How To Gain Poise In Football

Poise on the football field is an invaluable characteristic that all head coaches want to see from their players. Poise in football means playing with a sense of calmness, intelligence and confidence at all times and coming up with your best performances and plays when the game is on the line. Talent undoubtedly plays a role in developing poise, but experience, preparation and leadership may be even bigger factors in becoming a player who plays his best when the game is on the line.

Step 1

Condition yourself to the best of your ability. If you are going to be confident when the game is on the line and keep your cool, you have to believe that you are at your best and you can beat the opponent on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. One of the factors in this is working hard to be in top football condition. This means working hard in the off season to develop physical strength and cardiovascular conditioning. It also means working on the nuances of your position responsibilities in practice so you know every move you must make to succeed in the game.

Step 2

Study your opponent's tendencies on videotape. If you are playing at the high school, college and professional levels, you will be able to look at videotape of upcoming opponents. This will help you learn how they fend off a block and make a tackle if they are defensive players, or how a receiver you will cover runs a pass pattern. When you know that a receiver will swing his arms to the left when he is about to cut to his right when going out for a pass, you will know exactly when you have to make your move to stay with him.

Step 3

Drive a poor play out of your mind as soon as it is over. No matter how talented you are, you can't win every battle and your opponent will beat you from time to time. After you figure out what you did wrong and decide how to correct the mistake, put the bad play out of your mind and move on to the next one. If you are feeling sorry for yourself because you gave up a big play or even a touchdown, you won't be able to rebound and excel on a key play a little bit later.

Step 4

Communicate with your teammates when you recognize formations and tendencies. You need to use all of your leadership skills to make sure that everyone is positioned correctly. If you see your opponents line up in a run-to-the-right formation, make sure all your teammates are lined up to defend this play correctly. Players who can prepare adequately and communicate are poised when plays are made when the game is on the line.