Parent Circles (group chat)
A Parent Circle is a private hub for the parents on your team: a group chat, a shared calendar, and a bulletin board, all in one place. A team parent (often the team mom or dad) starts it, names the team, and invites every family. Anyone can join free, so it’s an easy way to get the whole team off scattered text threads and into one organized space.
What you need to start one
Creating a Circle is part of a paid Parent or Athlete plan. Joining a Circle someone else started is always free, no plan required.
- A paid Parent or Athlete plan (or a founding membership) to create a Circle.
- Anyone can join for free from an invite link, no plan needed.
- One active Circle per host, and up to 50 members.
- Circles are for adults (parents and guardians). Children are never added to the hub.
Why create costs, join is free
The point is to bring your whole team onto RateMyCoach. You host the space; every family joins for free and can set up their own athlete later.Create your Circle
Open Circles
From your dashboard or the Messages screen, tap "Parent Circles", then "Start a Circle".
Name your team
Enter your team or group name (e.g. "Lightning 12U"). You can optionally add the sport and your club or league name. No club account is required, you’re just labeling it.
Create it
Tap "Create Circle". Your hub opens with chat, calendar, and a bulletin board ready to go.
Add a photo
Tap the photo on your Circle to upload a team picture or logo. It shows as the Circle’s avatar in chat.
Invite your team’s parents
You can invite families two ways, and they can join even if they’ve never used RateMyCoach before:
- Share the invite link — copy the link from your Circle and drop it in your existing group text, email, or team app. Anyone who opens it can sign up free and is added automatically.
- Invite by email — paste parents’ email addresses and we’ll email each of them the join link.
Reset the link any time
If a link gets shared too widely, open your Circle and tap Reset link. The old link stops working and you get a fresh one.What’s inside the Circle
- Group chat — one thread for the whole team. Tap "Open group chat" to message everyone.
- Shared calendar — you (the host) add practices, games, and events; every member sees them.
- Bulletin board — post announcements (snack schedule, banquet details, reminders) that stay pinned for everyone to read.
- Members — see who has joined. As the host you can remove anyone.
Show who you are in chat (optional)
So other parents know who’s who, you can add your child’s first name to your chat name, for example “Stephanie (Emma’s parent)”. It’s off by default and applies everywhere you chat.
Open Settings
Go to Settings, then under Notifications choose "Chat handle".
Turn it on
Toggle "Show my child’s name in chat" and pick which child (if you have more than one). A live preview shows how your name will appear.
Only the first name, only if you choose
This is opt-in and shows the first name only. Everyone on the team already knows the kids, so it just helps parents recognize each other.Do the other parents have to pay to join?
No. Only creating a Circle needs a paid plan. Joining and using a Circle (chat, calendar, bulletin) is free for everyone you invite.
Can a parent who has never used RateMyCoach join?
Yes. They open your invite link, sign up free in a minute, and are dropped straight into the Circle.
Are kids in the Circle?
No. Circles are an adults-only space for parents and guardians. Children are never added.
How many people can be in a Circle?
Up to 50 members. Each host can run one active Circle at a time.
Is the chat moderated?
Yes. Circle chat runs through the same safety moderation as the rest of RateMyCoach, and as the host you can remove any member.
Ready to bring your team together?
Open Parent Circles from your dashboard or the Messages screen.
Start a Circle