While football is considered one of America's greatest pastimes, few know the secrets of throwing the ball properly. A proper football pass is a perfect spiral delivered directly to the target. With that in mind, this article will attempt to explain some methods that actual football coaches use to teach their quarterbacks the right way to throw.
When trying to throw the perfect spiral, there are three things that you need to consider: the positioning of your hand, the release of the ball, and the timing of the whole pass movement. As far as gripping the football goes, many coaches recommend that you grip the ball with your ring finger placed on the first lace of the football. Your pinky should also grip the laces, and the best positioning for the pinky is between the next two laces up from the first. This usually varies from player to player, due to hand size and preference. For instance, Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles is a highly respected quarterback who keeps his fingers on laces one and four, respectively.
When it comes to the actual throw of the ball, it's recommended that you hold the ball with as tight of a grip as possible. This tends to aid the spiral's spin, making it easier to catch for the receiver. After pulling back for the throw, you're going to want to make sure that you are on your last step before you take the throw is with the foot that you are throwing with. Simply put, if you are throwing with your right hand, your right foot should be forward. One little trick that many coaches use to help their players develop aim in their throws is to point at where they want to throw with the big toe of their leading foot. This helps the body to rotate properly and to ensure a throw in the right direction. When it comes to releasing the ball, you should release when your wrist is cocked at a 90 degree angle from your upper arm. Immediately after releasing the throw, flick your wrist in a downward direction. This causes the ball to spin, and when done properly can result in a perfect spiral throw.
Now that you can see some of the basics of getting a good throw down, it's time to practice. Just be sure to watch what is going wrong when you try to make a pass so that you can better correct the problem in the future. It's all just a process of getting your body used to doing the proper motion.
