournament Logistics
Use these tables to plan the logistics for a special "Ranking Day" or single-session tournament using the
button.
Important: The player counts below apply to each pool (Gold or Silver) independently. For example, if you have 6 checked-in Gold players and 12 Silver players, you would need a total of 3 courts (1 for the Gold tournament and 2 for the Silver tournament).
Doubles (2v2) Format
# of Players (in a Pool)
# of Courts Needed
Total Rounds
Games Per Player
Players Sitting Out (Per Round)
4
1
3
3
0
5
1
5
4
1
6
1
6
4
2
8
2
7
7
0
9
2
9
8
1
10
2
10
8
2
12
3
11
11
0
16
4
12
12
0
Triples (3v3) Format
# of Players (in a Pool)
# of Courts Needed
Total Rounds
Games Per Player
Players Sitting Out (Per Round)
6
1
6
6
0
7
1
7
6
1
12
2
6
6
0
13
2
13
12
1
18
3
6
6
0
19
3
19
18
1
Note on Longer Tournaments: Player counts like 13 and 19 require more rounds because they are prime numbers. This ensures a perfectly balanced schedule where every player plays the exact same number of games.
Thank you for using the Linear Ranking Tourney app. We hope it becomes an indispensable part of your coaching toolkit.