<p>Hey guys, I'mma be a junior next year, and I'm planning on trying out for my school's soccer team. But we have a pretty good team, so I at least need some experience before I try out. I used to play when I was younger, but that doesn't really count because it was that peewee stuff that pretty much everyone did. Do any of you soccer players have any advice on how I can go about getting some experience or getting someone to help me out with the fundamentals? I know it's kinda late to start a sport, but I really wanna go for it. Some stuff people recommended was to enroll in a summer camp and sign up for AYSO.</p>
<p>How competitive is your school? At my school, if you haven’t been playing in club for 10+ years, you have no chance at making even JV. I can’t tell you exactly what to do unless you give me an idea of how good you need to be to get on your school team. Have some of the players never played soccer before and still gotten on the team? And are you a boy or a girl? (the training varies)
Still, here is my general advice:
-First of all, make sure you are in tip-top shape. Go running, build up your stamina. Being fast and having athletic ability will somewhat make-up for your lack of technique.
-DEFINITELY start playing with an organized team during the summer. Do you really want this? Can you put a lot of effort in (practice at least 30 min to an hour a day), if you need to?. Go out with your friends and play. Bottom line, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
-At home, practice your drills. Buy a soccer ball. Kick it against the wall over and over again, and practice your trapping and passing. Buy cones, or better yet, dribble around your house, and feint around objects. Pretend that the soccer ball is attached to your foot, have it with you always, so you can get used to it. Also, you might want to learn how to juggle, or do some other drills for ball control
-After you’ve mastered basic skills, you might want to look into getting a personal trainer. They can work with you one-on-one, give you specific drills to practice at home, and improve your game. But I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you’re absolutely commited. Doing the summer camp might be more benifical for your situation.</p>
<p>Kick a ball against a wall and dribble. That sounds stupid, but you can sort out the experienced players from the rest by the way they kick the ball and their form dribbling and everything. It sounds really elementary, but it’s so important.</p>
<p>Before tryouts I used to dribble an indoor soccer ball around my house for a week and juggle and stuff. Touch is crucial and the more practice you have the more naturally it comes and the more natural and experienced you’ll look.</p>
<p>^very good advice. i also recommend speed ladders. Even if your a beginner, it really helps your footwork. Dribble, dribble, DRIBBLE and everything else will fall into place. Nike.com has some nice exercises. Work on your sprinting in all four lateral directions.</p>
<p>I seriously think that a good body built is also important. Being too thin and lanky makes u an easy prey to most defenders… So it’s best if u are ‘buffed’ like Wayne Rooney… Makes u a hard player to be marked especially when u r having one of those days when everything’s going right for u…</p>
<p>yeah but speed is just as important.</p>
<p>Yeah, but build is hardly something you can work on since it’s largely genetics. Obviously you can strengthen, but if you’re tall and thin you’ll never look like Wayne Rooney, so focus on what you can actually control. And I’d agree that speed is more important than strength, though I’m sure it’s different in men’s soccer.</p>
<p>quickness is important too, though, and at least you can train for it and get faster footwork.
You can’t really control your build, or how fast you are (other than being in shape)</p>
<p>but I think body built is better than speed. No doubt, out-running will be much easier if u are smaller size… but look at C Ronaldo for example. First time from Sporting Lisbon, he’s so skinny… now we really see him putting on that extra muscles and running much faster than ever, although he drops more often now… but can’t blame him… he’s too quick…</p>
<p>Wow, thanks a lot guys. You guys are fast responders :). So what I plan to do is go for a run everyday, end with sprints, and just dribble around obstacles and stuff. Hopefully I’ll also be able to go to a soccer camp or something. Do you guys know if there are any club teams for beginners around Los Angeles? Or are club players really good?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Learn how to kick the right way. Your teammates will thank you for accurate passes and your feet will thank you for not breaking your toes.</p>
<p>I don’t know, but my current… friend… is a soccer player.</p>
<p>sprints and other stuff (situps, squats etc.) on one day
long run the other. It’s too hard to do both and be effective.</p>
<p>Start with rec league. Find a private coach to work with you on extra days if you’re really serious.</p>
<p>Hey, sorry to bring this thread back, but I was wondering if you guys knew anything about the AYSO summer camps. I was thinking about the Residential Camp, but I was worried that everyone would be so much better than me that they’d shun me or something lol</p>
<p>Hahahahaha wayne rooney isnt buff, hes fat 
and my advice, dont be afraid to tackle. ive seen some bad games where if a striker comes towards a defender with the ball, they let them by because theyre afraid to stop them.</p>
<p>In my opinion, speed and power are two important factors to soccer.
Like everyone said in general, try to run as much as possible over the summer, whether it’s daily light jogs or even heavy sprints when you’re up for it.</p>
<p>I would recommend a bit of weight training, but make sure to distribute it equally over your body. Don’t get thunder thighs while having extremely thin arms or pecs. You know your body the best so it’s up to you to decide how much of it is appropriate.</p>
<p>I couldn’t find this information and sorry if you mentioned it, but what position do you play and are you a girl or guy? Most of the advice I gave above applies to a guy sorta.</p>
<p>If you’re playing forward…
Well, a forward’s most important job is obviously scoring. Get used to finishing, it’s actually harder than it seems! Forwards are usually extremely adept at positioning themselves to receiving a ball. Some are well known for their high acceleration and precise dribbling such as Messi, and some are just known for brute power like Henry.</p>
<p>If you’re playing midfield…
I think this position runs the most, especially if you’re playing wide/outside midfield, cause they run up and down the field a lot. They have a responsibility of running back on defense to give extra cover and to run back up the field to make crosses. If you plan on playing center, I think passing will be a must to work on.</p>
<p>If you’re playing defender…
Start off by learning how to kick the ball far (this is useful for learning how to clear the ball). Try to work on defensive headers. Maybe watch a couple clips of how defenders position themselves. If you play outside, you might have to overlap, which may impress some coaches.</p>
<p>If you’re playing goalkeeper…
I’m assuming you’re not just based on what your comments. However if you are, I’m sorry to say, I don’t have much advice on this. Sorry =/</p>
<p>Well, I think it’s really cool that you want to place yourself at a high competitive level for soccer. Just some last general advice: have fun and do your best. Even if you aren’t able to mature all your skills by the season, as long as you run hard and be aggressive, people will be impressed, and you will find yourself doing stuff you didn’t know you could do. Good luck!</p>