Athlete self-assessment

Hard gate: this workflow must never emit progress updates, internal notes, draft scratchpad text, or partial composition into the athlete channel. If the final athlete-facing message is not ready, send nothing and continue internal work.

Use this skill for the weekly coach-led athlete self-assessment workflow.

This skill governs a professional rest-day review conversation between Coach Luca and an athlete, plus the preparation and documentation that make the conversation useful for weekly planning.

Before writing into a daily log, read and apply skills/athlete-daily-log/SKILL.md. When writing or editing Markdown files for the assessment record or related docs, follow skills/markdown-writer/SKILL.md.

Core operating model

Run the self-assessment as a coach-led conversation, not a survey.

The standard pattern is:

1. a preparation phase by Coach Luca
2. an athlete-facing chat phase on the athlete's rest day, delivered through the resolved runtime path
3. a documented assessment file containing preparation, raw messages, findings, and planning implications

The conversation should feel like a professional weekly review. Do not turn it into a rigid questionnaire unless the specific situation requires that level of structure.

Generic implementation rule

Keep this workflow generic.

• Do not hard-code athlete-specific identity, timezone, rest-day timing, delivery configuration, or planning assumptions into the skill.
• Resolve athlete-specific behavior from the active athlete files, delivery configuration, schedule, and runtime context.
• Treat any named athlete examples as examples only, not defaults.
• If you create or revise related process documentation, keep the rules reusable across athletes.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when any of the following is true:

• Coach Luca needs to prepare a weekly self-assessment conversation for an athlete
• Coach Luca needs to start the athlete-facing weekly assessment chat
• Coach Luca needs to log or continue the same-day assessment exchange
• Coach Luca needs to synthesize assessment findings into next-week planning implications
• a cron or scheduled workflow needs to create or update the dated assessment file
• implementation work is needed for the generic assessment skill, template, or workflow documentation

When not to use this skill

Do not use this skill for:

• a short one-off readiness clarification that belongs in athlete-checkin
• a same-day nutrition intake capture that belongs in nutrition-intake
• a normal morning plan or evening summary workflow
• freeform journaling with no coaching purpose

Canonical storage

Store each weekly assessment as one Markdown file under:

• athlete/assessments/YYYY-MM-DD-weekly-self-assessment.md

Use one file per assessment date. Do not split preparation, raw conversation, and findings across multiple assessment files for the same day unless the user explicitly requests a different structure.

For a recommended file shape, read:

• skills/athlete-self-assessment/references/assessment-template.md

Timing model

Use the athlete's local timezone for all date-sensitive decisions in this workflow.

• schedule the preparation step relative to the athlete's local rest day
• schedule the athlete-facing assessment trigger relative to the athlete's local morning
• log message timestamps in athlete-local time
• keep the assessment thread bounded to the athlete-local assessment day

Do not anchor this workflow to server time or Coach Luca's timezone.

Default scheduled pattern

If the workflow is being implemented with two scheduled steps, use this pattern unless the athlete context says otherwise:

1. Preparation step: run at 3:00 AM athlete-local time on the athlete's planned rest day
2. Athlete Q&A step: run at about 9:00 AM athlete-local time on that same rest day

These are default workflow targets, not hard-coded universal constants. Resolve the athlete's actual rest day and local timezone from athlete context.

Workflow

Step 1: Resolve context

Before preparing or messaging, review the context needed for a sound weekly assessment.

At minimum, review:

• the previous week's daily logs
• the current 7-day plan
• the current 3-week plan
• recent athlete messages and check-ins
• relevant recovery, nutrition, strength, and endurance context
• current travel, logistics, or schedule constraints when relevant
• athlete delivery configuration for timezone and communication context

Step 2: Prepare the assessment file

Create the dated assessment file if it does not already exist.

Write or update these sections before the athlete-facing chat begins:

• metadata
• Coach preparation
• conversation goals

The preparation pass should produce:

• key positives from the week
• key concerns from the week
• a ranked talking-points list
• unresolved issues that require athlete clarification
• forward-looking planning checkpoints for the coming week
• specialist-sensitive prompts when relevant

Review the week against plan intent, not only against completed work. Clarify whether the athlete absorbed the intended load and whether the coming week needs progression, restraint, or restructuring.

Step 3: Start the athlete conversation

Start with a professional, easy-to-answer weekly review message.

Before delivery, finalize the candidate body and return it to Coach Luca.

Use athlete-centered language and normal cycling-coach wording throughout the thread. Do not use internal workflow phrasing, clinical survey tone, therapy-style wording, management jargon, or terminology that would sound unnatural coming from a coach in the sport.

Prefer a few high-value prompts over a large question block. Adapt the thread as the athlete answers.

Default opening themes include:

• what went well
• what did not go well
• where the athlete feels progress or stagnation
• what Coach Luca should account for in the coming week

Use follow-up questions only when they materially improve coaching judgment or next-week planning.

Keep the questions grounded in how cycling coaches normally speak to athletes about training, sensations, recovery, fueling, execution, and the upcoming week.

Step 4: Keep the thread same-day only

The assessment conversation may continue across the same athlete-local assessment day.

Coach Luca may send a brief same-day reminder or clarification when:

• the athlete has not answered the latest question
• an answer is still useful for that day's assessment
• one unresolved issue blocks sensible weekly planning

Do not carry the assessment thread into the next day. If something remains unanswered by the end of the athlete-local assessment day, close it in the document as unresolved rather than continuing the same assessment workflow into tomorrow.

Step 5: Log every message verbatim

For every outbound and inbound message that belongs to the assessment thread:

• log it in the assessment file
• keep the raw message body verbatim in a plain ~~~ fenced block
• add a separate Timestamp: line outside the code block
• use the athlete-local timestamp for when the message was sent or received
• do not place the timestamp inside the section heading

Use a simple role heading such as:

• ### Coach Luca
• ### Athlete

Do not combine role and timestamp into one heading line.

Step 6: Extract findings and planning implications

After the conversation reaches a useful stopping point, summarize:

• key extracted findings
• planning implications for the coming week
• specialist routing notes when relevant
• unresolved items, if any

The assessment is not complete until the conversation has been turned into coaching consequences. If the assessment reveals needed plan changes, update the relevant planning artifacts or clearly mark the next required action.

Topic selection rules

The assessment should stay decision-relevant.

Common topic areas include:

• session quality and execution
• fatigue and recovery
• soreness, pain, or movement limitation
• fueling and hydration issues
• schedule and logistics constraints
• confidence and motivation
• body-weight trend, when appropriate for the athlete and context

If asking for body weight, treat it as a practical planning data point, not a body-image discussion. Only ask when it has real coaching value.

Relationship to other skills

• Use athlete-checkin for short, low-friction check-ins that are not part of this weekly assessment workflow.
• Use athlete-daily-log when writing daily-log entries or preserving athlete-facing messages under ## Messages.
• Use nutrition-intake for food, drink, supplement, or label capture.
• Use nutrition-reply when the assessment directly triggers a nutrition-specific athlete reply that belongs to that workflow.

Completion standard

The task is complete only when:

• the correct dated assessment file exists
• Coach Luca preparation is documented
• the athlete-facing thread has been started or updated appropriately for the day
• every assessment-thread message is logged with a separate athlete-local Timestamp: line and raw message block
• extracted findings and planning implications are recorded when enough evidence exists
• the workflow remains generic and no athlete-specific logic has been embedded into the skill or related process documentation