More clarity before the whistle: your doHockey monthly update

Preparing a hockey match means balancing positions, playing time and substitutions. This month, doHockey gives coaches more control over those choices. You can adjust your substitution plan more directly, see clearer formation information and follow progress while a schedule is being prepared. This update covers completed improvements from 2 September to 2 October 2026.

Plan a fair rotation that fits your team

Automatic starting lineups now take team rules and fair rotation into account. Team and match planning preferences also support position stability. This gives you more ways to guide the plan towards what your team needs, whether your main concern is sharing playing time or keeping players in familiar positions.

Rest can be distributed across both match halves. For a coach, this helps when checking the balance between time on the pitch and time on the bench. You can review the whole match instead of looking only at the starting lineup.

There are also more controls for substitutions. You can limit the number of players who change at one moment for each planning strategy. When using stand-ins, planning can allow at most one on the field at a time and prefer regular team players for position assignments. These options help you prepare a rotation that matches the choices you want to make on match day.

Read and adjust your substitution schedule more easily

You can now edit substitution schedules directly in the Metro chart. This is useful when you want to change a plan while looking at how the rotation fits together. The chart becomes a place to work on the schedule as well as read it.

There is clearer guidance on how to read the Metro schedule, plus a practical hockey substitution example. Coaches who are new to this view have more help understanding the lines before using the plan beside the pitch.

After generation, playing-time tips help you review the result. They appear below the schedule, with a notice in the header. You can check the plan and then use the tips to see where playing time needs attention.

The printed schedule has also become easier to follow. The substitution PDF shows remaining quarter time above elapsed time, and Metro bench lines extend to the quarter break. These details help when checking a substitution against the match clock.

See what happens while your plan is being prepared

Waiting for a schedule is clearer. doHockey shows whether your request is queued or being calculated. You can also see actual planning steps and preview intermediate schedules during planning.

This gives you useful feedback while preparation is still in progress. An intermediate preview lets you follow the work before the final result is ready; it should still be treated as a preview.

Several fixes also address problems when opening or generating schedules. These include schedules with incomplete player details and cases where older match information interfered with a plan. The Advanced planner no longer carries an experimental label.

Choose formations with a clearer picture

Formation choices now include a preview beside the selection. Published formations are grouped into outdoor and indoor options, helping you choose the right setup for the match. Small formation previews also appear on My Teams cards.

Position labels follow the selected language. During match attendance, position choices are limited to those that fit the formation, and you can identify positions without available players. This makes gaps easier to spot before you finish preparing the team.

Clubs can also create their own formations and optionally publish them. For clubs with a preferred setup, this provides a way to work with their own formation choices.

Keep useful match and team information close

The mobile match list now shows final scores. Match scores have also been corrected to stay consistent with the recorded scoring timeline. When reviewing a match, you have clearer information about the result.

Team statistics now include player top threes, and player statistics show scoring appearances. Player statistics PDFs can include the club logo. These additions give coaches more useful material when reviewing the team.

In Dugout, teams are sorted alphabetically and desktop team cards are more compact. Product updates are available on the public website, with a browsable monthly archive, and the latest update is shown in Dugout support.

Looking ahead

Future work includes substitution planning for mixed recreational hockey teams, research into a more responsive and resilient app, and improvements to the iPad and tablet experience. These are development topics, with no confirmed delivery dates in this update.