Struggling top

[Landfall]

I main in the jungle with Maokai and Skarner and can play an average Lulu support and just about play mid as Karthus/Dianna.
However im trying to play top lane at the moment so I can pretty much fulfill every role to some degree and I'm Really struggling..

My top champions are:

Lee Sin
Yorick
Garen
Kayle
Renekton.

I've been trying to play Lee Sin as at some stage would like to take him into the jungle but i just can't seem to win with any of them against any matchup.
My CS is pretty much always down as I get zoned out by the enemy, I can't win any trades and once im a kill down they always just seem to snowball hard.

Any tips for improving my top lane by a considerable margin?

[Toxigen]

#1 - Watch pro top laners streams, taking particular note on how and when they trade.

#2 - Learn the typical counters and have enough champions to counter most of the other top picks.

#3 - Map awareness is crucial. Always try to have an idea as to where the enemy jungler is and keep an eye on mid lane. I try to buy 2+ wards every trip back (when possible).

#4 - Buy Vladmir. Straight up, probably one of the easiest top laners to do well with...dat sustain.

#4 Keep practicing your CS...it will all come together with time.

[dengatron]

all the things that toxigen said and to add to number 3. getting ganked and losing out on several waves of creeps while they're still in lane is nearly doom unless you're a counter champ, or you can get back on even ground soon. top is tough because it's mostly all beefier champions that scale well with levels, so every creep wave you miss sets you farther behind than everyone else on the map. # 1 rule of top lane is don't die. ever.

[Rampant Rabbit]

Be opportunistic as much as possible. Other than that, play it safe, unless you know how to wreck shit with your champion.

Even then I'd find out the play-style of your opponent before revealing your intentions.

[Duronos]

Learn how to play AD Nidalee and you honestly can't lose. Trap in bush if you have no wards and just auto attack with a heal every now and then on yourself, chances are the enemy will push your tower and the jungler should eventually gank once. At level 6 you can farm easily under a tower with cougar form.

[Deleted]

#1 - Watch pro top laners streams, taking particular note on how and when they trade.

#2 - Learn the typical counters and have enough champions to counter most of the other top picks.

#3 - Map awareness is crucial. Always try to have an idea as to where the enemy jungler is and keep an eye on mid lane. I try to buy 2+ wards every trip back (when possible).

#4 - Buy Vladmir. Straight up, probably one of the easiest top laners to do well with...dat sustain.

#4 Keep practicing your CS...it will all come together with time.

Basicly this. Tho i wouldnt advice vlad right away since hes countered by a lot of toplaners.
You may want to try out Irelia. She can beat pretty much everyone if played well. Yes, even Jax(Who is a great Champion for Toplane too). Also its quite easy to lasthit with her due to her Q but you need to watch your mana. Her kit just offers everything you'd want as a toplaner.

[Duilliath]

Chogath and Yorick are pretty foolproof.

[Toxigen]

Chogath and Yorick are pretty foolproof.

This is true...I'd recommend the following:

Cho'Gath
Yorick
Irelia
Olaf
Jax
Vlad
Jayce
Shen

That's basically all you'd ever need / want.

edit: bottom 2 bolded for straight up OPness (haha, Pness)

[Vvhooya]

just get Darius and you will like him

[Duskmourne]

Knowing when/how to trade is huge, especially if you're playing with an equal matchup.

Yorick is a horrible character to learn top lane in a way, because his bully tactics are so strong that it doesn't really teach you how to play smart.

[Vespian]

I'm practicing top lane on Jayce myself. I notice a few things;

Lasthitting, even though he's ranged, isn't easy against the pressure of bruisers. I tend to let them come closer to my tower to secure survival in early lane phase, especially when I don't have a ward up yet.

Darius can't hurt me if I play well. and Q + E poke can really mess with his potion count. not to mention clearing (parts of)minion waves.

I mostly get assists. Which is not unique, because that seems to be true for most of my champs, except katarina. I almost only get kills when I shoot fleeing opponents in the back, get lucky with a last hit, or my lane opponent is stupid. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, ending matches with 1/0/6, 13/5/13 (long game), or 2/2/4 wins.

Top lane is heavily contested in matches, practice is therefore hard, because I try to be worthy of my green ribbon :P

[On an off-topic note]
In the champ select screen, two guys kept spamming mid, mid! So I made a joke about going mid with Jayce for the lulz and because I like groupies. It's safe to say that they didn't get it wa a joke and my Green Ribbon was a welcome target of hatefull remarks. Oh how a sense of humor does not come naturally.
[/off-topic note exit]

If you want practice, Jayce is not a bad idea though. He's not easy to master.

[Deleted]

Yesterday when the server was down I found this streamer, around 2500 elo, he played top all the time and is the best commentary streamer I've ever found.

http://it.twitch.tv/wingsofdeath

[Deleted]

Yesterday when the server was down I found this streamer, around 2500 elo, he played top all the time and is the best commentary streamer I've ever found.

http://it.twitch.tv/wingsofdeath

Wings is a great streamer especially if you want to learn something from streams. Every action is fully commentated and he tends to answer a lot of questions in the chat.

[NotValidAnymore]

Be opportunistic as much as possible. Other than that, play it safe, unless you know how to wreck shit with your champion.

I find that this is extremely important these days.

If someone's being very passive, chances are that you're going to overwhelm them if you're just suddenly full-on aggressive. Just be careful though; be aggressive too often and you're just going to be predictable, and someone who's experienced at being defensive will own you. That goes for you too, of course.

Just react to the situation.

[Elial]

This might sound like a stupid suggestion, but it worked wonders for me. Try doing some Dominion and beg for bot. It's the fastest way to learn to trade since that's you primary focus. Once you are feel comfortable with trading and zoning your opponent then you will be able to cs much easier. The reason why I suggest it is because its primary focus is dueling which is what you seem to be struggling with. Of course the other factors are important too, buy wards etc, but I improved a truck load faster going bot in dom than I did just going top. Once I felt I learnt enough there I focused on my laning etc.

[Dundebuns]

Top is a tough lane to play. I tend to play top more than any other lane, and it can be hit and miss sometimes. If you start getting good, I would suggest getting Riven at some point. She is a very effective top laner and can start tower diving when she gets her ult.

[Deleted]

The guy of the streamer suggest Jax and Irelia to learn but I guess it's also a matter of personal feeling, I feel good with Riven but probably I will focus more on Irelia.

[Tsuna]

Playing as Lee, you kind of need to believe you're a badass first. Every Lee that I've seen do well just says screw this Ima kick u upside the head and win, and every Lee that fails tries to play a passive farm lane expected of a Malphite. Personally I think Lee should just jungle anyway, but when he tops you need to go all in the instant you see an opening. Also always carry 1 green ward, practice the ward drop shield jump, a lot.

All advice like practice trading, last hitting, reading guides, watching streams. Shit. You play top, you play however the hell YOU want to play. Teamwork comes with a premade 5s team. All of the above crap should be obvious. That said.

All roles have different mindsets while laning
Jungler: "My team needs me to make plays to turn the tide in Lane". I play Amumu, because EVERYONE needs moar hugz.
ADC: "Farm farm farm farm". I play Vayne, I can be the worst adc on the planet and still have a chance at winning.
Support: "Make sure ^guy can do what he do". I play Taric, because gems are outfreakingrageous
Mid: "THIS CHAMP GUD THIS WEEK I PICK NAO, GVIE BLEU BOOF" Personally, I mid Nunu, don't ask me why, just try it yourself.
Top: "What team? I'm just here to crush this fool that's right in front of me".

As top, my champions that I commonly use include but are not limited to:

Malphite: He's tough as nails to kill, scales WELL with gp10 gear, and has powerful cc late game.
Gangplank: Personal favorite champion, JUST BECAUSE HE'S A PIRATE
Shen: Is OP. HoG, Wit's End, Ionic Spark, FMallet, trollface, win
Rumble: Sicknasty damage with flamethrower and ult, ridiculously hard to gank, can easily bully people out of lane.
Yorick: DON'T GET THIS ASSHOLE. If there is any single champion that instantly makes any game he's in LESS FUN, it's this hole digging sonuvabich right here.
Vlad: Great for when there's an unconventional mid or you have a AD jungler
Jayce: Just really strong, a manly version of Nidalee.
Jax: Because he's the champ.
Nunu: Try him. Make a philo stone, then build AP. You may end up surprised.

All of my top lane strategies are similar. Get gold makers if they are relevant to your champion's needs (not wants, NEEDS), get Lantern if relevant to needs. I NEVER EVER build to counter another lane's champion regardless of how well they are doing. As top, your job is to pound, stab, gore, incinerate, freeze, and otherwise humiliate YOUR lane opponent to the point of ragequitting. Do EVERYTHING that causes your opponent grief. Pink his wards, call for ganks EVERY TIME they reach your turret, insult him in all chat. Fighting a Riven that's rushing bloodthirster? Get Randuin's omen and take a shit on her face. AP tops harassing too much? Force of Nature + Wit's End and tunnel vision their ass til they regret their champion select. Darius scaring you with his ridiculous early game? GP10 and gradually build for high hp with a Frozen Mallet, AND CALL FOR GANKS, ALL GAME LONG. Fighting Singed? DON'T CHASE SINGED. Yorick being an asshole? Ragequit and go play HoN for a game or two, I have no patience for that walking turdmuncher of a champion.

Good luck, have fun, kill many Teemos.

[Tobedeleted123]

Get teemo, seriously. One of the most underrated toppers, with great pushing, harassment and scouting potential.

[NotValidAnymore]

By the way, am I the only one that feels like Riven is some sort of "T-Rex"? Like, she is super-strong and fast, but her reach is like small, stubbly little arms.

Of course, it's been a while since I played her and I know she is pretty good regardless.