5 Football Training Tips to Quickly Improve Your Game

At Gametime Performance, we help student-athletes at all skill levels uncover their hidden potential on the field—so we know a thing or two about making fast improvements in football.

Hit a roadblock in your football training journey? Conquer it with these five tips.

Increase Your Game Knowledge

If there’s one thing too many athletes neglect, it’s developing their on-the-field knowledge. In reality, understanding how the game ‘works’ on a mental level, and developing mental skills to capitalize on that know-how, is one of the best things you can do to see improvements in your game. Here’s what you can do to get there:

• Watch Film: Analyze your own play and that of your opponents. 
• Memorize Plays: Know the formations and objectives of each play like the back of your hand
• Develop Game Sense: Learn how to think on your feet, identifying what’s going on in the field around you and adjusting your play accordingly

Don’t Neglect Speed, Even As a Lineman

Too many offensive linemen, tight ends, and linebackers who come to Gametime Performance think that strength is all you’ll need to find success in the field, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Learn how to develop speed that’s both explosive and consistent, so that you can overpower your opponent, catch up with breakaway runners, and outmaneuver anyone who’s trying to get at you. 

You’ll need your strength for every play, but you never want to be caught without speed at the moment when your team needs it most.

Simulate On-The-Field Scenarios

We highly encourage training with others—no matter their skill level—whenever you get the chance. Practicing with like-minded players and testing your knowledge and ability on the field is the best way to ‘lock in’ skills that you’ve been working on in isolation. 

Playing on the field is also one of the only ways to develop good game sense and quick decision-making skills—these are things you just won’t learn in a book.

If you think more simulated practice like this is something you can take advantage of, check out our affordable Group Football Training sessions, where we pit our students against other like-minded athletes to help them hone their skills against one another.

Be A Trainable Player

This is a tough one to put into words, but the gist is this: if you wanna get better, you need to have the mentality and attitude to take criticism and coaching well, and to work well with your teammates.

If you’re resistant to training or have an attitude in your practice sessions, you’re not going to be learning anything that you need to in order to perform. Get your mind in the right place, and the rest will follow.

Learn, Train, Then Perfect

It may seem obvious, but too many players practice with the wrong mentality. As an athlete, you can’t just show up on the field and get better, and you certainly can’t show up on gameday and think you’ll suddenly ‘get’ whatever you need to play well.

So here’s a better philosophy for your football practice: Learn, Train, then Perfect.

• Learn: Before you practice, take advantage of resources and coaches that can guide you toward what you need to work on. Identifying what you need to do to get better is just as—if not more—important as doing it.
• Train: Put in the hours. Be consistent, push yourself, vary your training, and keep repeating the ‘learning’ aspect of your training until you’ve got a handle on all the skills you need.
• Perfect: Getting good at the essentials isn’t enough. You have to perfect them. Push yourself to become exceptional at basic skills like blocking, tackling, and catching, and advanced techniques and nuanced play will become all the easier for you.