Correcting American Football Workout Routines
Catching the ball high
High passes happen, and as a receiver you need to be ready for something unexpected. As such you need to practice the high passes so that you know to react, here are some basics: When you go to make the high catch extend your arms, but keep your hands close together with your hands coming together in a diamond formation. When you have your hands extended you are performing a proper catch, remember, and dont ever catch it with your body. Once you have your hands around the ball, dont take your eyes off the ball but follow it right into your tuck.
Secrets to a good hand off
Whether you are a quarterback, running back, or a player that at anytime will receive a hand off you need to realize the basics of a great hand off. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. The running back starts the hand off running towards the quarterback with his arms open creating a pocket for the quarterback to slide the football right into the running backs chest. Once the quarterback has placed the ball in the pocket, or opening, the running back immediately clamps down on the ball protecting it and holding on to it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.
Conditioning: Five dot jump
Conditioning is meant to increase speed, endurance, and reaction time on the football field. The intent of this drill is to increase accuracy, timing, and speed. The drill set up is a mat or place on the field with 5 dots about a foot away from each other forming an X shape, exactly in the same shape as you would see diamonds arranged on a number five card in a poker deck.
The player will start by placing a foot on the back two dots and then jumps together to the middle dot and then out separating his legs to the outer dots, much like you would see in hop scotch. Next the player will jump touching each dot with on leg only, and then switch using the other leg. After this, the player will touch all of the dots with both feet together. The end step is similar to the first jumping jack step except that this time the player will turn 180 degrees after jumping on the two dots. Players will need to increase their speed and accuracy to be effective with this drill.
Prevent fumbles with strong techniques
One of the fundamental aspects of running with a football is ball security. Football teams have lost many games because a couple of players were lax in there ball carrying and fumbled the football. A great way to teach tight ball security is with four points. The first point is the claw, meaning that your fingers are wrapped over the tip of the football. The second point is your forearm wrapped around the ball and shielding it from the defense. Third point is to have the ball held tight against the bicep to prevent defenders from punching up through from behind. The final point is keeping the football high and tight against the ribcage. Run a couple of drills were the ball carrier runs through a pack of defenders to practice. As your ball carrying continues to improve you will insure less turnovers and greater success on the field.
High passes happen, and as a receiver you need to be ready for something unexpected. As such you need to practice the high passes so that you know to react, here are some basics: When you go to make the high catch extend your arms, but keep your hands close together with your hands coming together in a diamond formation. When you have your hands extended you are performing a proper catch, remember, and dont ever catch it with your body. Once you have your hands around the ball, dont take your eyes off the ball but follow it right into your tuck.
Secrets to a good hand off
Whether you are a quarterback, running back, or a player that at anytime will receive a hand off you need to realize the basics of a great hand off. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. The running back starts the hand off running towards the quarterback with his arms open creating a pocket for the quarterback to slide the football right into the running backs chest. Once the quarterback has placed the ball in the pocket, or opening, the running back immediately clamps down on the ball protecting it and holding on to it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.
Conditioning: Five dot jump
Conditioning is meant to increase speed, endurance, and reaction time on the football field. The intent of this drill is to increase accuracy, timing, and speed. The drill set up is a mat or place on the field with 5 dots about a foot away from each other forming an X shape, exactly in the same shape as you would see diamonds arranged on a number five card in a poker deck.
The player will start by placing a foot on the back two dots and then jumps together to the middle dot and then out separating his legs to the outer dots, much like you would see in hop scotch. Next the player will jump touching each dot with on leg only, and then switch using the other leg. After this, the player will touch all of the dots with both feet together. The end step is similar to the first jumping jack step except that this time the player will turn 180 degrees after jumping on the two dots. Players will need to increase their speed and accuracy to be effective with this drill.
Prevent fumbles with strong techniques
One of the fundamental aspects of running with a football is ball security. Football teams have lost many games because a couple of players were lax in there ball carrying and fumbled the football. A great way to teach tight ball security is with four points. The first point is the claw, meaning that your fingers are wrapped over the tip of the football. The second point is your forearm wrapped around the ball and shielding it from the defense. Third point is to have the ball held tight against the bicep to prevent defenders from punching up through from behind. The final point is keeping the football high and tight against the ribcage. Run a couple of drills were the ball carrier runs through a pack of defenders to practice. As your ball carrying continues to improve you will insure less turnovers and greater success on the field.
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