How Coach Chief Got Started
Today
Coach Chief helps thousands of coaches, trainers, and instructors create professional booking pages, fill more sessions, and spend less time managing administrative work.
2025
I brought the idea to my team of software engineers, designers, and developers and began building the platform I wished existed.
2024
After experiencing the frustrations from both sides—as a parent looking for sessions and as a coach trying to fill them—I realized there had to be a better way.
2023
I started running small-group hockey training sessions and saw firsthand how difficult it was to organize bookings, fill open spots, and manage communication with parents.
2022
My three boys were playing youth hockey, and like many parents, I was constantly looking for more opportunities to help them improve.
It Started As A Parent
Hi, I'm John Giardino.
I'm the father of three boys who play youth hockey, a small-group hockey coach, and the CEO of a software engineering company.
Like many sports parents, I was always looking for additional opportunities to help my boys improve. More ice time. More skills sessions. More chances to develop their game.
But finding available training opportunities was surprisingly difficult.
Every coach seemed to have a different system.
Some posted on social media.
Some used Facebook groups.
Some sent text messages.
Others shared flyers, screenshots, or group chats.
There was no single place to see what sessions were available, when they were running, how much they cost, or how to reserve a spot.
The question kept raising:
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"When is the session?"
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""Where is it?""
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"How much does it cost?"
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"Do you still have room?"
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"How do I sign up?"
It felt far more complicated than it should have been.
Then I saw the Coach’s Side
At the same time, I was running hockey training sessions of my own.
That's when I realized coaches were struggling just as much as parents.
Every week, coaches were spending valuable time answering messages, tracking attendance, collecting payments, updating availability, and trying to fill open spots.
Many coaches were relying on text messages, spreadsheets, Venmo payments, social media posts, and handwritten attendance lists to manage their business.
The coaching was the easy part.
Managing the bookings was the headache.
I kept seeing great coaches lose time dealing with administrative work when they should have been focused on helping athletes improve.
The Problem Wasn’t Demand
What stood out to me most was that neither side lacked interest.
Parents wanted more training opportunities
Athletes wanted more development
Coaches wanted more bookings
Sessions went unfilled
The problem wasn't demand.
The problem was organization.
There simply wasn't an easy way for coaches to showcase their sessions and allow clients to book them.
As a result, sessions went unfilled, coaches lost revenue, and parents missed opportunities they never knew existed.
Building the Solution
Identify the problem
Talk with coaches
Design the platform
Launch Coach Chief
The more I thought about it, the more obvious the solution became.
Coaches needed a simple way to showcase their services, publish their upcoming sessions, and allow clients to reserve spots online.
Parents needed a simple way to find available sessions and book them without endless back-and-forth communication.
Fortunately, I was in a unique position to build exactly that.
Through my software engineering company, I already had access to an experienced team of designers, developers, and engineers.
I brought them the problem and asked a simple question:
"What would the ideal booking platform for coaches look like?"
We spent countless hours talking with coaches, evaluating existing solutions, and designing a platform built specifically for the coaching industry.
That platform became Coach Chief.
Why We're Different
Many booking platforms were built for salons, medical offices, restaurants, or generic appointments.
Coach Chief was built specifically for coaches.
We understand the challenges coaches face because we've lived them ourselves.
Every feature we build is designed around one goal:
Helping coaches book more clients, fill more sessions, and spend less time managing administrative work.
OUR MISSION
Built by a coach. For coaches.
Today, Coach Chief helps coaches, trainers, instructors, and service professionals create professional booking pages, manage their sessions, and provide a better booking experience for their clients.
We believe great coaches should spend their time coaching—not answering the same booking questions over and over again.
Our mission is simple:
Help coaches grow their business while spending less time on administrative work.
That's why we built Coach Chief, and that's why we're continuing to improve it every day.
Thank you for visiting Coach Chief.
We're excited to be part of your journey.
John Giardino
Founder & CEO, Coach Chief