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.
Robert sent the following question:
How should I catch and run a deep long pass such as the fly or the streak, and how should you hold your hands while catching the deep ball? A lot of times I am open deep and drop a catchable pass.
Hi Robert,
Your hand position for a deep ball should be exactly like the hand position for a ball in front of you below your numbers. Your palms should be up and your little fingers should be touching.
The challenge for many receivers with this type of reception is that they never reach their arms and hands back far enough so that they can see both their hands and the ball at the moment of the catch.
They will leave their hands down in front of their chest and then at the last minute try to find their hands as the ball sails over their shoulder or head.
Try to do an easy drill where you run across the field on a line and have a quarterback drop the ball directly over your head and then over your right or left shoulder. The pass does not have to be far and you do not have to run a great distance. Try to see how far you can reach back with both hands with your little fingers together, focus on the very front tip of the ball, see the ball into your hands, and then quickly secure the ball to your side in one smooth motion.
The more balls you can catch between now and the start of fall practice, the more comfortable you will be making this type of reception.
Coach Tom Bass
Thomas sent the following question:
When watching college football on TV, I often hear the analyst talking about receivers needing soft hands. What exactly does this mean and how can I develop as a high school wide receiver?
Hi Thomas,
Usually when a receiver is said to have soft hands it means that he is reaching out for the ball, catching it and bringing it back to his body in one smooth motion. Good receivers learn to have their hands relaxed as they engulf the ball almost to a point where you cannot hear them make the catch.
It means that you need to understand the proper position of your catch based on the location of the ball, to see your hands and ball at the moment of the catch and to use the flight of the ball to bring your arms and hands back to your body as you make the reception.
Good receivers can catch anything and automatically will reach out to receive the object in the air. I like to encourage young receivers to take a tennis ball or small rubber ball and throw it against a wall so that it comes back to you at different speeds, different directions and different heights. If the ball is low your little fingers should be together, if the ball is chest high or above your thumbs will be together, and if it is wide and over your shoulder you need your little fingers together to make the catch.
See how far you can reach out to make the catch and focus on the ball so that you actually see it moving into your hands. This is a drill that you can do by yourself and really improve your focus and catching skills in preparation to actually catching a football, which will be much bigger in size.
Coach Tom Bass
The following question was sent:
I played high school football this past year and now that spring football is about to begin, I don't know what position to play. I'm 5-foot-7, and I weigh 141 pounds. I love to tackleand play smash mouth defense, so I would to play outside linebacker but I'm too small. I'm a varsity caliber player and will play any position asked of me.
Hi,
Obviously you have spent some time thinking about this situation and I hope I can help you in this area. First of all, your attitude of being willing to play any position is great. Too many players become disappointed when they are not allowed to play the position that was their first choice. They lose sight that their first goal should be to be on the field and have the chance to play regardless of the position.
As a general starting point, you can say that the smaller you are, the further you should be away from the center and the ball when the play begins. Since you already feel that you are inclined to want to play on defense, and feel that you do not fit size wise for defensive line or even linebacker, I would suggest you start by considering one of the defensive back positions.
You might want to begin at strong safety where your love for tackling would be an asset and you would have the opportunity to be in on a number of plays during the game.
As we have mentioned many times in this column, your coach will make the final decision on where you should play based on observing you practice, deciding where you have greatest chance for success, and where you can make the greatest contribution to the performance of the team. I am sure with your attitude that you will find a spot to play.
Coach Tom Bass
John sent the following question:
I play free safety, and I was wondering how I could recognize the pass or run faster. My coach told me to watch the tight end, but sometimes the tight end blocks for a couple of seconds and then goes out for a pass. Should I watch the QB's eyes and follow them across the field?
Hi John,
Unless our free safety had coverage on the tight end for the defense called in the huddle, we had him line up so that he could see into the backfield through an uncovered offensive lineman. If he did have man-to-man coverage on the tight end, then he was coached to focus on only the tight end and to be prepared to cover him all over the field.
By looking through an uncovered offensive lineman - an offensive lineman who does not have a defensive lineman positioned in front of him - our free safety could see if it was a run or pass and then if the offensive lineman set back to pass block, he could immediately focus on the quarterback and react to his throw.
When you play the free safety position, it is really important to know and understand your responsibility for every defense called. If you are supposed to play free and deep in the middle of the field then no mater what happens on the snap, you must get back into your assigned area. You can see what the offense is doing as you back up and then be ready to come up when and if the ball carrier crosses the line of scrimmage and you know that there will not be a pass.
Base your keys on your responsibility, know where to focus on each defense and always take care of your pass responsibility first and then react to the run any time you have a deep zone assignment.
Coach Tom Bass
Micah sent the following question:
I really love football, but I go to a very academic school and football isn't really a priority. We never win against teams from outside the city. However, the players play with all their heart and really show good skills. Is there any chance I could go to a big football college coming from a small city school team? Are there any professional players from small colleges?
Hi Micah,
Every year there are players selected in the annual NFL draft that have played at small schools. There are even many more small school players who are signed to free agent contracts at the conclusion of the draft. And, every year there are a few of these players who end up staying with an NFL team - so it does happen.
The college you attend will depend on how well you play the game during your final years in high school. One thing you have in your favor is that you will probably have the necessary academic background to easily be admitted into almost any college.
Being well qualified academically can be a real advantage in the eyes of big schools that have high academic requirements. Look at schools that are going to satisfy your own personal educational goals and then see how football works into the equation.
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/.
