Truly great football players had put in countless hours of practicing. It can take many years in order to reach star player status. Use the tips below to help you improve during your next practice. Put these tips to use for yourself and your team.

Always wear protective equipment when playing football. Football is a contact sport that can result in serious injuries. If you don’t have your safety gear, don’t play. The potential injuries you risk range from broken bones to outright paralysis. This will end your game forever.

TIP! Keep in mind that you are are on a team. You have team members that are there to support you, and you should be there to support you.

The wealth of information about plays, strategies, skills and techniques for football, makes it seem impossible to learn everything. Learn about the game of football to have an edge over other players who may be smarter and faster. Use your mental strength to beat the competition.

For anyone wanting to play defense, it’s vital to learn how to read each of the formations of the other team. Receiver placement can give you a lot of information about a play before it happens. In order to learn formations, check out pro and college games; develop a playbook from the various plays.

Stiff Arm

TIP! Football should always be played with the right equipment. You never know when an injury may come along.

If you are a receiver or running back, try bettering your stiff arm. A stiff arm strategy can buy you time and yards in a crunch, and can completely protect you from a defending player. It is a simple trick that involves holding the arm out in the straight line.

Ladder drills can help you increase your agility and improve coordination. These are important to any football training regimen. You should move from one end of a ladder drawn with chalk to the other placing your feet inside and outside of every square along the way. This technique has to be done correctly so it is advised you watch some videos to learn the proper technique and see how other football players are training with this method.

Endurance is as important to football as strength and speed. To improve your stamina, pick a cardio exercise and do it for at least an hour each day. This could involve stair climbing, cycling or running. This exercise should be easy, that way you can do more reps and build up stamina.

TIP! Stay healthy to stay on the field. You’ll need to get into the habit of warming up before any practices or games.

Make a touchdown. A touchdown is the ultimate goal of the offensive team when they get their hands on the ball. To score a touchdown, a player must run the ball over the opposing team’s goal line or catch a pass in that end zone. If a player crosses over the plane of the goal line with the ball, he scores a touchdown. Touchdowns earn six points.

Warm up properly before you exercise, run a practice, or play a game. Injuring your body will only lead to a number of complications, which could leave you on the bench for weeks. Your exercises should strengthen muscles that benefit your game, thus building your strength. Just remember to stretch before play.

It is important to keep your body healthy if you want to be great at football, so eat a healthy diet and pay attention to the signals your body gives you after your practice sessions and games. You should talk to the team physician if you experience pain or cannot move easily.

TIP! When you use a great new trick, be sure to keep in under your hat most of the time. It is a good idea to use something that works.

Speed is very important for receivers. To help increase your speed set up a well defined running area. For instance, place a pair of cones ten yards apart. Run as quickly as possible from one side to the next and then record your time. Now, you will want to race against yourself to beat your previous time. Doing this will help you improve takeoff speed.

Send potential colleges a video of highlights for coaches to watch. Diversify the number and type of schools you apply to, in order to maximize your chances of getting in. If you get a choice of multiple possible schools, you can hopefully pick one that gives you a good education off the field.

Always practice becoming more agile. To do that, practice jumping rope, running through tires and jumping over any kind of cone. This is sure to boost your agility on the field, to make you even better. Make your agility exercises a part of your usual routine and you will soon see an improvement.

TIP! The stiff arm technique is a great tool for runningbacks and receivers. You can fend off defenders and gain some yards and time just by using the stiff arm.

The greats truly work hard on their football skills. They devote their lives to practicing and improving their skills. Want to be the best? Use the tips you’ve just read. Use the tips to inspire you and improve your game.