Short answer: Most teams need two things. A team app (often TeamSnap) runs the season, and the tournament’s housing company runs the hotel rooms. Neither plans the weekend itself: which hotel works for most families, who’s coming, team meals and the time between games. Team travel apps like Teamstead and Groupbook add hotel booking and travel admin. Sideline Away is a free web app for the family side of the trip, and it sits alongside the others.
Your team already has a schedule. Who’s organizing everything around it?
The tournament runs the games. The housing company holds the rooms. TeamSnap has the season calendar. And a volunteer manager, usually a parent with a job, is handed the rest:
- Seventeen families, one hotel. Different budgets, different room counts, and the quiet family never says what they can afford in the group chat.
- Three rinks across one city. The hotel near Friday’s game is 25 minutes from Sunday’s 8 am puck drop.
- Dinner for 40. Orders, allergies and a restaurant that wants it all by 4 pm.
- Saturday afternoon. Pool time, a pro game, coffee for the parents, and the coach’s curfew.
- Who booked? The booking link doesn’t tell the manager, so they chase families one by one.
Different tools solve different problems
Most products span more than one of these, and say so. Think of them as jobs, not boxes.
Team management
TeamSnap
The season: schedule, roster, messages, availability and payments. Most teams already have one, and it’s where the team talks.
Tournament and housing
EventConnect, TeamINN, SportsHeadz
Built for the people running the tournament: registration, the game schedule and the hotel room blocks behind stay-to-play. Families meet it as a booking link.
Team travel apps
Teamstead, Groupbook
Team apps that reach into travel: booking hotels, room blocks, itineraries and, in Teamstead’s case, carpools and pack lists. Both also do schedules, chat and payments.
The family side of the trip
Sideline Away
The decisions and plans between those systems: which hotel works for most families, who’s coming, team meals, and what everyone’s doing between games.
The tools at a glance
Team management
TeamSnap
- Built for
- Coaches, team managers, clubs and leagues, all season.
- Strong at
- Season schedule, messaging and payments on the free plan; availability and RSVP tracking on paid plans; a web app as well as mobile apps.
- The trip
- No current hotel or trip-planning feature found in its team plans. TeamSnap Tournaments covers registration, scheduling and communication for organizers.
- Price and access
- Free for teams under 15 players. Premium US$10.83 a month, Ultra US$13.75 a month, both billed yearly.
Sideline Away and TeamSnap together ›
Sources: TeamSnap for teams: plans and features · TeamSnap help: logging in on the web · TeamSnap Tournaments announcement
Team management with travel
Teamstead
- Built for
- Travel sports teams, coaches and parents.
- Strong at
- Schedules with an RSVP for each child, team chat with polls, payments through Venmo, Cash App, PayPal or Zelle, and a view for families with kids on several teams.
- The trip
- Book the team hotel at HotelPlanner group rates, carpools, weather and pack lists, tied to the trip.
- Price and access
- Free up to 15 members. Team Pro (which includes Travel) US$79.99 a year. iPhone app; Android not available yet.
Sources: Teamstead home page · Teamstead pricing
Team travel and admin
Groupbook
- Built for
- Youth sports teams, clubs and tournament organizers.
- Strong at
- Hotel comparison and booking across 30,000+ hotels, room blocks, rooming lists, itineraries, fee tracking, waivers and an AI assistant for parent questions.
- The trip
- Travel is the centre of the product, with booking built in.
- Price and access
- Team US$49 a month per team; Organization US$149 a month; Enterprise priced on request. Web based.
Sources: Groupbook home page · Groupbook pricing
Tournament and housing
Tournament housing EventConnect, TeamINN and others
- Built for
- Tournament organizers, housing companies, hotels and destinations.
- Strong at
- Registration, scheduling and hotel room blocks (EventConnect’s HousingConnect); booking pages for events (TeamINN); scheduling and hotel booking for associations and events (SportsHeadz).
- The trip
- They run the room blocks and usually the stay-to-play program. Families book through their link.
- Price and access
- Sold to organizers; pricing not published.
Sources: EventConnect home page · Stack Sports partner spotlight: TeamINN · SportsHeadz home page
What most teams use today
Group chat + spreadsheet
- Built for
- Everyone, because everyone’s already there.
- Strong at
- Free, instant and familiar. Nothing new to learn.
- The trip
- Works until there are 17 families, three rinks and a booking deadline. Then it scrolls away, budgets get discussed in public and the manager chases.
- Price and access
- Free.
The family side of the trip
Sideline Away
- Built for
- Volunteer team managers, families and coaches on youth sports teams that travel. Built by hockey parents.
- Strong at
- A hotel decision with private budgets and drive times to every venue, a weekend plan for each family, team meal pre-orders, optional plans between games, packing lists and calendar sync.
- The trip
- Plans the trip and works inside stay-to-play rules. It doesn’t book rooms, take payments or run team chat.
- Price and access
- Free for teams and families. Any phone browser, no app to install. Opening to a first group of teams this season.
Side by side
What each option does for an away tournament, from each company’s own public pages. Not found means we couldn’t find it in their public material, not that it doesn’t exist. Sideline Away is opening to a first group of teams; anything not in the app yet says Planned.
| Planning need | Sideline Away | TeamSnap | Teamstead | Groupbook | Tournament housingEventConnect, TeamINN and others | Group chat + spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access and cost | ||||||
| Free for a whole team | YesFree for teams and families. | PartlyFree for teams under 15 players. Bigger rosters and RSVP tracking are on Premium, US$10.83 a month billed yearly. | PartlyFree up to 15 members. Travel tools are in Team Pro, US$79.99 a year. | PaidTeam plan US$49 a month per team. A free start is offered; its limits are not stated. | Not foundPricing is not published; the tournament contracts it. Families pay for their rooms. | YesFree. |
| Families take part without installing an app | YesOpen the team link in any phone browser. No password. | YesWeb app or mobile apps, with a TeamSnap account. | NoiPhone app. Its pricing page says Android is not available yet. | PartlySign-up is on the web. We could not confirm how parents take part. | YesFamilies book through the tournament’s web link. | PartlyNeeds the chat app and everyone’s phone number. |
| Hotels | ||||||
| Books hotel rooms | NoBy design. Families book with the hotel or the tournament’s link. | Not foundNo current hotel feature found. Older blog posts mention a HotelPlanner partnership. | YesSearch and book the team hotel at HotelPlanner group rates. | YesCompare and book from 30,000+ hotels, with room blocks and rooming lists. | YesTheir core job: the tournament’s room blocks. | No |
| Follows stay-to-play rules | YesOnly the tournament’s hotels are offered, with its booking link and deadline. | Not found | Not found | Not found | YesThey usually run the stay-to-play program. | NoUp to the manager to explain. |
| Private budgets, one team decision | YesFamilies answer privately. The manager sees totals only, with small numbers shown as “a few”. | Not found | PartlyPolls in the team chat. Nothing found on private budgets. | Not found | Not found | PartlyPolls work, but everyone sees every vote. |
| Drive time from each hotel to every venue | YesDrive and walk times to every rink, field or court, from Google Maps. | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | NoSomeone looks it up by hand. |
| Who has booked | YesFamilies tap “I’ve booked”. The manager copies a reminder for the rest. | Not found | Not found | PartlyRooming lists. | PartlyRoom block tracking for the team. | NoThe manager chases each family. |
| Schedule and families | ||||||
| Game schedule | YesThe manager adds games. Each family sees when to be there and how far it is, on their own calendar too. | YesSeason schedule, on the free plan. | YesPractices, tournaments and multi-day trips. | YesGames and practices. | YesThe tournament’s own schedule. | PartlyPinned message or a spreadsheet. |
| Who’s coming, family by family | YesComing or not, which nights, how many rooms. “Not this time” is never shown to other families. | PartlyAvailability and RSVP tracking is on paid plans. | YesRSVP for each child. | Not found | Not found | PartlyReplies in the thread. |
| Meals and time between games | ||||||
| Team meal pre-orders sent to the restaurant | YesEach person orders from the restaurant’s menu with a private allergy note. The restaurant gets one private link, grouped by jersey number. | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | PartlySomeone collects orders by hand. |
| Optional plans between games | YesAnyone suggests pool time or a team dinner. I’m In or Maybe, never a list of who said no, and a warning if it clashes with a game or curfew. | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | PartlyPosted in the chat, easy to miss. |
| Packing list | YesFor your sport and the weather. Families tick it off privately. | Not found | YesPack lists with the weather. | Not found | Not found | No |
| Carpools | PlannedNot in the app yet. | Not found | YesCarpools for tournament trips. | Not found | Not found | PartlySorted out in the thread. |
| Running the team | ||||||
| Team chat and messaging | NoBy design. Post the link where your team already talks; trip updates show in the app. | YesMessaging on the free plan. | YesTeam feed with polls and pinned announcements. | YesItinerary and update messages to families. | Not found | YesIt’s what it is for. |
| Dues and payments | NoBy design. Nothing is paid in the app. | YesPayment collection on the free plan. | YesRequests by Venmo, Cash App, PayPal or Zelle (Team Pro). | YesTeam fee and payment tracking. | YesTournament registration and payments. | No |
Prices are in US dollars as published on each company’s site on October 12, 2026. Tournament housing covers several companies that work differently; check your tournament’s own provider.
Where Sideline Away is different
Sideline Away doesn’t try to do everything. It’s built around one idea: the team travels together, and families experience the trip their own way.
Private answers, one decision
Each family privately says which hotels work and what they can spend. The manager sees how many families each hotel works for and how many it’s over budget for, never who said what, and small numbers show as “a few”. The quiet family’s budget counts as much as the loudest voice in the chat.
Works inside the tournament’s rules
When a tournament has a stay-to-play rule, only its hotels are offered and families are sent to its booking link, with the deadline up front. Sideline Away doesn’t sell rooms, so the hotel the team picks is simply the one that works for the most families.
Team meals, start to finish
Whoever runs the meal links the restaurant’s menu. Each person orders before the cut-off with a private allergy note, the meal manager is told when everyone coming has ordered, and the restaurant gets one private link grouped by jersey number. Parents’ names never go to the restaurant.
Free, in any phone browser
No subscription for the team, no app for families to install, no password. The manager posts one link in the TeamSnap message or group chat the team already uses.
Team commitments, family choices
Games, arrival times and the coach’s curfew are shared by everyone. Pool time, the team dinner and the outing are invitations: I’m In or Maybe, with no list of who said no and a warning if a plan runs into a game.
Built by hockey parents
Several rinks across one city, early ice times, hotel pools, hockey bags, team dinners for 40 and curfew the night before a playoff. It works for every youth sport, with the right words for each: rink, field or court, puck drop or first pitch.
What Sideline Away doesn’t do
- Booking rooms or holding a room block. Use the tournament’s housing link, or a booking tool like Teamstead or Groupbook.
- Collecting dues or splitting costs. Nothing is paid in Sideline Away.
- Season-long team chat. It works alongside the chat or TeamSnap your team already uses.
- Running a tournament: registration, brackets and scores.
- Carpools. Planned, not in the app yet.
Which tournament planning tool is right for your team?
- Choose a tournament and housing platform when…
- You are running the tournament: registration, the game schedule, contracting hotels and coordinating many teams.
- Choose a team management app when…
- You need the whole season in one place: schedule, roster, messages, availability and payments. For many teams that is TeamSnap.
- Choose a team travel app when…
- You want booking and travel admin built in: holding a room block, booking the team hotel, and collecting money, with carpools if that matters most.
- Consider Sideline Away when…
- You want the family side made easier: a hotel decision that respects every budget, a clear plan for each family, team meals ordered ahead and easy ways to join in. It sits alongside TeamSnap and the tournament’s booking link rather than replacing them.
You don’t have to give anything up. A common setup is TeamSnap for the season, the tournament’s link for the rooms, and Sideline Away for the trip itself. Game day at the rink? That’s Sideline DJ, our other app, for music and player announcements. Each works on its own.
Questions
Is Sideline Away free?
Yes. It is free for youth sports teams and families. There is no paid plan.
Does Sideline Away replace TeamSnap?
No. TeamSnap runs the season: schedule, messages and payments. Sideline Away plans the trip: the hotel decision, each family’s weekend, team meals and plans between games. Many teams will use both, and the Sideline Away link can be posted in a TeamSnap message.
Can parents use it without installing an app?
Yes. Families open the team’s link in any phone browser and answer in about a minute. There is no password.
Does Sideline Away book hotels?
No. Families book with the hotel or through the tournament’s booking link. Sideline Away helps the team choose, shows everyone how and by when to book, and tracks who has booked.
How does it work with stay-to-play tournaments?
When a tournament requires teams to book its partner hotels, only those hotels are offered and families are sent to the tournament’s own booking link.
How is it different from EventConnect?
EventConnect is built for tournament organizers: registration, scheduling and hotel room blocks. Sideline Away is used by the team’s own families to decide which of those hotels works for them and plan the weekend. They can be used together.
What are its limits?
It doesn’t book rooms, take payments, run team chat or organize carpools (carpools are planned). It is opening to a first group of teams this season.
More in the Sideline Away FAQ, or read how to choose a team hotel and what stay-to-play means.
How we researched this
We read each company’s own website, pricing page and help pages on October 12, 2026, and linked them here. We didn’t sign up for paid plans or test other products hands on, so a feature that exists but isn’t described publicly may show as Not found. Sideline Away features are checked against the app itself.
We also looked at Coordle (tournament travel dashboards, aimed mainly at college athletics; we couldn’t confirm details on an official product page), GroupTrip (group trips like reunions and weekends away, not sports teams) and HotelPlanner (group hotel booking, which Teamstead uses). We left them out of the table.
Product details and prices change. This page reflects public information as of October 12, 2026. If something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@sidelinedj.com and we’ll fix it.
Sideline Away is made by Mounthorn Holdings Ltd.. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with any company named here. TeamSnap, Teamstead, Groupbook, EventConnect, TeamINN, SportsHeadz and other names are trademarks of their owners.
Sources
- TeamSnap for teams: plans and features checked October 12, 2026
- TeamSnap help: logging in on the web checked October 12, 2026
- TeamSnap Tournaments announcement checked October 12, 2026
- Teamstead home page checked October 12, 2026
- Teamstead pricing checked October 12, 2026
- Groupbook home page checked October 12, 2026
- Groupbook pricing checked October 12, 2026
- EventConnect home page checked October 12, 2026
- Stack Sports partner spotlight: TeamINN checked October 12, 2026
- SportsHeadz home page checked October 12, 2026