My friends are really good at football and I'm not. Does anybody have any tips that will make me better fast?

Answer 1

Well I guess that depends what your not good at.

Are you not fast? If this is the case start running lots of sprints daily.

Can you not catch the ball? The secret here is don't be afraid of being hurt by the ball. If you are, you will almost never catch it. Try and cradle the ball as it comes in, because that will hurt less. Also, when you can, try to catch the ball using your body as well as your hands and arms.

Can you not tackle? Go for the legs. if you've got a guy's legs wrapped up he's not going anywhere, regardless of how big he is or how small you are. Don't ever drop your head to make a tackle. It's bad news bears.

Defense? I'm not the best defender so I try to stay between the endzone and the guy I'm defending at all times. That way I can always have my eyes on him and the ball. Sometimes this is difficult, however.

Other than that the obvious answer is practice, for the better part of the day, every day. Watching is a great way to understand football, so if you get the NFL network, watch away. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Hi Mason,

I played football for quite a few years and played 3 years at the collegiate level and I was far from good when i first got into HS so take a listne to what I am going to tell you.

1. Fundementals
This one area of any sprt these days is becomeing less and less taught and is a real shame. If you want to get better get better at the fundementals.
--If your a reciever this means more than just catching the football. Work on your routes make them crisp and look almost like they do in the play book. You don't have to be the fastest guy on the team to get open either. Running a good route will get you seperation. Jump rope to increase your foot quickness for this. As far as catching the ball, learn to use your hands. best way to discribe how to catch the ball would be to face your hands away from you palms out and fingers extended but relaxed. Bring the thmbs together and your index fingers to create diamond. then when you go to catch the ball let the nose enter the diamond you have created and let your hands give way to slow the ball down and catch it.
--If your a running back work on footspeed and leg drive. Your feet as a running back should never quit moving. Even when you get hit your legs should continue to move. This will allow you to break a lot of arm tackles. Just like the reciever work on your foot speed. the better you can start stop and change direction the better a running back you will become. Last for RB is hand strength. You have to hang on to the ball when you get hit so develop some good forearm strength as well as upper arm strength. Oh and carry it tight not like a bread basket and for heavens sake cover it up with both hands just before contact.
--As a lineman you need hand quickness and foot quickness. best tools an offensive lineman has are his strong lower and strong quick hands. If done properly a good lineman can stop a rush dead when his hands come up to meet the oncoming rush. there are also several techniques for blocking but your coach should know these anmd be able to better help with this.
-- defensive players need to all be strong quick and have the ability to anticipate what is coming at them. fundamentally this is all about knowing where there ball is and reacting to the ball and not the misdirections that an offense will throw at you. play your assignment to the letter and don't over persue. Tackling is truly becomeing a lost art as well. so many kids today lower there head and use their arms to grab something. Form tackle form tackle FORM TACKLE! Watch the person midsection they can't go anywhere with out it and when you go to tackle someone be aggressive and go and meet them don't wait on them. Keep your head up and eyes on the target get low and place a shoulder pad in their midsection while grabbing on with both arms and drive through your opponent. don't try and hit them try and hit the spot 6-inches behind them.

Practice
--You have to practice to get better. Work on all phases of your game until you can do them by reacting not thinking. And never believe you're good enough cause when you think your good enough is when you loose your edge. As the greats always say there is always room for improvement.

Visualize
-- This is one thing most coaches don't teach. One thing to make you better is the ability to see the game being played in your head before you ever step foot on the field. See yourself running the perfect route, breaking the tackle or putting on the perfect tackle. Football is a very physical game but you have to see things being played out in your head before you can know what is happening and react to it.

All in all, to become a better player it takes commitment, hard work, and a mental toughness to push yourself to your limit and just beyond everytime you step foot on the field. Work hard on your fundementals of the game and the rest will come easy.

Hope this helps even though you wanted a quick solution there really is none.

Answer 3

Hi Mason,

Let me start by saying that I've been enjoying football since my childhood, through high school and college and even today I am all grown up, I spend a lot of time at games and casually playing with friends...

So I am very sorry that you feel you are somewhat less gifted for this sport than your friends; I am certain that you have some qualities in your game superior to theirs, and getting better starts by developping that positive state of mind:

1. LIGHTNING FAST !

You heard that; running around for 5 hours will do you no good in Football, you need to improve your Sprinting feat, not your endurance.

A good start is to find a straight line (a lane behind your house, a large curb, etc) and to run the distance faster and faster every time, in short but extremely violent bursts; acceleration is key; it is no use to be able to run a marathon if you get tackled before running a single yard...

Hit the yards fast and hard as lightning, not soft and long as a light bulb.

Time your progress, and do it 10 times everyday.

2. LOVE THAT FOOTBALL:

That's right, a lot of people who complain they are not so good at football actually "don't know" how to handle the ball. Buy an official size football and keep playing with it ALL the time (when you watch TV, when you listen to music, on your way to school / work, etc), your hands must know the ball by heart, you should be able to throw / catch it eyes closed.

Hint: always use the thickest part for grip, SQUEAZE, and for christ sake keep your fingers in the rubber space made for it, many NCAA / NFL fumbles could be avoided if that simple principle was learnt. Never let the Football come "lose" in your fingers, and as soon as you receive it, correct the grip so that it is optimal again.

3. BRAIN WORKOUT IS MANDATORY:

Ok, now you think that weirdo giving me advice is going nuts, I wanted to become faster, not to read books...

But once the snap starts, you have a few milliseconds to understand what to do, in what direction to run, who to tackle, or to you should direct that bullet pass.

So my final advice is to get deep into tactics, by reading on the internet, playing Madden NFL, watching games carefully or reading dedicated books. Believe me, if you are able to read the defense's play 1 second before they can read yours, might will be on your side even if you are a little less athletic than your opponents:

So learn everything about how to sack a Quaterback who calls a Shotgun formation, how to tackle the vicious Quaterback Sneak, and the most classy of all, how to anticipate long passes so that you can shine with that day saving interception!


CONCLUSION,

Alright Mason, that is just to get you started, but I believe that it should provide you with enough self confidence to seek what are the key areas to improve in your game, and how to come up with a perfect workout / training for yourself.

Now remember, McNabb threw many interceptions, Manning got sacked during the SuperBowl, Alexander sometimes got tackled before he could even score a yard or two... so there is no shame in making mistakes on the field, the only shame is not showing up on the Gridiron!

Love Football and Trust Yourself!

Answer 4

you have to pick what you want to be good at.

Do you want to juke guys and break their ankles? Well start by stutter stepping. you'll fall over a couple times, but eventually get the hang of it. Play basketball. I can't stand the sport, but playing it in PE helped me get quicker feet.

You want to make the game breaking tackle? Study offensive schemes and learn when to break down and make a sure tackle, or to lay the lumber and sacrifice yourself for the highlight reel.

You want to throw? Throw the ball using a C-shape form while gripping the ball (look at your hand when you throw, most people have a U-Shape, but if you can get accustom to a C shape, your spirals will be better and accuracy should improve).

Want to catch? don't use your body, use your hands. Using your body your more apt to hurt yourself. Always make a cup like shape in order to cradle the ball with 10 fingers. Watch out though, if you don't naturally catch like that, your VERY apt to sprain fingers. Don't expect to start out catching the ball with one hand, 10 feet in the air. Those types of catches are rare in game type situations, as exposing yourself in the air, unguarded, well to say the least - hurts.

Last but not least - watch how the pros do it. No two pro-bowl caliber players play the exact same.

Barry Sanders is the ultimate "juking machine". Jim Brown was a beast of a man, and used that to become the best RB of the time (late 50's early 60's). Walter Payton was reliable and consistent, thus establishing him the all time career rushing leader, since surpassed by Emmitt Smith, another reliable consistent player. Ladainian Tomlinson seems to be in the same class of guys, so study his game for overall technique.

Study Marvin Harrison if you want to catch, or maybe your more of a Brian Finneran guy, not extremely fast but uses his lengthy build and height to conform to over-the-shoulder passes.

Study Manning for touch, Brady for accuracy, Brees for timing, and Brett Favre for arm strength. If there ever was a QB that could attain all four of those attributes, he would be a god.

Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Donnie Edwards are just a few names that are consistently good year in and year out. Urlacher is smart and excels due to the Bears' deffensive scheme (Tampa Cover 2). Lewis has the natural reaction time that has since become the standard of greatness for ILB's. Ed Reed makes some of the biggest game changing plays, ever (check out youtube.com). Donnie Edwards is a name that isn't quite in the same class, but I hardly ever see the guy miss a tackle.

Answer 5

If you are in high school, then train and study. What makes a great high school football player is the one who is willing to train daily (sometimes twice). Increase your strength and stamina.

Then study your position. Whatever your position understand your rols and the role of the guy opposite you. When I was in high school I was a nose tackle and a back-up center. I was not the biggest guy, but I was quick. Having the experience at center helped me understand the weaknesses most centers possesed and I was able to exploit them at nose tackle.

Every position has a role and you need to understand its purpose.

Answer 6

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE... that would be the best advice anyone could give. It is the same for anything that you want to be good at... music, school, dancing or learning a new language. The more you do it the better you will get! Good Luck!

Answer 7

Get trianing from them. Everyday at the week!

Answer 8

Sleep with his girlfriend.

Answer 9

ask them to help you there nothing wrong asking for help bye-bye

Answer 10

Steriods kid.