Gate Penny Coach Behind Authentication

Canadian Elite Volleyball Academy — Development Update • March 16, 2026

Gate Penny Coach Behind Authentication

What & Why

Currently, unauthenticated visitors can access the full Penny Coach chat at and send messages that generate AI responses — costing real money on every query with no accountability. The journal and development tabs are already properly gated, but the chat itself is wide open. The page should remain in the sidebar for discovery, but visitors should see an attractive preview/marketing layout instead of a working chat. This protects AI costs while still showcasing Penny as a reason to join the academy.

Done looks like

• Unauthenticated visitors at see a preview layout instead of a working chat:

- Penny's avatar, name, intro text, and video button remain visible (unchanged) - Below the hero, instead of the chat input and suggested questions, show a sample conversation preview — 3-4 mock Q&A bubbles styled like the real chat, demonstrating what Penny can do (serve tips, mindset coaching, parent advice, etc.) - A prominent "Sign Up to Chat with Penny" / "Login" call-to-action card below the preview - P.E.N.N.Y. acronym breakdown cards (Passion, Effort, Nurture, Network, You) with the existing imagery

• The chat input, suggested questions, "New Chat" button, and tab switcher are hidden for unauthenticated users
• The backend endpoint is protected — returns 401 for unauthenticated requests instead of allowing IP-based rate limiting
• Logged-in users see exactly what they see today — no changes to the authenticated experience

Tasks

Gate the backend endpoint — Add authentication check to in so it returns 401 for unauthenticated requests. Remove IP-based rate limiting fallback for anonymous users.

Build the preview layout in penny-coach.tsx — When is false, render a marketing preview instead of the working chat:

- Keep the existing hero section (avatar, title, quote, video toggle) - Hide the chat/journal/development tab switcher - Show 3-4 mock conversation bubbles demonstrating Penny's capabilities (serve improvement, nervousness/mindset, parent support, PENNY acronym) - Add a CTA card with Login and Sign Up buttons - Show the P.E.N.N.Y. values showcase using the existing imported images (pennyPassionPath, pennyEffortPath, pennyNetworkPath, pennyYouPath, pennyAdvancedPath) - All within the existing page's dark theme/gradient styling

Relevant files

• (main page component — lines 80-120 for auth checks, 400-490 for hero, 490-530 for chat area)
• (lines 508-531 for the penny-coach endpoint)

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