How can I get better at football?

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Playing in defence can often be a good way, where you can get away with just general tackling and hoofing. Obviously top defenders will need to be very skilful, but if you want to look fairly good then, at least try and find a position where you feel your strengths are! Fitness as someone mentioned is really important, if you can just practice speed and stamina that should really help, and just get a lot of practice in! The more you practice, the more you'll get better, so play lots! Think about where your strengths might lie in football, and what type of body you have. If you feel you can actually dribble quite while, and you're agile and quick, go for the wing. If you're big, can tackle, and are good at just generally not letting people get past you, try defence. Unless you're playing at a particularly good level, a lot of defence is just marking people, so you can just follow someone around a lot of the time, and just try to intercept passes to them.... and if you can't kick particularly well, practice kicking! Find your style of kicking, where you can just get a really good connection with the ball, so you know how to use it in a game. Hope that helps at all. :s-smilie:

Reply 21

Phalanges

Just get playing regularly. Start off by practicing by yourself (just so you don't embarrass yourself), then find some footballing people (usually found at a park :biggrin:

), and ask if you can play. Most people will be glad for extra players, as it means bigger teams and more fun! Then, if you're serious about improving, join a local football club. They give you some structured training, and even if you don't get played that much you should certainly improve!

Incidentally, knowing a lot about football doesn't come from playing it. A lot of stats hungry fans I know are terrible at football. Even checking the scores in a morning, or watching a bit on TV, can usually give you enough to get talking about. If it's something you're genuinely interested in though, you tend to watch a fair bit of sports anyway.

By the way, any particular reason you posted as anonymous? Wanting to get better at something isn't really anything to be ashamed of.

Oh, and finally, learn a few flashy tricks. They impress everyone, and can get plenty of people taking notice and talking to you (I actually first spoke to one of my really good friends now because of a few particularly well executed consecutive round the worlds).

Reply 22

Phalanges

Calumcalum

Playing in defence can often be a good way, where you can get away with just general tackling and hoofing.

How dare you! Us fullbacks have to do a lot of running and crossing as well in a general match :biggrin:

I know what you mean though. There's a guy at my team with that sort of mentality. Needless to say, he ended up sitting on the bench most games :biggrin:

Reply 23

silverbolt

play more and train more

duh

Reply 24

izaldo

Step one
Watch some boss players on Youtube

Step two
Examine their technique

Step three
Go to Sports Soccer and get a £3.00 Footy

Step four
Reinact

Step five
Be physically fit, scouts only look for pace and strength in youngsters these days - that is a fact (we were speaking to a West Ham scout on saturday on the way to the LFC Tranmere friendly)

Step six
Improve your co-ordination, it's one of the key abilities in football that makes a half decent player.

but if you don't enjoy doing all that, what is the point?

Footy has always been a massive part of my life but not everyone is the same way! It's interesting how at uni you see plenty of lads getting involved in kick abouts that you'd never see in school.

Reply 25

Mastermind`

When I was 16 this kid joined my team and he couldn't even kick a ball straight. He hadn't played football before at all (well, not seriously) but he just practiced a lot that summer (with himself and with us). He improved a lot and was a good player in a matter of a few months. Plays a bit like John O'Shea.

Reply 26

Calumcalum

jonnyofengland

How dare you! Us fullbacks have to do a lot of running and crossing as well in a general match :biggrin:

I know what you mean though. There's a guy at my team with that sort of mentality. Needless to say, he ended up sitting on the bench most games :biggrin:

I played defence every game for my high school! Of course I understand what's needed at a higher level! But in terms of just being a decent player and looking pretty good in a normal game, being able to tackle or mark or just get the ball away should be a good start! :smile:

Reply 27

xobarry_the_catxo

Do lots of running, build your fitness and stamina up first.
Then join a local team and learn the basics, or join a football coaching scheme.

Reply 28

Fatb

play 5 a side, and not joking but buy a ball and kick agaisnt a wall, try kickups, the only way youll improve is by practising

Reply 29

BrotherDown

One summer when I was little, I spent far too much time watching the football freestyle videos sprinkled over the internet. Impressionable as I was, I decided to do my best to copy it.

I am rubbish at football, despite loving it. Mainly due to being outrun by your average tortoise. But as soon as I learned to do 250+ kick ups (I never even managed to master anything else), people assumed I was at least passable. It's brilliant. I couldn't shoot, cross, pass more than five yards, dribble, run or read the game, but I could do kick ups.

At the end of the day, if it's a casual/social kick about, most people won't care. If you get heckled then just boot the ball in their general direction or barrel in to them while they are dancing about trying to be Cristiano. It's all fun. If you need a quick fix while getting your self-confidence up, learn how to do keepie-ups. :wink:

And yeah, practise makes...slightly better. I bet even Leo Messi trains. Sometimes. Although Ronaldinho blatantly doesn't.

Reply 30

izaldo

If you find you can't play, be tough, slideys and snidey elbows etc will stop people going round you :wink:

Reply 31

Redders

Buy Pro Evo 2008 play it till ur eyes bleed then go and try. Alternatively become a long ball specialist less running

Reply 32

BrotherDown

Redders

Alternatively become a long ball specialist less running

That's another option in the same vein as my earlier post. Avoid swinging your arm around like Beckham unless you're really good. :p:

Reply 33

n_251

lets face it, it is unlikely you are ever going to be a Messi or Ronaldo. so ffs just get out and play, who cares if you're crap! you just got to enjoy it and not care of what your "friends" think of how you play! :smile:

Reply 34

Phalanges

Calumcalum

Bear in mind though, that if your team has a shocker, everyone always blames the defence. Sometimes it's not a good place to be in.

Reply 35

BrotherDown

They could just turn around and blame the goalkeeper. I remember being in goal when we got dicked 5-0, and everyone blamed me when obviously I hadn't made a single mistake all season.

Reply 36

Chewwy

i don't know what crap uni you're going to, or what crap town you live in, but i must say, it sounds pretty crap.

Reply 37

Shokz

practice?
this thread is ridiculous no lie :no:

Reply 38

UltimateJ

If it is possible, then practice.
If not, then work on your fitness.

Anyway, I really can't see how not being good at football will have an adverse effect upon your social life at Uni. I know plenty of people who are at Uni and don't play football; they are getting on fine.

Reply 39

Phalanges

BrotherDown

They could just turn around and blame the goalkeeper. I remember being in goal when we got dicked 5-0, and everyone blamed me when obviously I hadn't made a single mistake all season.

Blatantly - those 5 goals were clearly the defences fault, and I'm sure it would have been a lot worse if they hadn't had a goalie. :biggrin:

Goalie would be the worst position for me. Besides not being able to run (my best asset), it seems that at my level, even if you have a good game nobody notices, yet you're the first in the firing line when you lose.

Incidentally, I remember a similar situation for us, except we lost 18-0... :redface: