Developing Nfl Sports Position Strengths

Proper Catching Leads to Great Ball Security

When a receiver catches the ball they need to immediately put it into a secure ball carrying position. The points of a proper catch are: First, opening up your hands with an open triangle. Second, keep your eyes on the ball through the entire catch. Third, secure the ball tight and high against your ribs, forearm, and biceps. Many receivers can get into a bad habit of looking away from the ball before it is stored away properly. Taking your eye off the ball increases incomplete passes, fumbles, and turnovers. In order to increase catching and ball security effectiveness have two receivers pass to each other, when one of them catches the ball make sure that they slow the motion down pausing when they catch, follow through, and secure the football.

Water on and off the field

Sufficient water intake on and off the field for athletes should be a concern for both the coaches and the players. Every player should have a water bottle close so that they can take quick water breaks or at least a swallow here and there. Water should never be used as a motivational or reward type basis. These safe practices will help keep players energized and healthy.

Constant motion drill to increase ball handling skills

This drill is used to increase players ball handling skills on the field. The secret to this drill is having the ball constantly moving around and from hand to hand. The drill starts by having players hold the football above their head and start to pass it around their head, moving to the chest, under the arms, around the waist, knees, and completing with passing it through the legs.

The best thing that a coach can do is call out body parts that the players will have to move the ball around, or even calling a reverse command were the players will need to change the direction of the football. This change of motion will keep players from falling asleep, and ensure that you are developing handling skills and not just muscle memory.

At the very end of the drill the players will do several simple drops. For example, the player drops the ball and retrieves it quickly. It will also help to change the hand that the players uses to pick up the ball to ensure both hands are learning this technique.

Conditioning: The Quick Jump

Conditioning in football is meant to help you react quickly on the field moving in a variety of directions. This practice drill is intended to increase reaction speed and the ability to quickly change directions. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. Then the player will proceed to jump from on area or box to another, thus forcing the player to jump laterally, diagonally, frontwards, and backwards. Some of the variations can be on legged; either right or left, or changing the order those players will perform the drill.