Quarterbacks, Know Your Roll! Although it is important to train as a team in the off-season, athletes must work on their own position specific skill development to increase their performance and produce more consistently during practice and game time. Quarterbacks especially, require a specialized program to develop the skills they need to excel in their position. While quarterbacks have an O-Line to protect them... They stand alone when it comes to their performances whether it be avoiding a sack, throwing a long ball or running for a first down. Quarterback training has exploded in the last decade, and private quarterback coaches can now be found across the country, developing players whose skill levels range from elite high school competitors to top NFL prospects. Not all quarterbacks are created equal, but they can all train and produce at an elite level even if they dont have the luxury of working with a private (QB) instructor. Most quarterbacks rely on their head coach to create an off-season program catering to their position-specific needs. What are those needs? Here are three essential elements of an off-season quarterback development plan. Footwork Footwork is perhaps the most important component of quarterback training, because it affects all aspects of the position, including drop-back mechanics, arm strength and throwing accuracy. For example, if a quarterback does not plant and drive off his back foot properly, or step into his throw completely, the velocity of the throw drops. Straight drop-backs starting from the sideline and down a yard line is a simple drill to help eliminate wasted movements—false steps or side-to-side movement, for example—in a quarterback’s drop back. Coaches, use a whistle as a signal for the quarterback to avoid a simulated pass rush by either stepping up in the pocket with the proper steps, sliding to the left or right, or spinning out of a collapsing pocket. When it comes to footwork, repetition is the key to success. Quarterbacks must practice the movements frequently throughout the off-season. These Two Simple Exercises will add speed and accuracy to your foot work. These two exercise require your legs to recruit more muscle fibers to respond to the height of the step... compared to the height of a speed ladder which lies flat on the floor. You will also be forced to focus on foot placement to avoid falling over the step or bench, placing more attention on your overall awareness and body movements. 1. High Step (High Knee) Linear Toe Touches -120 touches in 60 seconds x 3 sets 2. High Step (High Knee) Lateral Toe Touches over a standard size flat bench. -120 touches in 60 seconds x 3 sets Flexibility and Core Strength Quarterback training does not require the extensive weightlifting program that the rest of the team will complete in the off-season months, but that does not remove him from a weight training program. A proper strength and conditioning program should be designed to not only increase total body strength and conditioning, but more importantly, to focus on flexibility, stability and overall core strength. Training with med balls and resistance bands is ideal for building the rotational strength necessary to improve velocity. Because the overhand throwing motion is an unnatural one, developing flexibility in the shoulder, elbow and wrist is vital not only for enhancing the range of motion of a quarterback’s throwing arm, but also for preventing injury. Awareness and Vision If a quarterback cannot scan the field for an open receiver while simultaneously avoiding the pass rush, the offense will flounder. A quarterback must have a total sense of awareness, almost like a sixth sense of what is going on around him without actually seeing it. To become an elite quarterback on must focus on three key factors of awareness and perception. 1. Proprioception Awareness: If you can run without watching your feet, hit a baseball without focusing on the bat, pass a basketball without looking at your arm or hit a golf ball without watching your hands, youre using a “sixth sense” called proprioception. Proprioception is the capacity of the body to determine where all of its parts (arms, hands, legs, feet) are positioned at any given time, and it plays an important role in athletic performance. It acts as your bodies conscious effort to stabilize everything, whether youre moving or standing still. It triggers muscles to contract and relax to fit the situation, whether its speed and agility movements on the field or strength and conditioning movements in the gym. 2. Kinesthetic Awareness: Kinesthetic awareness encompasses the bodys abilities to coordinate motion (such as throwing a football) and the bodys awareness of where it is in time and space (think moving around in the pocket). When you see an elite quarterback move around together with the lineman, it is largely kinesthetic awareness that allows them to move in time together instead of bumping into each other. 3. Pattern Recognition - Information Processing: a) Information Processing: Before an athlete moves, they must first identify the need to respond to a certain situation. They do this by collecting environmental cues from a variety of sensory input systems, such as the auditory, visual and somatosensory systems. (Example) A running back waits for the auditory command from the quarterback, he prepares for the hand-off and visually prepares himself by looking for a gap to run through, then as contact is made, his somatosensory systems alerts his nervous system to the contact and relays the information back to try to spin away from the contact. b) Knowledge of Situations: Football IQ, the ability to approach the line and visually take in certain cues as to what is about to happen before it happens (reading a play). The success rate for elite quarterbacks is significantly higher because they have the ability to make last minute changes at the line prior to the snap of the ball. c) Decision Making Skills: Once the play has started, the quarterback has the ability to follow through with his initial decision or he may be required to make another adjustment and respond to oncoming lineman or receivers that are in full coverage. The fake or the run may be the only options left at this point and it is up to the quarterback to be fully aware of his own place in time as well as anyone who may be approaching him. To enhance your quarterbacks read and recognition skills, spread four or five players across the field approximately 10-15 yards down-field. Spread two lineman out in front of him about 5 yards on either side to (side) rush in, applying real time pressure to this drill. After a simulated snap, have the QB execute a five-step drop while keeping his eyes down-field and going through his progressions. Stand behind the quarterback, and point to one of the receivers, signaling the targeted player to raise his hand to his chest. Your quarterback must instantly identify the receiver and quickly make a strong, accurate throw to the target. As you can see, quarterback training requires a great deal of individualized instruction, and with high school and college athletes, strict practice time limitations must be enforced. Because of these factors, quarterbacks can improve greatly if they are provided with the proper (separate) time during the teams off-season program and given specialized training.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 18:51:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015