Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse. These Madison sports teams have one thing in common: a state title (or multiple), earned within the past couple years. What makes these teams so successful? Hard work. but a lot of these athletes’ training doesn’t just come from school practice. In fact, many student athletes consider the highschool season to be less serious than their club teams season, especially because club is where most of the recruitment comes from, and simply because there’s more opportunities through clubs. Plus in Northern Virginia, another form of training has become increasingly popular: private training.

Madison student Claire Casto (’25) has had private lacrosse training for the past two years at Quantum Movement, located across from James Madison Drive. Casto wanted a more focused workout to improve her performance, and she says that’s exactly what she got.

“It’s more individual focused and focuses on the mechanics of your sport and how to move your body to produce the most power you can,” Casto said.

This road worked well for Casto, who recently verbally committed to Longwood University for lacrosse. Other athletes like Casto at Madison benefit from private training with personalized attention and feedback to enhance their overall performance. In group settings or at team practices, coaching focuses on the group dynamic overall, rather than quality individual feedback. This is why athletes look into the world of private training to receive help on how to improve what they’re good at as well to enhance top skills. Coaches in this environment are able to build exercises and specialized drills which target areas that are weaknesses. This training can later be applied to team play.

Madison athletes looking into improving their skills in their sports can get help by looking into local Vienna sports communities and resources. One of the most popular approaches is joining club sports. While participating in club sports, students can hear and inquire information about reputable private coaching opportunities due to the fact that club sports tend to be more competitive than sports offered at Madison. Therefore, these club sports tend to advertise private coaching opportunities so their players enhance their skill sets. Websites and social media groups can also provide valuable insight and recommendations for private coaching services while also providing an opportunity for students to connect with coaches and other student athletes which can open up a future of continuous athletic development and further opportunities.

For any Madison student athlete, private training can be a helpful place to look for further developmental feedback, good workouts and a community of other athletes who share similar passions.