Anyone can call themselves a coach. We check. Every coach on Harbourly is checked before they can take a booking. No exceptions.
This isn't an extra step. It's part of what gets reviewed before we approve a coach in the first place.
Identity is confirmed through Stripe or Xendit, the same payment providers that handle payouts. When a coach sets up how they get paid, the provider runs a real identity check backed by a government-issued ID, the same standard used by regulated financial platforms. Harbourly never sees or stores the ID or banking details directly.
Once identity is confirmed, every coach starts with the same label — and there's no badge waiting at the end.
Once a coach clears the check above, they can start taking bookings right away, labelled New Coach on their profile. The label drops automatically after 5 completed sessions with no serious disputes. There's no separate badge or tier after that. The label simply stops showing.
Every completed session with no serious dispute counts toward 5. Reach 5, and the New Coach label drops automatically.
A reasonable dispute during this period resets progress to 0. A serious one — scamming, predatory or grooming conduct — is an immediate permanent ban.
Competitive experience or ratings from another platform can be shown on your profile — entirely your choice.
Have competitive experience, tournament results, or ratings from coaching on another platform? Submit it as your portfolio for our team to review by hand. It's optional. If it holds up, it's shown on your profile. It never gates bookings, never shortens the New Coach period, and never grants a badge. You can also import your reviews from platforms like Metafy and Fiverr.
Portfolio submissions are reviewed for authenticity using a mix of automated tools and manual review before anything appears on a profile.
Identity verification is already done, so a New Coach can take bookings right away, like anyone else.
Every coach starts taking bookings right away as a New Coach, since identity verification is already complete. They'll show as a New Coach, visible on their profile, until they complete 5 sessions with no serious disputes. Clear that, and the label stops showing. A portfolio doesn't change this. Every coach goes through the same 5 sessions.
If a reasonable dispute comes up during this period, the coach's progress resets to 0 and the 5 sessions start again. A serious dispute, meaning scamming, predatory or grooming conduct, is an immediate permanent ban. That applies at any stage, not just while a coach is new.
A short voice introduction on your profile — entirely optional, and separate from the New Coach label.
Coaches can add a short voice introduction to their profile — a chance for gamers to hear you before they book. It's entirely optional and has nothing to do with the New Coach label or being able to take bookings.
Before any recording goes live, our team listens to it. We're checking for anything vulgar, inappropriate, or otherwise not okay for a public profile, nothing more. Once it clears, it's added to your profile for gamers to hear.
An additional trust layer on top of the identity check — not required, and not holding anyone up today.
The checks above confirm who a coach is. We're also rolling out formal background checks as an additional trust layer on top of that, not required to take bookings. This doesn't hold up any coach from listing today.
Clearing the New Coach label isn't the end of the review — every coach's standing is reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Clearing the New Coach label isn't the end of the review. Every coach's standing gets reviewed on an ongoing basis, not just once at signup, whether they're still a New Coach or well past it.
Every session ends with a rating from the student. We monitor reviews for authenticity and watch for patterns over time, not just single scores, so what's on a coach's profile reflects real sessions.
If a session doesn't go as expected, either side can raise it with us directly. Every dispute gets reviewed by our team by hand within 72 hours. A coach's dispute history factors into how we assess their ongoing standing. This protects students without punishing a coach for one bad report, though scamming, predatory or grooming conduct is an immediate permanent ban at any stage.
Student feedback shapes how we view a coach's reliability over time. A coach whose sessions consistently fall short of what their profile promises gets reviewed by our team.
Every session on Harbourly is protected by escrow, held by our payment provider, for players and coaches alike.
Payment is captured and held at checkout. It isn't sent to the coach yet.
After the session, you have 72 hours to confirm it went well. No action needed, it confirms automatically once the window closes, so a coach is never left waiting indefinitely. If something went wrong, report it instead, and everything pauses while we review.
Once you confirm, or the 72-hour window passes with nothing raised, payment releases to the coach. If a dispute is raised, funds stay held until we've reviewed it, within 72 hours, and reached a fair outcome.
That's fine. A portfolio isn't required and never gates anything. Every coach starts as a New Coach, and the label drops automatically after 5 sessions with no serious disputes.
It means a coach hasn't yet completed 5 sessions with no serious disputes. New Coaches can take bookings like anyone else. The label is there so students know where a coach stands, and once it drops, nothing replaces it. It just stops showing.
Your ID goes directly to Stripe or Xendit as part of their own regulated verification process. Harbourly never sees or stores your ID document.
Every account stays under ongoing review. A pattern of disputes or under delivery can affect a coach's standing, including removal in serious cases. Scamming, predatory or grooming conduct is an immediate permanent ban, at any stage.
Yes. You're welcome to reapply once you've addressed the reason it wasn't approved.