Frequently Asked Questions

How does the rating system work?

Every organization's rating is a trust-weighted average — not all reviews count equally. Each review receives a Trustability Score (0–100), and reviews with higher scores carry more weight in the overall calculation. On top of that, older reviews decay in influence over time so that a review from last month matters more than one from ten months ago.

What is a Trustability Score?

A Trustability Score (0–100) measures how credible and detailed a review is. It is calculated automatically when a review is submitted based on several factors:

• Detail & Effort — reviews longer than 100 words with diverse vocabulary score higher.
• Pros & Cons filled in — providing both sides adds to your score.
• Category ratings — filling in detailed ratings (coaching, culture, pricing, etc.) adds points.
• Nuanced overall rating — a rating of 2–4 signals a more considered opinion than an extreme 1 or 5.
• Verified account — verifying your email adds +20 points (see below).

Do reviews expire?

Yes. Reviews older than 1 year are automatically archived and no longer count toward an organization's rating. Youth sports programs change — coaches leave, ownership shifts, cultures evolve. Ratings should reflect the experience families are having today, not several years ago. Archived reviews remain visible in a collapsed "Historical Reviews" section on each organization's page so the full history is never lost.

What are the possible states of a review?

• Pending — submitted and awaiting admin moderation (up to 48 hours).
• Active — approved and counting toward the organization's rating.
• Archived — older than 1 year; visible in the historical section but excluded from ratings.

Can reviews truly promote change?

That's the goal. Unlike traditional review platforms that simply aggregate stars, we weight reviews by quality and recency. A thoughtful, detailed review from a verified parent carries real influence. We also believe reviews should start a conversation — organizations that address concerns honestly demonstrate accountability to future families.

Can negative reviews unfairly hurt an organization?

We've built several safeguards against this. Low-effort or extreme reviews carry less weight through the Trustability Score. Reviews based on unverifiable accusations are removed during moderation. And because ratings are recalculated daily using only the past 12 months of active reviews, a bad patch that an organization has genuinely improved from won't follow them forever.

Do I need an account to leave a review?

No — you can submit a review anonymously. However, creating a free account and verifying your email adds +20 points to your review's Trustability Score, meaning your review will carry more weight in an organization's overall rating. Verified reviews also display a badge so other families know the reviewer is a real, confirmed person.

How many reviews can I submit?

One review per organization, per sport, per account. If an organization offers both soccer and basketball, you can leave a separate review for each sport. Anonymous submissions are additionally limited to 2 per day to prevent abuse.

Is my identity kept private?

Yes. Reviews are displayed anonymously — your name and personal details are never shown publicly. If you create an account, your email is used only for verification and is never shared or displayed. Any personal information inadvertently included in review text is redacted before publication.

How do you prevent fake reviews?

We use several overlapping layers of protection:

• One review per sport per org — duplicate submissions from the same account are blocked.
• Rate limiting — anonymous submissions are capped at 2 per day per device.
• Similarity detection — reviews that are suspiciously similar to existing ones are automatically flagged and assigned a near-zero Trustability Score.
• Admin moderation — every review is reviewed by a human before it goes live.
• Trust-weighted averages — even if a fake review slips through, its low score means it has minimal impact on the organization's rating.

What happens to reviews that violate your policies?

Reviews containing offensive language, unverifiable personal accusations, or private information are removed during moderation and never published. Reviews identified as coordinated or fraudulent after publication are removed and their influence on the rating is reversed.