The short version of the coach guides, with a link to the full guide at every step. Steps 1 to 6 get you set up before the season. Steps 7 to 12 repeat every match week.
1. Create an Account
Open your league's registration page (for the USAEL Open, play.usacademicesports.com/accountLogin), enter your email, and sign in with the 6-character code we send you. A school email makes step 2 faster.
Confirm your birthday, then enter your name and a username. Your username is permanent.
Related guide: Coach Registration Guide, Account Creation
2. Join or Create Your School
Search for your school by its full name and join it. If your email isn't on the school's list, the join asks for an application first.
If your school isn't listed, select Register New School and upload proof that you work there. You run the school once league staff approve it.
If you joined an existing school, select Request Staff Access at the top of your school page, then Send Request. A staff email on the school's list means nothing to upload; otherwise, the request asks for proof that you work there.
A person approves every staff request. You can create teams once the Staff Access Pending Review banner is gone from your school page.
Related guide: Coach Registration Guide, Joining a School
3. Create a Team
Select Teams in the left navigation, then Create. Name the team, pick your school, and select Submit.
Make one team for each group that plays together (Varsity and JV are two teams), and keep it every season. A solo game gets one team with every student who plays it.
Related guide: Team Creation Guide, Create Your Team
4. Invite Your Students
From Requests & Invites on your team page:
Invite Link for students new to the platform. Tick Skip Verification where offered, so they join with no extra check. The link lasts 48 hours.
Invite via Search for students who already have an account at your school.
Create a Managed Member for a student who can't have an account.
Send your students the Student Registration Guide along with the link.
Related guides: Team Creation Guide, Add Your Players and Managed Member Guide
5. Register Your Team
On your team page, select Register For Competition under Competitions Entered and pick the competition.
Untick anyone who isn't playing and set each person's Role. Keep your own row as Coach, so you can report scores and flag an admin later. Then select Register Entry.
Every player's Status should read Ready to play. The usual gap is a game handle: players link theirs under Settings, then Accounts, and you enter them yourself for Managed Members.
Related guides: Team Creation Guide, Register for a Competition and Game Handles Guide
6. Read Your Rulebook
Find your league's rulebook under Rulebooks in the library, or under Critical Info on your competition page.
The Rules Overview table in its Game Rules section lists each title's match day and time, format and team size.
Send the IT & Networking Guide to your IT team, so the platform and your games aren't blocked on the school network.
7. Join the Queue
Weekly queue competitions only. In a round robin, such as GIAA or TexSEF Varsity, skip to step 8.
On the competition's Bracket tab, select Join Queue, then Confirm and Join. Only a Coach or Team Captain can join.
Join every week, once for each entry, before the queue closes (Monday at 12:00 PM in most leagues). The USAEL Open also asks you to paint the times your team can play, then Save and Join.
If you miss it, join the match-day Late Queue where your league runs one.
Related guide: Tournament Formats Guide, Join the Queue
8. Get Your Match
In a weekly queue, you get an inbox notification after the queue closes, and the band on the Bracket tab reads Match Found.
In a round robin, every week's opponent is on the Bracket tab once registration closes.
You play at your title's default match day and time. In the USAEL Open, the time comes from the hours both teams painted.
Related guide: Match Week Guide, Get Your Match
9. Find the Match Page
View Match on the Bracket tab, the inbox notification, and Matches in the left navigation all open it.
With several teams, the Matches tab on your school page shows the whole week in one place.
Related guide: Match Week Guide, Where to Find It
10. Use the Match Page
Match Chat: say hello to the other coach as soon as you see the match, and be there 15 minutes before it starts.
Reschedule: select Propose New Times to offer up to three times. The match moves only if the other team accepts one.
Check In: if your match page shows it, check in before the deadline on the button, or your entry forfeits. Smash Ultimate Team Solos matches use Ready Up instead, which starts Team Draft.
Flag Admin (the hand icon): sends the match to a league official for a no-show, a disputed result or anything you can't settle in chat.
Forfeit Match: concedes the match if your team can't play.
Related guides: Match Week Guide, The Match Page and Rescheduling. Smash Ultimate Team Solos matches also use the Team Draft Guide.
11. Play Your Match
Fifteen minutes before the start, your players are at their machines with the game open and signed in.
Agree on a host in Match Chat. If you can't agree, the team with the Home chip hosts. The host builds the lobby with your rulebook's settings and posts the code in Match Chat.
Play the full format and screenshot the result screen after every game.
If the other team hasn't shown up 15 minutes after the start, select Flag Admin and choose Opponent Unresponsive. Never enter a score for a match that wasn't played.
Related guide: Match Week Guide, Match Day
12. Report the Score
The winning team selects Report Scores, records each game, attaches screenshots, and submits.
The other team selects Confirm Scores, then Accept Their Results or That's Not Right. A score nobody answers is accepted automatically, after 24 hours in most leagues.
Next week, start again at step 7.
Related guide: Match Week Guide, Report the Score
For help outside a match, select Contact Support in the left navigation.