Check Coach Authentication Status

if (Auth::guard('coach')->check()) {
    // The coach is logged in
    $coach = Auth::guard('coach')->user();
    dd($coach); // Dump and die to inspect the coach user details
} else {
    // The coach is not logged in
    dd('Coach is not logged in');
}

### Explanation:
– `Auth::guard('coach')->check()`: Returns `true` if the `coach` guard has an authenticated user.
– `Auth::guard('coach')->user()`: Retrieves the currently authenticated user for the `coach` guard if logged in, or `null` otherwise.

Place this code where it makes sense in your application, such as in a controller or middleware, to check the authentication status of the `coach` guard.

### Example: Redirect if `coach` is not logged in

if (!Auth::guard('coach')->check()) {
    // Redirect to the '/coach' route
    return redirect('/coach');
}

### Example: Redirect inside a Controller method
If you’re using a controller, you might have logic like this:

public function someMethod()
{
    if (!Auth::guard('coach')->check()) {
        // Redirect to the '/coach' route if not logged in
        return redirect('/coach');
    }

    // Continue with the method logic
    return view('some.view');
}

### Example: Middleware
If this check needs to apply across multiple routes, consider creating a middleware:

#### 1. Generate Middleware

php artisan make:middleware RedirectIfNotCoach

#### 2. Implement Middleware Logic
Edit `app/Http/Middleware/RedirectIfNotCoach.php`:

### Explanation
1. **`collect()` Function:**
– `collect()` is a helper function in Laravel that creates a new **Collection** instance.
– Collections are a wrapper around arrays that provide a fluent, convenient way to work with data. They offer many powerful methods to manipulate and work with the data.

2. **Usage:**
– By calling `collect()` with no arguments, you create an empty Collection.
– This is useful when you want to build up a collection dynamically or ensure that a variable always contains a collection even if there's no initial data.

### Example:

$ratings = collect(); // Create an empty collection

// Dynamically add items to the collection
$ratings->push(5);
$ratings->push(4);

// Output: [5, 4]
dd($ratings->all());

### Common Scenarios
1. **Starting Empty:** You want to prepare a collection for adding data later.
2. **Consistency:** If a method expects a collection, starting with an empty collection avoids potential errors with `null` or empty arrays.
3. **Chaining Methods:** Collections allow method chaining for operations like filtering, sorting, and transforming data.

### Key Methods for Collections
Here are some useful methods you can apply to the `$ratings` collection:

– **`push($item)`**: Adds an item to the collection.
– **`all()`**: Retrieves the underlying array.
– **`filter()`**: Filters the collection based on a condition.
– **`map()`**: Transforms each item in the collection.
– **`sum()`**: Sums all items in the collection (if they are numeric).

### Example in Context

$ratings = collect();

// Add ratings
$ratings->push(5);
$ratings->push(3);
$ratings->push(4);

// Average of the ratings
$average = $ratings->avg(); // Output: 4

This is a flexible way to handle collections of data in Laravel.