Your onboarding process is what initiates the success of your athletes and sets you apart from other coaches. A smooth onboarding process leads to clear expectations and prepared athletes.
Written by Katharine Moustakes, Certified Personal Trainer and Running Coach
When I first started coaching online, my onboarding process included too many emails that weren’t concise, which made it overwhelming and confusing for new athletes. As I learned more about what was necessary for athletes to succeed and for me to provide better coaching, I began streamlining my process, getting clear on expectations and creating a repeatable system.
Once an athlete signs up, everything is automated until it’s time for me to create the training plan. Here’s what my system looks like:
Consultation > Sign Up > App Profile Setup > Onboarding Packet Review > Consultation, Liability and Agreement Form > 1:1 Coaching Plan
With a structured onboarding system, it makes both the athletes’ and coach’s experiences more enjoyable. Your onboarding process is what initiates the success for your athletes and sets you apart from other coaches.
Your onboarding process should include:
- Your Coaching Philosophy
- Consultation Form and Movement Assessment
- Liability Waiver and Coaching Agreement
- Expectations of the Athlete and Coach
- How to Track Progress and Tech Integrations
- Additional Resources
Let’s break down each of these elements below.
Share Your Coaching Philosophy
Whether you are a new or seasoned coach, you likely have a certain approach and style to your coaching that sets you apart from others in the industry. Sharing your philosophy with prospective and new athletes creates a foundation for a positive athlete experience.
Coaching philosophy matters because it shows authenticity, builds trust and establishes reliability. Consider sharing your mission and values as a coach during your initial consultation or onboarding process so new athletes have a better understanding of your coaching style.
For example, at Kathletics, our main mission in coaching is to meet athletes where they are in their fitness. Regardless of if it’s their first time working out or their 47th time training for a marathon, we address their needs based on their current fitness level—not their fitness level three months ago, three years ago, or three decades ago. Making this clear with my target audience weeds out any potential athletes who may be looking for quick fixes or unrealistic changes in fitness, speed, etc.
Consultation Form and Movement Assessment
Your consultation form and movement assessment set the scene for the athlete’s baseline. Be thorough in your questions and instructions so no stones are left unturned. The more information you can learn about your new athlete, the better you can coach them.
Consultation Form: The consultation form is an opportunity for you to learn more about your athlete’s background and how you can help them succeed. Ask open-ended questions so they can share as much as they feel comfortable with.
When developing your consultation form, you’ll want to address:
- Goals
- Exercise History
- Current Exercise Routine
- Previous and/or Current Medical History and Injuries
- Stress, Sleep, Nutrition and Recovery
- Training Availability
- Training Environment
- Potential Obstacles
Here are a couple of open-ended questions I like to ask my athletes:
- What are your biggest motivators?
- What has previously held you back from your goals?
Regardless of your education, having a general understanding of the athlete’s injuries, nutrition, stress and sleep gives you an overview of what could impact their training. Coaches are often the first people athletes share information with about injuries or other potential problems. With that in mind, it’s important to establish trust with your athlete and be prepared to refer out to a physical therapist, registered dietitian or another practitioner if needed.
Movement Assessment: When it comes to the movement assessment, what you take an athlete through will depend on your services and scope. I walk my athletes through how-to videos in my training app and require them to submit a video with a specific number of reps and tempo, along with specific angles of footage. This allows me to view range of motion, strengths and weaknesses, and other key information that could be helpful in developing a customized program.
In general, your movement assessment should look at:
- Hip Mobility
- Ankle Mobility
- Shoulder Mobility
- Spine Mobility/Rotation
- Core Stability
- Strength and Weakness of Muscle Groups Appropriate to Their Sport
- Form Specific to Their Sport (running, cycling, swimming, etc.)
Liability Waiver and Agreement
A liability waiver is an essential part of your onboarding process. Regardless of whether you are meeting with an athlete one time or 40+ times, you need to have them sign a liability waiver before they do any type of movement with you or under your instruction.
As for the agreement, this is where you identify and describe coach and athlete expectations, commitment requirements (even if you do not require one), inclusions of your services, payment details and terms, and cancellation and refund policies.
Work with a reputable lawyer to construct an agreement that ensures both you and the athlete understand the risks and expectations of your services. The agreement is meant to protect you both!
In my experience, working with a small business lawyer to develop a coaching waiver and agreement is fairly straight forward. Fortunately, I haven’t had any athlete situations where I’ve needed to involve a lawyer, but it’s always helpful to have a contract in place in case reinforcement is necessary.
Bonus Tip: Consider having long-term clients sign a new waiver/agreement every year to make sure your terms, conditions and expectations are up to date.
Set Expectations for the Athlete and Coach
Setting clear expectations can have a massive impact on your working relationship with the athlete. It allows both parties to build trust in each other and stay accountable.
I share athlete and coach expectations during the consultation process, as well as in written form in my onboarding packet. The onboarding packet is received by all new athletes, and athletes are required to review and acknowledge it with a signature.
Athlete Expectations
Be clear about what you expect from the athlete in terms of communication, check-ins, workout tracking and other habits. Here are some details to include:
- Frequency of Communication: How often do you expect to hear from your athlete? How quickly do you expect them to respond to your messages, feedback, etc.?
- Frequency of Check-in Responses: When do you expect your athlete to complete your check-in form? For example, if your check-in form goes out on Sunday, what day do you want them to complete it by?
- Depth of Check-in Responses: Do you prefer they respond with a drop down option, short sentence or as much information as possible? For many coaches, having more information about their athlete sets up the opportunity for better coaching. Provide an example of what an ideal check-in response layout looks like.
- How Athletes Should Track Their Workouts: Will they use an app, watch, chest strap, ring, etc.? How will you access their data?
- Necessary Workout Data: Do you want to see mileage, elevation gain, duration, heart rate, climate, additional comments, etc.? Be specific.
- Additional Habit Tracking: This may include strength training, sleep quality and quantity, nutrition overview or in depth details, and/or stress levels and management.
Coach Expectations
Be clear about what your athlete can expect from you in regard to what’s included in your coaching services, communication and check-in responses. You may want to include:
- Frequency of Communication: How often will you reach out to your athletes? Can they expect to hear from you once per week? Every day? What does that look like?
- Form of Check-ins: Do you set up video calls, phone calls, app messages, emails or voice memos?
- Check-in Response Time: Do you respond within the next business day? Are you available 24/7? Be clear.
- Office Hours: Be specific about your office hours so athletes know when you are available or when they can expect to hear from you. Whether it’s Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., specify your hours.
- Coaching Service Inclusions: Do you provide running coaching, cycling coaching, triathlon coaching, strength training, nutrition coaching or something else? Know your scope. When you’re unsure, refer out.
- Frequency of Training Program Updates: Do you update training programs weekly, monthly or as-needed?
Explain How to Track Progress
In your onboarding process, there needs to be a clear explanation on how athletes track and monitor their progress.
If you are tracking athlete progress in an app, apps will often have options for tech integrations with devices like Apple, Garmin, WHOOP, Oura, Fitbit, Coros and Suunto. Be sure to share with your athlete how to connect their device with the app and what settings need to be turned on in order for you to view their information. This often requires adjusting settings on both the app and the phone.
If you are tracking manually or need more information than what the app integration provides, identify what additional data you need, how your athlete should share it with you and how often.
For example, if you are working with a trail runner, you’ll likely want to have access to their mileage, elevation gain, duration, heart rate, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), climate/environment and any additional comments. If you’re working with a road cyclist, you will likely want to have access to their mileage, elevation gain, cadence, power, duration, heart rate, RPE, climate/environment and any additional comments.
Provide Additional Resources
Include expert resources in your onboarding process to provide additional value. Your athletes will love having easy access to quick tips or guides they can reference throughout their coaching experience. You are the expert the athlete invested in, so share your knowledge by creating reusable resources for things like heart rate zone training, tips for tapering, fueling for performance or stress management.
Providing these types of resources not only helps your athletes, but it also reinforces your coaching philosophy and approach. It shows your reliability and consistency in your expertise.
Final Thoughts
How you onboard your athletes sets the tone for their coaching experience. Whether you walk them through your onboarding process in person or have them work through a checklist on their own, remember to provide information that’s both clear and concise.
In addition to setting up your athletes for success, having a structured and repeatable onboarding system makes you more efficient. This allows you to spend more time creating intentional training programs and building a working relationship with your athlete, and less time on the backend.
About the Author
Katharine Moustakes is the owner, personal trainer and running coach at Kathletics. She specializes in sustainable fitness for runners, hikers, weightlifters and hybrid training athletes. She focuses on meeting people where they are at to create habits that last.
