Playing Soccer...

Hey guys, I recently started playing some soccer. I usually just play alone practicing kicks, free kicks, running with the ball etc to get a workout. I bought a size 5 puma ball and a official size net to drape over those practice nets around every town. Luckily I have one right by the lake I live by. So it's pretty nice.

Now to those who play soccer, what should I practice? I'm looking to get in shape a bit from this (I played today and I'm exhausted - feels good though) and get better at soccer. Obviously I should get a decent pair of cleats (sp?) instead of my old beat up shoes.

What would you practice? So far I do quite a bit and I find running the ball at full speed up until half field then bolting it back and taking a big shot on the run REALLY exhausts me but that's good.

Any tips from those footballers out there?

Yeah,

Quit and play a real man's sport, like Ice Dancing.

Build up your endurance. Running around for 90+ minutes can kill a man.

Start playing games.
You can't learn to tackle or shoot or dribble, etc, in false scenarios, you just have to go out there and find what works.
Pure practice won't do that much for you.
When I was a kid, like 6 years old or so in my local football club, we would do training like half the time, and then play the rest of the time. That was for like two hours. By training it was just like dribbling round cones, shooting, etc, not running excessively or anything.

I probably stopped going to the club when I was 8 or so, but I still used to play football a lot at a park with my friends several evenings a week.
If there were ten or so of us, we would play regular football, 5 aside, but if there were less, we'd play a variation called red-arse:
The idea is that there is a person in goals, and all the other players must try to score a goal by either heading or volleying (ie no bounce after passing from one player to another). If the ball goes wide, over, or an illegitimate goal is scored, then the player who made the mistake must then go in goal. When ten goals (or whatever) have been scored (not as described before), then the person in goal at that time gets punished as follows; they must bend over, and each player gets 3 free shots at them, hence the name red-arse. If the player flinches, or moves during a shot, the shot is taken again.

Back in my high-school in England, this was one of the most popular games so it's not just some stupid 8-year olds game, and it is fun too. It will get your technical skills up, and give you good practice for penalties.

If you're not fit enough already, you should get into shape so you can manage to play for longer periods, but such methods are not specific to football.

check if you have a local ymca, they often have adult pick up soccer groups. but for training, id say you want to work on streaching, running long and short distances, and do jump rope, a lot. if you have access to weights, calf raises would build up good leg strength, as would lunges and lighter weight squats. basicly id say power up the legs and tone everything else for efficiency

If you ever care to, you can pick up a Eurosport soccer gear magazine, they have decent savings programs to get cleats/clothing/etc. through their service and you can earn free stuff.

First thing you wanna do is find a league. Rec league or whatever, there should be a few adult ones anywhere. You just need to play to get better. Find a buddy if you want to practice shots, or offensive/defensive 1v1 drills or whatnot. For solo stuff, there's not a whole lot you can do other than sprints and dribbling, and little footwork exercises. Team practice is always better.

If you're out to get in shape, you could try some ladder or small banana hurdles (here) for foot speed and general endurance workout. Really though, just get into a team and chase a ball around for a while before you get concerned about anything fancy.

I'm not that badly out of shape but I've been playing with my girlfriend who used to play in leagues until a couple years ago. We do corner kicks, free kicks and running the ball. I feel really exhausted when I finish playing so I know I'm getting a good workout.

I realize a lot of people in leagues are not the greatest and are out of shape but I'd rather get in shape, get a bit of practice before I think of joining a league.

Well, what you do to build up your endurance is mostly independent of your soccer skills in general. Go to a gym or run around, do a lot of calf/leg workouts and such. Soccer players are known for their endurance so just work on that a lot if you're really concerned about being in better shape before you start playing with a team. Check on that next month though, a lot of leagues pick up in early fall so you'll want to know when to sign up for everything.

Just as a tip, invest in a good pair of shin guards, ones with an ankle guard wrap possible. You'll thank me the first time you take a slide tackle and still have your ankle/shin intact.

I think close control is important - Being able to run while keeping the ball as close to you as possible so you can't be dispossessed. That and keeping your centre of gravity low so you can do those step-overs and dummies.

Kicking with your bad foot. It's amazing the number of 'professional' footballers who can't kick with their other foot, and have to work around to try get the ball on their good one.

I just play at keeping the ball in the air, anyway. It's more enjoyable than playing an actual game.

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Originally Posted by Mikey

Kicking with your bad foot. It's amazing the number of 'professional' footballers who can't kick with their other foot, and have to work around to try get the ball on their good one.

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Great advice. I neglected my left foot for years and I'm still paying for it today. I can get a decent kick off with my left foot if I really concentrate and have time to set it up, but if I have to make a quick kick with my left I fuck it up every time.

Really concentrate on your passing. If you have someone to practice with, practice the "give & go". Make a diagnol pass to your partner and immediately run forward to receive the next pass, and just keep doing it back and forth. You and your partner should never stop, just keep passing back and forth while running the entire time. I had to do this drill for hours on end in high school, and it's definitely the one that stuck with me and made me a better player.