Private soccer training in Irvine with Top Notch Training runs 1 to 2 hours per session, weekly or bi-weekly, and it works best for a player with one identifiable block, not for general “more touches.” Small-group is the same session with a sibling or teammate added. Private training is $95 per hour one-on-one; small-group is $70 per player for two players, $60 for three, and $50 for four through six. Travel to your field and any field or permit fees can affect the total. To book, request a session with your player count and preferred days, and Coach Elmer replies with a time, the exact price, and a link to reserve your spot. Pay at the event or via Zelle. Or call (714) 248-2592.
- Sessions run 1 to 2 hours, weekly or bi-weekly.
- Best for a player with one identifiable block, not general “more touches.”
- Small-group is the same session with a sibling or teammate added.
- Private training is $95 per hour; small-group is $50 to $70 per player depending on group size (six max).
- Length, travel, extra players, field fees, and packages move the number.
- To book a private or small-group session: request a session, and Coach Elmer replies with a time, price, and booking link. Pay at the event or via Zelle, or call (714) 248-2592.
You already know something is stuck. That is the hard part.
Here is the situation most Irvine parents are actually in. Your player has not missed a practice. They work in the backyard. And yet in games they still play one-touch backwards, or the left foot never appears, or they were fine last season and now they hide. You have watched enough Saturdays to know it is not effort. What you do not know is the name of the problem, and neither does anyone who has only seen your kid from the sideline for 60 minutes a week.
That is the whole case for private training, and it is a narrower case than most families expect. Private training is not the premium tier and group training is not the discount tier. Private training is a diagnostic tool. Group training is the pressure test. And neither one replaces the team your player is already on, which is why it helps to see how rec leagues, club programs, and supplemental training fit together in Orange County. Buying the wrong one first is the most common and most expensive mistake in youth soccer around here.
What a real 10-minute diagnosis looks like
Take a fault we see constantly in Olders (12-16): the first touch across the body under pressure. Unopposed, the player looks clean. Add a defender at their shoulder and the first touch goes square across the body into traffic, so their second touch is a panicked pass backwards. Parents describe this as “she gets nervous.” It is not nerves. It is body shape before the ball arrives.
In session, it gets isolated fast: a receiving pattern with a passive defender at the back shoulder, then a live one, with the player forced to take the first touch on the back foot and out of pressure, into space, not across it. The cue is short on purpose, something the player can hear in their own head on Saturday: “Look before it comes, touch away from him.” Six words, because a paragraph of coaching does not survive a game.
Then the parent has a job. In the next game, do not watch the ball. Watch your player’s head in the two seconds before the ball reaches them, and watch which direction their first touch goes. If the shoulder check appears and the touch starts going away from pressure instead of across it, the fix is holding. If it disappears the moment the game speeds up, the mechanics are fine and what the player now needs is competitive repetition, which is group training, not another private hour. That distinction is the entire point of paying for a coach who can diagnose rather than a trainer who can run cones.
Coach Elmer Chacon holds a USSF B License, the fourth-highest coaching certification in U.S. Soccer and two levels below what is required to coach in MLS, and he currently coaches at the MLSNext level with Strikers FC Irvine, so the read on what today’s game demands is live, not remembered. Nearly 20 years of it, on the West Coast. The full background is here.
800+ youth, club, and high school players have trained with Top Notch Training as of August 2026.
What it costs, plainly
Most families ask for a number before they ask for anything else, so here it is, plainly.
- 1-on-1 private training: $95 per hour.
- Small group (semi-private), 2 players: $70 per player, per hour.
- Small group, 3 players: $60 per player, per hour.
- Small group, 4 to 6 players: $50 per player, per hour. Six players maximum.
Any age group, youth through adult. Sessions run 1 to 2 hours, weekly or bi-weekly. Rates current as of August 2026.
Those rates are for sessions you arrange yourself. If your player would rather drop into a set weekly slot with peers at a similar level, weekly group trainings at Oak Creek Park run $45 per session for ages 9 to 12 and $55 for ages 12 to 17, with the current dates and open spots listed there. To set up a private or small-group time of your own, request a session with your player count and preferred days, and Coach Elmer confirms the slot and the exact price before you book.
For context: private soccer training in Orange County commonly runs $75 to $150 per hour, a wide bracket because it mixes unlicensed trainers with licensed, actively coaching ones. Coach Elmer holds a USSF B License and currently coaches at MLSNext level with Strikers FC Irvine. At $95 an hour, that is a licensed, actively competing coach priced in the lower third of the county’s range.
What pushes your number up or down
- Session length. 1 hour versus 2. The most common booking is 1 hour for a single technical fault plus homework.
- Travel to your field. A session at a field near you costs more than one at a field already in the rotation.
- Extra players. Adding a sibling or a teammate makes it a small-group session and spreads the cost across two families.
- Field or facility fees. Some locations charge, some do not.
- Packages. Booking a block of sessions prices differently than booking one at a time.
Call (714) 248-2592, say the length, the location, and how many players, and you get a real number for that exact format rather than a “starting at” figure. Two minutes, no sales pitch.
Logistics: fields, time slots, and how far out to book
Practical answers before you call, so you know whether this fits your week at all.
- Where. On-field training is based in Orange County, with Irvine as the home base. Camps have run at Oak Creek Park in Irvine, and private and small-group sessions are held at Orange County fields. If you want to train at your own field, say so when you call, since travel is one of the things that moves the price. The specific field for your session is confirmed at booking rather than fixed year-round, because availability and field permits change season to season.
- When. Private sessions are structured weekly or bi-weekly. Exact open slots vary with the club and high school calendar, so the current openings are on the training schedule. Check it before you call and you will already know which windows are realistic.
- How far ahead. Availability tightens around school breaks, when camp weeks and holiday clinics fill first. If you are aiming at a winter or summer break block, look early rather than the week before.
- Cancellations. 24 hours’ notice. Payment is at the event or via Zelle.
- Not local? On-field training is Southern California only. Parent guidance meetings can be in person if you are local to Orange County, or by phone or Zoom from anywhere in the world.
Small-group sessions: the middle gear
Two or a few players, same structure as a private, more competitive reps than pure 1-on-1 and far more coach attention than a full group. It fits when:
- Two siblings or teammates share the same weakness and can push each other
- The player looks fine unopposed, so you need a live opponent to make the fault appear at all
- You want private-level coaching with the cost spread across more than one family
Who this is for, by age band
Youngers (8-11)
Mostly technical: ball mastery, both feet, first touch, and enjoying having the ball at their feet. At this age one weekly group session plus a short private block usually beats stacking private hours, because what they need most is volume of touches in a competitive setting. For a fuller breakdown of what players need at each age band, from 8-11 through high school and elite, the emphasis shifts as the demands change.
Olders (12-16)
Decision-making, speed of play, and position-specific work move to the front. This is also where confidence dips and position changes appear, and those are two of the clearest reasons to book 1-on-1, because both are specific and both are diagnosable in an hour.
High School / Elite
The question becomes what the next rung actually demands: a stronger club team, a high school starting spot, a college roster. In his first season as Head Coach at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, Coach Elmer took the boys’ program to the CIF quarterfinals for the first time in school history. We do not promise placement anywhere. The standard is simple and it belongs to the player: bring the effort, stay coachable.
How often, honestly
Weekly or bi-weekly, deliberately spaced. The gap between sessions is where the homework gets absorbed instead of hours just accumulating. If your athlete is already training five days a week with their club, the honest answer is often bi-weekly at most, or none at all until the load comes down. More sessions is not the same thing as more improvement.
How to book
- Request a session with your player count, preferred days, and the field you have in mind.
- Coach Elmer replies with a time, the exact price for your format, and a link to reserve your spot.
- Pay at the event or via Zelle. Cancellations need 24 hours’ notice.
You can book a training session here, and joining the announcement list gets you $25 off your first training plus notice of camps and clinics before they fill. If you are still weighing formats, the programs page lays out weekly group trainings, camps, private sessions, and parent guidance side by side, and how to pick the right format in Irvine comes down to naming the problem first; during school breaks a multi-day camp in Irvine gives a concentrated block that a single weekly hour cannot match. If you are comparing camp weeks, the one number that separates coaching from supervision is the coach-to-player ratio at each station. If you are searching more broadly across the county, our screening process for finding a soccer trainer in Orange County covers what to check first. If you want to pressure-test any trainer you are considering, including us, our guide on choosing a private soccer coach near you lists the questions to ask.
The relief most parents are after is not a trophy. It is knowing what is actually wrong, so the next season of effort goes somewhere. Call (714) 248-2592 and describe what you see in games. That conversation costs nothing and usually tells you within five minutes whether private training is even the right answer.
FAQ
How much does private soccer training cost in Irvine?
Private 1-on-1 training is $95 per hour. Small-group training is $70 per player for two players, $60 for three, and $50 for four through six. Sessions run 1 to 2 hours. Travel to your field and any field or permit fees can affect the total. Call (714) 248-2592 to book, or request a session online.
How long is a private soccer training session?
Sessions run 1 to 2 hours, weekly or bi-weekly. One hour typically covers one technical fault plus homework. Two hours leaves room to fix the mechanic and then test it under game-like pressure in the same session.
Where in Irvine do the sessions take place?
On-field training is based in Orange County with Irvine as the home base, and camps have run at Oak Creek Park in Irvine. The exact field for a private session is confirmed at booking, since availability changes by season. Training at your own field is possible, and travel is one of the factors that affects price.
Is private training better than group training for young players?
Not automatically. Private training is best for diagnosing and fixing one specific limitation, because the coach sees exactly what is holding the player back. Group training supplies repetition, competitive pressure, and speed of play against peers at a similar level. Fixing something in private and never testing it under pressure is how a fix quietly disappears by the next game.
How far in advance should I book?
Openings vary with the club and school calendar, so check the training schedule for current availability. Book earlier for school breaks, when camp weeks and holiday clinics fill first. Cancellations require 24 hours’ notice.
Can two players share a private session?
Yes. Adding a sibling or teammate makes it a small-group session, which adds competitive pressure and spreads the cost across two families. Mention the number of players when you call so the quote reflects the real format.
My player trains five days a week with club. Should we add private sessions?
Often the honest answer is bi-weekly at most, or nothing until the training load comes down. Absorption matters as much as reps. Describe the weekly schedule on the phone and you will get a straight answer, including “not right now” if that is the truth.
Do you train players outside Orange County?
On-field training is based in Southern California. Parent guidance meetings can be held in person if you are local to Orange County, or by phone or Zoom from anywhere in the world.
Feature image update request
Feature image needs to be replaced. The current featured image shows a caucasian coach, which does not match Coach Elmer Chacon. Elmer Chacon is a hispanic, heavyset man (heavyset, not fat). Please swap the feature image for a photo that accurately represents him, ideally an authentic photo of Coach Elmer on the field in Irvine. Suggested alt text: “Coach Elmer Chacon, a hispanic heavyset soccer coach, leading a private training session in Irvine.”
Reviewed by Elmer Chacon, USSF B Licensed, MLS Next Coach, CIF Coach of the Year, Head Coach at Fairmont Preparatory Academy - last updated August 15, 2026.
Sources for this article
- Private sessions run 1 to 2 hours, weekly or bi-weekly, in Orange County
- Booking private or small-group: request a session, Coach Elmer replies with time, exact price, and a booking link; pay at event or via Zelle; 24 hours' notice on cancellations
- Announcement list = $25 off first training plus advance notice of camps and clinics
- Private training $95/hour; small group $70/player (2), $60/player (3), $50/player (4-6); weekly group classes $45 (9-12) and $55 (12-17) per session; rates as of August 2026
- Price factors: session length (1 vs 2 hours), travel to your field, adding a sibling or second player, field/facility fees, packages
- Coach Elmer Chacon holds USSF B License, fourth-highest U.S. Soccer certification, two levels below MLS requirement
- Currently coaches MLSNext level with Strikers FC Irvine; nearly 20 years developing West Coast players
- First season as Head Coach at Fairmont Preparatory Academy: boys' program to CIF quarterfinals, first time in school history
Facts drawn from this site's own documented knowledge and first-hand experience.
