Quarterbacks may be America's ultimate athletic heroes. Twenty-two athletes stand poised on a field, ready to engage in individual acts of coordinated grace and violence, but nothing happens until the quarterback gets his hands on the football. Unlike any other player, the quarterback can single-handedly alter the scope and pace of a game -- not only athletically, but also mentally by recognizing the pattern of play and responding to it.
Instructions
1. Play the quarterback position at every level of play, from youth leagues through high school and college. The more experience you acquire, the better will be your ability to react and sense what's happening during a game.
2. Practice throwing a football year around. Passing is a quarterback's greatest single skill. Accuracy and arm strength are both equally important. Learn to throw on the run. Learn the proper technique for a "quick release."
3. In high school or late junior high school, begin a weight training program. Find a trainer who is familiar with the position of quarterback and can design a program that builds not just overall strength but also works on the specific muscle groups used in throwing a football. Go to training camps that are specifically for quarterbacks.
4. Begin your study of football offense while in high school. Learn to analyze game films. Learn to identify defenses, how they react to different situations and how these reactions can be exploited. Work to develop your peripheral vision, specifically the way peripheral vision is used in moving through a progression of receivers to find one that is not covered by a defensive back.
5. In practice and in games, develop your "field sense," the overall impression of how a play is progressing, what a defense is doing, and when a pocket is collapsing. Work on being able to read defensive keys, those things that can be identified in a defense that should cause you to verbally change a play at the line of scrimmage.
6. Work diligently on these same skills while in college. During the off-season, organize time to work with your receivers so you know their particular ways of running routes. Work on the timing of pass patterns where the receiver's final move is made almost after you have released your pass.
7. Spend time visualizing a variety of game situations and how you would react in those situations, and integrating a mental image of success.
Tags: high school, develop your, peripheral vision, throwing football