I'm noticing... improvement?

I haven't had much experience with FPS games so I didn't have much skill in the classes where aim is key, such as scout, soldier, heavy and sniper. The first class I played was pyro, followed by spy, followed by medic. All are three classes where aim is not too necessary. Recently I have been practicing soldier. Yesterday I had a TON of time to play, so I practiced. At the start, I was lucky to get 1 kill per 5 lives, and most of those were me just rocket spamming. I didn't rocket jump ever unless a medic was buffing me because I was afraid to loose health. However, at the end of the day I was able to get steady 1 to 1 k/d ratio, and only half of those were rocket spam. I rucket jumped a lot more, even though I still didn't rocket jump as much as I should have, and died a lot less. This may not sound like a big deal to people who have experience with FPS games, but it's a huge deal for me. I now have 10 hours as soldier. I'm still not too good but I can hold my own now. It makes me happy. Did any of you guys ever notice your improvement like this? How long did it take for you to get good as soldier?

<.<    >.>   I'm happy!

Edit: WOOT THIS IS MY 1000TH POST! JUST NOTICED THAT!

I've slowly improved as soldier, but I've never spent a lot of time in one stretch before.  I am getting better though (up to about 1 kill per 2 deaths myself). 

One thing that I do is practice rocket jumps while I am waiting for others to join a server. 

I have noticed the same thing. I come from a back ground of casual Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, so my aim is pretty good. I focused on Sniper for the longest time (70 hours) and barely improved. Pyro I got a lot better at and is a lot of fun to play, but most recently I have been focusing on Soldier. I have made vast improvements, and finally have confidence that I can take just about anything that comes my way.

*PSYCHOLOGY ALERT*
      In tasks that involve motor-skills there is this thing called the "power law" which basically says, when you mass practice (sort of like cramming for your fingers) your skill will increase dramatically, then level off increasing gradually (yes, similar to a learning curve).
   
That means, what we are going through is the beginning where you will notice rapid increase in skill the more you practice. But when that ends, don't get down it just means that you are just perfecting and refining your skill.

Also, try getting above the enemy as much as possible. It really helps you learn the movement of enemies so you can fire a rocket where they are going to be.

P.S. There is an old military and SWAT mantra that I repeat in my head as I play soldier. "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."
I often get frustrated playing such a slow class, and this helps me remember that, while I move slowly I have the 2nd highest health and I can aim and effectively incapacitate just about any other class.

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I know that much. The roof of the big house of gravel pit is great. I just need to practice my rocket jumping a bit more. Half the time I was trying to get on the roof I looked like a bird crashing into a window. I did manage to get a few kills when I got up there though. Half the time they were like, "wtf where is that coming from?"

Thats got to be a pub, we know to look up before assuming the coast is clear.

*kk guys I'm going to reload*

*Shit were did he come from*

*The wonders of getting a tele on top of Cap B on gpit*

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No, it was our servers. I think it was the pro like chro server. And the coast wasn't clear. They were also preoccupied with the people on the ground, but once they realized that they were also getting rocketted they were like "wtf?"

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To be pedantic the TF2F servers are technically pubs as well, albeit with higher skilled players.

I barely have 22 hours of Solly, but I did astonishingly well the other day when I was playing.  Hell, people were complimenting my on my skilz the other night in BBall, and protesting loudly that I shouldn't be at the top of the team.

I'm getting pretty good at movement prediction and rocket placement, and I got my first legitimate airshot recently too.

Right now I need to work on working with and leading a Medic, as well as getting height advantage and basic Soldier tactics.

Mostly, I need to remember to stick with other teammates.  The compulsion to go off on my own is still a strong one.