Learning to correctly throw a football is an important skill for any aspiring NFL quarterback. Growing up I was never too enthusiastic about football, but after I saw one of my favorite professional quarterbacks hit a perfect post corner route in the playoffs, cheap nfl jerseys I knew I wanted to throw like him! I spent countless hours studying his film, scouring the library for tips and hours in the backyard with his mentor trying to perfect my craft.
Throwing a football is the culmination of proper technique, mechanics and practice; let me walk you through some of the fundamental basics. You’ll want to start with gripping the football correctly. Ensure your four fingers are all across the laces and your thumb is placed in the bottom stitch. This will provide you with the correct platform for throwing.
The next step is your body’s upper body and legs positioning in relation to your feet. Stand comfortably, slightly wider than your shoulders with your feet parallel and perpendicular to your target. You’ll want to be sure that you’re not standing square, as this can lead to potential accuracy issues.
Now your core is the most important part of the throw. Start by raising your elbow towards your chest, pointing at the target. Your throwing arm should be fully extended while your non-dominant arm serves as a stabilizer. Keep your eyes on the target, as you will not be able to look the ball into the target. Follow through with your back foot, hips and shoulder staying pointed towards the target. If done correctly you should feel a strong propulsive force as you rotate through your hips and shoulders.
It didn’t take me long to learn muscled memory and the fundamental basics of throwing. Accuracy comes from continually practicing these basics until it becomes second nature. When you practice a skill like this, you want to continually improve your posture, body alignment, grip and most importantly keep your eyes focused on the target.
Each person is unique and it takes time to perfect any skill. It isn’t up to the coach alone; you’ll need to take time to master the basics. Take a look at some videos of professional quarterbacks and study their technique and mechanics. It may take time, but you’ll eventually get the hang of it.
When you’re ready to start repping throwing routes in practice, you’ll want to focus on short routes and pitch control. Generally the drill coach will set up a cone and practice different off and in routes. The most important element here is to trust your grip and mechanics. Throw it away from the defender and to your receiver as fast as possible.
Once you get better at your short routes, you’ll want to start introducing deeper-than-expected throws where you have to anticipate the windows. Here you’ll want to focus on your arm motion and generate the correct torque in order to launch the ball to the desired spot. You should also practice more pressure-filled throws so that you’re better prepared when pressure mounts in a real game situation.
When you’re ready to start going public, you’ll want to find a 7-on-7 league to participate in. Ideally, you should be able to participate in some sort of scrimmage beforehand. Here you can test out all your throws and continue to develop the touch and accuracy you need to be successful.
Lastly, you’ll want to get the most out of each rep and each throw possible. A former coach of mine used to joke “practice makes perfect, but perfection isn’t guaranteed”. You’ll want to look up drills, practice different footwork and progressions, and most importantly practice throwing the ball with the correct arm motion from the beginning of the play all the way through the follow-through.
Now that you have a good understanding of the basics, it’s time to hone in on the finer details. Mechanics such as your hand position, wrist placement, body posture, leg drive and the power generated from your hips/shoulders. This is where you will find drastic improvements and diminish accuracy issues that arise. For example, if you’re having trouble launching the ball further, take a look at your follow-through and practice your leg drive.
Next you’ll want to work on the most exciting throws: fades, posts, hooks and quick slants. These routes are more challenging and require greater accuracy, timing and trust in your own technique. Here you should focus on looking off a defender and anticipate the window that you’ll be throwing to. As such, you’ll want practice through a variety of drills and reps.
At this point I’ve got most of my technique down.It is now time to expand my motion and incorporate play action passes, deep outs, Cheap Jerseys free shipping seams and deeper in routes. This is where the complexity of your throws increases, and you may want to incorporate some of the mechanics we’ve discussed already as you progress further.
Finally, as you’re practicing you’ll want to increase the velocity of your throws and throw with anticipation. I recommend gradually upping the difficulty of routes and distance. Once you are comfortable with making throws in practice, then you’ll be prepared for actual game situations.
I also recommend working with a coach or mentor if possible. Having someone who is knowledgeable in the art of throwing will expedite your development as a quarterback. With all this information in hand, you’ll be throwing like an NFL quarterback in no time. So, if you’ve been dreaming about being a quarterback, don’t let that dream die – take the time to perfect your craft and practice!