Which apps actually get football trainers new students?
Most apps sold to football trainers are scheduling tools. They make the students you already have easier to run, which is worth a few dollars a month, but they do not add a single student to your calendar. Of the 8 tools below, 5 only run students you bring yourself.
Getting new students is the hard part, and it is paid for one of three ways: a cut of every lesson (marketplaces), a fee per lead (Thumbtack), or a flat price for a channel you own (your website, Google listing, reviews, and ads). The table sorts the tools that get you students to the top.
| App | Gets you new students? | What a new student costs you | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoachGrow (ours) | Yes | $19 a month plus 0.99% of each booking, no cut beyond that | $19/mo after a 7-day free trial |
| CoachUp | Yes | 43% of the first lesson, 6% from lesson 5 | $30 to join; keeps 43% of first session |
| Athletes Untapped | Yes | 20% of every lesson | Coach keeps 80% |
| Coachly | Partly | Students pay a 10% fee; you pay card processing | Free plan; Pro $29.99/month |
| Upper Hand | No | None: it only books students you bring | $79/month billed yearly |
| Calendly | No | None: it only books students you bring | Free plan; $10/month billed yearly |
| CoachNow | No | None: it helps keep students, not find them | $9.99/month |
| TrainHeroic | No | None: it helps keep students, not find them | $9.99/month for 1 athlete |
| Hudl | No | None: it runs a team, not your growth | From $400/team/year |
What does a new student cost you?
This is what one new student who books a weekly lesson costs you over a year, at the $30 median football rate on TeachMe.To. Card processing is left out because every option charges it.
Marketplaces are the fastest way to fill an empty calendar and the most expensive way to keep a student, because the cut comes out of every lesson the student ever books. Pay per lead is cheaper per student, but you pay for leads that never book. A channel you own costs the same however many students it brings, so it gets cheaper per student as you grow. Our advice: use a marketplace to fill the first gaps, then move your growth to a channel you own.
| Way to get students | How you pay | Cost of one weekly student for a year |
|---|---|---|
| CoachGrow (ours) | Flat monthly plan plus 0.99% of each booking | About $14 in booking fees, plus $228 a year for all your students; ads extra |
Apps that get you new students
These are the only tools here that add students you did not already have. They charge for it with a cut of each lesson, a fee per lead, or a monthly price, and the student relationship often stays on their platform.
CoachUp: A long-running marketplace where parents find and book private coaches. Joining costs $30, then $9.99 a year. You keep 57% of your rate on the first session with a new athlete, rising to 94% from the fifth session. [1]
Athletes Untapped: A marketplace of background-checked private coaches, mostly with college or pro playing experience. Families book and pay on the site, and bookings split 80/20 with the coach keeping 80%. [2]
Coachly: Formerly SeamsUp. A lesson marketplace plus video analysis, client chat, packages, and live online lessons. The coach plan is free and Pro is $29.99 a month. Coachly says it keeps nothing from lessons you sell, and clients who buy through its marketplace pay a 10% fee. [3]
Scheduling and payment apps
These run the students you already have: booking, payment, and reminders. They are worth a few dollars a month, but none of them brings in a new student.
Upper Hand: Sports business software for lessons, packages, clinics, camps, payments, and a client app. The Start plan for independent coaches is $79 a month billed yearly, and sales are demo-led. [4]
Calendly: Simple booking links that sync with your calendar. Paid plans start at $10 a month billed yearly and can collect payment at booking. It has no lesson packages. [5]
Apps that help you teach
These make lessons better and help keep students: video review, drills, ratings, and progress tracking. They do not find new students, and most do not take bookings or payments.
CoachNow: Video analysis and a private space per student for annotated video, voice notes, and drills. Analyze is $9.99 a month, PRO is $49.99, and Academy at $89.99 adds scheduling and invoicing. 7-day free trial. [6]
TrainHeroic: Strength and conditioning software for building workouts, assigning them, and tracking lifts. Coach plans start at $9.99 a month for one athlete and $17.99 for up to five, with a 14-day free trial. [7]
Team and film software
These run teams, rosters, and game film. They suit a trainer who also coaches a team, and they do not find private students.
Hudl: The standard team film platform for game video, breakdowns, and highlights. Club and youth plans start at $400 a team a year, so private trainers usually watch film their athlete shares rather than buying it. [8]
Where does CoachGrow fit?
CoachGrow is made by TeachMe.To, which also publishes this guide, so weigh this section with that in mind.
CoachGrow is built for independent football trainers who want more students, not only a calendar. One plan includes a coach website with booking and payments, prepaid lesson packages, listings on Google and other directories, review requests after lessons, Facebook and Instagram ads, and follow-ups with past students. It costs $19 a month after a 7-day free trial, plus 0.99% of each direct booking and card processing. Ad spend is separate and up to you.
It is not a video analysis tool, and it does not run leagues or team rosters. Many football trainers pair it with one of the teaching tools above.
TeachMe.To also runs a lesson marketplace where coaches set their own rate and students pay a booking fee on top.
How should football trainers choose?
Most football training is sold to parents in the off-season, so a booking page that sells session packs and camps matters more than anything else. Coachly and Upper Hand both handle packages.
For quarterbacks and skill players, video is the product. Ask athletes to share their Hudl highlights, then mark up throws and footwork in CoachNow or Coachly.
For speed and strength clients, TrainHeroic gives them a program to follow between sessions and shows you who completed it.
There is no football-only marketplace for private training, so CoachUp, Athletes Untapped, and a strong Google Business Profile are where new athletes come from.
Sources
- CoachUp. Are there any fees to be a CoachUp coach?. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Athletes Untapped. Athletes Untapped home page. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Coachly. Coachly pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Upper Hand. Upper Hand pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Calendly. Calendly pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- CoachNow. CoachNow pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- TrainHeroic. TrainHeroic pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Hudl. Hudl club and youth pricing. Accessed October 12, 2026.
