Although about 25,000 fewer high school kids played football in 2018 compared to 2017, it's still an incredibly popular sport. If you're not exactly the star of your football team, however, it might not seem as fun. You're working hard in practice, but it's not translating to more playing time. You want to shine under the lights -- not just be an afterthought.

Skill certainly plays a major role, but there are plenty of things you can do to improve your skills and all other aspects of your game.

Here are some of the essential things you need to do to become a better football player and not only see more playing time, but excel on the field:

• Practice as much as you can -- Look at the two or three best players on your team. What separates them from you isn't luck, it's effort. They are likely in the gym and practicing much longer and much harder than anyone else and it shows. No matter your position, practice as much as you can and you'll start to reap the benefits.
• Upgrade your gloves -- No matter how great your hands are, without sticky football gloves, you're going to struggle to catch some of those rocket passes that are being thrown. Rather than having passes bounce off your hands and possibly into the hands of defenders, consider upgrading your old pair of gloves with nice, new sticky football gloves.
• Upgrade your cleats -- If you're using the same pair of cleats that you had two or three years ago, you are already at a disadvantage. Just because they fit doesn't mean they are giving you any kind of competitive advantage. You'll need brand new cleats to be able to make quick cuts and perform to the best of your ability.
• Eat healthy -- If you want to be a better football player you need to not only be stronger, but healthier, too. Many nutritionists have estimated that what you eat accounts for 80% of muscle growth. If you aren't eating right both during the season and the offseason, you're not going to get the on-field results that you want.

If you want to learn more about what it takes to stand out on the football field next season and purchase some quickly sticky football gloves and football towels, contact Grip Boost right away.