Download the free team roster template (CSV). It has the 6 columns and three example rows: two players and a coach. This guide shows how to fill it in for one team or a whole league, and the mistakes that cause wrong names on prints.
What should a team roster for picture day include?
Only what gets printed, plus the file name that links each row to a photo. That is 6 columns: File, First, Last, Number, Team and Role. The File column is the only required one; the rest are filled in as far as you know them. Column names don't have to match exactly: RosterFrame also reads the other names in this table, in upper or lower case.
| Column | Needed? | Also read as |
|---|---|---|
| File | Yes, e.g. IMG_4821.jpg | Filename, File name, Image, Photo, Picture, Img |
| First | First and Last, or Name | Firstname, First name, Given name |
| Last | First and Last, or Name | Lastname, Last name, Surname, Family name |
| Name | Instead of First and Last | Full name, Player, Player name, Athlete |
| Number | No. 4 and #4 both work | #, No, No., Num, Jersey, Jersey #, Jersey number |
| Team | No | Team name, Group, Division, Squad |
| Role | No. Player or Coach | Position, Type |
- Role: a cell with Coach, Manager, Staff, Teacher, Instructor or Aide in it marks the person as staff, printed with the label you pick for the job (Coach, Teacher, Staff, Instructor or Manager). Anything else, or an empty cell, means player.
- Team: when it is filled in, it decides the team, even if the photo sits in a different folder.
- Other columns such as birth date, parent email or phone are ignored, so you can leave them in. It's still safer to delete them before the file goes on a laptop or to a coach.
Where do I get the roster for picture day?
Ask the league coordinator for the player list about a week before picture day. Leagues that use online registration can usually export it as a spreadsheet with names, jersey numbers and teams. Coaches know late changes, so send each coach their team's list to check. Ask which name should print: a registered "Robert" may want "Bobby" on his memory mate.
How do I create a team roster in Excel or Google Sheets?
Open the template, add one row per player and coach, and save the file as CSV. A 15-player team with 2 coaches is 17 rows under the header row, and a whole league can go in one file.
- Open roster-template.csv in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, or copy the 6 column names into your league's own export.
- Fill in First, Last, Number, Team and Role for every person. Leave File empty for now if you haven't shot yet.
- Format the Number column as text before you type, so numbers like
00and07keep their zeros. - After picture day, fill in the File column with each person's photo file name.
- Save as CSV. In Excel: File › Save As › CSV UTF-8. In Google Sheets: File › Download › Comma-separated values. In Numbers: File › Export To › CSV.
Saving as CSV matters: RosterFrame reads .csv and .tsv files, not .xlsx. Comma, semicolon and tab separators all work, so a CSV from a European version of Excel is fine too. The UTF-8 option keeps accents in names like José or Zoë.
File,First,Last,Number,Team,Role
IMG_4821.jpg,Ava,Martinez,4,Hawks U12,Player
IMG_4822.jpg,Liam,Chen,11,Hawks U12,Player
IMG_4830.jpg,Dana,Brooks,,Hawks U12,Coach
IMG_4901.jpg,Noah,Patel,7,Sharks U10,PlayerHow do I fill in the File column on picture day?
Write down which camera file belongs to whom while you shoot. Three ways work: shoot each team in roster order and number the rows afterwards, note the file number next to each name on a printed roster, or photograph a card with the player's name just before their headshot. The extension and capital letters don't matter: img_4821 matches IMG_4821.JPG.
If you rename your files to names like Ava_Martinez_4.jpg instead, you don't need a roster at all, because RosterFrame reads names and numbers from the file names. See sports photo file naming for the patterns it understands.
Should I make one roster for the whole league or one per team?
Either works. One file for the league is easiest to keep up to date: the Team column puts every player on the right team, even when all photos are in one folder. Separate files per team also work, and you can drop several roster files at once; RosterFrame combines them.
How does RosterFrame use the roster?
Drop the CSV in together with the photos, or add it later with Import roster (CSV). Every row whose File matches a photo sets that person's name, number, team and role. A roster imported later updates the people already in the job.
- RosterFrame tells you how many roster rows had no matching photo, so a typo in the File column doesn't go unnoticed.
- Photos that still have no name are marked, with a note like "3 photos still need a name", and you can type the names in.
- The names and numbers then appear on every product: team composites, memory mates, trading cards and the full roster on team posters.
- Before you print, export a name check sheet for each team and send it to the coach.
What roster mistakes cause wrong names on prints?
- Two first names in one Name column. A single Name column is split at the first space, so "Mary Ann Smith" becomes first name Mary and last name Ann Smith. Use separate First and Last columns for names like that.
- Lost zeros. Spreadsheets turn
00into0unless the column is formatted as text. - File names that don't match.
IMG_4821andIMG-4821are different files. Copy file names from the folder instead of typing them. - Players without a photo. A roster row only prints when its photo is imported. Shoot makeup portraits and add them before you export that team.
- Old rosters. Players switch teams before the season. Use the latest list and let coaches check the name check sheet.
Planning the whole day? The picture day checklist covers what to collect before, during and after the shoot.
How this guide was made: written by Jakob, who builds RosterFrame. The column names and import rules were checked against RosterFrame's roster import code. First published .
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