Welp I can't take you under my wing, but I can help you by giving a few simple tips. I don't much about ZSS, but the following info will be pretty much in general.
Step 1: Learn and practice your main.
This can be done very easily. Since I just googled "ZSS guides" and most of the items were like from 2015, I suggest you find a social group to help you out. I am personally in a Diddy Kong and Sheik discord where I am free to ask any questions and socialize with other diddy/sheik mains. You can find your character specific discord here:
http://smashcords.com/smash_4/
Once you learned new things, such as combos, strategies, and techniques, you must practice them diligently. I recommend 30 minutes a day, go into Training mode, and practice your movement, combos, techs, etc. Make this a daily routine, as daily exposure to this will make them become second nature. You'll be executing your combos flawlessly in no time! Practice DIing on reaction and teching and perfect shielding as these things will save your life. I actually have some drills for these two. For practicing DI, go to Training Mode, set a lvl 9 cpu Bowser to attack, now DI everything and try to survive
. For practicing teching, go to training mode, lvl 9 cpu bowser jr., go to Hyrule Temple, set the cpu to attack and try to tech everything. Tech on the floor, the wall, EVERYTHING. Also practice tech rolling. For perfect shielding, training mode, lvl 9 cpu Samus, go to FD, set the cpu to attack. Now Samus will spam lasers and ****. Try to perfect shield all of them.
Step 2: Play often
Once you got a basic understanding on what your main is supposed to do, it's time to play! For Glory is good, but actually competitive matches are even better! Try attending a few local tournaments. Don't worry if you do poorly, the point is that you now have experience and you closer to becoming a Smash Bros. master! This website should help you locate your local tournaments:
https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/wiki/facebook
However if local tournaments aren't your cup of tea, you can try playing competitively online! SmashLadder is a website where you can challenge other Smashers online and compete for points. SmashLadder also has friendly matches.
https://www.smashladder.com/
Playing often in both local tournaments and online will seriously increase your rate of improvement. However, although you just starting attending tournaments, that doesn't mean you should stop practicing! Practice every day and once a week attend your locals.
Step 3: Socialize
At time you will be frustrated and feel like giving up. However what's better than being salty? Being salty with friends! The best part of Smash bros. is the fact that it connects you with so many different people, either online or in person. The point is that you must become a friendly person if you truly want to enjoy this. After all, this is all just for fun, competitively, but fun. The discords and local tournaments will do a great job at meeting new people.
Step 4: Watch and learn
In order to play smash, you must learn smash. An easy way to do it is to watch professional players, take notes on what they do, and implement it to your gameplay. For ZSS, I suggest watching Nairo and Marss, the two best ZSS players in the world. Go on Youtube and look both of them up, you'll most likely get a list of vods (recorded tournament gameplay). I suggest you also get into the habit of watching live tournaments, even though the players may not play ZSS, you can still learn plenty from them, like how does a specific character is used, or which stages benefit the player. Right now, CEO 2017 is going on. It's on Twitch on the VGBootCamp channel. It froms Friday to Sunday, which is tomorrow. Perhaps you should watch a couple of sets and maybe you'll learn something. And besides, tournaments are hype asf. You get to have this special connection with all the players and it makes Sm4sh a hell of a lot more enjoyable. It's sorta like a soap opera. Just in case you are unaware, here is a rundown of the top layers.
ZeRo= undisputed best player in the world. From Chile, currently lives in the US. mains Diddy Kong
Ally= 2nd best player in the world. From Canada and plays Mario. Known for being ZeRo's demon
Nairo= best ZSS player in the world. Known for his stylish play style and aggressive nature. His gets the crowd HYPE ASF
Dabuz= Rosalina/Olimar main from New York. Known for his defensive playstyle
VoiD/ Mr. R= Sheik mains from SoCal and the Netherlands respectively. VoiD is known for his combos, and Mr. R is a living meme
Abadango/Kameme/Komorikiri/Ranai= Mewtwo/Megaman/Cloud/Villager mains from Japan who frequently travel to the US
Anti= another meme, Mario from New York, known for his Twitter
Zinoto= Diddy Kong from the Midwest, known for calling out Anti
MK Leo= Mexican Marth known for completing destroying everyone at 2GGT Zero Saga, best marth in the world
Larry Lurr= Fox main from SoCal. Old demon of Zero, best Fox in the world
Salem/Esam= Bayonetta/Pikachu mains from Florida
Fatality/Marss/Mr. E/FOW/Locus= irrelevant Falcon/ZSS/Marth/Ness/Ryu mains who occasionally do very well in tournament.
Why was this necessary? Well the main reason I love Sm4sh is it's history revolving this players, and considering that I am that 1% of the story, I feel sorta special, and I hope you feel that way too. You have to truly love this game and everything about it in order to become better, and that includes it's competitive scene In order to keep up with these major tournaments, you can always check on smash.gg for the dates, or following these top player's twitter.
Basic tips:
Only one main: pls, imagine learning one character and mastering it. Now imagine the same thing but with two at the same time. You'll be divided your effort and that will get you know where. For these next few months. Only one main pls. You can change if you feel it is necessary, but pls only one at a time. Yes, I dual main Diddy Kong/Sheik but this is after an entire year and a half of solo-maining Lucas. You can pocket characters, but pls, only take one seriously.
Practice every day
Don't give up: This game is hard. If you are having a rough time, calm down, take a breath, and take a brake. Watch a movie or soemthing, then come back and try back. If this is a habitual issue, such as rolling, take steps to conquer it, such as practicing certain drills. If you hate a character, don't give up, go online, watch a vod, do something to help you learn the matchup. Don't give up, there is always another way, you just haven't seen it yet.
