i haven't played in a real serious league for years, but i play pretty often with friends and such, and i've been thinking about trying out for my high schools team next year. any advice on how to train/improve my skills? i know it's a broad question, but i'll take any help i can get.
playing pick up games will improve your vision and skill the most(I think) if you are just getting back into it. Also, juggling tons on your own will improve your touch...dribbling through cones often will improve your handling... Also, when playing pick up games...work on making smart passes, and if you feel like it, attempt more difficult passes to learn your limitations.....
run. run, run, and run some more. the biggest difference to me between rec and competitive is the speed of play and how much you have to run. lifting weights would be a good idea too, competitive can get quite physical, especially in conference games and rivalries. also, juggle alot and always have a ball around with you. so if you get bored, you can pass with a friend, juggle, kick against a wall, just get more touches. best of luck to you, high school soccer is a blast.
High School Soccer is the most fun thing, it is my favorite league right now. Our coach works us hard but it makes it so much better. You know everyone from your school and teamwork comes easy normally. I think the main difference between pick up games and competitive play is positioning and communicating. In pick up games you can just go where ever do whatever. In high school it is important to listen to your coach about positioning. Learn to tell your team mates, man on, or, turn, you got time, square etc. Find out what position you will likely play and watch a few games concentrating on someone in that position. See how he moves off the ball, that is the most important thing.
Run, run, run and run. Get in the best shape you can be. I am a freshman in high school and don't play a lot. My team is 2-6 by the way. I am also a defender and my team plays a 5-3-2 and all five backs are seniors so i'll probably start next year. Also play in pickup games. Also in tryouts go very hard all the time and if you make the team go hard all the time in practice and you'll be fine.
Everyone says you should run, run, run! but if you dont have a ball with you then you aren't getting any better at soccer. If you want to run then join a cross country team or a track team. They'll get your stamina up but I know lots of players who can run 45 minutes straight but they suck at ball handling....therefore, they dont make the team.
Actually, from my own experience you are wrong. After I have done some long distance running I always feel I have better control of the ball, more powerful and accurate strikes and more confidence on overall. I fell like my muscles do exactly what I want them to do. But I guess this happens only if you are good with the ball in the first place.
Stamina is important, especially when you're on a typical team with 16-17 players. Even more so, obviously, if the team is smaller. However, I tend to agree that pure running is overemphasised in some programs. Running a mile or two every day is a good thing to do, but it can't be the extent of your training. There really is no substitute for ball touches. The simplest thing to do is just to dribble the ball the length of the field and back, using the inside and outside of both feet (head up obviously). I have my middle schoolers do that to start every practice and it's what I do myself. Another thing you can do by yourself is the side to side shuffle up and down the field. It's great for footwork. When you're with others, work one- and two-touch passing. Work on passing to a moving target so you can hit them in stride. When you watch a game either live or on TV, watch the positioning of the players, watch their movement especially without the ball, listen (if you're close enough) how they communicate. Don't just watch the ball, watch what the players without the ball do. There are so many little things you can observe and learn this way.
yeah mate. if you can involve the ball...do it. obviously there are some necessary sprinting/running exercises that are better without the ball...and you should do them...but when possible...do fitness with the ball. when i do my training by myself, i tend to do something without the ball, then something with the ball...something without, then something with. so that way it doesnt get monotonous and i get a lot of touches with the ball. then once i finish with all the fitness that i had to do for the day...then it's all ball. dribbling through cones at speed is excellent...vary the length of cones...make a slalom course with the cones...zigzag the cones...anything you can come up with will be excellent. good luck...and just play as much as you can.
hi,there are some other things too besides what every body says.of coursepractice is most important.but other things u must do to become an invaluable player are:1-have the basics pefect 1st. 2-u can learn a lot by observing better players,tv,live howsoever. 3-don't let the joy factor go out of ur game without being complacent or compromising on discipline. 4-develop some flair,it will help u in long run. 5-learn to read a game. 6-be the one in ur team who never gives up,be always a through & through team man. these things will help u to become an invaluable player.