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Depends...

Depends on how serious they are about the game.

Depends on how much time they want to invest.

Depends on if they want to play in OTB tournaments.

Do THEY want  coach?

It will need to be their decision.  Dont force it on them.  I see that all to often at tournaments.

Since i can only answer based on what you have posted.  I would say that they would be better off with a chess club at there school (if one exists) for now.  IF you do decide to look for a coach, I would start it slow and easy.  Find someone that is not a titled player, and will cost a small fortune.  Find someone that teaches on the side, a player that is competent, and knows how to teach.  I would imagine that you could find a class player in your area, or at a local club for around $10/Hour.  

A good indicator to know if they are ready for a coach (structured training) is to have them start with the online lessons here (chess mentor courses, tactics.) or what they have on cheskidz.com.  Set aside a certain amunt of time each day, and see if they stick to it.  If they do, then maybe a coac can be a consideration.  If they dont, then you know they arent ready right now.

You can start em out with the basics.

Opening Principles:

1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5

2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key

3. Castle

4. Connect your rooks

Tactics...tactics...tactics...

Pre Move Checklist:

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe. 

2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board. 

3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board. 

4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece. 

5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"

I asked the same question of a GM a couple weeks ago, and he said wait til about 1500 or so.

If your older son is 1100 on chesskid and asking for lessons, I think that is a strong indicator that lessons would be beneficial. I never had the opportunity to take private lessons as a kid and I probably would have progressed faster if I had I worked with a strong player regularly. I went to a week-long summer chess camp for three years taught by the late grandmaster Edmar Mednis and this was influential in my development. I mainly studied with books and this experience laid the foundation for me to reach Class A (1800s) in high school. Local chess clubs are good to seek out. When I reached 1100 USCF, I started to play tournament games with adults and shortly started going to the city chess club after jumping to 1300. I didn't need to pay for lessons to get playing experience against higher rated players there - I just needed to convince my parents that I would be ready for school the next day.

I have mixed feelings about the idea of hiring a cheap coach. From my experience, lower-rated coaches can sometimes be overly dogmatic and teach bad habits. I've sometimes had this problem when students were transitioning from another coach. Here's an analogy: Would you rather hire a tutor with a master's degree and years of teaching experience or a high school kid looking for cash on the side? The high school kid might be a great teacher, but it could also be a gamble. It might also help to gauge interactions in a club or camp setting first before deciding. How does this potential coach interact with other adult players and students? Sometimes this can be very telling.

These are some thoughts based on my personal experiences as both a scholastic player and chess coach. Hope this helps.

joining a chess club is a good idea. joining a chess tournament is also a good idea. i have seen many kids growing their enjoyment and love for the game because of chess tournaments.  tournaments also improved their game. there are also many kids who are just complete beginners joining tournaments. so dont worry if they are just beginners.

A number of years ago, IM Jeremy Silman wrote an article that, in part, discussed Apple apps related to "Children's Chess". Here is the link,

http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12291/221

but I mainly bring it up to suggest that it might be worthwhile to look into currently available software.

If they express interest, then yes! 

I am a National Master with 10+ Years of Teaching Experience, available for private and group lessons. To learn more about my chess services and general chess news, see www.premierchess.com or www.facebook.com/premierchess.

Email me at erabin66@gmail.com or call (917)776-1306 today to set up a free 30 minute consultation or ask any questions.

this is perfect for you, he can do the 30 minute trial with the kid and if he is ready to learn NM erabin will know, its a good investment for your kids future

yep ! you should look for a coach ... maybe me!