Onboarding a new private client: a one-week template

What "onboarding" covers here

A new private client comes to you with goals, some history, and gaps. You have to learn enough to plan, capture their data in the Hub, and start them on a structured plan within about a week so the relationship gains traction.

Day 1: intake

1. Send an intake link (see Athlete intake link) so they fill in identity, anthros, history, current zones, equipment, and goals. The submission creates the athlete record and adds them to your roster automatically.
2. Pick the intake template appropriate to your practice. "Full intake" if you want their season history, "Basic" if they will fill more later.

After they submit:

• The Athlete record is created.
• A CoachAthleteRelationship row is created with you as the coach.
• An AthleteIntake record holds the structured answers.

Day 2: review

1. Read the intake answers end to end.
2. Open the athlete profile and confirm anthros are sane (height, weight, date of birth, sex).
3. If they reported current zones (FTP, CSS, run threshold), verify they make sense and check freshness. Most reported zones are 3 to 12 months stale.
4. Plan retests: * Bike CP or 20-min FTP test within week 2. * Swim CSS test within week 2. * Run threshold test or 10K race within week 3.

Day 3: race calendar

1. Add their races for the season (see Adding a race).
2. Tag priority: A, B, or C.
3. Pick periodization per race (see Choosing a periodization model).
4. The season view draws phases immediately from the race dates.

Day 4: equipment

1. Walk them through /my-equipment/. Make sure their primary bike has fit measurements, current weight, and any known CdA / Crr.
2. Confirm swim gear (wetsuit, trisuit, goggles) and run shoes are logged.

Day 5: macrocycle plan

1. Create a MacrocyclePlan for them (individual plan, athlete set, team blank). See Macrocycle plan basics.
2. Configure the config_json with weekly volume targets, phases, and key sessions for the first 3 to 4 weeks.
3. Set status to active.

Day 6: notes and expectations

1. Write a CoachNote on the athlete summarising the plan intent, the tests scheduled, and your first 2 weeks of priorities. * Mark visible to athlete if you want them to read it on their dashboard.
2. Set their notification preferences (or instruct them to).

Day 7: first session

• Run the first scheduled session.
• After upload, review the activity and write an ActivityNote so the comment thread has at least one coach message early.

Premium decision

Decide whether to grant premium (see Granting premium access). Most coaches grant for any new private client doing race planning. Each grant counts toward the rebate threshold; see Billing and subscription.

What to NOT do

• Don't deploy a 12-month plan day one. You don't have enough data. Plan the first 3 to 4 weeks; refine after the retests.
• Don't over-prescribe intensity before testing. Without fresh zones, watt and pace targets are wrong.
• Don't skip the intake form to save time. The structured answers are worth the 20 minutes.

See also: Three ways to add athletes, Athlete intake link, First week checklist.