Target USA CUP
Providing information and safety alerts for the worldâs largest youth soccer tournament
- Strategic Consultation
- iOS Development
- Android Development
- Ruby on Rails Development
About
Target USA CUP is the greatest youth soccer experience in the world, attracting thousands of teams from around the globe to provide a truly international experience that leaves players, coaches, and teams with memories that last a lifetime.
Challenge
National Sports Center (NSC), the worldâs largest amateur sports facility in Blaine, Minnesota, needed a user-friendly tool for disseminating team schedules, field locations, and division standings to the participants of its annual Target USA Cup soccer tournament. They needed data from their GotSoccer software transformed into an interactive user experience, and they needed it ready on a short timeline, just months ahead of their next tournament.
A company of 70 employees, NSC didnât have the resources to develop an app themselves but considered training someone internally to build it so they could make changes on the fly. After consulting with the Jed Mahonis Group on the project, they confidently pivoted from this idea without looking back.
"The Jed Mahonis Group worked to identify how we could achieve our top three to four core needs for users within the budget to suffice at least for the initial launch. They found solutions to the problems that I threw out on the table, solutions that fell within my budget. Theyâre a hardworking team who tries to really meet your goals with the limitations you might have on that project."
Solution
We developed custom native iOS and Android apps to integrate with GotSoccerâs API. Focusing heavily on the user experience, we created an interactive mobile tool for tournament participants to view team schedules and check current standings.
We designed an interactive graphic map to overlay on a userâs location so they can quickly navigate their way through the NSCâs 600 acres worth of fields. We also implemented a handy âFollow Meâ feature so coaches, families, and players could effortlessly switch between their favorite teams for scores, schedules, and game locations.
"JMG is a fantastically skilled development team. They know how to communicate with you and how youâre going to achieve success with what you're launching. I've been in plenty of meetings with developers who struggle with good communication skills. With JMG, you can feel confident that youâll understand where the project is going and how you're going to get there."
Results
For NSCâs marketing team, the app has become an invaluable resource for disseminating information. The appâs downloads and positive feedback from participants have paved the way for future collaborations between NSC and JMG for building out new features.
With primary goals accomplished for the initial version, new features will turn the app into a communication system for tournament directors, using push notifications for weather-related changes, recruiting events, and sponsorship sales.
âWe felt good about the size of JMG being a little bit smaller team, not being the big corporate entity. Theyâre not stereotypical developers. They kept things simple and asked the right questions to get what they needed. Theyâre very good at outlining the expectations at the beginning so everything marches along. There are always surprises in development, and they were so easily handled in how they scoped it out and developed.â
