We welcome Ryan Hockman, former NCAA- University of Kentucky QB and Director of the Score 6 Academy as well as Precision Football.  We are honored that he will be doing a blog for the MYAA as well as speaking at our Youth Football Coaches Clinic in Livonia. (Visit at www.precisionfootball.net)

Welcome back to Go Deep, the blog about quarterbacking and the passing game. 

Since last year’s fascination with Tim Tebow and fixing his throwing motion, the desire for throwing motion information from coaches and quarterbacks has increased like I have never seen it.  While the last ten years has seen major growth in the industry of private quarterback coaching, it has really taken off because of the interest in guys like Tim.  With that interest comes both useful and useless information.  Some of the information, especially on the throwing motion is simply wrong. 

Most of the information I received growing up is similar to the way most kids learn to throw.  Most learn first from their dads, then from a baseball coach.  Because the baseball is so light, kids learn to throw with their arms, using very little of their body. 

The best way to understand the action of the throw is to know that it is a pull and the entire body should be used, extending every joint upward and forward.  So simply put, the first half of the throw, the joints are loading or cocking back, and the second part of the throw is heading toward full extension of those joints.

Nowadays, there is much more information, but mostly there are two schools of thought on the football throw.  There is one group who teaches quarterbacks to rotate around the center of gravity while the other group teaches QBs to throw over the center over gravity.  I teach the second for a variety of reasons:

1.      By throwing over our center of gravity we are essentially taking out one of the two planes of movement of the arm.  In short, we move the arm along a vertical plane. This improves our chances for accuracy.  While we do throw to targets that are moving horizontally across our landscape, in order to be accurate in those throws all we need to do is throw with balance and directional attention.

2.      By throwing over our CG, we generate the most speed because our arm is supported by the rest of our body for the entire motion. Our legs, core and torso are much stronger than our arm. 

3.      By throwing over our CG, we minimize the tension on the elbow.  Again, because our arm is supported by our body, we can keep our arm relaxed. Also, we know that a relaxed muscle moves faster than a tense muscle.

Parts of the Throw

Grip:

The thumb should be exactly opposite the middle finger on the back end of the ball.  The tip of the middle finger should generally be placed on the first or second lace.  If the QB has large enough hands to put the middle of the finger on the 3^rd lace, do so.  In general, the closer the fingers are to the middle of the ball, the more control the QB will have.  Also, the ball should be gripped with fingertips, not the palm.  When the palm touches the ball friction is created which reduces spin.

The index finger is what puts spin on the ball.  It is the last part of the body that touches the ball before release.  The index finger should be relaxed.  The grip is really with three fingers and the thumb; and if possible, those three fingers should be on the laces. 

Starting the Throw

The Loaded Position:

At the end of and during our drop action, we want the QB to hold the football in the loaded position.  In this position, the arm is bent in a 90-degree angle with the upper arm and forearm parallel to the ground. The ball will be a few inches away from the throwing side breast, with the throwing wrist cocked.  Also, in the loaded position we want our knees bent, our chest high, and about 70% of our weight on our back foot.  Although we have 70% of our weight on our back foot, we want to keep the front shoulder level so we don’t “tell” the defenders that we are throwing when we drop the front shoulder.

To develop this position, the QB must stand with that posture for a long time.  He must perform all of his drops with this posture.  Over and over.

The Lead Side

Believe it or not, the first part of the body to move in the throw should be the front side.  Many novice throwers only use the dominant side (right side for right-handed throwers) of their body when they throw. 

Once we take the front hand off the ball it should go up to allow the lead elbow to come straight down to the ribcage and stop.  The laws of physics best explain why we do this: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  The faster and straighter the lead arm goes through the motion, the faster and straighter the throwing arm will go through the motion.  To get the most out of the lead side, we teach a technique known as blocking.  Blocking is essentially what it says: the lead side needs to block or contain the follow through so that it doesn’t leak out to the back side.  If the lead elbow finishes behind the body, the resulting action is that the throwing shoulder will get too far out in front, pulling the finish across the target line.  Blocking helps to keep the chest going at the target.

As the arm moves, so does the front foot.  To deliver, the front foot opens slightly past the target and moves no farther than a foot.  During the movement, most of the weight is still on the back foot. 

The L Position:

From the loaded position the throwing shoulder rotates externally so the forearm simply rises vertically to the L position.  In this position, the ball is directly behind the head of the thrower with the nose of the ball pointing away from the target.  Again, this position keeps the arm in a 90-degree angle.  To find the L position, the QB must move from the loaded position to the L position, pause, and reload… over and over. 

The purpose of the L is to keep the arm back and delayed.  More about that later.

Note: For some throwers, I teach them to go from Loaded to the C position. This can be a faster, less rotational throwing motion.  The drawback is that the thrower can lose leverage because his arm moves through the motion faster than the hips.

As the arms are moving backward, the hips begin to rotate forward, opening the belly and chest to the target so that the time the QB gets his arm to the C position both of his toes and knees are facing the target.

The C Position:

From the L position the QB takes his arm to the C position.  The C is a full body movement.  In this position, the thrower is facing his target. The C is made with the ball behind the head of the thrower to the heel of the thrower’s back leg.  There is another closely related position that we do NOT want to create and that is a bracket like this [. The C position means that we are arching our back.  In this position we are generating leverage by keeping our front hip in front of our throwing shoulder.  This is the position that produces the core whipping action that generates torque.  If you picture the angle a pole vaulter puts his pole in the ground and then the bend he gets because of that angle, then you can picture the bend we want with the back.  If the pole is vertical, he has generated no leverage and will not produce the whip that propels him over the bar.  Leverage for the throw is the same. 

To go from the L to the C, the thrower will push the elbow toward the sky, keeping his chest up, back arched, and head still.

Creating the C position is not easy.  It requires strength and mobility in the spine and surrounding muscles.  To be an elite thrower of any kind (pitcher, outfielder, QB, javelin thrower, etc) means you have to have core stability and strength.  I have clients who spend hours in the off-season with gymnastics coaches to learn and strengthen these positions.  It pays off.

During the C position, the dominant side will start to extend.  First, the toes, then the ankle, then the knee, hip, torso and finally the shoulder.  When the shoulder starts forward is when the arm is working toward extension.

Delaying the Arm

To generate the full body whip requires the thrower to delay the release of the arm.  If you imagine the body as the handle of a whip, the arm is the whip.  It should be relaxed.  The more the handle is tilted back (C position for the throw) the more the whip is generated. 

To keep the arm back during the motion, the thrower wants to keep his arm in the L position as the hips rotate.  After the hip rotates, the elbow pushes up from the L to the C position and on through to extension.  If the arm releases early, leverage – and velocity or distance – is lost.

Extension

From the C position the thrower wants to extend the hand over the CG and release the ball consistently from no lower than a 10-degree angle.  Drew Brees releases at a 6-degree angle.  If the release point happens past 10 degrees, the nose of the ball comes down.

The final part of the whip of the football is done the same way a baseball is snapped with the wrist and elbow.  With the ball gripped, the QB should cock the wrist.  To coordinate the timing of the release so that the wrist and elbow unload in quick succession, the QB must practice this movement over and over.  You can do this while lying on the ground with the back tip of the football touching your forehead.  Simply unload the elbow, then the wrist.  When doing this, feel the ball leave your index finger and point that finger at an imaginary target.

Finish

The finish of the throw will take the arm inside of the thigh opposite the throwing hand. 

Once again, I’d like to thank the MYAA for allowing me to share my knowledge of the quarterback position.  If you are interested in learning more about throwing, contact me at Hockman@ASAP-Sports.com.

Ryan Hockman

Score 6 QB Academy

 

We welcome Ryan Hockman, former NCAA- University of Kentucky QB and Director of the Score 6 Academy as well as Precision Football.  We are honored that he will be doing a blog for the MYAA as well as speaking at our Youth Football Coaches Clinic in Livonia. (Visit at www.precisionfootball.net)

GO DEEP:

Welcome to Go Deep, a blog about quarterbacking and the passing game.  I would first like to thank the Michigan Youth Athletic Association for giving me the opportunity to share my knowledge of the quarterback position and offensive football.  If you want to know more about me and the work that I do, please visit www.ASAP-Sports.com. 

For the first blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share my thoughts on QB development. Where do you start? The QB positional needs are vast and demanding, so there are many facets to work on.  At the age of 41, I am still learning new things about the position all the time. 

Before attempting to develop yourself, your son or your player as a QB, consider what needs to be learned and then decide if you/he is good enough to be a quarterback.  It is important to know that QBs come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are tall; some are short. Some have outgoing personalities, while others are quiet and reserved. Some earn high marks in school, yet others do not.  Throwing motions and arm strengths vary.  However, successful QBs all share one factor. All successful QBs were able to get a lot of practice reps and game experience because they earned a starting job at some point in their development.  With these reps they learned to foresee openings in pass coverage and they learned to perceive danger and avoid throwing into it.  All good QBs foresee openings and avoid danger.

Assessing Your Abilities

Here is what you ask of yourself if you want to be a starting QB:

1. Can I see a expansive picture in a split second?
2. Can I file away a picture of all the important parts that I will ever see of a football play?
3. Can I precisely repeat a movement once I get a sense for it?
4. Are my natural reactions instant?  Are they as quick as anybody you know?
5. Can my mind retain a concept once it is comprehended?

QBs need to react to danger: the angle a defender is positioned in relation to a receiver or the proximity of a defender in relation to a receiver.  Most QBs – both experienced and novice – wait to throw when they see an opening.  This mentality generates danger in every throw because the QB is throwing to a defender or defenders who are anticipating the throw.  They get a jump on the throw.  The only kind of QB who has success this way is either pinpoint accurate or throws with great velocity.  In other words, it is difficult and those who can pull it off are rare. 

The mentality we need to develop in a QB is similar to batting against a pitcher with a high velocity fastball. To “catch up” to that fastball, the batter has to start his swing with every pitch and then stop the swing if the pitch is out of the strike zone.  Similarly, a QB can be trained to see those “positionings” of pass defenders as danger and to react by stopping or “checking” the throwing motion. 

For the sake of conversation, let’s call the defender positionings as pictures. How quickly can a QB’s eyes register a picture?  Instantly.  How quickly does an infant’s eyes register a new picture and make sense of it?  Not nearly as quickly as the adult.  A young QB is like the infant.  Once he begins seeing more pictures the quicker he spots danger.

How do we teach a QB about danger? Show him lots of pictures; pictures of defender/receiver relationships.  Some are pictures taken right before openings occur.  QBs need to see these pictures so they know what anticipation looks like.  Some of the pictures are of danger. Show these pictures – use literal pictures, use video, and most importantly, show the pictures on the field with real bodies.  In short, the QB needs to see and react to the various ways a defender is positioned in relationship to a receiver.  Once the QB has seen these pictures repeatedly, have him throw into these pictures or avoid throwing into these pictures.  When he throws into these pictures, have him throw the ball away from the defender.  When the danger becomes too great to throw, have the QB reset his feet and throw to another receiver or run the ball toward the LOS.  Sometimes the QB will not perceive the danger and he will throw an interception.  This is the greatest teacher he can ever have.  He will remember every split second of that interception and that memory will help him avoid future danger. Have him do this repeatedly from a static position. Then have him drop back before doing it.  Over and over.  Finally, add receivers and defenders until he is seeing what he will see in a game.

How much can he see? Our eyes “pop” from one “eye-fix” to another.  They do not scan.  They will pop as quickly as you can move your head from spot to spot.

If you are going to win the starting quarterback job, you must take more reps at seeing these pictures than your competition.

Displaying Natural Reactive Ability

To play QB with anticipation is to use your ability to respond quickly to danger.  To play with anticipation is NOT to spin, see, decide, load, step, and throw.  To play on with anticipation is to spin, load, step, see, and throw or check.  You do not think or decide. You stop so that you avoid danger.

You do not decide to load and throw.  You load and start to throw.  That is how to be ahead of the defenders.  Then, you avoid danger by stopping your throw and either re-loading for another throw or by tucking the ball and running upfield. To get ahead of the defender, you play fast and force the defenders to move, then you react to their movement.  You are in front and the defenders are catching up.  You are anticipating, they are reacting.  When the QB anticipates, the defense is not.  If the defense can anticipate, the QB throws interceptions.

What if the QB has Physical Limitations?

If he is short and throws with average velocity, he needs to learn to threaten the whole field from the shotgun. This calls for checking into good running plays.  The short QB also needs to become a great play action faker so he can create separation from the linemen and have sufficient time before rushers restrict his vision.

The farther a QB is from linemen, the easier it is to see.  Try this exercise.  Have someone hold up a hand in front of you about an inch from your face.  How much can you see?  Then, have the hand back up to 3, 4, 5 inches from your face.  You can see much more.  The farther you are from the blockers, the easier it is to see.

Slowing the Game Down

Pictures move fast.  The higher the level of play, the faster the defense.  The first few times you face a defense, you will not be able to see much of the action.  It is mostly a mass of bodies moving in a blur.

Bit by bit, you will see more.  The game seems to slow down.  Seeing more has more  to do with repetitions than any special ability or intelligence.  Master Speed-Chess players are successful because they have memorized more board positions than chess players that are a notch below.  In fact, one scientist conducted a study to see if these master speed-chess players had faster reactive ability than the normal person.  What he found was that they did not.  They simply were able to recognize board positions due to the thousands of boards they had seen.  It has to do with the process of slowing the game down.  Amazingly, the game will continue to slow down.  You will see more and more as you operate in the position.  That is why some QBs remain in the NFL for years – even as back ups. 

So how do you get to that level?  You get as many reps you can, and you watch when someone else is taking reps. You know that the game is slowing down, and you try to help it along.   Every time you look into a relationship of receivers and defenders, you will see more.

Having the Right Mindset

Starting QBs improved because they were able to become a starter early on and took the most reps.

There are different types of athletes in the positions (tall, short, those who have a sound throwing motion, some who throw sidearm) because different types won starting jobs at some point in their development.  The biggest factor in your success is going to be winning or retaining a starting job so you get those all-important reps.  So, how do you become the starter?

Outwork your opponent.  Work patiently until your competition plateaus. Drills for quarterbacking are so difficult to organize that they are rarely done.  You need to be the one who organizes them and does them. 

For most quarterbacks there is only one place for you to play.  The back-up may never see the field. You are confronted with having to commit completely to the quest for a goal you might never reach. 

How do you handle that? Risk it.  However, by taking the risk, you have another goal that you can achieve.  The goal is to start… somewhere, on some field.  Maybe the field becomes something else… an office, a science lab, an operating room, a courtroom.  In committing completely to training to be a quarterback, you will be developing traits that will carry you through life.  You will develop your leadership skills, composure, perseverance, and much more.

Great QBs take risks, and are not afraid of the results – good or bad.  Losing the QB competition is not to fail.  You are merely learning more about yourself and preparing for another goal.  Go for it! 

Do not let anyone dissuade you from trying.  Parents can be over-protective, teachers are often pragmatists, while your peers want you to stay at their level.  Coaches are notorious for being wrong. 

About six years ago, a tall, gangly, awkward kid came to me asking if I would help him learn to play QB.  He had been the back-up for his 6^th grade team and felt he had some ability to play the position.  I began working with him.  The next season he did not play a single snap at the QB position.  His 7^th grade coach told him that with work he could become a pretty good high school tight end.  He told him to forget about playing QB.  He wasn’t agile enough.  He continued training with me after that season.

In 8^th grade he had the same coach and the same result.  His parents asked me if I thought QB training was worth his time.  I said we will never know if he stops now.  He kept training.  In 9^th grade he started for the junior varsity squad.  As a 10^th grader, he started on the JV again.  As a junior, on the varsity team he shared time with another QB and barely played at the end of the season.  His family kept believing and he kept training.  To increase his chances, his family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee.  Heading into his senior season, he took all the reps in the 7 on 7 leagues and tournaments.  He started every game during the season.  Finally, last week, the University of Massachusetts offered Mike Wegzyn a full scholarship to play QB for them.  In the face of all odds, he only listened to people who told him he could.  He tuned out the people who told him he could not or should not.  He went for it and he got it!

Once again, thanks to the MYAA for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the QB position and the passing game.  Next week, I will be blogging about throwing the football.

Ryan Hockman

CLICK ON FORMS FOR ALL REGISTRATION FORMS FOR ALL CLINICS, CAMPS, AND LINEMAN SCHOOL

Communication is a vital component to gaining support from parents.

 

1.  Have a regular communication system in place

2.  Always be up to date with the information

3.  Be a consistent communicator

4.  Set up a time, each week, where the parents can be involved in what goes on with their children.  Football example: On walk through days, allow them on the field so they can see and learn what their children are learning. 

 

Yes, it is tough, it will take some time, but the payoff is incredible.

 

Work hard, work smart

Coach Popp

Popps QB Tutor

Performance alleviates all doubt.
 
This refers to sports, but also to life.  All of you who feel you deserve a chance, be ready, as your chance will come.  When it does, your performance will do one of two things.
 
1)  You will leave no doubt that you are the right person for the position.  Be it the starting quarterback on the football team, the starting setter on the volleyball team, or the next president of the company, your excellent performance will let everyone know you have earned the position.
 
or
 
2)  You will leave no doubt that you have not yet earned the position.  If your performance is lack luster or not up to par, you will have made the statement that you are not ready for the position.
 
Understand that this is the most positive position you can be in.  You control of your destiny with what you want to earn.
 
Now, I dare you to prepare to perform to the utmost of your ability.
 
Work hard, work smart
Coach Popp
Popps QB Tutor

Have a wonderful day, Richard Popp Jr. Performance alleviates all doubt.

 

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