"Why did they miss it?", excused absences and make-ups

How parents say "Not coming" in advance, how the club asks "Why did they miss it?" the next day by itself, who decides whether an absence is excused, and how a player makes up a missed session in another group or on another day.

Voor: trainer, manager, eigenaar, ouders

An absence is either plain (Out) or excused (Excused). That decides whether a pack uses a session and whether the absence can be made up. The club learns the reason in one of three ways: the parents warn in advance, the system asks them the next day, or the coach types it in.

Who can

• Coaches mark their own players, decide on the parents' answers and add players for a make-up to their own sessions. Managers and above can do it in any session.
• The owner and support switch on "Why did they miss it?" and make-ups in the club settings.
• Parents answer in their portal, in the browser or the app.

Parents warn in advance

Next to each session in the coming 7 days, the parent portal has Coming and Not coming buttons. Not coming opens a window with a Reason (optional) field and a Tell the coach button.

The coach sees "warned" and the reason next to the child in the session's attendance. Marking the child Out then saves Excused with the reason "Warned in advance: …", and Mark the rest present marks such children excused too. If the child came after all, mark In or Late; for a plain absence, tap Out once more.

It's set in Club settings → Club, the Sessions group: Parents' answers "Coming / Not coming" and, under it, A parent's notice counts as excused (both on by default).

"Why did they miss it?"

The day after a session, parents of children marked Out with no reason get a message: "… missed the … session on … at …. Could you tell us why? It takes one tap in the family portal." It arrives in the app (as a push) and, if the club uses Telegram reminders, in Telegram. The coach doesn't send anything.

Switch it on

1. Open Club settings → Club, the Families group.

2. Turn on Ask families "Why did they miss it?" and pick When to send it, the next day (10:00 by default).

3. If you like, also A family's answer excuses the absence straight away. Off, the coach sees the answer and decides.

4. Click Save.

It needs the parent portal and attendance tracking.

For parents: answer

At the top of your child's page there's an amber Why did they miss it? card with the missed sessions. Tap the reason: Ill, Family reasons, Competition or another activity or Something else (write a few words and tap Send). Until the coach decides, it shows "You answered: …", and you can still change it. You can answer up to 14 days after the session.

For coaches: decide

The coach gets an "A family explained an absence" notification. In the session's attendance, under the child, it says "Family: Ill" with two buttons: Excuse or Keep absent. The answers are also gathered on the Today page under "Absences explained — your call".

Excused absences and packs

Whether an absence uses a session from a pack is up to the club, in the price plan: Club settings → Price plans → a Session pack plan → + absence rules:

• An absence without a good reason uses a session: off by default;
• Excused absences that do not use a session: how many excused absences are free; leave it empty and they never use a session.

More in Freezing and session packs. A missed session that was made up never uses a session.

Make-up sessions

A player who missed a session comes to another one instead, in another group or on another day. The subscription counts one session for the two.

Switch it on

Club settings → Club, the Families group → Make-up sessions (owner and support). Under it:

• How many weeks back a session can be made up: 1 to 12, 4 by default;
• Excused absences only: off by default, so any absence can be made up;
• Make-ups in other groups too: on by default.

Add a player for a make-up

1. Open the session the player will come to, the Attendance tab, and click Add for a make-up.

2. Find the player (Player’s name, the group filter): the list shows their absences of the last weeks. Next to the missed session, click Add.

3. The player joins the attendance with the label "make-up for … (…)". Mark them like everyone else.

The absence counts as made up only if the player is marked In or Late. The missed session then shows "made up on …", and the parents see the session in their child's calendar marked "make-up for …". Added by mistake? Remove.

Parents can't book a make-up themselves: a coach or a manager adds the player.

Tips

• Ask parents to tap Not coming: the attendance then marks Excused by itself, and nobody needs asking the next day.
• Each absence can be made up once, and only in a session later than the missed one.
• The make-ups add up on the player's visits tab and in the attendance report.

FAQ

Parents didn't get "Why did they miss it?"

The question goes only for an Out mark with no reason, once per child and session. It isn't sent if the child was marked Excused, the session was cancelled, the parents have no portal account, or the feature is off.

Can a session be made up in another group?

Yes, if Make-ups in other groups too is on. The visit is charged to the subscription that covers the missed session.

A coach doesn't see "Add for a make-up"

Make-ups aren't switched on in the club settings, or it's someone else's session: coaches add players only to their own sessions and those they cover.