Friend Requests & Coach Requests

Friend Requests and Coach Requests let you honor player preferences during team formation. When you import player registration data, you can include columns that specify which players want to be on teams together, or which coaches they prefer. These requests are then used inside Team Builder when you define constraints.

How It Works

When you import players, Bravara can read columns like "Friend Request" or "Coach Preference" and match the names you provide to players or staff in your system. These fields do not automatically change team placement. Instead, they become inputs that you reference when configuring Team Builder rules.

Setting Up Friend Requests

Friend Requests let players indicate other players they'd like to be on the same team. Common use cases include friends, carpools, or family requests.

During Import

1. Add a Friend Request Column to your CSV or spreadsheet

   • Example names: Friend Request, Friends, Teammate Request, Carpool

   • You can use multiple columns or a single column with multiple names

2. Enter Player Names

   • Single name: John Smith

   • Multiple names separated by commas: John Smith, Jane Doe

3. Map the column as “Link to Player” during import

   • This stores the relationship for later use in Team Builder

   • No team assignment happens at import time

Parents can also enter this directly during registration if your registration system collects it, removing the need for manual data entry.

Example CSV

First Name,Last Name,Friend Request
Michael,Johnson,Sarah Williams
Emma,Davis,"John Smith, Bobby Thompson"

Using Friend Requests in Team Builder

Friend Requests are applied inside Team Builder, not automatically.

1. Open Team Builder

2. Add a Keep Together rule

3. Choose the Friend Request column as the source

4. Select how strict the rule should be (Try to Satisfy or Must Satisfy)

5. Run Team Builder

When Team Builder runs, players linked through the Friend Request column will be placed on the same team according to the rule you configured.

Setting Up Coach Requests

Coach Requests let players indicate a preferred coach.

During Import

1. Add a Coach Request Column

   • Example names: Coach Request, Coach Preference, Preferred Coach

2. Enter Coach Names

   • Coach Johnson or Mike Johnson

3. Map the column as “Link to Person”

   • This links the player to a staff member

   • No team assignment happens at import time

Using Coach Requests in Team Builder

Coach requests only affect team placement when you explicitly use them.

Option 1: Coach Request Constraint

1. Open Team Builder

2. Add a rule such as Keep Player With Coach Request

3. Select the Coach Request column

4. Choose rule strength

5. Run Team Builder

The system will attempt to place players on the team coached by the requested coach.

Option 2: Guaranteed Placement

If a player must be on a specific coach’s team:

1. Assign the player to the team before running Team Builder

2. Any pre assigned players automatically stay on their teams

3. Run Team Builder for the remaining players

This guarantees placement and bypasses preference logic.

How Requests Become Team Builder Constraints

Requests only influence teams when you define rules in Team Builder.

Friend Requests

• Used by Keep Together rules

• Configured during Team Builder setup

• Default behavior depends on rule strength you choose

Coach Requests

• Used by Keep With Coach or similar rules

• Can also be enforced by pre assigning players to teams

Best Practices

• Start with soft constraints to preserve balance

• Upgrade to hard constraints only when required

• Avoid over constraining drafts with many Must Satisfy rules

• Use pre assignment for absolute requirements

Common Scenarios

Carpools

Use a Friend Request or Carpool column and apply a Keep Together rule in Team Builder.

Coach’s Child

Pre assign the child to the coach’s team before running Team Builder.

Returning Coach Preference

Import Coach Preference, then apply a coach based constraint in Team Builder.

Open Friend Requests

Map the field as Link to Player and reference it in a Keep Together rule.

Field Mapping Reference

Any columns like the below examples will automatically be attached to "Link to" fields. You can also name the fields whatever you want and before the import map the field to "Link to" fields.

Link to Player

• Friend Request

• Friends

• Teammate Request

• Carpool

• Play With

Link to Person

• Coach Request

• Coach Preference

• Preferred Coach

Summary

Friend Requests and Coach Requests work by:

1. Capturing preferences during import

2. Storing relationships as linked data

3. Applying those links through Team Builder rules

4. Enforcing guarantees through pre assignment when needed