One-on-one soccer training is a full hour where one coach works with one player and nobody else. No waiting in line behind fourteen other kids. No drill that half the group is too young for. Just your player, a ball, and a session built around what they actually need to get better at. I’m Olly, I run Olly on the Ball here in Mount Pleasant, and one-on-one sessions are the core of what I do.
I play for Surf and I volunteer with the Charleston Battery, so a lot of what ends up in my sessions is stuff I’m working on myself that week. This page covers how a one-on-one session with me actually runs, what it costs, who it suits, and how it compares to the other options around Charleston.
What one-on-one soccer training actually means
A one-on-one session is sixty minutes, one player, one coach. Everything in the hour is chosen for that player. If their weak foot is a problem, we spend real time on the weak foot. If they freeze when a defender steps to them, we build pressure into every rep until it stops being scary.
The difference from team practice isn’t intensity — good club practices are intense. The difference is reps and correction. In a team session of eighteen players, a kid might touch the ball a few hundred times and get corrected five or six times. In an hour alone with a coach, they’ll touch it well over a thousand times and get corrected on almost every one of them.
That’s the whole argument for it. More reps, corrected immediately. Confidence comes from reps.
How a session with me runs
I train at parks around Mount Pleasant — Park West, the Isle of Palms connector fields, wherever works for your family. A standard hour looks like this:
- 10 minutes — ball mastery warm-up. Touch patterns, both feet, moving the whole time. No stretching circle, no standing around.
- 20 minutes — the technical block. This is the part that changes week to week. First touch under pressure, turning out of tight space, striking technique, receiving on the back foot. Whatever we agreed the priority is.
- 20 minutes — live reps. I defend. Properly. A player who only ever beats cones gets a shock the first time a real body steps across them, so I make sure that shock happens in training instead of on a Saturday.
- 10 minutes — finishing and a challenge. Something competitive to end on. Kids remember the last five minutes of a session more than the first fifty.
Afterwards I’ll tell you one thing to work on before the next session. One thing — not a list. A player who actually does one thing for a week improves faster than a player handed a homework sheet they’ll never open.
What one-on-one training costs in Mount Pleasant
My one-on-one sessions are $45 for a full hour. Semi-private sessions, where your player brings a friend or teammate, are $30 per player for the same hour.
For context, the coaching marketplaces that show up when you search for private soccer training in Charleston are quoting noticeably more than that for a comparable hour, and you’re matched with whoever is available rather than a coach you picked. I’d rather you knew exactly who was showing up.
If budget is the thing standing between your player training once a month and training every week, take the semi-private option. Eight ordinary sessions between now and the spring season will do far more for a young player than two perfect ones. Consistency beats intensity every time at this age. There’s more detail on the numbers in my guide to what private soccer training costs in Charleston SC.
Who one-on-one training is right for
It works really well when:
- A player has one clear weakness holding them back — a weak foot, a bad first touch, no confidence taking people on.
- They’re quiet or self-conscious and go invisible in a big group.
- They’re preparing for club tryouts and need focused work in a short window.
- They’re already the best player on their rec team and aren’t being stretched.
It’s the wrong call when:
- Your player mainly needs more time with the ball and more fun with it. A younger beginner often gets more out of a semi-private session with a friend than an hour alone with an adult.
- They’re already training five or six days a week. Adding load to a tired player doesn’t develop them, it just wears them down.
- The player doesn’t want to be there. I can coach a nervous kid. I can’t coach a kid who’s been signed up against their will.
If you’re not sure, ask me and I’ll tell you honestly. I’d rather point you at the right format than sell you the expensive one.
One-on-one vs semi-private vs group
Quick version:
- One-on-one ($45/hour) — maximum correction, maximum reps, fully tailored. Best for fixing a specific weakness fast.
- Semi-private ($30/player/hour) — about 70% of the individual attention, plus a live opponent and a competitive edge. Best value, and often more fun.
- Group camps and clinics — good for volume, social energy and keeping the game enjoyable. Not where you fix a technical problem.
Most of the players I work with rotate. A block of one-on-one sessions to fix something specific, then semi-private to keep it sharp. If you’re still weighing it up, I wrote a longer piece on whether private soccer training is actually worth it.
What players usually work on first
Nine times out of ten, the first session comes back to the same thing: ball control and close touch. Not because it’s the flashiest thing, but because almost every other problem sits on top of it. A player who can’t take a ball cleanly under pressure will always look slow, always play backwards, and will always look less confident than they actually are.
Fix the first touch and everything above it gets easier. That’s usually where we start.
Frequently asked questions
How much should one-on-one soccer training cost?
Rates vary a lot. In the Charleston area, private sessions commonly run from the mid-$40s to well over $70 an hour depending on the coach and whether you book through a marketplace. Mine are $45 for a full hour, booked directly.
What are good one-on-one soccer training drills?
The best ones put the player under real pressure. Ball mastery patterns to warm up, then receiving with a defender closing, 1v1 attacking into a small goal, and finishing off a moving ball. Cone work has a place, but cones don’t tackle you.
Is private soccer training worth it for a young player?
It’s worth it when there’s a clear thing to fix and the player wants to fix it. It’s not worth it as a general upgrade, or for a player who’s already overloaded. The honest test: can you name what you’d want different in three months?
What age should a kid start one-on-one training?
Around 7 or 8 is usually the earliest it makes sense. Younger than that, the priority is touches and enjoyment, which a small group does better. I coach players roughly 5 to 14, but under-7s almost always do better in a semi-private or group format.
How often should a player do one-on-one sessions?
Once a week is plenty alongside team training. Every other week still works if the player does the one thing we agreed between sessions. Twice a week is only worth it in a short block before tryouts.
Where do sessions take place in Mount Pleasant?
Public fields and parks around Mount Pleasant and the surrounding area. If your family has a field or a big enough yard that works, we can use that too — a lot of my best sessions happen in a backyard.
Book a session
If you want your player getting sharper on the ball this season, get in touch and tell me their age, what team they’re on, and the one thing you’d like to see change. I’ll tell you whether one-on-one is the right format or whether something else fits better.
Train with purpose. Confidence comes from reps.
About Olly: Oliver “Olly” Sovenyhazy is a 16-year-old soccer player with Surf and a volunteer with the professional Charleston Battery. Through Olly on the Ball, he coaches private, semi-private and small-group soccer training for young players across Mount Pleasant and the Charleston area.
