Coach Tom Bass brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to USA Football. Along with answering youth coaching questions, he also receives emails from young players. You can email the coach at NFLAskTheCoach@aol.com.
The following question was sent:
I want to play freshman football next year, so can you send me tips on how to become a better receiver?
I receive many questions similar to this one from players that are just starting their football careers.
In general, for any position, you need to be in the best possible condition prior to fall practice. This means that you need to start right now on a general running program that includes sprint work on one day and distance running the next day.
Start slow with 10-yard sprints, walk 10 yards, then sprint again. Do this up and down the football field twice in the beginning and add another full field workout after two weeks.
On the third week, stay with the three lengths of the field, but increase the sprint and walking distance to 15 yards. By the fourth week you should be able to add one more length of the field. You can rest for a few seconds at the end of each field. Stay with this program up until two weeks prior to the start of fall practice and cut back to once a week and get as much rest as you can.
For your distance work, start with one mile running the straights and walking the corners on the track. Try to work up to where you can run the entire mile without stopping. If you can get off the track and run up and down hills, it is even better. Hopefully by fall you will be running three miles.
Because wide receivers are required to run a great deal during practice, this type of program is essential for your preparation.
Catching the ball is also a major part of your work for the team, so it is important that you start catching the football every day or practicing with a tennis ball by throwing it against a wall. Vary your distance from the wall and make certain the ball comes back to you at different heights.
Your focus during any catching drill should be to have your hands in the proper position - little fingers together for any catch below the numbers or over your shoulder and thumbs together with your wrist cocked back for any catch at or above the numbers. Try making at least 100 catches every day by the start of summer and continue until fall practice.
On any catch, be sure that you extend your hands to meet the ball so that you always see the ball and both hands at the moment of the catch.
This may sound like a lot of work, but if you really want to achieve success as a wide receiver this is very important.
Also check with your high school coach and see if they have a summer program that you can take part in so you start to feel like part of the team.
Coach Tom Bass
Frasier sent the following question:
Last season was my first time playing football. I played strong safety and did fairly well. Its now the off-season and I have been running and working out, however, the junior varsity coach requires all players to learn a position on both sides of the ball. I was curious whether I should play running back or receiver because I am 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. I have some basic catching and running skills. Which position should I learn?
Hi Frasier,
Congratulations to your coach for requiring the players to learn a position on both sides of the ball. Playing receiver will give you the best opportunity to incorporate the knowledge you have from your safety position to an offensive position.
You have already learned about pass coverage and now at receiver you will be learning to run pass routes against the various pass coverages that you know and understand.
Running back seems to match up better with a linebacker position. It can really help you to become a better safety by learning the receiver position, so go for it.
Coach Tom Bass
Mori sent the following question:
I am going into my freshman year of high school, and I play TE and DE. I am about 5-foot-10 and almost 150 pounds. I bench 185, squat 275 and clean 155. My dream is to play college football, so what should my game plan be for achieving this goal?
Hi Mori,
You seem to be on a very good track. In setting your goals for your "game plan," start with achieving the very best grades you can in the required course work. Next, look to have a percentage increase each off-season in your lifts and weight.
This year, start becoming a real student of the game. Immerse yourself in learning the DE and TE positions and then branch out and learn about the offensive tackle position and the linebacker position so that you understand how to defeat these players.
If at all possible, and I know sometimes it is hard, try to find a college camp at a school that you might have an interest in attending. Go to the camp, see the campus, meet the coaches and investigate the type of majors they may offer that suit your interests.
Set your sights on becoming the best player at your position, give 100 percent in practice and games and make certain that you improve every time you step on the field.
You have four years to accomplish what you want to do, and it is great that you want to set up a good game plan right now.
Coach Tom Bass
Bryan sent the following question:
I have been playing receiver since I started football and have been told that I am good at the position. I recently moved from Tennessee to Miami and was tried out as a corner. I am told that I have perfect technique and would most likely start at DB at the jamboree. Should I stay at receiver or try corner?
Hi Bryan,
You are obviously a good athlete as seen by your success at wide receiver. At the same time, your new coaches must have seen the skills and performance that is needed to play the corner position.
Playing corner well is a great challenge and it takes a very good athlete plus a player that has the temperament to accept the challenge of the position. You are going to find that corner is one of the great positions on the team, and it really requires a player who lives for the challenge of shutting out the offensive player.
Good corners may not get as much recognition from the general public, but coaches at every level, and especially at college and pro levels, know and appreciate just how important a good corner can be to the success of the team.
I hope you listen to your coaches and go out and become a shut down corner. You have the advantage of knowing exactly what the receiver is going to try to do, so it should come easy for you with good work.
Coach Tom Bass
Charlie sent the following question:
I have a strong arm, but after awhile my elbow and shoulder start to hurt when throwing. Is it my throwing motion or is it natural for your arm to start to hurt after throwing for a while? What should I do?
Hi Charlie,
It would be good to have an orthopedic doctor take a look at your shoulder and elbow during this off-season and make sure that you do not have a medical issue that might need some type of special treatment.
If everything checks out OK, you might want to begin by making certain that you warm up properly before your team throwing. Start by throwing at half velocity for short distances and then move farther apart. Then begin by throwing all your short routes to your wide receivers to both sides, next your medium routes and finally at the end, your deep routes.
Have someone check your actual throwing motion, especially when you are throwing hard and make sure that you are using your entire body and not just your arm as you deliver the ball.
Without the ball, you should set up and then step with your front foot directly at where you want to throw. Your hips and chest should be moving toward this point ahead of your arm. Finally, your arm should come forward in a nice smooth motion with your hand rotating down and in at the end of your throwing motion.
You can begin to train your mind and body to throw in a proper motion that can automatically produce less pressure on your passing arm, and hopefully, it may help to decrease the pain that you are having now.
Coach Tom Bass
Coach Tom Bass, the technical writer and advisor for USA Football, is a 30-year NFL coach who has also authored several books, including "Play Football the NFL Way" - the first "how to" book ever authorized and published by the NFL. Coach Bass is happy to personally autograph his books to you. Book ordering information can be found on http://www.coachbass.com/.
