Chat & Communication
Staying connected with your team off the field is just as important as what happens on it. Rosterlytic has a full suite of communication tools built right into the app so you don't need a separate group chat.
Team Chat
Every team has a built-in group chat that all members can access. It's the central place for announcements, game-day coordination, and general team banter.
Sending Messages
Type your message at the bottom of the chat screen and tap send. Messages appear in real time for everyone on the team.
Sharing Photos
Tap the camera icon to share a photo with the team. You can:
- Take a new photo with your camera
- Choose an existing photo from your gallery
Photos appear as image bubbles in the chat and are saved to the team's photo gallery for easy browsing later.
Reactions
Long-press any message to add an emoji reaction. Reactions appear below the message so the whole team can see them. Tap an existing reaction to add yours or remove it.
Pinning Messages
Captains can pin important messages to the top of the chat. This is useful for:
- Game-day reminders
- Schedule changes
- Important announcements that shouldn't get buried
To pin a message, long-press it and select Pin. A pinned message banner will appear at the top of the chat. Captains can unpin it at any time.
Photo Gallery
All photos shared in team chat are automatically collected in the Photo Gallery. Access it from the chat screen to browse through every photo your team has shared.
The gallery supports:
- Infinite scroll with automatic loading as you browse
- Tap any photo to view it full-screen with zoom
- Pull to refresh for the latest photos
Creating Polls
Captains can create polls to get quick input from the team. Common uses include:
- Voting on jersey colors
- Picking a team name
- Choosing between practice times
- Any decision that needs group input
To create a poll:
- In the team chat, tap the poll icon
- Enter your question
- Add answer options (you can add or remove options dynamically)
- Optionally enable anonymous voting so responses aren't tied to names
- Tap Create
The poll appears as a special message in the chat. Team members can tap to vote, and results update in real time. Captains can close the poll early when they've seen enough responses.
Direct Messages
Need to talk to someone privately? Rosterlytic has one-on-one direct messaging built in.
Starting a Conversation
- Go to the Conversations screen (accessible from the chat area)
- Tap a player from your team roster to start a new conversation
- Type your message and send
Managing Conversations
Your conversations list shows all active DM threads. Each conversation shows the other person's name and your message history. Messages are organized with date separators so you can easily find past conversations.
Blocking and Reporting
If someone is being disruptive in chat:
- Block a user — Their messages will be hidden from your view. You can unblock them later from the player's profile.
- Report a message — Flag inappropriate content for review.
Captains have additional moderation capabilities to help keep the chat a positive space for the whole team.
Notifications
By default, you'll receive push notifications for new chat messages. If the chat gets too noisy, you can turn off chat notifications from Team Settings > Notification Preferences without leaving the team or missing game updates.
Tips
- Pin important announcements — Don't let schedule changes get lost in the conversation
- Use polls for decisions — It's faster than reading through 20 different opinions in chat
- Use DMs for sensitive topics — Lineup questions, availability issues, or personal matters are better handled privately
- Check the photo gallery — It's a great way to relive the season without scrolling through the entire chat history