Pricing Your Services

Pricing is the most important thing in your business. Most coaches don’t realize this because it feels like just a number on a page. But pricing is the foundation of everything—your revenue, your schedule, your sanity, and your ability to actually help athletes improve. Get pricing wrong, and you’ll work twice as hard for half the money. You’ll deal with constant scheduling headaches, flaky clients, and a business that feels impossible to scale. Get it right, and everything else becomes easier. Think of it like choosing a career path. If you rush into the wrong job without thinking it through, you might find yourself stuck ten years later—making decent money but hating what you do. Pricing works the same way. The decisions you make early compound over time. Fix them now, or pay for them later.

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Start with an Onboarding Session

Before you think about your actual pricing, you need to nail your onboarding session. This is the entry point for every new athlete—the one thing you market to people who don’t know you yet.

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What is an onboarding session?

An onboarding session is a discounted first session (typically 60-80% off your normal rate) designed to get new families in the door. It’s a no-brainer offer that removes the risk for parents who are on the fence.

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Why it works

Parents don’t know you. They don’t trust you yet. Asking them to commit to a training package before they’ve met you is a big ask. The onboarding session solves this by:

• Lowering the barrier — It’s cheap enough that there’s no reason not to try
• Building trust — They meet you, see your facility, and experience your coaching
• Collecting data — You learn their goals, their athlete’s weaknesses, their schedule, and what they care about

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What happens during the session

The onboarding session serves two purposes: data collection and trust building. You’re not just running drills. You’re listening. What are the parent’s goals? What does the athlete struggle with? What’s their schedule like? What sports do they play? The more you learn, the better you can match them to the right package—and the easier the sale becomes. By the end of the session, you know whether they’re a good fit, and you have everything you need to pitch them on your actual offerings.

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Commitment-Based Pricing Only

Here’s the most important principle: no one-off sessions. Ever. Your pricing must involve some form of commitment. This is non-negotiable if you want to build a sustainable business and actually help athletes improve.

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Why commitment matters

• Athlete development requires consistency — You can’t help someone get better if they show up randomly
• Predictable revenue — You know what’s coming in each month
• Reduced admin headaches — No constant back-and-forth about scheduling individual sessions
• Better client relationships — Committed clients are invested clients

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Commitment structures that work

The most common commitment is monthly, but many facilities have great success with 3-month or 6-month commitments. The minimum should always be one month.

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Keep It Simple: Frequency-Based Packages

Parents are not experts. They don’t understand—or care about—the nuanced difference between video analysis, skill work, strength training, and mental preparation. They just want their athlete to get better. Your job is to make that happen. Their job is to choose how often to show up.

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The packages that work

Most successful facilities offer these options: That’s it. The parent picks a frequency, commits monthly (or longer), and you handle the rest.

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The pitch

After an onboarding session, it sounds like this: “I can definitely help your son reach his goals. Here’s how we work—can you come in once a week or twice a week?” If they push back because of a busy schedule: “What about just coming in twice a month for tune-ups? We can always adjust from there.” Simple. Clear. No confusion.

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Avoid One-on-One Sessions

This is a trap that destroys coaching businesses. Avoid it.

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Why one-on-one doesn’t work

• Economics — You make far less per hour than small group training
• Expectations — Once you offer it, parents expect it and won’t accept anything else
• Development — One-on-one is actually worse for athlete development in most sports

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Small groups are better for everyone

A small group of 4-10 athletes at similar skill levels is how you maximize development. Athletes feed off each other. You can run competitive drills and game-like scenarios. The energy is higher. And for your business? You’re making 4-10x more per session than one-on-one would generate.

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Pricing to Your Market

There’s no universal “right” price. Pricing depends on your location, your market, and the type of business you want to run.

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How to find your price

1. Research your market — What are other facilities and coaches charging in your area?
2. Decide your positioning — Are you premium (higher price, fewer athletes) or volume-based (more accessible, higher capacity)?
3. Factor in your costs — Rent, equipment, staff, and your own time

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Typical ranges

Across the United States, most group training sessions fall between $40-60 per session with group sizes of 4-10 athletes. Adjust based on your local market—wealthy suburbs will be higher, rural areas may be lower.

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Add-Ons Follow the Same Rules

Once you’ve nailed your core offer, you can add supplementary services like video analysis, mental coaching, or specialized training. But the same principles apply.

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How to structure add-ons

• Subscription-based — Not one-off purchases
• Optional — They enhance your core offer, not replace it
• Simple — One or two add-ons maximum

Example: A softball facility offers video analysis as an add-on. Athletes subscribe to the core training (1x/week), and parents can add +$50-100/month for one video analysis session per month.

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Raising Prices

If you’ve been undercharging, raising prices is uncomfortable but necessary.

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The safest approach

Grandfather existing clients at their current rate and raise prices only for new clients. This protects your relationships with loyal customers—who are likely your best source of referrals.

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Timing matters

If your facility has a natural break—a holiday, off-season, or month you’re closed—that’s the ideal time to implement new pricing. It feels less abrupt and gives everyone a clean reset.

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Not Every Customer is a Good Customer

As you grow, you’ll learn that some customers aren’t worth the headache.

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Red flags to watch for

• Only wants one-on-one sessions
• Constantly cancels or no-shows
• Doesn’t respect your time or policies
• Pushes back on every aspect of how you run your business

Taking every customer when you’re starting out makes sense. But as you grow, protecting your time and your business model matters more than filling every slot.

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Quick Reference: Pricing Principles

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What’s Next?