NOT A TRAINER JUST PLAY $10–$50 / HR POST YOUR SESSION ECNL · MLS NEXT · ACADEMY BAY AREA · 2026 NOT A TRAINER JUST PLAY $10–$50 / HR POST YOUR SESSION ECNL · MLS NEXT · ACADEMY BAY AREA · 2026
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Train with players, not trainers · Bay Area · 2026

SOCCER TRAINER Not a

Built to complete the American player's development. Clubs and trainers have their place — but the missing piece is unstructured, player-driven soccer. The kind that built the favelas of Brazil and the cages of London. No coaches. No instruction. Just real players, finding real reps, with each other.

Hosted ByPlayers
VettedBy Level
Per Hour$10–$50
Platform Fee10%
Find a Session Host a Session
The Idea

Coaches teach the game.
Players make it theirs.

What's missing

American youth soccer is built around structure. Practice has a plan. Games have positions. Trainers have curriculums. All of that has its place — it's how players learn the fundamentals.

But the best players in the world didn't get great in a structured environment alone. They got great in the favelas of Brazil. The cages of London. The futsal courts of Buenos Aires. The streets. The parks. Anywhere they could find a ball and other players who wanted to play.

That's where you learn to compete. To try things and fail. To be creative under pressure. To play against bigger kids, faster kids, smarter kids — and figure it out. That's the dimension that's missing. Not because anyone took it away. Because we never built a way to make it easy.

What this is

Players post sessions. Where they're training, when, what they're working on. Other vetted players join and pay a small fee to train alongside them.

No coaches. No curriculum. No structure beyond what the host sets. Just real players, finding real reps, with each other.

Built By
→ Co-Founder · Soccer Trainer · Scout

Jonny
Blake

FounderMatchfit Academy
ScoutIFX Academy
Sonoma StateCollege soccer

The American player needs better balance.

Jonny Blake has spent his career inside American soccer — as the founder of Matchfit Academy, a talent scout for IFX Academy, and a former college player at Sonoma State. From those three angles — training, scouting, and playing — he kept seeing the same gap.

American kids get plenty of structured training. Clubs, academies, private sessions, ID camps. What they don't get is what every world-class player grew up doing: hours of unstructured, player-to-player soccer with no adults involved.

"The best players I grew up with weren't built by coaches. They were built by hours playing with — and against — each other, with nobody telling them what to do."

Not a Soccer Trainer exists to fix that gap. It's the missing piece — a way for serious American players to find each other, post their own sessions, and put in the kind of reps that built every favela kid in Brazil and every cage player in London. Coaching, clubs, and private training all have their place. This is the part that's been missing.

How
It Works

Three steps. No middlemen. The host runs the session, sets the standard, and earns when other players show up.

01

Post Your Session

Where you're training, when, how long, what you're working on. Set the level — birth years, club tier, position if it matters. Set the fee.

02

Players Apply

Eligible players see your post. They apply with their club, league, and birth year. You approve who joins. Vetted by level — no walk-ons who don't belong.

03

Show Up & Play

Approved players pay through the platform. You meet at the field. You run your session. They train with you. You both leave better.

What A
Post Looks Like

A real session post. Host sets the field, the focus, the level requirement, and the fee. Players apply, host approves, payment runs through the platform.

Live Session · Bay Area 3 Spots Open
Hosted by Julian P. · Birth Year 2013

Finishing Drills · 9v9 Goal

Sunday, May 2, 2026 · 6:00 — 8:00 PM
FieldEl Divisidero Park
Duration2 hours
FocusFinishing on a 9v9 goal
FormatReps + small-sided
Birth Years2011 — 2014
LevelECNL or MLS Next
PositionAny field player
BringCleats, ball, water
$25/ hr · 2 hr session · 3 of 6 spots open
Apply to Join →

Real Questions.

What stage is this in?
Pilot. We're running our first sessions in the Bay Area in 2026 with a small group of vetted players. The site is live, the forms work, and payments happen — but a lot of it is handled by us by hand for now. We're keeping it scrappy on purpose so we can learn what actually works before we build the full platform.
Are these kids coaching other kids?
No. The host is a player, not a coach. They're training and opening up their session to other serious players who want to train alongside them. There's no instruction, no curriculum, no licensed coach. Think of it as a paid pickup with a quality bar — the host sets the level, and they're the first one to show up and play.
How is this different from a coach or trainer?
Coaches and trainers teach the game — and what they do matters. This is a different thing. Players need time and space away from structured instruction to compete, fail, get creative, and learn from each other. That's the dimension we're adding. Not a replacement for coaching. A complement to it.
Why pay to play with someone who isn't coaching me?
Because training with players who are at your level — or above — is the actual thing that makes you better. The fee covers the host's time setting up the session, the field if there's a charge, and gives them an incentive to keep posting. You're paying for access to a real training environment with vetted players.
How is the level actually enforced?
Every player has a profile that lists their current club, league, and team. When you apply to a session, the host reviews your profile and approves or declines. If a host requires ECNL or MLS Next, they can reject anyone who doesn't meet the bar. Misrepresenting your club, league, or birth year gets you removed from the platform — no second chances.
How do payments work right now?
During the pilot, payments are handled manually. When a host approves your application, we email you payment instructions — typically Venmo or Zelle. Once payment is received, we send the field address and the session is locked in. After the session happens, we pay the host their 90%. The platform keeps 10%. No payment app integration yet — we're keeping it simple while we learn what works.
What if a session gets cancelled?
Hosts set their own cancellation policy when they post (24-hour, 12-hour, or 48-hour windows). If a host cancels, you get a full refund regardless. If you cancel inside the host's stated window, you may forfeit the fee — that's between you and the host. We help resolve disputes case-by-case during the pilot.
What about adult supervision?
All players under 18 must have a parent or guardian acknowledge the session at registration, and you're welcome at every field. But our recommendation, based on how the best players in the world actually developed, is to drop your kid off and let them play.

Soccer in the favelas and the cages happened without adults watching. That's not a bug — it's where the creativity, the failure, the experimentation, and the real competition come from. Hovering adults change how kids play. So if you can, drop them off, come back at the end, and let the session be theirs.

Parents who do want to be present should hang back, off the field, and let the players run their own session.
What about insurance and liability?
Every player (and their parent if under 18) signs a waiver before attending their first session. Sessions take place at public parks or fields the host has access to, and participants accept the inherent risks of soccer. We're working with a sports/marketplace attorney to make sure the waiver language is right for California — it's coming soon.
Can a parent post or apply on behalf of their kid?
Yes. Most profiles will come from parents on behalf of their player. The forms capture both the player's info and the parent's contact for any player under 18. Players under 18 can't transact directly.
How is this different from Not a Soccer Camp?
Not a Soccer Camp is a structured summer program — fixed dates, set roster, full session run by trainers and player-coaches. Not a Soccer Trainer is the rest of the year. Any player can post any session, any day. Same philosophy: real players, real reps.
I have feedback or a question that isn't here.
Email us at hello@notasoccertrainer.com. We're a small team and we'll write back.