BEING A CREATURE of habit isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, when you play quarterback in our program, habit is required.
Good habits are just that — good — and you do not want players to break them once they’ve learned them.
We teach all QBs to get themselves into “form-throw” position immediately prior to releasing the football. We teach this position from the first day a player begins playing the QB position for us.
The form-throw position allows the QB to best utilize his entire body to enhance his power as a passer. The coaching points and progressions are outlined as follows:
Throwing the football is a total body movement.
The number one thing QBs must understand in order to be successful is that throwing the football is a total body movement. While arm strength is a plus, it is only part of the equation for a successful passer. The form-throw position emphasizes efficiency of body movement from head-to-toe in order to enhance the power of our QB as a passer.
The “Total Body Movement” chart below shows the areas you need to emphasize to enhance the QB’s power as a passer.
Body Breakdown of the Form-Throw Position.
The “Body Breakdown” chart offers an overview of the process that we use to emphasize the form-throw position. In the following paragraphs, you’ll see a breakdown on the points-of-emphasis for the QB’s body in greater detail.
QB’s Feet. Like so many sports, the game of football is played first and foremost with the feet. The player with the “best feet” will win the majority of the battles.
For the QB, everything starts at ground level with the feet. You want your QBs to be “light on their feet” with their weight on the balls of the feet, not the heels. This allows for quicker, more efficient movement into and through the throwing motion.
In the form-throw position, the instep of the plant foot (which is the right foot for a right-handed QB) should be square to the target. We liken this to a baseball pitcher who squares his foot on the rubber toward home plate.
In the base form-throw position, the step foot should be parallel to the plant foot.
As the QB moves into his throwing motion, the toe of the step foot should be pointed directly at the target. The “toe at your target” emphasis is crucial if body movement is going to efficiently create momentum toward the target.
QB’s Knees. Every player on the football team should be in an athletic position with his knees slightly bent and never locked. There is no position or situation in football that calls for anything else. For the QB, this allows him to move freely in the pocket and in position to quickly deliver the football.
QB’s Hips. If I would apply the importance of hip rotation to my golf swing as much as I do to our QBs, I would probably leave the golf course much happier. Whether you’re trying to improve your golf swing, your baseball swing or the power of the QB as a passer — proper emphasis on hip rotation is essential. Just as the lower body is the basis for all power movements of the body, proper rotation of the hips in the throwing motion generates a great deal of power in the form-throw position and through the entire throwing motion.
We place a great deal of emphasis on lower-body strength and hip flexibility in our strength and conditioning program. This enhances all phases of our QB play and allows a QB with average arm strength to be a powerful passer when he uses good technique from the form-throw position. Similarly, a strong-armed QB with poor hip rotation and technique will negate many of his strengths, thus diminishing his power as a passer.
QB’s Shoulders. In the form-throw position, the front shoulder is pointed directly at the target. I instruct QBs to visualize a laser beam in their front shoulder. We want him to shine the laser directly on his target. As the QB steps into the throw, his “laser” should remain on the target.
Both shoulders should be parallel to the ground throughout the throwing motion. When making the intermediate to deep vertical throw, many QBs have a tendency to elevate the front shoulder. This inhibits the efficiency of the form-throw position and reduces the consistency and accuracy of the throw. Maintaining shoulder level is an essential element of the form-throw position.
If the front shoulder is shining a laser on the target, the lead elbow (non-throwing elbow) should be directly on the laser. As the QB steps into his throwing motion, he throws his front elbow through the target. This action helps keep the body aligned to the target and also helps to initiate hip and torso rotation.
QB’s Head. Proper head position is important in promoting the accuracy of a QB’s throw. In the form-throw position and through the throwing motion, the head should be steady. The head should no “bobble” or “bounce.” An unsteady head will impair the vision of the QB.
In the form-throw position, the eyes of the QB should always be downfield.
Like the shoulders, the head should also remain on a level plane. The shoulders and head typically work together in a QB’s motion. Keeping level shoulders, therefore, most often creates a steady head.
To effectively “scan” the field in reading coverage, the QB needs to have his head on a swivel. This is the same concept as a linebacker dropping into zone-pass coverage. This enables the QB to see the entire field in preparing to make his throw. When throwing to a receiver on his backside, the eyes of the QB should be on the target even before the front shoulder and plant foot are square to the target.
Hands-and-Ball Position
In regard to hand placement and ball position, we emphasize two main points:
1. Keep the ball secure at the throwing shoulder. Ball position can vary from the top of the jersey number to the top of the pad on the throwing shoulder.
There is not an aspect of the form-throw position that necessitates uniformity among the QBs on your team. You want your QBs to be comfortable in the form-throw position and for the football to be secure.
2. Keep two hands on the football as long as possible. With the ball secure at the throwing shoulder and with two hands on the football, the QB will have the ball protected. The QB should keep both hands secure on the ball throughout the form-throw progression to the pointing of the front elbow at the target.
Form-Throw Progression
Like any skill or technique, the form-throw position is taught in a progression. The “Form-Throw Teaching Progression” chart below shows the step-by-step teaching process we use with our QBs. This teaching progression is used every day, including on game day as a part of our pre-game routine.
We begin by having the QBs get comfortable in the form-throw position without a ball in hand. We progress to the phase where we are applying the throwing technique of the form-throw position to the live action of our QBs throwing to receivers. Throughout the progression, the coach should consistently emphasize the basic technique(s) of the form-throw position.
We’ve been pleased with the development of our QBs since implementing the form-throw technique into our QBs’ passing mechanics and teaching sequence. And while we emphasize that we want our QBs to get into the form-throw position before each throw to ensure accuracy and consistency, we understand that getting into this “perfect” throwing position isn’t always possible.
When throwing on the run, adjustments must be made because the QB is no longer operating from a stationary base. However, implementing the form-throw technique into your daily QB progression will bring consistency to the drop-back technique of your QBs.