Football – Throwing | Quarterback Tips to Become a Better Passer

Good quarterbacks are made, not born. You need more than a great arm to lead your team to victory. Here are some quarterback tips, based on previous STACK stories and interviews with Drew Brees and Bruce Arians, to get you off the bench and into a starting spot in no time.

1. Be a Leader
Regardless of who you are off the field, you are the leader of the offense on the field. Every time you go into the huddle, you are expected to lead the 10 other faces staring back.

2. “No” Means Try Harder
At some point you will hear that you are not good enough or didnʼt make the grade. Accepting “no” for an answer means you are not fit to be a quarterback. Have the grit to never give up and always strengthen areas of weaknesses.

3. Develop Your Arm Strength
Throwing strength does not simply mean shoulder strength. You need scapula stability, leg strength and rotational core strength to improve your velocity.

4. Work on Your Footwork
Much of what a quarterback does relies on footwork, especially on running plays. Better footwork will help you escape pocket pressure better and make it easier to throw on the run. It will also improve your throwing efficiency.

5. Train Like a Beast
Training is designed to give you an edge over the competition. Cover every aspect of training. Leave something out and it will become a weakness.

6. Hold a Football at All Times
The football is the tool of the quarterbackʼs trade. You can never get too accustomed to it. Hold it like you would while standing in the pocket, and even hold a football during your exercises. The more you move with it, the more natural it will feel.

7. Know the Offense
A quarterback needs to know every play call in the book. He must also know his players: how fast they can run, whether they break out of a route early, where they like the ball thrown, whether they will sacrifice their bodies over the middle.

8. Build Glute and Groin Strength
Quarterbacks need to move laterally even when moving forward. Strength and endurance in these muscles will build better functional movement.

9. Have Awareness and Vision
In practice you may be protected, but in a game you are not. You need to learn to feel pressure and minimize movement within the pocket that keeps you protected while focusing on the receivers running routes downfield.

10. Watch Film
Film not only prepares you for defensive looks and what your opponents have to offer, but you can see what others are doing well and improve your game based on that.

11. Love Your Position
1 through 10 are irrelevant if you do not want to be a responsible, dedicated leader of men. Much of what a quarterback does is preparation. He needs to train harder and be better prepared than anyone else.