When it comes to finding a one-on-one soccer trainer for you or your child, let me be brutally honest: not all trainers are created equal. Scroll through social media and you’ll see countless “trainers” doing fancy cone drills, posting slick videos, and racking up likes. But flashy doesn’t equal effective. As the founder of Beast Mode Soccer and someone who pioneered individual soccer training long before it was a trend, I’m here to give you no-nonsense advice on what truly sets great trainers apart from the pretenders. Whether you’re a parent looking for the best for your kid or a player chasing the next level, here’s how to spot a truly elite 1-on-1 soccer trainer, and why I’ve been called the OG of individual training.
1. Track Record & Player Development History
Elite trainers deliver real results on the field. The stats above show one of my players, Rachel Daly, topping the charts in the 2022/23 Women’s Super League, evidence of focused development paying off. An expert trainer’s resume isn’t just social media followers; it’s league-leading performances and tangible growth in their players.
The first thing you should look at is a trainer’s track record. I’m not talking about how many Instagram followers they have or how cool their drills look. I’m talking about real, measurable player development. A top trainer doesn’t need to have coached a pro team or be a household name, but they must have demonstrable success elevating players from one level to the next. Do they have examples of kids who went from rec league to making a competitive club team? High school players who earned college scholarships? College players who broke into the pros? If they can’t point to clear success stories, walk away. In my own program at Beast Mode Soccer, we’ve worked with players of all ages and abilities, from youngsters just starting out to World Cup champions . The common denominator is improvement. For instance, 13 of the 24 players on the 2019 Women’s World Cup-winning U.S. squad had trained with me at some point . That wasn’t by accident, it was the result of years of building them up step by step.
And it’s not just the already-talented stars. A truly elite trainer takes pride in the journey of development. Don’t just take my word for it, listen to the players. One of my long-time trainees, Rachel Daly, has openly credited our work together as a catalyst for her rise. “Since working with David I have become an All-American, been called up to the England National Team, played in the World Cup and the Olympics. His passion to improve players is unbelievable,” Daly says . That’s the kind of track record that speaks volumes. It’s about consistent progression, evidence that a trainer can take a player from wherever they are and elevate them. If a trainer’s portfolio is empty or only shows a few staged photos with famous players (with no story of development behind them), that’s a red flag. Results over hype, always.
2. Knowledge & Confidence in Their Methods
A great one-on-one trainer isn’t just running you through drills, they’re teaching you why you’re doing those drills in the first place. In an age where anyone can copy a cool exercise they saw online, real expertise is in short supply. Beware of the “social media trainers” who design sessions to look good on camera but can’t explain how it translates to an actual game. As I often say: if a drill looks awesome on Instagram but doesn’t resemble anything that happens in a real match, it’s not real training .
The best trainers have a deep well of knowledge and unshakeable confidence in their methodology. They’ve studied the game, they’ve put in the hours, and they can tell you exactly how each exercise will make you better. When I train a player, I can explain the purpose behind every rep: whether we’re refining first-touch under pressure, improving weak-foot passing, or working on explosive first-step speed, there’s a why behind the what. Unfortunately, many trainers today just imitate drills they saw in a trending video without truly understanding them. That’s the difference between coaching for development and coaching for clout.
Don’t get me wrong, drills can be fun and still be effective. But substance must come before style. Real training might not always look flashy; sometimes it’s repetitive, gritty, and not something you’d film for a hype reel. Meanwhile, the clout-chasers are setting up 20 cones and hurdles in some fancy pattern because it “looks cool.” As I wrote recently, “$10K worth of flashy cones and high-speed cameras doesn’t make a session valuable, it makes it marketable… Real training doesn’t need fancy setups, it needs game realism.” . In other words, focus on trainers who prioritize game-realistic drills over gimmicks. They should be able to connect every practice activity to in-game situations. If a trainer can’t clearly articulate why you’re doing a drill, or if their answer is basically “because I saw someone do it online”, then they don’t truly understand player development. Great trainers coach with purpose and clarity. They have a philosophy and system that they trust, and that confidence comes from years of honing their craft, not from the number of views on their last video.
3. Individualized Training & Tactical Awareness
Cookie-cutter drills don’t create standout players. The heat map above (from Rachel Daly’s season) tells a story of how she plays, where she moves, where her shots come from. A top trainer dissects details like this and builds a personalized plan to sharpen a player’s strengths and improve weak areas. It’s not about more cones; it’s about more purpose in every drill.
No two players are exactly alike, and a great 1-on-1 trainer knows this better than anyone. Training should be customized to each player’s unique needs, not a generic one-size-fits-all workout. That means an elite trainer will take the time to watch your game footage, analyze your statistics, and understand your playing style. They’ll identify your strengths (to further maximize them) and your weaknesses (to systematically improve them). This is where a proper Individual Development Plan (IDP) comes into play. Unlike generic training, an IDP zeroes in on a player’s specific areas for growth and uses data to chart a personalized path for improvement . In other words, top trainers use evidence-based training, they’re not guessing what you need; they know, because they’ve done their homework on you.
When I work with a player, the first thing I ask for is their recent game film and performance stats. Why? Because that tells me where to focus. Maybe a forward isn’t getting enough shots off in games, or a midfielder’s passing accuracy drops under pressure, whatever it is, we’ll find it and address it with tailored drills. For example, in one case I had a young pro forward whose data showed she was too hesitant to shoot. Her passing accuracy was excellent (over 87%, very tidy for a striker), but she was only attempting about 1.7 shots per 90 minutes, far too low for her position . The numbers also revealed she almost always favored her right foot and rarely attempted headers. Armed with these insights, we crafted a plan specifically for her: double her shot attempts each game, train one-time finishing to build a shoot-first mentality, and develop her left-foot and aerial ability so she’d be a threat in any situation . Her training sessions suddenly looked very different from another forward’s, because they were hers. Every drill had a tactical purpose: we weren’t just doing random finishing exercises, we were addressing the exact scenario she was struggling with, like quick one-touch shots inside the box, weak-foot volleys, and aggressive header practice.
That’s how individualized training works. It’s targeted, it’s data-driven, and it’s constantly adjusted based on feedback. If your trainer is running the same cookie-cutter cone drills for every kid in the academy, that’s a huge warning sign that there’s no real tactical awareness behind the training. Great trainers will often create a written IDP for their players and track progress over time. They should be able to show you: “Here’s what we’re working on and why. Here’s how I’m measuring your improvement. Here’s how this will translate to better performances on game day.” If they’re not doing that, you’re not getting the full benefit of individual training. Remember: training with purpose beats training for show, every time.
4. Investment in the Player Beyond the Session
Elite training doesn’t stop when the one-hour session is over. One major thing that separates the great trainers from the rest is their investment in the player’s development beyond the training field. A mediocre private coach might run a session, collect their fee, and say “see you next week.” A great trainer becomes a mentor and a partner in your journey. They’ll check in on your matches, they’ll review your performance, and they’ll give you feedback off the clock because they genuinely care about your growth. I often find myself on weekends watching my players’ game film (or sometimes sitting in the stands incognito), taking notes on what we need to work on next. Why? Because that’s what it takes to truly help a player reach the next level, you have to understand how they actually perform in games and guide them through the ups and downs.
Look for a trainer who goes the extra mile. Do they ask for your match reports or videos? Do they follow up to see how you did in that trial or tournament? An elite 1-on-1 trainer will actively coach you between sessions. For example, with the players I mentor, I hold them accountable not just to show up for training, but to implement what we’ve worked on in their games, and I follow up on it. I’ve had daily check-ins with top players like Alex Morgan to track progress and set new goals throughout her 10-year journey with me . That’s right: daily meetings to discuss everything from technical tweaks to mindset, nutrition, and recovery. When a player knows their trainer is that invested, it’s incredibly motivating. It also means the trainer can adjust the training program on the fly, if I watch a game and see my player struggling with, say, getting dispossessed under high pressure, you better believe we’ll recreate that scenario in our next session and work through it.
Being invested beyond the session also means being a mentor on things like mentality and confidence. A great trainer wears many hats: coach, analyst, motivator, sometimes even sports psychologist. They help young players navigate challenges like self-doubt, bench time, or college recruiting. They celebrate your wins and help you learn from losses. Frankly, if a trainer isn’t interested in your development except for the hour you paid them for, they’re not interested in your development, period. The best trainers find joy and purpose in seeing their players succeed in the long run. They build trust and a relationship. As one pro I work with put it, “BMS provided me with a roadmap to success. It goes beyond the field, David has guided me every step of the way.” . That kind of mentorship is invaluable. So ask yourself, or ask other players: Does this trainer truly care about my journey, or just the transaction? The answer will tell you a lot.
5. The Evolution of Individual Training (and Avoiding the Aesthetics-Over-Results Trap)
When I started doing individual soccer training, it wasn’t a big trend, in fact, a lot of coaches and clubs didn’t understand it. I set out with a simple vision: to revolutionize how players train on their own and to prove that a structured, evidence-based 1-on-1 program could produce outstanding results . Back then, the idea of meticulously tracking data for an individual’s training plan or focusing on technical development outside of team practice was almost unheard of. I published one of the first comprehensive individual training guides back in 2013 (yes, I literally wrote the book on this) when few others were thinking this way. Over the last 15+ years, I’ve refined a four-pillar approach, technical mastery, tactical intelligence, physical conditioning, and mental resilience, that has become a gold standard in the field . I’m proud to say we set the standard for others, and many of today’s top players have benefitted from this approach.
With success, of course, comes imitation. These days, individual soccer training is “in.” Dozens of trainers have popped up trying to ride the wave, some are doing it the right way, but many are not. The landscape now is flooded with folks who seem more concerned with building a social media brand than building better players. They focus on aesthetics over substance. It’s easy for a young coach to watch a few YouTube clips and think they’re an expert. But there’s a big difference between being good at looking like a trainer and actually being a good trainer. I’ve had a front-row seat to this evolution, and I’ll just say it straight: a lot of what I see on Instagram and TikTok under the guise of “training” is nonsense. Setting up crazy obstacle courses, doing tricks in front of a camera, making every drill super flashy, that’s performing, not developing. As I noted earlier, social media trainers “love making everything look fancy for the camera, but that’s not what actually improves players” . And it’s true. You improve players by doing the unglamorous work, by relying on data and proven methods, by focusing on what actually happens in a game.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that individual training is now widely recognized and that more resources are available to players. But you have to filter out the noise. Remember that quality matters far more than quantity when it comes to training drills. A million different cone setups won’t help if none of them address your real developmental needs. The tragedy is that some players and parents get seduced by the flashy trainers who promise instant results or just look cool online, and they waste precious time and money. Meanwhile, the trainers who actually know their stuff are busy grinding away, producing the next breakout star through patient, methodical work. So as a consumer of training, be savvy: look at how the trainer has evolved and learned over time. Do they have a proven methodology (that’s maybe even been featured in places like Forbes or adopted by pro clubs)? Or are they just hopping on the latest drill trend? My journey in this field has always been rooted in innovation and results, and I welcome anyone to compare those results against the hype. The bottom line: find a trainer who cares about making you better, not about making themselves look good.
Call to Action: Choose Substance Over Show
At the end of the day, finding a truly elite 1-on-1 soccer trainer comes down to doing your homework and trusting your gut. Don’t be dazzled by social media sizzle or a trainer’s ability to name-drop or post cool videos. Demand proof, demand to see the improvement in their players, the thought process behind their training, and the commitment they have to those they train. If you’re a player or parent who is serious about development, align yourself with a coach who embodies the principles we’ve discussed: one who has a real track record, deep knowledge, personalized plans, and genuine investment in their players. For clubs and academies, the message is the same, bring in trainers who deliver real results, not just Instagram content.
I’ve been in this game a long time, and I’ll never stop advocating for training that actually makes a difference. So here’s my challenge to you: choose substance over show. Seek out evidence-backed programs, whether that means working with me and the Beast Mode Soccer team, or finding another trainer who meets these standards. Don’t settle for less than the gold standard in your development. Your future in the game is worth it. Champions are made through honest, hard work and smart guidance, nothing less. If you’re ready to take your game to the next level, find a trainer who’s ready to get down in the trenches with you and put in the work that matters. Cut through the hype, embrace the grind, and remember: greatness isn’t marketed, it’s earned. Now, let’s get to work.