PASSING
- Have a light grip but not too light or not too hard, as gripping too hard will cause decreased ball control and can affect the release. Grip the football on the belly of the ball with your index finger on the ball seam making a "L" shape with your index finger and thumb, but if you cant do it, get as close as you can.
-
Hold the ball up near your right shoulder if you're right-handed, or left shoulder if you're left-handed. You will know if you're right-handed or left-handed by the way you hold a pen. If you still don't know, then ask your parents or a football coach. You will have a much quicker release, which will give a defender less time to react to your throw.
-
Keep your eyes on the target, your shoulders nearly parallel to the target and your pivot/plant foot pointing nearly at the target you intend to throw to. (Your pivot foot is the opposite side of your throwing arm.)
-
Make the throwing motion circular, about a half circle from top to finish; think of centripetal effect, with the release being at the top of the arc. The longer the radius of the circle, the faster you will be able to throw the ball (i.e. the further you extend your arm from your shoulder, the more velocity you can achieve with less arm speed).
-
Shift your weight nearly evenly at the release. 60% of your weight will be on your front foot at release. As you get more comfortable slinging it around, you will be able to step into your throws. A good QB will need to step into his throw to complete a 20 yd sideline pass.
-
Use the rotation of your shoulders timed well with the throwing motion of your arm to generate the force needed to achieve great velocity throwing.
-
Find your release point. Footballs tend to sail through the air quite well when a decent amount of spin has been imparted on it. A certain release point will generally be good enough to cover 5-15 yds, a slightly higher release will rocket the ball 15-25 yds and so on and so forth. Your release is like a follow-through; so when you let go of the ball, you point with your finger at what you are throwing to.
- A three quarter release is generally a very easy way to throw.
- Remember to follow through with your arm fully to the hip opposite of your throwing arm. If released properly the ball will drill through the air.
- To throw a deep ball, just change the launch angle. A perfectly thrown deep ball will nose dive beautifully at its peak.
-
Practice throwing with 50% or less effort - the release is very important. Next, with very low effort, get the timing of your shoulder rotation in tune with your arm's throwing motion to generate maximum velocity without maximum effort. Don't forget to follow your arm through. But be careful. You must stretch out your throwing arm/shoulder before high velocity training.
RECEIVING
1: If you are facing the ball as it is approaching you above waist height, form a triangle with your two hands, palms out, placing the tips of your thumbs on opposing hands together and the tips of your index fingers on opposing hands together. Your pinkies and other fingers should be slightly spread out, but pointed in the direction of the football. Reach your hands out towards the ball and catch it with your fingers away from your body. Be sure to use your fingers and not your palms. A football that is thrown hard, will often bounce right off of your palms. As the ball makes contact with your body, squeeze the ball and in one swift motion, tuck it under your arm. Preferably you will want to tuck it under the arm that is closest to the sideline and away from defenders who will be trying to strip it from you.
2: If the ball was thrown low and you will have to make the catch below waist height, your pinkies should go together, palms up, with your thumbs facing outward. Again, squeeze the ball and tuck it. If you are catching the ball on the run and it is coming over your shoulder, reach both hands out, palms up with your pinkies touching, thumbs out, and other fingers extended. Squeeze and tuck the ball as soon as possible.
3: Always watch the ball all the way into your hands. When you can see a defender coming with your peripheral vision or hear footsteps, it is tempting to look away, but you must force yourself to concentrate on making the catch. You cannot run with the ball if you do not first catch it.
4: Use 2 hands whenever possible!
PUNTING
Punting is a very important part of the game. Punters like kickers are the most closely scrutinized players on the field. Unlike the other players who can jump off sides, start to early, the punter doesn't get a second chance unless the defense has a penalty. Each punting situation is different.
Preparing to punt
Preparing to punt starts with your stance. Balance in your stance is vital, have your legs about shoulder width apart and your kicking foot about a half foot width behind your non punting foot.
Your body is squared with line of scrimmage and your arms bent in an L shape with your hands in front of you.
How to receive the snap
With your body squared to the line and hands in front, you are ready to receive the snap. Your eyes must be focused on the long snapper and the ball. Eying the defense and trying to read the rush can cause a muffed snap reception and put your team in a big hole.
As the ball is snapped, watch the ball all the way into your hands. The punting side hand should be on the end of the ball closes to your body.
While you position the ball in your hands, laces up, take a half step with your kicking foot full step with your non punting leg. This will build up the momentum for punting the ball. Your head is down looking at the ball, watching as your punting leg comes up meeting the ball and you kick through the ball.
