Welcome to smashboards. This is more of intermediate level stuff but it's good to know these things as early as possible.
This game does take practice. Even top level players practice all the time. And they know what wil happen, if they don't. Your mindset of this game plays a huge role in your career with this game. The best way to play is to play to learn, you will learn so fast, don't worry about winning, always be trying something new. Go into friendlies saying "im going to focus on my shines Out of Shield (OoS) by the end of the day I gurantee you would be better at that small aspect that will play a bigger role later on. Goodluck. If you ever need anything just ask anyone, PM players. They will get back to you.