I had to give up on RL when I realized that it just made me too salty. I started doing more IRL sports instead (which also make me salty sometimes, though not nearly to the same extent).
I often play competitive solo standard, which is as salty as it gets because I'm an Expert in Silver fuckin' 2: everyone I play with is objectively worse than me, but I can't get out of that rank because I only shine when I'm in a good team. Catch-22. So I decided not to care about ranking anymore, to disable chat and just play that when I want to listen to some audiobooks. I don't get salty when I play RL or sports with friends - I'm not playing for some meaningless points, I do it because it's fun to do so with friends.
I just started playing Rocket League again over the last month after stopping around the end of Season 3. After doing some training and practice matches, I calibrated at Gold 2 and have quickly worked my way up to Platinum in comp standard. I'm hoping to get to Platinum 3. On a side note, I didn't even realise there was a solo standard. I would've played that otherwise as I'm always solo. My two tips would be: Train and Practice I've got 137 hours on Steam but only ~17 hours worth of match time. I spend a lot of time doing training packs and freeplay exercises. I structure my training a lot like the stuff in this video. At a minimum, being able to 80% the default all-star goalkeeper training is a must (GK skills are most important imo). If you can keep your goal clear and hit basic aerials, you should be able to get to gold. I do 30-60 minutes training/practice daily. I am a massive fan of Poquito's custom training packs. Play Defensively Unless it's an open goal or easy shot, the half way line should be your boundary. Cross it with caution, and try and get back to your half ASAP. Most players in the lower ranks chase the ball and don't do rotations. Playing a 'sweeper keeper' type role minimises counter-attack potential and allows you to hit the ball back into the opponent's half if your teammates' attack breaks down. Always stick to this role. The exception is if you happen to have a teammate who is getting back too. It's all well and good being able to shine with a good team around you, but it's not often a bunch of randoms create a great team with perfect synergy. Play the less glamorous role, foundational role and wait for the opponent to make a mistake. Because they will. And most randoms can score the easy shots. You'll know when you're getting good at this role because lots of easy follow-up shots and set-ups will start opening up to you. Especially in Silver where entire teams are out of position after one attempt on goal.
Oh lord, you just made me look up how many hours I have sank into Rocket League. It's 324, and I never train. (I'm not that dedicated to getting a good rank.) The funny thing is that I'm in Platinum when I play with my buddies. Aerials and goalkeeping are my weakness - I can hit aerials 9/10 times, but can't steer the ball precisely. However, I am really good at blocking enemy attacks and getting the ball to the goal - I'm 80th percentile shots and 83rd percentile assists globally. One of my buddies is an amazing keeper and makes sick aerials. And the other makes the most precise goals. We've developed our system for defense: one in the goal, one in each corner, and the person opposite the corner the ball's in takes over goalkeeping duties when the keeper goes for aerials. We actually often play with two people on the enemy's half and one just behind the halfway line, as it allows you to keep the pressure and the ball on their side. It does help that we're almost never in each other's way. (Otherwise, that wouldn't be possible.) Not in Silver they don't. The thing is that in Solo Standard, I could play defensively and probably win more often, but they're usually incapable of positioning and scoring on their own so I end up carrying the match and doing most of the legwork myself. Plus, if I play Solo Standard I don't actually care about my rank.And most randoms can score the easy shots.
If it makes you feel any better, I've got 1100 hours in the game I'm taking a break from. I never did any training in that. Not that they provide any for it, unfortunately. I make myself feel by better by remembering that my mate has 5000 hours in DotA 2. I can respect playing more for fun than going fully-in on training and ranking up. It's a good attitude to have. I just can't totally let go of my competitiveness to not got a little try-hard. At least in ranked. Speaking of which, I just got promoted to Platinum 2! I do actually enjoy doing the training though. I just put on an album and chill; it's quite relaxing in its own way. The team work you and your friends have going on sounds rad though. It must feel great to score a nice team goal.