u/nuponrl

Because the new season is tomorrow I thought I should spend some time thinking about how to get better and analysing how successful my training methods are (if you’ve read the title I’m sure you can guess). Overall I am pretty sure I need to completely revamp how I train because my current process of reviewing a game of ranked and then warming up for a bit then moving onto a more specific training drill and then into ranked hasn’t really been working. I’ve been D3 for a couple years and play for a couple hours a day but I’m still making a lot of mistakes that I really am not proud of. Part of me definitely thought that I’d be way better by now but I guess I just have to keep working towards my goals. 

Any advice on how to make better decisions in game, I just feel like I’m so unaware at times because as much as I try to keep track of player positions and use that info to my advantage I find myself consistently making plays that make no sense or are just bad ideas because I misjudge a players momentum/position. Like I’m fully focused during my matches but I still feel like I’m not focused enough because I end up missing important details because in the moment I don’t realise they are important.

I’m honestly just disappointed in myself because I know I can do better but it just doesn’t happen.

Any advice on becoming a more consistent and a smarter player would be helpful.

Ever since I started playing, I've been motivated to rank up and improve. I want to become more consistent mechanically and make better decisions in matches. However, based on the results I'm seeing, I've stopped improving. That's frustrating because I believe I can get way better, especially when considering the effort I'm putting in. I spend a lot of time training, reviewing replays, and actively thinking during matches to maximise my improvement.

I try not to compare myself to other players, but I'm also realistic. I know that 6,000 hours is a lot of time to still be in D3. At this point, I think I may need outside help because, relative to the time I've invested, neither my mechanics nor my game sense are where I feel they should be.

When I train, I usually focus on one mechanic for an extended period of time, typically a couple of weeks. I identify a specific mistake I'm making and work on eliminating it. For example, I've recently been trying to improve my shooting. I noticed that I was inconsistent with my turning leading up to the shot, this caused me to overcorrect and I had very  inconsistent shot power and placement as a result. To try and deal with this issue I had to heavily focus on the path I was taking to the ball.

To address this, I have spent time in both freeplay and training packs focusing on how I approached the ball. Initially, my accuracy was poor but I expected consistency to improve over time, but it's been weeks now and so far I haven't made any real progress, despite continuing to train the mechanic regularly.

When reviewing replays, I usually select three games and watch them whilst taking short notes on mistakes. I tend to do this at the start of my sessions because it helps me detach emotionally from the match and prevents me from remembering my thought process at the time. Otherwise, I tend to make excuses for mistakes that shouldn't have happened.

During replay reviews, I don't focus much on mechanical errors. Instead, I ask myself whether I should have attempted a particular mechanic in the first place. If the answer is yes, I move on because everyone makes mistakes. If the answer is no, I make a mental note and try to understand why it was the wrong decision. Maybe it's a mechanic I just can't perform consistently enough yet, or perhaps the defender's positioning presented a better option that I failed to recognise.

Positioning mistakes take up most of my attention because I find them harder to understand. On offence, I often notice that I've left myself in an awkward position where I can neither challenge the ball effectively nor rotate back quickly if possession is lost. I've tried to improve this by learning to read the play better. Of course, replay analysis gives me unlimited time to assess where teammates and opponents are positioned and what they're likely to do next but I don’t have such luxuries in matches.

Defensively, I frequently find myself feeling lost within the play. When reviewing these situations, I try to identify all of the options that were available and determine which one would have been the best choice. One of my biggest problems is that I tend to fall back into old habits. I repeatedly identify the same mistakes, but I struggle to make lasting changes, which often makes it feel like I'm not making meaningful progress. I think this is largely because I am struggling to deal with the pace of play as I find it much easier to defend in 1s.

Before queueing for matches, I usually give myself a few reminders to focus on. Simple things such as  ‘try to stay closer to the play when your teammate has possession.’ or ‘make sure to apply pressure as the first man on defence.’ or ‘use the small boost pads more effectively to maintain pressure.’

I try to actively implement these ideas until I either see evidence of improvement in my replays or feel the difference in my gameplay. In terms of mentality, I believe I'm generally more composed than most of my teammates and opponents, so I don't think that's a major weakness in my game.

Overall, I feel like my gameplay still has a lot of flaws that I'm actively trying to address, but there are times when I feel completely stuck. I don't fully understand why I'm struggling so much despite the amount of effort I'm putting in. I can only hope with enough time and the right approach, I'll eventually break through this plateau and continue improving. If any higher ranked players have ideas for what I can do to improve I’d be forever grateful.

Ever since I started playing, I've been motivated to rank up and improve. I want to become more consistent mechanically and make better decisions in matches. However, based on the results I'm seeing, I've stopped improving. That's frustrating because I believe I can get way better, especially when considering the effort I'm putting in. I spend a lot of time training, reviewing replays, and actively thinking during matches to maximise my improvement.

I try not to compare myself to other players, but I'm also realistic. I know that 6,000 hours is a lot of time to still be in D3. At this point, I think I may need outside help because, relative to the time I've invested, neither my mechanics nor my game sense are where I feel they should be.

When I train, I usually focus on one mechanic for an extended period of time, typically a couple of weeks. I identify a specific mistake I'm making and work on eliminating it. For example, I've recently been trying to improve my shooting. I noticed that I was inconsistent with my turning leading up to the shot, this caused me to overcorrect and I had very  inconsistent shot power and placement as a result. To try and deal with this issue I had to heavily focus on the path I was taking to the ball.

To address this, I have spent time in both freeplay and training packs focusing on how I approached the ball. Initially, my accuracy was poor but I expected consistency to improve over time, but it's been weeks now and so far I haven't made any real progress, despite continuing to train the mechanic regularly.

When reviewing replays, I usually select three games and watch them whilst taking short notes on mistakes. I tend to do this at the start of my sessions because it helps me detach emotionally from the match and prevents me from remembering my thought process at the time. Otherwise, I tend to make excuses for mistakes that shouldn't have happened.

During replay reviews, I don't focus much on mechanical errors. Instead, I ask myself whether I should have attempted a particular mechanic in the first place. If the answer is yes, I move on because everyone makes mistakes. If the answer is no, I make a mental note and try to understand why it was the wrong decision. Maybe it's a mechanic I just can't perform consistently enough yet, or perhaps the defender's positioning presented a better option that I failed to recognise.

Positioning mistakes take up most of my attention because I find them harder to understand. On offence, I often notice that I've left myself in an awkward position where I can neither challenge the ball effectively nor rotate back quickly if possession is lost. I've tried to improve this by learning to read the play better. Of course, replay analysis gives me unlimited time to assess where teammates and opponents are positioned and what they're likely to do next but I don’t have such luxuries in matches.

Defensively, I frequently find myself feeling lost within the play. When reviewing these situations, I try to identify all of the options that were available and determine which one would have been the best choice. One of my biggest problems is that I tend to fall back into old habits. I repeatedly identify the same mistakes, but I struggle to make lasting changes, which often makes it feel like I'm not making meaningful progress. I think this is largely because I am struggling to deal with the pace of play as I find it much easier to defend in 1s.

Before queueing for matches, I usually give myself a few reminders to focus on. Simple things such as  ‘try to stay closer to the play when your teammate has possession.’ or ‘make sure to apply pressure as the first man on defence.’ or ‘use the small boost pads more effectively to maintain pressure.’

I try to actively implement these ideas until I either see evidence of improvement in my replays or feel the difference in my gameplay. In terms of mentality, I believe I'm generally more composed than most of my teammates and opponents, so I don't think that's a major weakness in my game.

Overall, I feel like my gameplay still has a lot of flaws that I'm actively trying to address, but there are times when I feel completely stuck. I don't fully understand why I'm struggling so much despite the amount of effort I'm putting in. I can only hope with enough time and the right approach, I'll eventually break through this plateau and continue improving. If any higher ranked players have ideas for what I can do to improve I’d be forever grateful.