Capital Area Minor Football Association
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Quarterback Fundamentals, Warm-Up and Drills

 

QB Warm-up (In addition to the team warm-up)

  • Arm warm-up before practice & games
  1. Throwing on 1 knee both sides and both knees at 5 yds distance - 5 throws each position.
  2. Throwing standing with feet planted facing left, right and shoulders square to target.  Do not step.  5 throws each position.  Should be 10 yds apart, this is warm-up only, focus on proper mechanics.
  3. Start from foot fire and after 3 seconds throw to partner from 15 yds apart.  Step into throw and aim for target.  5 throws only.

NOTE: Whoever is receiving the ball should always provide a target and the QB should focus on hitting it every time

 

Throwing Mechanics & Drills

  • Throwing mechanics drills
  1. Forearm Flick – with your shoulders square to your partner 5 yds apart, hold your elbow parallel to the ground and forearm at 90 degrees.  Keep a firm wrist on the ball and flick only the forearm and wrist down.  The focus is on proper starting position and proper flick and follow-through.
  2. High Arm to start + rotate - with your shoulders square to your partner and feet shoulder width apart, 10 yds from your partner, keep arm back high above your head with your elbow slightly bent to start.  Be sure to hold the ball nice and high close – elbow at or above the ear.  Rotate hips and throwing arm should bend slightly more, once fully rotated, hold the start position for a half count and follow through in smooth motion and opposite shoulder fully rotated during follow through. 
  3. Step with High Arm – start with opposite shoulder facing the target (15 yds apart), feet shoulder width apart and with two hands on the ball.  Be sure to hold the ball nice and high close – elbow at or above the ear.  Take a small step towards the target and focus on keeping your elbow high through the throwing motion.  As you follow through, be sure to fully rotate so that your throwing shoulder and back come around.  Another point is to ensure that the proper forearm flick is being used at the end of the throwing action.

 

Agility Drills

  1. 55's - take 5 step drop + pivot every 5 steps to the other side continuously until done  - Approximately 30 to 40 yards
  2. 33's - take 3 step drop + pivot every 3 steps to the other side continuously until done - Approximately 25 to 35 yards

Notes for both 55’s and 33’s:

  • Keep your eyes focused upfield, never looking at the ground
  • Keep the ball high throughout with two hands keeping it secure and ready
  • Do not over-rotate to ensure that you complete the drill in a straight line, do not drift from one side to the other
  1. Sewing machine - bend at the hips and bend your knees to let your fingers dangle over your feet, do short choppy steps while pounding your feet for speed not distance.   Complete 3 sets of 10 yds.  You should be on the balls of your feet at all times, not on your heels. This is difficult but will make you better.  This can easily be done at home on your own time too

 

Footwork Drills – Passing Game

  1. 3 and 5 step drop and set to assigned side – take a 3 or 5 step drop and on your 2nd to 4th step the coach will provide a visual or an audible cue to set to one side.  The QB must focus on completing a proper drop, with eyes up, ball high and getting their feet and body ready to throw to a particular side.  Once the drop and set-up is complete, continue to foot fire until the coach says to stop.
  2. Sprint-out drill – Complete a sprint-out to the left and to the right from the line of scrimmage.  Focus is on speed in getting depth early and then width and getting your shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and/or your target ASAP so you are ready to throw.
  3. Throwing on the run drill – The quarterbacks will stand in line 30 yds apart and sprint towards each other.  After 5 to 10 yds the proper throwing position should be reached with the ball high and off-shoulder pointed to the target with hips rotated.  At this point the QB will throw to a target provided by the QB next in line.  After throwing the ball, the QB exits the drill to their right and takes up position behind the person they just threw the ball to and then they start their way back.
  4. Pivot & Sprint Drill – Play Action – In this drill, we will review the 3 steps of all of your run plays by breaking them down into: the first step and pivot, the next 2 steps including hand position and hand-off and the post-hand-off action (straight back, bootleg or sprint out)
  5. Pivot drill and ball handling drill – Same as Pivot and Sprint Drill but with running backs to focus on timing at the mesh point (where the hand-off should occur) by running plays from the playbook.

 

Footwork Drills – Run Game

  1. Toss Footwork Drill – Complete the toss first steps with a ball in hand coming from the center (pretend if not available).  The first step requires a good pivot (open directly to the toss side to 5 or 7 o’clock) and the arms locked with two hands on the ball.  While pushing away from the center with legs bent, the ball will be tossed (no rotation).  In this drill we will focus on the footwork and may have the running backs join the drill on occasion.

 

 

 

Position Skills

  1. Decision throwing – the coach will stand in the middle with 2 or more targets (at least 1 on either side or a short and deep option) in the field at 15 yds or more from the line of scrimmage.  The coach will instruct on the type of drop to take (roll-out, 3 or 5 step).  The quarterback will give a cadence and in the first steps the coach will provide a number or point to the intended receiver.  The QB must set their feet properly and throw on time.  This drill will also be run with a rusher to provide pressure and acclimatize the QB to game situations, where the right footwork on time and the right decision under pressure will yield results
  2. Play action faking drill – By running through all of the different run plays, the focus of this drill is ball handling and positioning as well as play action setup.  The Quarterback must pause at the hand-off with the ball tucked in the off-hand or use a “ride” fake with two hands.  The keys are ball position to ensure it is hidden from the line of scrimmage, hesitation at the hand-off and proper post hand-off action (straight back, bootleg or sprint out)

NOTE: Whoever is receiving the ball should always provide a target and the QB should focus on hitting it every time

Drills

 

 

 

 

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