We have a U11 and we've given them a few private lessons this summer in addition to 2x/wk practices with his team. Mostly joint with sibling.

Hate to say it, but most kids playing a skill set sport do lots of personal training/practice. If you can teach him yourself -- great, but repetition is an important part of the learning process. At a practice kids might work on making and defending a cross 5 or 6 times. With a trainer and another kid you can get 30 or more in a decent practice (taking breaks to do other things so the kids do not over do it). Or, bringing a ball down with his chest -- same thing. Maybe 10 times in practice before the coach has to more on to something else. On his own with a trainer -- 30 or more times (use an underinflated ball).

The trainer can also focus on skills where your kid needs the most work. They are young so they need to work on everything, but if your kid is weak on left foot shooting or dealing with balls in the air, or keeping proper footwork defending -- a trainer can focus on those areas in a session.

Who do you get to train -- lots of coaches train kids for extra money. At 11 we had our daughter train with a local college player (girl). We did it with a friend and shared the cost. It worked with the 2 kids as they were relatively equal in athletic ability. It made the sessions fun for them and it gave them someone to work against or with depending on what was being done. For example -- the trainer could work on technique with my daughter on making a centering pass from the wing at full speed, and her friend could work on finishing and then returning the balls to keep things going. Then they could switch. We paid the trainer well so she was always willing to set aside time twice a week for an hour. We did it with that same girl from u11 to u13 until she headed off to med school. Funny story -- my daughter and that same friend are still very good friends (both still are playing in college now headed into their senior years). They were together over the 4th and posted a couple of pictures of themselves together on facebook screwing around with the ball -- their old trainer posted a comment that they were not using proper form.

As an aside -- juggle. An 11 year old boy should be able to juggle a couple hundred times pretty consistently, and should be working on a couple of tricks to show off. Nothing better for first touch, and nothing better to do while on the field waiting for a tryout to begin -- juggling and showing off some tricks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A well respected coach in area was DC playing at an open run/scrimmage and mentioned has alot of potential but I should get some personal training. Not sure how to take that advice. Good, bad? Is it necessary or he trying to make a buck. He said could recommend one. This is for a u11 player.

Any experience or advice on this would be appreciated!

$$$$$$

Duh.

This wasn't necessarily a solicitation by the coach to be the trainer. Perhaps the coach was simply giving some advice. Geesh

I agree. I think the cynical posters may not realize how many coaches there are in this area who truly love the sport and want to do their part to help talented kids succeed. We encountered one such coach when my son was a U8. The coach of the opposing team, who we'd never met, came up to us after the game after asking around to figure out who our son belonged to. He told us he had a lot of natural talent, but was in danger of falling into the common trap of relying on speed and strength instead of skills, which would ultimately hurt him. The coach mentioned some coaches of older kids at our club who he knew were good skill trainers and said he'd be happy to introduce us, and he said our son was always welcome to come join his team at a different club for practices.

This coach's intervention and advice had a profound effect on our son's soccer development. Since that time we've met many more coaches who just basically live and breathe soccer. Many of them offer free training for kids who can't afford it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A well respected coach in area was DC playing at an open run/scrimmage and mentioned has alot of potential but I should get some personal training. Not sure how to take that advice. Good, bad? Is it necessary or he trying to make a buck. He said could recommend one. This is for a u11 player.

Any experience or advice on this would be appreciated!

$$$$$$

Duh.

This wasn't necessarily a solicitation by the coach to be the trainer. Perhaps the coach was simply giving some advice. Geesh

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: $$$$$$. Duh.

+1,000,000

OP here, any other recommendations? Preferably in MD.

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford it, I'm sure your child would get something out of it. You might look into a small group lesson.

I agree. I had a coach say something similar to my child at a young age and I wish I had started doing extra training at that time. The talented players, especially those with older siblings, tend to start doing extra training earlier than their teammates and get a head start because of it. While you don't have to do one-on-one training, doing some extra training can only help a kid who is very interested in soccer.

If you're willing to sort through the pages, there's discussion of training companies in the travel soccer thread. And of course, there's no harm in getting the recommendation from the coach you talked to.

Anonymous wrote: $$$$$$. Duh.

+1,000,000

If you can afford it, I'm sure your child would get something out of it. You might look into a small group lesson.

Anonymous wrote:A well respected coach in area was DC playing at an open run/scrimmage and mentioned has alot of potential but I should get some personal training. Not sure how to take that advice. Good, bad? Is it necessary or he trying to make a buck. He said could recommend one. This is for a u11 player.

Any experience or advice on this would be appreciated!

$$$$$$

Duh.

A well respected coach in area was DC playing at an open run/scrimmage and mentioned has alot of potential but I should get some personal training. Not sure how to take that advice. Good, bad? Is it necessary or he trying to make a buck. He said could recommend one. This is for a u11 player.

Any experience or advice on this would be appreciated!