When you step onto the field, your heart swells up. Your head is filled with the sounds of the crowd and your body begins to heat up. It is the passion of the game which overwhelms you, and your drive to win carries you forward. Read on to find out how to become a better football player.
It is very important that you do everything to keep your body in shape if you want to be a football player. The game requires a lot of physical exertion, so being out of shape will only make you more susceptible to injury. Dieting and exercising will help you get into good shape.
Learn about the different types of football. Tackle football is the kind of football that is played by the NFL, which is very physical. Flag football involves pulling a “flag” or ribbon off an opposing player. Touch football involves “tackles” where you just touch another player using both of your hands.
Always lend support to your teammates. Few sports rely on teamwork more than football. It’s as a team that you’ll win…or lose. Teams are never about individuals but about groups. When you support your teammates, and they support you, all your team members will play with confidence. When your team is confident as a whole, you will win more.
You should learn the several ways that a down can end. It can end when a player with the ball has been tackled to the ground, or when they’ve had their forward motion stopped by an opposing player. It also happens when a pass has been thrown out of bounds or when it hits the ground. It can occur when the player with the ball goes out of bounds. It even happens when a team scores. Finally, when the official blows the whistle, that is the signal that a down has ended.
A great tip you can use if you’re a football player is to start practicing olympic lifts in your workout routine. Olympic lifts give you a lot of functional strength which will help you a lot in any position you play. Particularly useful lifts are the power clean and deadlift.
Stamina is just as important to football as strength. Do an hour of cardio every day. You can run, jump, or use an elliptical. The trick is to make the exercise easy, thus building stamina as you do it longer.
A great football tip for everybody is to always make sure you have a solid meal before any game. You need to give yourself plenty of energy for the game, or else you’re going to be sluggish and unfocused. A generous amount of carbs and protein would be a good idea.
Keep your knees bent as you practice and play. When you straighten your knees, you could injury your hips and lose your maneuverability. Use squats to build your leg muscles and try to get to the point you can lift twice as much as you weigh as you do ten reps.
Turn your football lifestyle in a permanent fixture. You should eat right, work on your cardio and strength, and even work on speed and agility all year round. It shouldn’t stop when you stop playing football competitively as a healthy body will carry you through a long, happy life.
If your main goal is football is to be fast, realize that speed is only acquired by those with strong core muscles. All the movements techniques in the world will not help you if your body is not conditioned by proper weight training. Focus on the basics, including quads, glutes and hamstrings.
Flexibility is just as important to a football player as body mass and speed. Don’t limit stretching to the few minutes prior to practice or games. Instead, make stretching an integral part of everyday activities. Focus on your back, hamstrings, glutes and hips. Even if you only have five minutes, take advantage of them.
The time is now to toughen yourself up. You may get the wind knocked out of you, or even slightly injured. These are times when you just have to get up and get back into the game. Serious injuries like concussions are times when you must get off the field, though.
Take some time off from playing football here and there. Don’t let the sport completely control your life. Enjoy the time away when necessary. You can also gain different perspectives when you take a break.
In order to play football you need to wear the necessary footwear to help you grip the field much better. Depending on the condition of the field, like whether it is raining or not, whether there is artificial turf or grass, you will need to choose your footwear wisely. Different types of footwear include metal spikes, soft spikes and even sneakers which are used on artificial turf.
Learn your playbook by heart. Every team has a playbook, and it’s your job to get it down before you play any serious games. Keep in mind that this is a team sport, so your friends are relying on you to be mentally tough enough to follow through here.
To throw a good, tight spiral, you must be able to grip the football properly. Your thumb and middle finger should be placed just below the white ring near the end of the ball. Use your index finger to keep the ball stable, and place your other two fingers on the seams of the football.
Stretching your muscles increases your range of motion which helps protect your joints, tendons and muscles from injury. Stretching exercises should include shoulder stretches, hamstring stretches and groin stretches. Players who do not consistently stretch before practices and games can sustain debilitating injuries; therefore, make stretching a part of your daily routine.
Once the game is over, all that matters is that you had a great time playing. If you won or if you lost, the fun of playing will get you to your next game. The more research you do in the meantime, the better your next game will be, so keep reading and learning all you can.
