Football tips

We all have history in the game, and we all like to take pride in what we've done. My time is coming up in the next few months and I've been trying to optimise myself so I can at least make starter for my team.

I'm on a 9-man football team and I play Wide Receiver and RB. Granted, I am not fast at all; However, I do know how to be elusive and I'm small enough to dodge defenders. I will not be a starter and I know that I'm a fair back-up for my team as we only have 1 RB not including me.

My biggest problem I've faced is my hands. I can't seem to catch any footballs with my gloves off. Does anyone have any tips or just intimidation to help me use my hands better?

Also, any exercises to improve speed and quickness would be helpful.

im a WR for my team........ put your hands in a diamond shape and get some1 to throw a ball to you and see if that works. Thats what my coaches have been telling me since pee wee football catch it with the diamond

the diamond thing only goes so far.. depending on the route the ball is not on the money like that for a diamond majority of the time in a game

what the WR on my team always had to do doing practice, they would cut a tennis ball in half and tie each half into the palm of there hands and then catch balls. it teaches you to catch em with your fingers so they dont just bounce off your hands

i also use to have serious hands issues, but it was because i thought about catching the ball waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much while it was in the air and by the time it got to me i would either freak out like im not gonna catch it or try way too hard to go and get it and **** it all up... basically position urself so that the ball just falls into ur hands if possible, u should only really try to get the ball if ur tightly guarded

HB wise you just gonna do thinks based off instinct.. if you find urself thinking while ur running the ball 9/10 ur gonna get tackled, you should only think right when ur getting the ball to really get a idea of where ur gonna go

Running Sideways makes ur run waaaaaaaaaaay longer than it actually is and u burn urself out quicker

when someone is trying to tackle you shift ur weight to ur legs/feet so you stay standing up and do a move to try and get them off you... you will be suprised who you break... ive broken some pretty big guys and im small as s***

i remember one time i shifted my weight and did a spin when a big dude had me by the waist and i slung his big ass it was soo pretty

yeah ur right the diamond thing only goes so far. Ask your QB if he will stay after and do some extra reps with you and run some routes and get your hands better

Thats my problem. Everyone on my team hammers me because I don't catch it as a diamond. Well when they throw it towards my crotch I am not going to give it a chance to miss with the diamond.

The Diamond only works if its thrown at your chest or away from your body. I like that exercise with the tennis balls. Have you got any other exercises like that?

RB wise, it is purely instincts. I don't get many carries but I do get 4-6 yards a carry on a good day. (I'm a slow mofo too)

What kind of routes are u running like outs, swings, and screens?

Tell the Qb to stay after practice and work and routes, timing is everything! you dont need the best hands in the world to be a great WR/HB, trust is the major thing here. The more you trust your QB the more likely you are to focus on the catch cause you know where its going

If you aren't very fast, you should work on route running. You will have to adjust the way you run certain routes (slants, outs, go's). Always try to put a juke in front of the defender and leave them in bad positions were they can't make a play on the ball. I know it's common sense but here is an example for a slant. Run straight, fake an out route or go route, and run in. Try to use your hands also to push off if they jump the route. I would suggest hitting the gym and getting stronger so you can push around DB's. Always look for a way to get between coverages also. Just because your coach says run a 10 yard curl, run it so you will be open on the play, not how it is designed.

For the hands part, just get reps with the QB like other mentioned. I've also heard about the tennis ball method that Miami said... or just wear your gloves.

number one thing with catching the ball is attacking it in the air. always catch it as far away from your body as possible and then bring it in to make sure it doesnt bounce off your body. its hard as s*** at first to get used to and you may drop some balls at first, but once you learn to do that you'll be a much better wr

We've been running mostly motions plays. It seems to be the basis of our playbook. Options are our quarterbacks favorite plays because he is a smart/speedy quarterback. I prefer to run slants or hitches for short yards. Sometimes I like to see if I can burn the DB and go in a seam.

I was going to stay and talk to the quarterback this saturday and get it down so we can communicate as QB-WR instead of qb-N/A.

I've been getting a lot cleaner route running and know where the openings are in the field. If I get told to do a hitch, and I see I'm not open but I see a hole behind those two DB's I will try to go into that seam and attempt to catch one...but the QB never realises lol.

Another thing I have problem with is I'm new to playing the game and I'm not sure if I can actually push the DB around when I'm past 5 yards. You can do this?

I've been playing catch with my cousin earlier and I've made it apparent in my head that I have great hands and it actually worked. I'm a lot more calm and can catch the ball more often. I'm still have the problem of catching the ball by our QB because he has a cannon and either leads too much or throws it behind you.

You are right about the 5 yard rule but you can get aggressive out there, I mean football is a contact sport. You don't have to push the guy to the ground, but you can prevent him from making a play on you or the ball. Just see how the refs are calling the game and feel it out. Another thing that could help is just have fun out there, and stop trying to think about if you mess up. Pretend they are "pick up games" and get loose.

Haven't had a game yet, and I'm starting to get looser with my hands. I don't have such brick hands as I used to. Just hate it how they're like "STOP CATCHING IT LIKE THAT!" lol

All you have to say is "I caught it, didn't I"? Doesn't matter if your technique looks silly. Get your catches, get your yards, and they will keep their mouth shut.