Remember Me
forgot your password?

Five Simple and Effective Ways to Become a Better Football Player

These are tips that I developed from my playing days. These techniques worked well for me and I hope they can help others become the player they want to be.

1. Run every day


Running 3 miles every day is a great cardiovascular workout and will help keep you at your peak fitness. Run uphill as much as possible. At around 2 miles, find a steep hill and sprint up it for about 20-30 meters then turn round and walk back down. Repeat this 5 to ten times before finishing the run. If you do this every day you will find you can play at your best for longer because you'll be stronger and fitter.

2. Do exercises to increase your speed

Find a drop of around 150cm or stand on a barrel or safe object of a similar height. Jump off, landing on both feet in a squatting position and stand up straight as quickly as possible. Make sure you are well warmed up and stretched before doing this exercise to avoid injury. This exercise will strengthen quick reflex muscles in the legs, improving speed.

3. Learn to play with both feet


Most footballers play far better with one foot than the other, it's difficult to improve your touch with your stronger foot. Concentrating on your weaker foot is a quick win as bigger improvements can be made with less work. Kick a ball against a wall using only your weaker foot. Have a scratch game in training where everyone plays only with their weaker foot. It doesn't take much effort and you will notice results within a short space of time.

4. Learn a new trick

When you see a new trick by a professional, watch it closely, over and over again before attempting it. Online video is good for this purpose. Spend 10 minutes every day learning and perfecting the trick. Don't try it in a game until you can do it perfectly every time and don't overuse it or your opponents will figure you out.

5. Learn from the professionals

Watch professional footballers play and copy them. Sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how few players do this. Pick a player who plays in the same position as you and watch him closely, learn his tricks and pay attention to his positions when not on the ball. The player you choose should be someone you look up to and aspire to. The player I liked to learn from was Franck Sauzee, the ex-France, Marseilles and Hibernian midfield player. An excellent all round player who was always at the peak of his game.

Finally, don't be put off if you don't become Maradona over night. It takes time to become a great player and improving every part of your game gradually is the important thing. Sticking to a good routine and training properly are the key things to remember.

Alan Webber

Alan Webber lives and works in Manchester, his passion is football and he spend as much time as possible visiting football grounds throughout Europe.

Rate this Article: 5 / 5 stars - 6 vote(s)
Print Email Re-Publish


Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/soccer-articles/five-simple-and-effective-ways-to-become-a-better-football-player-361102.html
Add new Comment



Captcha

  • Latest Soccer Articles
  • More from Alan Webber

Football - Brazil won Confederations Cup after Beating USA

By: Ally White | 04/07/2009
The five-time World Cup champion, Brazil, beat USA in an incredible way, after being down 2-0 in the first half. However, the experienced team of Brazil came back with all they got to even the game and then obtained the victory in the final minutes.

Confederations Cup - Spain Reaches the Third Place

By: Stephen Lars | 03/07/2009
After three great victories to Iraq, New Zealand and South Africa, the Spanish team was one of the favorites to win the Confederations Cup, but the 2-0 loss they suffered in the semi-finals to United States changed the whole picture for the team headed by Vicente Del Bosque, which had no other choice but to fight for third a place, whereas Brazil and USA were the ones that moved to the grand final.

soccer world cup qualifying teams

By: worldcup 2010tickets | 02/07/2009
Do you know that 32 teams will battle rigorously to win the title? But, one place is already booked for the host team of South Africa. The allocation will be as follows:

Catch your world cup tickets today itself

By: jennytharayil | 02/07/2009
Ticket sales for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ will be done in 5 separate Ticket Sales Phases.Ticket sales has commenced on 20 February 2009and will terminate on July 2010.

Ticketing Facts about the Football World Cup

By: worldcup 2010tickets | 02/07/2009
The best way to enjoy this magnificent sporting event is by booking online advance official 2010 World Cup tickets! read www.worldcupticketservice.com/blog

Buy Soccer Equipment at Wholesale Prices

By: zawat | 02/07/2009
Petraimports is an online soccer store for all types of Soccer goals Soccer sports Equipment pop up portable soccer goals Wholesale Soccer equipment Cheap Soccer Balls Foldable soccer goals kids furniture Gazebos Wooden Hammock Stand Offset umbrella. We offer retail items at wholesale prices.

Rubén De La Red Might Never Play for Spain And Real Madrid Again

By: Khalid Khan | 02/07/2009
Future of Spanish soccer player de la Red looks very uncertain after his illness that has kept him off the soccer field since October last year.

Online World Cup Ticket Today ?

By: worldcup 2010tickets | 01/07/2009
FIFA championship is one of the most popular and loved international sports event across the globe. This thrilling sports championship is also known as the Football World Cup or Soccer Cup.

Five Simple and Effective Ways to Become a Better Football Player

By: Alan Webber | 16/03/2008 | Soccer
Every footballer wants to be better than they are and improvement is part of the fun of playing any sport. Here are 5 tips that will help you become a better player. Improvement will depend on how much effort you put in but there are some quick tips here too.

What is the Best Spectator Team Sport in the World?

By: Alan Webber | 14/03/2008 | Sports & Fitness
This seems like a simple question at first, it's got to be American Football, it's big it's brash, it's the most complicated, it's...no, that won't do. It's cricket, what better way to spend a lazy summer afternoon on an English village green....erm...in the rain. No that won't do, I'll have to have a think about this one....

The Ten Best Football Grounds in England

By: Alan Webber | 24/02/2008 | Soccer
What are the ten best English football grounds? Everyone has different ideas about what they want from a football stadium and I don't expect anyone to agree exactly with my choices. Hopefully they'll get you thinking about your favourites.

Submit Your Articles Free: Signup


Article Categories




Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.09, 1)