Did pretty bad at soccer tryouts...please answer?

Question

Last year I wasn't the best, but I was certainly not the worst. I was a full time starter but now after 1 year everything changed. My kicks got so much weaker, I get tired easily, and my speed dropped like 50%.

I'm not sure what happened. I'm 8th grade this year and grew more than an inch and put on more than 10 pounds over the summer.

How can I quickly improve and show my coach I still have what it takes to be a starter?

Answer 1

Hi.

To get your kicks stronger I'd say you need to get stronger in order to get good power on the ball. (Try running to get your legs stronger.) You also need to have the right technique when kicking the ball for passing, shooting or crossing. Try visiting http://www.how2playsoccer.com and once you've got all this, just keep practicing.

For your speed, go running in your own time: maybe 20 mins every other day. This will help with your stamina. For your speed do sprints several times a week and just keep doing them until you get faster: it is just running technique, motivation and practice.

Also try doing sit ups and press ups each day. All this exercise will get you fit, strong and in shape which can only help your performance.

In addition to all of this, there are step by step guides on all aspects of soccer techniques at http://www.how2playsoccer.com/soccerskil... If you do all this you won't need to tell your coach anything, your game will do the talking.

Answer 2

josicolm said - And juggling the ball will definitely not help you all those circus tricks are useless in games.

totally untrue. juggling is one of the best ways to sure up your touch. it goes straight to the core of "first touch" and gives you the ability to control the ball better when it comes to you.

Maradonna who is undoubtedly one of the best dribblers of all time used to juggle for hours on end to make sure he was always in control of the ball and ensure a good first touch.  he could even juggle tennis balls, golf balls even oranges (check it out on youtube, its pretty impressive). juggling should be the very first thing you learn when attempting to play football.

for your question though, id say you need to build up the power in your legs. try continuously running 20 meter sprints. at the end of each one, stop touch the ground and turn and sprint straight into the next one. do these in sets of 10 then take a break. don't stop until your legs feel like they weigh a tonne. hope this helps

Answer 3

someone else had a similar question and i think my answer will help you as well:

a big factor in how good you are at soccer is experience. you can kick a ball around with your mates as much as you like but the experience of a game is completely different. but back to the original question: just practice there are some brilliant books that tell you the techniques of different skills i can give you a few now.

Shooting: point your toes to lock your ankle and strike the ball in the middle with your laces. for one-on-ones use a side foot.

Crossing: hit the ball with your instep near the bottom of the ball

Dribbling: keep the ball close to you, if you kick it too far away you will lose control and possession.

Controlling: relax the body part you are going to control with and take the impact out of the ball.

You may have already known these but i thought i should include them. don't worry about tricks; you don't have to beat players. And juggling the ball will definitely not help you all those circus tricks are useless in games.

And remember: keep practicing, when i started playing 3 years ago i was totally useless but with dedication you will improve.

Hope i helped!

Answer 4

Well 4 everything u need a technique so get the shooting and running technique rite. (internet) also practice jogging and work out to get in shape

Answer 5

run 2-3 miles a day.. it will bring your endurance back up and makes you fitter. do juggling, dribble around cones, anything where you are touching the ball. set up cones and put them at different distances. see how far you can kick it and them see which distances you are having trouble with. work on those to improve your kick. do short sprint and ladders to improve your reaction time to different situations. be confident and your coach should see that you are improving. if you think you are the best, it will show when you play. good luck!

Answer 6

Lose some weight by doing cardio.

Just jump rope for an hour every day and you'll be fast again.