Across college athletics, departments are working hard to build stronger culture, better fan engagement, and deeper connections between teams. One of the most effective ways to do this is through Athletes Supporting Athletes initiatives—encouraging student-athletes to attend and support their peers’ games and events.
But there’s one challenge we hear from almost every athletic department:
How do we track it?
Spreadsheets get messy. Staff forget to log attendance. Coaches want reports. SAAC wants leaderboards.
Good news: you can run your entire Athletes Supporting Athletes program inside Helper Helper using tools you already have.
Why Track Athletes Supporting Athletes?
Athletic departments track attendance because it helps:
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Build stronger department culture
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Increase game attendance and energy
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Encourage team bonding
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Recognize student-athlete leadership
Many of our clients discover that Helper Helper isn’t just for community service—it’s an amazing event management platform for any student-athlete initiative.
For Seattle U, our category in Helper Helper is called “Sense of Belonging.” For us, that includes opportunities for each home game (and a link for the student athletes to access their free ticket), Student Athlete Bingo, Sophomore Scavenger Hunt, etc. We print out the QR code; this makes it so easy for student athletes to check by scanning the QR code. The advantage of doing it this way is that when you run a report for Sense of Belonging, you will see the percentage and raw number of student athletes who participate in these events.
Step-by-Step: How to Set It Up in Helper Helper
1. Create a New Event Category
Add a category called:
👉 Athletes Supporting Athletes
This lets you easily filter reports later and track participation by team, athlete, or season.
2. Build Recurring Events for Each Sport
Grab your home game schedules and create one recurring event per sport that includes all game dates.
Example events:
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Women’s Soccer Home Games
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Baseball Home Games
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Volleyball Home Matches
Use Helper Helper’s recurring event feature so you only manage one listing instead of dozens (how to do a combined listing).
When creating the event, select:
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✅ Validation not required (most schools choose this)
This keeps the focus on attendance instead of service hours.
3. Add a Team Photo Cover
Upload a team photo as the event background.
When student-athletes scroll events, they’ll instantly find:
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Baseball events
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Soccer events
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Volleyball events
Visual organization increases participation dramatically.
4. Use One QR Code Per Sport
Because all dates are inside one recurring event, you’ll have one QR code per sport.
Share that QR code with:
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Ticketing office
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Event staff
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Coaches
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SAAC leaders
Student-athletes can scan quickly when they arrive (they don’t need to have Helper Helper open to scan this code).
5. Optional: Require a Photo Check-In
Some schools want proof of attendance.
You can:
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Require a photo upload
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Attach it to the event
Students upload a selfie at the game when checking in.
6. Track Participation in Reports
This is where Helper Helper shines.
Go to Reports → Filter by category → Athletes Supporting Athletes.
You can instantly see:
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Attendance by team
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Attendance by athlete
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Most supportive teams
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Total attendance numbers
Download reports for coaches, leadership, or SAAC.
7. Set Team Goals
Want teams to attend 10 events this semester?
Teams can see their progress in real time inside the app—this turns attendance into friendly competition.
Real Results We See from Schools
Athletic departments using Helper Helper for Athletes Supporting Athletes programs report:
✔ Better attendance at Olympic sports
✔ Stronger department culture
✔ Easier reporting for coaches
✔ Increased SAAC engagement
✔ Less manual tracking for staff
Most importantly, student-athletes start showing up for each other.
Want Help Setting It Up?
If you’re already using Helper Helper, your client success manager can help you build this in 15 minutes.
And if you’re exploring platforms, we’d love to show you how schools are using Helper Helper for:
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Community engagement
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SAAC initiatives
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Career events
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Leadership programs
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Athletes Supporting Athletes tracking
Just reach out anytime 😊