CleanInnings · information architecture proposal · October 20, 2026

Organize the app around the game, not around the features.

Today the app is laid out the way we built it: one page per feature. Coaches think in a rhythm instead: get set up once, practice during the week, play the game, look back after. Parents think about their kid. The DJ thinks about who's up. Each of them should land on the one thing they need now, with everything else one tap away and nothing in two places.

114

coach menu items (plus More)

~~~50~~6

controls on the DJ's first screen

pages one game is spread across

copies of the setup scorecard

lists of plays a coach manages

Why it doesn't feel like one experience

From a full walk of every page, menu and button, by role.

One game is spread across five pages.The lineup is on Game day, the notes are in Bench Notes, play-by-play goes in through Stats, the opponent is in Scout, and the review is its own page. Stats import even says "Start the game in Bench Notes first." The coach has to put the game together in their head.
Setting up and running the team are mixed together.Coach's Office holds the one-time setup (roster, parents, signs, playbook) next to things that keep going (videos, team look). The same "Get the team ready" scorecard shows on Home, in the Office and, in another form, in team setup. Each "Next" button goes somewhere different, and team setup's Next skips the parents step.
Plays live in two places.Coaches edit plays in Office › Plays and read them in Playbook › Plays. Each list has its own search and filters, and neither links to the other's version of a play. Field style is set in four places.
Too many decisions on one screen.The DJ board shows the scoreboard, song mode, announcer voice, ballpark sound, screenshot import, swap, guests, the full order with arrows, and the bench. That's about 50 controls for someone who needs two: Play and Next.
Parents get the least.The server already lets parents see their child's game review, stat card and coaching videos, but no page links to them. A parent's Home has a drill button and two links that repeat the menu.
One idea, many names.Drill, Play, Practice and "Play ball" mean the same thing, and "Practice" also means practice plans. Lineup, batting order and "the order" are one thing. "Review" means both the game review and reviewer feedback mode. Help comes in six forms.

Who comes here, and what they come to do

Sorted by how often each job happens. The top of each list is what that person's home must make easy.

Person	Every game	Every week	Once a season
Head coachoften also the club admin; a volunteer, on a phone, in a hurry	Set the lineup · check the opponent · log plays from the dugout · see the review after	Plan practice from the last review · see who's drilling · confirm new parents	Make the team · roster · invite parents, coaches, DJ · signs · playbook
Assistant coach	Same as the head coach's game jobs, often the one taking notes	Run part of practice · read the playbook	Accept the invite
Team DJa parent volunteer	Open the board · play walk-ups · next batter · fix the lineup when it changes	(nothing)	Accept the invite · help parents add songs
Parent	See how my kid did · what to work on	Hand the phone over for drills · check the walk-up song	Join, consent, pick my child · add a walk-up song
Player under 13through a parent's account, or a login the parent sets up	Know the signs and my job on each play	Drill · read the playbook	(nothing; the parent does it)
Player 13–17own login; a coach or parent supplies the email	See the lineup · read the signs · see my review after	Drill · playbook · my player card	Join with the player link · pick my walk-up song
Adult playeradult leagues; no parent at all	Same as a teen player	Same as a teen player	Join with the team link
Club admin	(nothing)	Switch between teams	Make teams · add coaches · later, fees (#515)
You (support)	Invite testers · see what a coach or parent sees (#4) · the feedback queue

Players of every age

Not every player is a kid. The legal line is 13: below it, the law requires a parent's consent; above it, the child-privacy rules stop and the safeguards would just get in the way of a 15-year-old. So the safeguards depend on age.

	Under 13	13–17	18+
Gets in	Kid mode on the parent's phone, or their own login the parent sets up	Own login; email from a coach or parent	Own login, from the team link
Parent	Required: consent and confirms their child	Linked if they want; gets a notice	None
Player can	Drill, playbook, their own song	Everything about themselves: drills, playbook, games, their review and player card, their song
Still true	No messages between players. Last names follow the same rules. Nothing public.

How the app knows a player's age: the team's age group sets the starting point (a 12U team starts everyone as under 13), and the coach can change a player to 13–17 or 18+. No birthdays. A coach can't supply an email for a player under 13; only a parent can agree to that.

The spine: the rhythm of a season

Every coach job fits into one of four moments. The app should know which one it is and open on it.

1Set up

Once. Roster, parents, signs, playbook. A guided path that ends.

Lives in: setup path → then Team & Playbook

2The week

Practice, drills, the playbook, what to work on.

Lives in: Today · Playbook

3Game day

Lineup, opponent, DJ board, dugout notes.

Lives in: the game's page

4After

Score, review, play-by-play, stats, back into practice.

Lives in: the game's page → Today

Seven rules

Open on now.Each role's home shows the one thing to do next, and at most two more.
The game is the hub.Everything about a game sits on that game's page, in Before, During and After.
One home for each thing.Nothing lives in two places. Coaches edit where everyone reads.
Setup is a path, not a place.It walks you through, ends, and gets out of the way.
One main action per screen.Settings go behind a gear, and edit modes stay closed until you ask.
Parents see their kid, not the machinery.Their home is their player.
One word for one thing.Everywhere: page titles, buttons, tours, emails.

The menu, by role

Phone tab bar, current versus proposed. Everything that isn't a tab goes under More: settings, help, Ask Skip, switch team, Admin.

Coach

Now (tab bar, plus 7 more in the drawer)

HomePlaybookGame dayOfficeMore

Drawer: Drill · Bench Notes · Stats · Scout · Settings · How it works · Admin

Proposed

TodayGamesPlaybookTeamMore

Bench Notes, Stats, Scout and the DJ board move into each game. Coach's Office goes away: its parts move to Team and Playbook.

Team DJ

Now

HomeGame dayPlaybookDrillMore

Proposed

BoardSongsPlaybookMore

Opens straight onto the board for today's game. No Home, since the DJ only ever came here to tap "Open the DJ board". Drill goes, because a DJ has no player to drill.

Player, 13 and up

Now

No player accounts at all; teens borrow a parent's phone.

Proposed

MeDrillPlaybookGamesMore

"Me" is a parent's "My player" seen from the player's side: the next game, my song, my last review, my player card.

Parent

Now

HomeDrillPlaybookGame dayMore

Proposed

My playerDrillPlaybookGamesMore

Games shows the schedule and each game's review, narrowed to their kid. Walk-up songs move onto My player, since a parent only edits their own kid's song.

The key screens

Wireframes, not visual design. They show what goes where and how few decisions each screen asks for.

Today Rivals 12U ▾

Game today · 10:00 at Lions Fieldvs Eastside Hawks

Lineup set ✓
Opponent not scouted
Walk-up songs 11 of 12

Open the game

2 parents are waitingConfirm they belong to Mia and Leo

This week: work on bunt coverageFrom Saturday's review · 6 of 12 players drilled it

TodayGamesPlaybookTeamMore

Coach: Today

Replaces Home. It knows the moment and shows at most three cards:

Setup not finished: the scorebook card with the next step (your "filling in the scorebook" idea) and nothing else.
Game today: the game card above, with what's ready and what isn't.
Otherwise: the next game and this week's focus, taken from the last review.
Anything blocking: one alert at most, such as parents waiting.

The team switcher moves into the header, where a coach with two teams can see it.

vs Eastside Hawks Sat 10:00

BeforeDuringAfter

DJ boardNow batting #7 Mia Reyes · on deck #12 LeoOpen the board

NotesTop 3 · 4 notes so farAdd a note

Signs cardIndicator: touch belt · Wipe-off: clap

TodayGamesPlaybookTeamMore

The game page

One page per game, opened from Today or Games. It switches to the right part by itself depending on the time.

Before: Lineup (screenshot, swap, guest), Opponent (today's Scout), and who has no walk-up song.
During: DJ board, notes (today's Bench Notes), and a signs card for the dugout.
After: final score, review, and the play-by-play import (today in Stats).

Games also has a Season tab for the stats table. Scout, Stats and Bench Notes stop being menu items.

Board vs Hawks ⚙

Now batting

Mia Reyes"Thunderstruck" · clip Play walk-up

Next batter

On deck: #12 Leo Park

LineupEdit

1 · Leo
2 · Mia ◀ up
3 · Ava
+ 9 more

BoardSongsPlaybookMore

DJ board: play mode first

The screen shows only what's needed at the plate: who's up, Play, Next, on deck.

Edit opens lineup mode: screenshot import, swap, add a guest, the bench. It's one place, and it's closed by default.
The ⚙ gear holds song order (rotate / first / shuffle), announcer voice and ballpark sound. These are set once, not every batter.
The silent-switch hint and keep-screen-awake belong here.

My player Rivals 12U

MiaShortstop · next game Sat 10:00 vs Hawks Hand it to Mia: drill

Saturday vs Tigers · W 6–42 good plays · work on: tagging upSee the review

Walk-up song"Thunderstruck" · AC/DCChange

My playerDrillPlaybookGamesMore

Parent: My player

Everything about their kid in one column: the next game, a drill to hand over, the last review, and the walk-up song. With two kids, it's one card each, swiped side to side.

Waiting for the coach to confirm: one "Almost there" card with "Practice now (not saved)".
"Hand it to Mia" opens kid mode: full-screen drills with no menus, and Done brings the phone back to the parent.
Shows only what the server already lets parents see: their child's review and stat card. Nothing new is exposed.

Playbook Edit

PlaysSignsPositionsPractice

Bunt 1 · sacrificeOn · 64% drilled · 1 video

1st and 3rd, early breakOff for players · edited

Pop-up priorityOn · needs work

TodayGamesPlaybookTeamMore

Playbook: read here, edit here

One list of plays for everyone. Coaches get Edit: switch a play on or off, move players, write a note, copy a play, attach a video. The same goes for Signs.

Videos show up next to the play, as the app already promises but never does.
"Drill this play" stays on every play.
Field style is set once, in the field's own corner, and remembered.

Team Rivals 12U

Roster12 players

Add · update from GameChanger

People2 waiting

Parents, coaches, DJ · Invite

Walk-up songs11 of 12

Team settings

Name, colours, field look, what players can see

TodayGamesPlaybookTeamMore

Team: the people and the settings

Everything about who's on the team, in one place.

People: one Invite button that asks "a parent, a coach or the DJ?", instead of three link cards.
Team settings: gets the missing switch for hiding the playbook or drills from players. The server supports it but there's no control for it.
Club admins: also get a Club row for the club's teams and coaches. Fees (#515) go here later.

Set up Rivals 12U Exit

TeamRosterParentsSignsPlays

Invite the parentsSend this link to the team group chat. Parents pick their kid, and you confirm. Share the parent link

Skip for nowNext: signs

Setup: one path, then gone

Making a team leads straight into five scorebook frames: Team → Roster → Parents → Signs → Plays. Each frame has one job, a Next and a Skip for now.

Signs and plays come filled in. The coach looks them over and takes out what they don't run (your "auto-fill, opt out" note).
Exit any time. Today shows "Finish setup: 3 of 5" until it's done, then the card goes away for good.
After setup, each thing has its normal home: roster and people in Team, signs and plays in Playbook.

Where everything moves

Nothing is lost. Every old link redirects to its new home.

Today	Moves to	Why
Home (coach)	Today	Opens on the moment, not a dashboard
Game day › DJ board	Game › During	The board belongs to a game, and DJs land on it
Game day › Walk-up songs	Team › Walk-up songs; parents: My player	Songs are about players, not one game
Bench Notes	Game › During (notes)	You take notes during a game
Review	Game › After	The review is the end of a game
Stats › play-by-play	Game › After	No more "start the game in Bench Notes first"
Stats › season table	Games › Season	Season stats sit next to the games they come from
Scout	Game › Before (opponent)	You scout a particular opponent
Coach's Office › setup steps	Setup path, then Team / Playbook	Setup ends; the parts stay editable where they live
Office › Plays, Office › Signs	Playbook (Edit)	One list, edited where it's read
Office › Videos	On each play in Playbook	Shown where players will actually see them
Office › Look	Team › Team settings	A setting, not a setup step
Drill (coach)	Playbook › "Drill this play" and Team › each player's progress	Coaches look at drills more than they do them
How it works, tips, "?", tours, guide	The "?" on each page, plus Help under More	Six kinds of help become two

One word for one thing

Today we say	We'll say	Notes
Drill, Play, Practice, Play ball, Quick game	Drill	The address becomes /drill. "Practice" means practice plans only.
Lineup, batting order, the order	Lineup	The opponent's hitters become "Their hitters".
Bench Notes, game log, Notes	Notes	Inside a game. Or we keep "Bench Notes" as the name of that part; your call.
Review (game), Review mode (feedback)	Review = the game · Feedback = Ask Skip	Reviewer mode becomes "Feedback mode".
Stat card, player card	Player card	One card per player: the season plus recent games.
Know the signs, Read the coach, the signs quiz	Read the signs
Custom, Ours, Our own plays, Edited	Our plays · Edited	"Ours" = made by us. "Edited" = we changed a standard play.
Look, Field style, Field look, skin	Field look	Team colours sit beside it in Team settings.
Team code, 8-letter code, invite link, parent link	Team code · invite link
How it works, How-to videos, tips, tours	Help	The "?" on each page opens that page's walkthrough.
Title Case leftovers from the template ("Save Changes", "Admin Dashboard")	Sentence case	Everywhere.

What goes away

The fake billing page

Settings links to template plans ("Basic $9, Pro $29, Enterprise $99", with "API access"). It goes until real club pricing exists (#515).

Coach's Office as a place

Its parts move to the setup path, Team and Playbook. /office redirects.

Duplicate scorecards and Next buttons

One setup path with one Next. Home and Office stop repeating it.

Menu items that repeat Home

The quick links on Home that duplicate the tab bar.

Dead ends

The Terms link that 404s. "Add players in Coach's Office" shown to a DJ who can't open it. Login forgetting where you were going.

Drill for DJs

A DJ has no player to drill. It's unsaved practice that goes nowhere.

Build order

Each phase ships on its own and is an improvement even if we stop there.

1
Quick wins: about a day
DJs land on the board. Board play mode with a gear and an Edit lineup mode. The silent-switch hint and keep-screen-awake. The vocabulary and sentence-case pass. The fake billing page goes, Terms gets fixed, the team switcher moves to the header, login remembers where you were going, and parents get links to their kid's review.
Low risk, no data changes.
2
The game becomes the hub
Games list and game page (Before / During / After). Notes, review, play-by-play and scouting move in. The lineup belongs to a game. The coach tab bar becomes Today · Games · Playbook · Team.
One data change: lineups gain a game (the team lineup we just shipped becomes the default). Games can come in from the GameChanger extension.
3
Office dissolves
Playbook gets Edit mode for plays and signs, videos attach to plays, Team gets roster, people, songs and settings, and setup becomes the guided scorebook path.
The biggest change to screens coaches already use. All old links redirect.
4
Parents and players
My player, kid drill mode, and parent Games narrowed to their child.
5
Today gets smart
This week's focus comes from the last review, and drill progress shows by player. Then we re-record the help videos once, against the final structure.

Five calls for you

1. Is the game the hub?

The alternative is to keep feature tabs and just trim them. That's less work, but the game stays scattered across pages.

My call: yes, the game is the hub. It's the biggest single reason the app feels disconnected.

2. Does Coach's Office go away?

Coaches would edit plays and signs inside the Playbook instead of a separate back room. The risk is that a coach changes something mid-game by accident; the fix is an explicit Edit button.

My call: yes, edit where you read.

3. Where do games come from?

Today a coach makes a game by hand in Bench Notes. GameChanger already has the schedule.

My call: bring the schedule in with the extension, plus an "Add game" button for anything else. Today then always knows the next game.

4. Kid mode on a parent's phone?

"Hand it to Mia" opens full-screen drills with no menus, so a 10-year-old can't wander into settings.

My call: yes. It's small and it makes drills feel like the kid's own thing.

5. Player accounts by age?

Under 13: through the parent (kid mode, or a login the parent sets up). 13–17: their own login, with the email from a coach or parent. 18+: their own login, no parent. The coach sets each player's age group; the team's age group is the starting point.

My call: yes. Lawyer check on the newer COPPA rule changes and the state laws on teens' data before 13+ accounts go live.

Built from a walk of every route, menu, button and role check in the app as of commit c665dc9, plus your earlier reactions: scorebook-style setup, a next step after saving, no needless "make a link" step, auto-filled signs with opt-out, and club-first setup. React to any section; 👎 with a note is the most useful.