How Totally Netball cut 6+ hours of daily admin

The League

Totally Netball is one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent netball leagues, operating across 25 locations with more than 2,700 players. Founded in 2016, it began as a single midweek league in Northamptonshire. Now, it’s a full-time operation run by Brett Daynes and his mother Janice — with junior netball sessions and new regions launching rapidly.

The Challenge

As Totally Netball expanded, the weight of day-to-day admin became unmanageable. Their bespoke spreadsheet system built with Google Sheets, Zapier, and WhatsApp, was clever but fragile. Here’s what they were facing:

• Hours lost manually cross-referencing team sheets and payments
• Missed payments, duplicate player records, and data errors
• Scheduling fixtures across 25 leagues using templates that could break
• Frustrated coordinators spending 30+ minutes per night inputting results
• Constant messages and updates across WhatsApp and email made it hard to stay organised

“We were working until 10pm every night and still falling behind. At one point, we were paying someone £15k/year just to manage the admin load — and we were still barely breaking even.” – Brett Daynes

Our Solution

Totally Netball switched to Magic Sports and phased in usage across its leagues. Rather than just adopting a tool, they became embedded in the product’s development. Shaping features like memberships, automated reminders, and upcoming payments export tools. Their feedback helped refine the platform into a system that worked in the real world of grassroots sport, where reliability, ease of use, and time savings matter most.

What started as a tactical fix quickly became a strategic advantage. Brett and Janice now manage every aspect of their operations, from team registrations and fixture generation to payments and communications — all from one place. Instead of reacting to problems, they’re able to plan ahead, make faster decisions, and spend more time on the parts of the job they enjoy.

We Replaced:

• Google Sheets with live fixtures, registrations, and payments tools
• WhatsApp with built-in comms and automated team sheet reminders
• Manual payments tracking with automated player/member billing and alert

Instead of juggling spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups, and late-night emails, Totally Netball now runs everything through a single system. Fixtures that once took two weeks to schedule are now live in just four hours. Coordinators who used to spend 30–45 minutes a night on admin now wrap up their tasks in under five.

For Brett and Janice, this has meant over 6 hours a day saved, allowing them to eliminate the need for a third team member and recover £15,000 in staffing costs — a major factor in returning the business to profitability.

Memberships and payments are now fully automated, with players managing their own accounts. The team no longer chases payments or sorts through spreadsheets — Magic Sports handles it all.

The Results

For Brett and Janice, the shift wasn’t just about saving time, it was about reclaiming control. With less admin and more clarity, they’ve been able to focus on growing their junior leagues, improving the player experience, and finally getting back to enjoying the game. No more spreadsheet stress, just one system that runs the league the way they always wanted. 

🔥 6+ hours/day saved in admin work between Brett and Janice

💸 £15,000/year saved by replacing the need for a third staff member

📊 More accurate payments: fewer refunds, less chasing, full visibility

📈 Lower drop-off: easier onboarding, clearer comms, happier captains

🎯 Peace of mind: one system, one source of truth, one-click reporting

“The confidence I have in the system is game-changing.”