Sunday, February 12, 2023

Developing Professional American Football

Developing Professional American Football
Up Downs Conditioning Drill

Out of all of the football conditioning drills up downs is one of the most popular. This drill consists of having players run in place as fast and as hard as they can. Then at random a coach will yell, "down" or blow a whistle at which the players must dive to the ground do a push up and then jump back into running in place. This drill is an excellent workout and should be worked in slowly at first and then increased in intensity and length over time.

The Proper Way to Catch a High Football

As a receiver, or any player that is going to catch a pass, you know that not all passes are going to go right to the chest. Because of the variety of passes that you might receive here are some basics to high pass catching: The first and most important is that you extend your arms and keep your hands together in a diamond type shape to catch that football. Never catch or try to catch a ball with your body, especially a high ball. Once you have your hands around the ball, don't take your eyes off the ball but follow it right into your tuck. When you practice a high catch you are going to perform it subconsciously on the field, so remember extend the arms, catch and follow through.

Conditioning: Dot drilling

Conditioning drills are effective in training and helping athletes be strong and reactive. This drills intention is to help quickness and accuracy on the field which will reduce errors and increase the chances of great plays. In order to execute the drill you will need a place with five dots, either marked on the grass or on a mat, forming an x shape much like the dots for the number five side of dice.

The athlete starts at the edge of the mat placing their feet on two of the outer dots and proceeds to jump with feet together on the center spot and then out again quickly to the outer dots similar to a simple hop scotch motion. The second phase is having the player touch each of the dots with only one foot, and then switch to the other foot. The next step is jumping on all five dots with both feet together. The last phase is really returning to the original starting phase of jumping together and apart, however this time the athlete will change directions after they have jumped to the outer dots. Because this drill is intended for accuracy and speed, it is recommended that players start out slow and deliberate and then speed up to their maximum time.

Some fundamentals of ball security

One of the fundamental aspects of running with a football is ball security. Nothing is worse for your offensive team then turning it over carelessly to the other team in a fumble. There are four points to protecting the football. First grab the football with your carrying hand with the tips of the football being covered with your fingers. 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. Practice holding the football and having defensive players try and knock out the football by any means possible. By reducing the risk of a fumble you will increase the offensive strength in effectively driving across the field and scoring touchdowns.

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