Making a great hand off

Learning the basics in a handoff is essential to a strong offense. Lets look at a simple hand off between a quarterback and a running back to point out the fundamentals of this skill. The running back starts the hand off running towards the quarterback with his arms open creating a pocket for the quarterback to slide the football right into the running backs chest. When the running back receives the football he clamps down both arms hard on the football to protect it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.

Around the world: Improved Ball Handling

Without a solid foundation of ball handling players will be easy prey to a solid defensive team. This drill is meant to help players control and develop their ball handling skills. The secret to this drill is having the ball constantly moving around and from hand to hand. The drill starts with the head moving the ball in a circular motion from hand to hand, then proceeds to go under the arms, around the waist, then the knees, and finally through and in between the players legs.

Coaches can mix up the drill by shouting out body parts that the players will have to start circling with the football; they can also reverse the direction that the ball is traveling by calling, reverse. The reverse option is an important command as it will keep the players on their toes and focuses on concentration and ball handling.

When the coach calls and end to the drill the players will drop the ball several times (at least 7). The player will drop the ball and quickly pick it up again. It will also help to change the hand that the players uses to pick up the ball to ensure both hands are learning this technique.

Practicing the Hand off

Because hand offs are such a vital part of a running offense, running backs should practice hand off skills every day. One great hand off drill starts by having two separate lines of players facing each other: line A and line B. At the coaches signal player A leaves line A running with the football towards line B. In sync with that first player, a second player leaves line B, when they meet player A passes to player B. At the point of the hand off another player leaves line A and runs towards player B, who hands off the ball to the new player. This drill should perform in a seamless motion. Practice this drill every day to ensure that your running backs are effective on their hand offs.

Protecting the football as you run

You cant run with the football until you have learned some basic ball security measures. Football teams have lost many games because a couple of players were lax in there ball carrying and fumbled the football. A great way to teach tight ball security is with four points. First grab the football with your carrying hand with the tips of the football being covered with your fingers. The second point is making sure that your forearm is wrapped tightly on the outer rim of the football. The third point is securing the other point of the football with your bicep making sure that it is right up against it. Last point is to hold the back of the football right up against the ribcage and as you run keep it high and tight. Run a couple of drills were the ball carrier runs through a pack of defenders to practice. In this way you can practice great defensive moves to force a fumble, and also focus on offensive ball protection.