Train hard. Stay safe.

Training

I spent years on 8 and 9 foot rims before I ever dunked on a 10. That's on purpose in Vertly. You pick your rim, every card is ranked easiest to hardest, and the plan builds from where you actually are.

• Start where you can control it. 8 foot counts. Your card climbs to 9 and 10 when you do.
• Warm up every time. Even on a day you're just messing around on the rim.
• Pain means stop. If something hurts at 3 out of 10 or more, Coach Cam tells you to back off and see a physio or a doctor. Listen.
• Lift with form first. Use a spotter on heavy sets. The rack celebrates real plates, not ego.
• Check the hoop. Only dunk on rims built for it, on solid ground, with space around you.

Vertly is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before starting a new program, especially after an injury.

Coach Cam, the AI coach

• It says it's an AI. Before your first question, the app tells you Coach Cam is an AI and that your messages go to Anthropic, the company that runs it. Nothing is sent until you tap Okay. The Coach screen keeps saying it: "AI coach".
• It's not a doctor. Coach Cam won't diagnose an injury and will send you to a professional.
• It stops coaching when someone may be in danger. If a message sounds like a crisis, abuse or an eating problem, Coach Cam drops the training talk, points to real help like 988 and 911, never tries to sell anything, and doesn't count it against your questions.
• Younger athletes get extra care. For athletes under 18, Coach Cam tells them to bring a parent or coach in on pain or anything serious.
• You can see what it remembers. Coach Cam's notes about you are in the Coach tab, and you can remove any of them.

The Crew

• Friends only, up to 20. A link or code only asks. You decide who gets in.
• No chat, no photo or video uploads. Stamps are four fixed words. Feed posts are written by the app.
• Your crew never sees your weight, age, school, city, location, clips or coach conversation.
• Report or block anyone from their Locker. Every report is looked at within 24 hours.
• Closed to anyone under 13.

The full rules are on the Crew Community Rules page.

For parents

A lot of the athletes on Vertly are in high school or middle school. Here's what you'd want to know.

• Age. Vertly is for 13 and up. Under 13, the app stops at setup and saves nothing.
• Money. Vertly is free to download and play. Paid plans go through Apple, so Family Sharing's Ask to Buy and Screen Time purchase limits work as usual. There are no ads and no in-app currency.
• Privacy. No location, no contacts, no ads, no tracking. Dunk clips stay on the phone. Read the Privacy Policy.
• Who they talk to. Coach Cam is an AI, clearly labeled. The Crew has no messaging, only fixed stamps and friend-only games.
• Why jumping young. The teen years are a big window for building speed and power, and jumping is one of the most studied ways to build it. Vertly makes that work feel like a game, on any rim, starting at 8 feet.

Questions? Email vertlyapp@gmail.com. A person reads every one.

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