You’re not going to be an All-State quarterback overnight, but you can improve your game without spending long hours on the field. We’ve put together five drills that will teach you how to make unique and unbeatable football plays that will wow your teammates and coaches.
1. The Cone Drill
Use a football play designer to design plays to test in the Cone Drill. Why? You can run all types of football plays in this drill. The more variations, the better your chances are of fooling the defense.
Here’s how it works:
- Set up three cones 20 yards apart.
- Set up four cones 40 yards apart.
- Set up five cones 60 yards apart.
You can use the Cone Drill over and over to great effect. Run it several times through and you’ll see results.
2. The Hit and Run Drill
To run the hit-and-run drill, you’ll need a coach and a ball. You’ll also need two cones. You start by putting three cones about seven yards apart from each other. The quarterback should be facing the middle cone with his coach behind him. Next, the coach should signal to the quarterback to turn around and look for a receiver running up the field towards him.
When the quarterback sees the receiver, he should throw a spiral pass while running towards him. The coach will be yelling hit and run, hit and run, all the way up to let you know to throw the pass. When the quarterback throws the pass, he should be running in between two cones.
3. The Out-Patient Drill
For this drill, you’ll need a coach, a ball, and five cones. You’ll also need two guys to put the cones for you. The drill starts when the coach gives the QB the call of “time.” After receiving that command, the quarterback will run with his couch facing him. The QB will then look for someone to hit with his shoulder before throwing it. The coach will yell “out-patient” whenever the quarterback is ready.
The coach will be yelling out “out-patient” over and over again to let you know when to throw the pass. The quarterback will put his hand out in front of him. He’ll make sure that he gives a good hit to the cones. He must use his shoulder strength when throwing the ball to the receiver.
4. The Ladder Drill
For this drill, you’ll need a ladder, a football, and a drill coach. The drill will start with the coach saying “ready.” When he says that, both the coach and quarterback will run towards the ladder. The quarterback will get to the ladder first and wait on his coach to get there. After that, they will run back towards their original spot on opposite sides of the ladder. The coach will make sure that the quarterback doesn’t start running slow.
When the coach says “ready” again, both of them will run back to their original spots on the ladder. The coach will have the quarterback look up to see where his next receiver is located. The coach will keep saying “ready” until he gets a signal from the quarterback that he is ready to throw a pass in that direction.
5. The Laser Drill
The laser drill is a simple yet effective drill meant to build confidence in the quarterback. Any position can use this drill, but it’s especially great for quarterbacks. To run this drill, you’ll need two cones and a football. The cones should be about 10 yards away from each other. The coach should be standing behind the quarterback, standing at one cone with his back turned to the coach. You should set up the cone so that the receiver is directly behind the cone that the quarterback is standing at.
The coach will signal to start. After receiving that command, the quarterback will turn around and look for his receiver running between two cones. The quarterback should throw a spiral pass to where he believes his receiver will catch it.
Conclusion
After running these drills for several weeks, you’ll see huge improvements in your game. These exercises will help train your brain and body to react quickly and prepare you for the big games. You will be able to read defenses faster and perform better under pressure.
