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Skills How can I improve my composure with the ball?

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Jimmbo

Rookie
Apr 11, 2010
30
0
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Manchester City
I picked up footy reallly late (17's) and a couple yrs onwards am only now starting to win my own ball and read the play. But my decision making and composure under pressure still lets me down.

Whats frustrating is I've worked so hard to the point my skills are probably just as good as everyone else. Yet all those stuff above let me down. My coach says with time I'll gain the experience I need but every year I just get even more frustrated with my inability = getting benched etc.

I train even harder when I see others who can just jump into the side maybe with experience from other sports. It just frustrates me I cant seem to do alot right.

I play centre half forward in a top amateur league (have even thought about going to lower grades to maybe find better improvement).

cheers guys.
 
a few things:

1 - if your skills are good enough then you need to trust yourself with the ball and your decision making

2 - when you do get the ball, if there's no option straight away then run your quickest 5 - 10m then slow down to kick this will give you more time to dispose of the ball

3 - at training practice kicking off 2 - 3 steps, like you have to in a game

above all, composure comes with confidence in your ability so you may have the skills, but you need to know you can use them straight away under pressure...it's not hard to hit someone on the chest at training with no pressure so train under game conditions
 
Mate i had the same problems that you are having all the way through juniors, and i have been playing since i was 10!!

Over the years i had no idea what position i should be playing but knew that i was a good backmen and over the years i eventually got given a role on the half back line, pretty much as the quarterback, it took a while but eventually you begin to trust your skills and pace. Admittedly if your a CHF then you arent likely to get the quarterback role but i suggest ask to be put down back for a while, forward line you have little to worry about, but in the back line you have lots to think about and eventually it will become natural to think quick and it will transfer to whatever position you play.

Hope that makes some sense
 
thanks guys. Real helpful tips definately. Yeh cheers cptkirk. The more i think bout it, i think my confidence in myself with the footy aint too good. I guess it'll take time but Im gonna keep at it and take the game on rather than being on the backfoot.

@ Neng, wen I started off mate, i kinda played a sweeping defender role b4 going to the midfield then up in CHF. Not sure if i can play off HB as the team back 6 is solid and coach wants 2 keep it that way. Besides dont really wanna play down back. Guess Im just gonna keep plugging away at it.
 

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haha thanks mate, i see ur frm perth. If I ever have a kick with randoms Ill ask if any of'em is Neng frm bigfooty.
Yeh told myself Im gonna believe more in my ability and train harder and leave nothing left in the tank.
 
I think, as a forward your main role is probably to give as many options as you can. Try finding space. Also with pressure, always use your team mates They should be telling you when your under the pump and giving you options.

I have played footy for 8 years now, I can tell you if i'm under the pump my skills can be deplorable, and that goes for nearly everyone, Try giving the handball off to the guy that has space or running past for the handball. That alone would be a improvement under pressure and you will look so much more composed then just say bombing the ball forward.
 
More game-based training - you need more exposure to having to make decisions and execute under pressure in training, which will then flow over into games.

Your coach should be allocating at least 50% of training time to drills that involve some sort of decision making.

The reason players from other sports are doing well is that they probably have done this type of training in their sport and some of the common principles such as use of "time and space" are flowing over into aussie rules.

Remember that skill = decision making + execution of technique

hope this is of some help

cheers

Mark,
http://teamsportcoaching.com
 
I play centre half forward in a top amateur league (have even thought about going to lower grades to maybe find better improvement).
Change of position might help you.

Sounds like you peripheral vision isn't great, that you aren't sure what is around you or how much time and space you have which means you panic. Awareness of whether there are people around you or if you're about to get tackled is important and it sounds as though you are lacking those skills.

You might be more comfortable at full forward or even full back. In those positions you have no one behind you. You can basically see where every player on the ground is so the 360 degree nature of the game is minimised. Karmichael Hunt is being played at full forward for the same reason.
 

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Skills How can I improve my composure with the ball?


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