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Must know
  • Chat shows your conversations at your current club only. Switch clubs to see another club’s chats.
  • Not every conversation loads in the list (most unread first, then most recent). Use Search to find older ones.
  • Closed and archived conversations stay in the list. Their status shows only in the open thread’s header.
  • Portal and email replies arrive live. A family’s text-back goes to the club’s main chat inbox, not yours.
Where to find it. The chat inbox is where you message your club’s families. Click Chat in the coach portal sidebar. On phones, Chat is a tab in the bottom bar. A red badge counts the conversations with unread messages, not the messages. On the phone tab it stops at 9+. Left pane - Conversations. Threads with the most unread messages come first, then the rest by most recent activity, so 5 unread sits above a newer thread with 1. Each row shows:
  • The family member’s name and a channel icon: globe for Web Only, phone for Web & SMS, envelope for Web & Email.
  • The club’s name, then the start of the last message (yours included).
  • When it was sent, such as 5m ago or 2d ago, then a short date after a week.
Unread threads have a dot, bold name and count badge. Rows never show closed or archived status. Search. Use the Search… box to find a thread by name, email or phone number. Search covers all your threads, not only the ones in the list. Every word must match, so “jane smith” needs both. A phone number search finds only Web & SMS threads. With no match it reads No conversations found and Try a different search. Empty and error states. With no threads, the list reads No conversations yet and Start a new conversation to message a guardian. If loading fails, you see Couldn’t load conversations and a retry. Right pane - the thread. With nothing open it reads Select a conversation and Choose a conversation from the sidebar or start a new one to begin messaging. Click New Conversation, or the + above the list, to start a chat. An open thread has:
  • The header. The family member’s name, a channel label you click to switch channel, the club’s name, and Closed, Archived or Opted Out badges. The … menu holds Close Conversation, Reopen, Archive and Unarchive, depending on status.
  • The messages. Yours on one side, the family’s on the other. Each message you send shows a delivery mark. A failed send fades, shows a red warning triangle and a red Retry link.
  • The message box. It reads Type a message…, or This recipient has opted out of SMS messages. on a Web & SMS thread whose family opted out.
On phones. One pane shows at a time. Picking a thread replaces the list, and the back arrow at the top left of the thread returns you. Live updates. Portal replies, and email replies on a Web & Email thread, appear live in the list, open thread and badge. A new reply reopens a closed or archived thread, marks it unread and moves it toward the top. Opening a thread marks it read and clears its badge in the list and on Chat. After a dropped connection, the list and badge refresh, but an open thread waits for its next message or a reopen. Other ways in. You can also start from an athlete’s profile or the Families page. Both start a Web Only chat here. Related: How do I start a chat with a family? · What happens when a family replies to me? · How do I close, reopen, or archive a chat? · Where do I see announcements from my club in the coach portal?