Is a Private Soccer Coach or a Training Aid Better for Improving Your Shot?

A private soccer coach and Curl Master One are better together than either one alone, and the combination is the strongest way to improve your shot. In my opinion, a coach tells you what to work on while Curl Master One gives you the repetitions to practice it between sessions, so you should get one. That being said, the shot itself starts with contact, and it helps to read about how to strike a soccer ball before you spend a dollar on either option. This post covers what each does, what each costs, and how to use them together.

What Does a Private Soccer Coach Bring to Your Shot?

A private soccer coach brings a trained eye and a conversation about your game. In my opinion, that is the part of improvement that no device replaces: someone who watches your attempts and tells you what to try next. Perhaps the best comparison is a driving instructor, who sits beside you and points things out, while the hours that make you comfortable behind the wheel happen on your own. A lesson is short, though, and a shooting habit is built over many more repetitions than one session allows, which is where the time between sessions matters.

When you choose a coach, ask what they would have you practice after each session. In my opinion, that answer matters as much as any credential, because it tells you how the hours between lessons will be spent. It could be argued that a coach who plans your next week is giving you more than a coach who only runs the hour. Write down what you hear, bring it back next time, and treat the lesson as the start of the work, not the whole of it.

What Does Curl Master One Add Between Sessions?

Curl Master One is built for practice between sessions and at home. It spins a standard ball at controlled speeds, so you feel straight away whether your strike was right, which is the kind of feedback a coach gives in the moment. With six speed settings, a younger player can start at the top speed and turn it down as technique grows, and it suits players from around age 8 up to adult. Players aged 8 to 12 should train with an adult nearby, as with any ball work.

Curling is learnable, because curl is physics rather than talent. In my opinion, that is the best reason to get one: it turns a skill that looks like magic into something you can rehearse. The suggested routine is three sessions a week of twenty minutes each, short and focused, which fits either side of a school night. Many players see the ball bend in their first session, and consistent use is what turns that into stronger technique. It trains the contact and spin control behind free kicks, penalties and crosses.

Curl Master One at a glance

• Price: $119 once, with no app and no subscription
• Ages: from around 8 up to adult, with six speed settings
• Routine: three sessions a week, twenty minutes each
• Protection: 30 day money back guarantee and a 1 year warranty

How Much Does Each Option Cost?

Private coaching costs $40 to $100 for a lesson with one player, and small group lessons of two to five players run $35 to $65 per player (Lessons.com, Oct 2026). Those are national ranges, so a session near you may land higher or lower. Curl Master One costs $119 once, with no app and no subscription, and it comes with a 30 day money back guarantee and a 1 year warranty. In my opinion, that makes it an easy cost to justify, because it is about what a few lessons cost and it is there for every practice session afterward.

It helps to ask what each dollar pays for. A lesson buys expert attention for the hour, and Curl Master One buys the practice that surrounds it, with no extra charge for each session once you own it. So, if money is tight, I would not drop coaching to afford the machine. A budget with a lesson every so often and Curl Master One for the weeks in between gives you both the guidance and the repetitions, and that is the mix I would choose.

Which Should a Beginner, an Intermediate Player and an Advanced Player Choose?

Every level should combine the two, and only the mix changes. A beginner can use a coach to learn what a good strike feels like, then use Curl Master One to repeat it at a setting that suits them. An intermediate player can bring one stubborn habit to a lesson and rehearse the fix at home. An advanced player can ask a coach for a precise contact goal and use the machine to repeat it. Curl Master One is a device players grow with, not out of, and you do not need to know soccer to help a young player use it.

How Do You Make the Hours Between Sessions Count?

The hours between sessions are where a lesson turns into a habit, and that is the practical case for owning Curl Master One. After each lesson, pick one thing your coach mentioned, set the dial to a speed that suits you, and spend twenty minutes on it. Keep the session short and focused rather than long and loose. Then, tell your coach what you noticed at the next lesson. In my opinion, that loop of lesson, practice and report back is the most useful routine a player can follow.

So, if you are weighing the two, my pick is clear: book the coaching you can sustain and get Curl Master One for everything in between. The 30 day money back guarantee means you can try it with your own player before you commit, and the 1 year warranty covers hardware faults for 12 months. Because the machine provides the feedback, a parent who never played can still set the dial and help.