Hey Product Hunt,

I’m Alex, creator of Pocket Gaffer and a volunteer grassroots football coach.

If you’ve ever volunteered to run a kids’ sports team on a freezing Sunday morning, you already know the unwritten nightmare: equal playing time.

In youth grassroots (especially U7s to U12s), the rule is simple: every child should get fair, equal minutes. But in reality:

You’re trying to referee the game, tie shoelaces, coach the kids, and manage subs all at once.
You’re scribbling notes on your phone or guessing in your head.
Parents are only concentrating on their child's pitch time, and questions of favoritism or bias start creeping in.

Most football apps are either giant administrative monoliths (collecting subs and chatting on WhatsApp replacements) or complex tactical boards designed for Pep Guardiola, requiring you to stare at a phone instead of the children.

I built Pocket Gaffer because I wanted my Sundays back, and I wanted zero doubt on the touchline that every kid was being treated fairly.

What it actually does on matchday:

Fair subs with zero math: Tells you who is due on next and gives you a heads-up countdown so you can sub when the ball goes out of play.
Season-long fairness balance: It tracks minutes across the entire season, automatically accounting for absent kids so missed matches don’t distort their share.
Pass the Whistle: If you're stuck in traffic or working, you can generate a one-time link and hand the match to an assistant coach—no app install, no login, no shared passwords.
Live match link for absent parents: Parents at home or grandparents away can watch the score and subs tick along in real time without exposing personal child data to the public.

It’s completely bootstrapped, built from real touchline feedback, and designed to need as little screen time as possible while the ball is rolling.

I’d love honest feedback from other volunteer coaches, parents, and builders:

What feels missing for your matchday?
Where does the UI feel like it requires too much touchline attention?

Thank you for checking it out!