Here’s a list of fundamental technics you should be working on to further your development. Furthermore, these are the skills you will be learning and practicing at a Capital QB’s clinic in the near future.
Conditioning (Mental & Physical): In order to be mentally and physically tough, Quarterbacks have to be a well-conditioned athlete. Quarterbacks cannot fear conditioning; failure to condition is a sign of weakness! Conditioning is your own one on one battle that requires no opponent. It’s mind over matter!
Conditioning makes cowards of us all, push your limits to failure! Find the right conditioning program that will strengthen your weakness and find a way to get faster. Speed, Strength and Power are the 3 main ingredients on being a great Quarterback. Conditioning can only be measured in the 4th quarter!
Effort Level: Giving 100% effort in every practice or game is contagious; when you kick in that second effort gear, teammates who are all in will follow your lead! You should never be told to pick it up, because there’s always somebody watching you!
Athletic Mobility: Quarterbacks are running more Zone Reads these days; therefore, they must be mobile enough to move fast out of the pocket, while making a decision on their read keys.
Athletic Mobility not only gives quarterbacks confidence to escape pressure, but keeps the defense honest to respect your evasiveness. In order to have mobility, quarterbacks must have speed, coordination and balance which can make you a triple option threat. Here’s where cross training can really help your mobility, I recommend players play basketball. Doug Flutie was a good basketball player and he felt by playing basketball, really helped his athletic mobility, because most of the moves he would make on a football field were almost duplicated on a basketball court. Plus, I feel dribbling a basketball is great for eye-hand coordination and could help with your forward passing skills.
Leadership Skills
Confidence is knowing you will succeed and not hoping to succeed. Everybody wants to succeed, but knowing you will succeed is about having a different state of mind. In fact, a Quarterback with confidence is the most dangerous person on the field. All your teammates will feed off your confidence and courage because they believe in you.
QB Throwing Tip
The key to developing arm strength is not necessarily on building muscle in your throwing arm, but to correct the way you throw a football. How many times have you seen a QB throw his arm out in practice and next thing you know he’s developed tendinitis or what we call “Tennis Elbow”.
Before you start hammering out “Curls” in the weight room, see a QB coach and correct on how you are throwing a football. Throwing a football is an art and it all starts from your feet and in one in sync motion, everything from the feet, core, shoulder, elbow and arm should come together as one!
One of the best drills for Quarterbacks is the Statue of Liberty drills, where you take the football and hold it above your head in a 90 degree motion in your arm, then sink your hip and elbow at the same time and release. Make sure you make a circular motion in your throwing elbow, as you will bring the elbow back to the front and the arm will follow in one sweet pushing motion. It should be exactly like you’re throwing air!
Things You Will Learn at Capital QB’s
How to give proper Handoffs
Play Action Skills
QB Stance
3-step drops
5-step drops
Shotgun stance
Pocket depth & Rollouts
Footwork (#1 focus of our program)
Reading skills (higher level players)
Throwing Skills
Quick Release
Accuracy (Great Footwork + Balance = Accuracy)
Ball Positioning (From Center to Release)
Elbow Positioning
Follow Through (Dot the i)
Non-Throwing Shoulder (pointing to target)
Non-Throwing Hand (Help Keep Core Positioning)
Hitch Steps
Open and finish hips to target
Cadence
Coverage and Fronts recognition
Hot Reads Awareness
