Skills Starting footy from scratch.

[Horns]

I've preferred to watch aussie rules over the other football codes for years, but have suddenly become much more interested in the AFL since late last season. I want to get into playing the game because watching my favourite players is inspiring.

How do i learn to play? I have a decent understanding of all the rules and interpretations, but have barely even kicked a footy around. I'm 20 years old, 6'3", 70kg and have pretty poor cardio fitness. Is is possible to get fit enough over the off-season to play for a bottom-level team?

If so, would training for strength, or cardio fitness be the most effective in getting 'match fit'?

 

[Syphoncom]

Personally I'd say you'd need both. I mean, you can't play football if you're not fit, but you could always spend the year training and getting to know how the game is played personally opposed to just watching it. At 6'3 you've got some nice height, but you'll get blown away with no fitness and get crunched at 70kgs!

Some advice will come but mine is at your current physical state, get down to some training sessions (during the season generally tues/thurs) and have a kick, get into the drills and get a feel for the ball and how the game flows.

In the meantime, I'd say do some running, eat/lift!!!, and get a footy and go for a kick. If you know anyone who plays they should be able to teach you the basics, and most clubs should start some basic preseason late december (but mainly around late jan-feb).

 

[The Big Sticks]

That sounds like me a couple of years back but I was even lighter

Have you played any sports previously? That would help considerably

 

[yeah_nah]

6 foot 3 and 70kg holy shit brah do you eat?!

 

[pacemaker]

Horns is Tony Notte's Alias.

 

[TigerGlory]

Go down and do a Pre-season with your local club. Even if you dont intend on playing that season, that should whip you into shape well enough that you can carry on from there.

Best way to improve your skills is to just practice. Repetitive kicking on both feet is the only way to up your kicks. Construct a rhythm when you kick the ball that you feel comfortable with. For example, I move my opposite hand *******ally while im guiding the ball onto my boot but it works for me so I dont mind the laughs.

But yeah, repetitive skills is good. If you have somebody to practice with, quick and sharp handballs to each other, alternating your hands is the best way to get your handballs going.

And the best drill to do for kicking with a friend ive found is to set up about 30 odd metres away from each other, and lead as quickly as you can somewhere, and have your mate try his best to hit you up. Then when you mark the footy, you do the same to your mate.

And do some push ups if/when you screw up.

 

[xLKCx]

I knid of in the same boat. Im 20 and looking to play next season but instead of being really light and unfit im really heavy and unfit 6 foot 3 and 120kg.

does any body know of a low level comp/club that would be good to join in the Essendon area so that I could start play.

I have never played with a club before.

 

[IheartCarrots]

Fitness. Strength is meaningless if you are slow or tire quickly. People will just play off you all day.

Just look for your local amateur competition and check the ladder. Give the coach/president of one of the lower ranked teams a call and go down there for some training.

 

[ThePezDispenser]

And do some push ups if/when you screw up.

I've never understood this.

I absolutely blast team mates when i see them doing it at training. No one intends to kick a shank or drop a mark, they know what they should be doing - How does push ups make you improve? All is does is contribute to fatigue and takes away from the little rest you get whilst waiting for the ball to come back around. And the thing that annoys me most is whilst people are doing these push ups its their team mates who also miss out on their rest because they have to jump forward in the line to cover them.

In my mind it is absolutely pointless - In the end do you do push ups during a game if you stuff up?

 

[TigerGlory]

Its just a good way to motivate yourself to improve your upper body strength.

Am very big on the penalties as you always strive to be perfect, and although its obvious that nobody is perfect, doing push ups when you screw up on the training track is a great way to push your body.

Usually scrubby kicks or dropped marks can occur because of lack of concentration or fatigue. You can push your body by penalising it when you lose focus. Subconsciously, you'll find that doing push ups when you make an error on the track will result in fewer errors during the concluding stages of training.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

You'll get a game somewhere, Horns. Most clubs are always battling for numbers in their bottom teams and would welcome a new recruit, no matter how inexperienced you are.

Especially as the season wears on and injury lists start to build. By mid-season most clubs are trying to rope in a couple of blokes from the local pub they bumped into the night before and playing them under fake names.

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Its just a good way to motivate yourself to improve your upper body strength.

Am very big on the penalties as you always strive to be perfect, and although its obvious that nobody is perfect, doing push ups when you screw up on the training track is a great way to push your body.

Usually scrubby kicks or dropped marks can occur because of lack of concentration or fatigue. You can push your body by penalising it when you lose focus. Subconsciously, you'll find that doing push ups when you make an error on the track will result in fewer errors during the concluding stages of training.

Couldn't agree with you any less!

 

[Syphoncom]

Its just a good way to motivate yourself to improve your upper body strength.

Am very big on the penalties as you always strive to be perfect, and although its obvious that nobody is perfect, doing push ups when you screw up on the training track is a great way to push your body.

Usually scrubby kicks or dropped marks can occur because of lack of concentration or fatigue. You can push your body by penalising it when you lose focus. Subconsciously, you'll find that doing push ups when you make an error on the track will result in fewer errors during the concluding stages of training.

I appreciate your point of view and it's one I'm sure many would share with you. Personally, I don't get it either.

It's the equivalent of an accountant making a mistake and stapling their hand, or playing a computer game and punching yourself/doing 100 crunches if you die.

For me, nothing hurts more than acknowledging I failed (sounds serious, but I dunno how to make that sound lighthearted). All I'm getting at is, knowing I can do more and striving to do it is more than enough for me, so I don't get the whole get down and do some pushups.

Plus, you're already taxing your body hardcore with training and then gym/running, so it's not going to help from that perspective. But hey, whatever works.

 

[foley_falcon]

It's the equivalent of an accountant making a mistake and stapling their hand, or playing a computer game and punching yourself/doing 100 crunches if you die.

Push ups have some benefit however whereas stapling your hand or punching yourself in the face does not.

 

[wmvaux]

If I was starting out, I would take a football to a park or football ground and just run up one end kicking the ball, bouncing the ball, kicking the ball straight up in the air and marking it....etc if there are goals, either soccer or football goals, line up and have a shot.... then get the ball kick it back up the other end trying all these things.

1 hour would be a fair workout, but you'll get some fitness and get practise too.

Once you join a club, I would let the coach know your situation and I'm sure he would allow for your lack of fitness, but you just do what you can, if your stuffed, you just have to have a rest. Over time you'll build up a good fitness level.

A coach will play you in a position that suits your skill level, if your ball skills aren't great work on tackling, it's just as important to a team.

 

[wmvaux]

I've never understood this.

I absolutely blast team mates when i see them doing it at training. No one intends to kick a shank or drop a mark, they know what they should be doing - How does push ups make you improve? All is does is contribute to fatigue and takes away from the little rest you get whilst waiting for the ball to come back around. And the thing that annoys me most is whilst people are doing these push ups its their team mates who also miss out on their rest because they have to jump forward in the line to cover them.

In my mind it is absolutely pointless - In the end do you do push ups during a game if you stuff up?

The idea is that you don't want to do push ups, so at training the thought behind it is you'll train better and hit targets, take marks and kick goals.

It doesn't really work, but it also puts pressure on the next time, which could be part of the thinking... perform under pressure.

Worst case, your getting a better workout.