1-on-1 coaching is fine and dandy, great even, when you're ready for it. But you won't get a lot out of it until you have some solid fundamentals under your belt, and that's where sites like this are excellent. Post intelligent questions, hand histories for feedback, etc., and you'll find people very willing to help you for free.
Then when you've shown yourself to be truly capable of learning and contributing to the community, you will tend to find players who will help you out personally. I know from personal experience that we have some members here who will offer to sweat sessions with you, or review your stats, and give you some great feedback.
Truly comprehensive 1-on-1 coaching, however, will almost never be free unless you happen to have a pro as family/friend. And it's usually quite expensive, actually, as it requires a considerable investment of time and energy (at least from worthwhile coaches). But if your game is where it should be by then, it will be a worthy investment.
My recommended order of training progression for any player (assumed to be starting out as a total novice) would be:
- Self-study. Books, videos, forums, etc. The basic stuff. Get a good understanding of the fundamentals so you can express yourself succinctly and intelligently when you ask for you help or respond to others. If you can't speak the lingo or grasp fundamental concepts as they're explained to you, then neither you nor those trying to help will feel very satisfied by the process. If you still adhere to rigtard conspiracy theories, and believe there are "too many fish" to succeed in poker, then nobody is going to take you seriously. Get over that stuff right away.
- Ask questions and post HHs here for analysis and feedback. Make corrections based on that feedback.
- Join a paid training site like DragTheBar, DeucesCracked, Cardrunners, etc. This will give you access not only to training videos, but often to forum/email/IM access to the coaches where you can ask questions and get feedback as well. DTB coaches also hang out here at CC and provide some very valuable advice for free. Most of these sites have free trial subscriptions, and ways to earn free subscriptions from playing raked hands.
- Finally, when your skillset and bankroll are ready for it, you can seek out a proper coach. Don't bother with "free." While I know there are some excellent players and coaches who donate some of their time to help others out, their time is valuable and you should expect to compensate them accordingly if they're going to be investing their time with you.