Proper Hand Position for Pass Receiving Running Backs

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Becoming a proficient pass receiver is the final skill a player needs to master in order to be a complete running back.

Catching a ball is a learned skill, one which requires proper body position, correct location and alignment of the hands, good hand-eye coordination, and complete concentration on the ball.

Many young players will spend great amounts of practice time running pass pattern after pass pattern, and will not have spent the necessary time learning and practicing the proper method of catching a ball. Often they will find themselves getting open and then dropping the pass as it comes to them, never really understanding why.

The very first thing that a beginning player must learn is the proper positioning of his hands to make a reception. For the reception of any pass which is even with or above the top of the numbers on his jersey, the thumbs and first fingers of the running back's hands should be together. The rest of the hands and fingers should be slightly forward, forming a cone in which the ball will be caught. With his hands in this position the running back should be able to think in terms of cradling the ball as he makes the catch.

If the pass is to be caught even with the numbers or below, the running back must change the position of his hands. For this height of reception, the player must place his little fingers, rather than his thumbs, together, allowing his hands to come forward thus forming the mitt in which to make the catch. In making a reception, one hand will almost always serve as the mitt; this will be the hand which makes contact with the point of the ball.

Drill: Hand Position

To teach proper hand position for making a reception, the coach can have the running backs line up facing him. Without actually throwing a ball, the coach can call out the position of the pass and the running backs should put their hands in the proper position to make the catch.

The running backs should stand in a comfortable stance with their feet spread shoulder width apart and with a slight bend in their knees. Their arms and hands should hang in a relaxed fashion at their sides and the players complete focus and concentration should be on the coach. The coach will call out the location of the imaginary pass and each of the running backs should react to that location. The coach should then check each player, making certain that each of their hands is in the proper relationship to make a reception in that location.

For this drill, there should be 15 possible locations for the players to place their hands. There should be five distinct height locations: high (well above the player's head); pad (even with the shoul-der pads); numbers (even with the jersey numbers); belt (even with the hips); and low (even with the thighs). These five distinct height locations should be followed with a directional call of left, center, or right, thus telling the running back exactly where the ball is to be caught. Be-cause this drill requires no movement, it is a drill that the running backs can go through on their own prior to start of actual practice.

The next important pass-receiving technique for the running back is, whenever possible, to extend his hands and arms so that he can see his hands and the ball as he makes the reception. To learn this, modify the previous drill. The coach, once again, calls out the location of the pass. This time, though, the players should not only place their hands in the proper position, but they also should reach forward as they would to bring their hands and the ball in view at the same time as the catch is made.

With the running backs in the same drill setup, the coach should have them turn so they are facing toward the sideline on their side of the field. The coach will call out one of the 15 positions and the players should reach out simulating a catch at that position. Next, the players should all face into the center of the field and the drill should be repeated.

Finally, the running backs should be instructed to turn around and face down the field, away from the coach. In this position, the players will be simulating making a reception on a pass which is thrown over their head from behind. The coach will now call out only the direction of the pass--either left, center, or right--and not the height. When making a reception on a ball which is thrown over one shoulder or directly over his head, the running back must position his hands as if he were making a reception on a pass thrown below his waist. It is important that the tips of the little fingers of both hands are touching, the fingers and thumbs forming the catching cone. The player must also attempt to reach his hands high and back toward the imaginary ball, allowing him the opportunity to see the ball and his hands as he makes the catch.

Drill: Ball Reception I

The ball now should be introduced into the receiving drills for the running backs. In setting up this receiving drill, the coach should have the running backs line up first to his right and then to his left The purpose of the drill is to give each player the opportunity to catch as many passes as possible, so the players should have to run only a few steps before turning to make the catch. The coach, by the location of his pass, should force the running back to catch passes at each of the five height positions. The drill is run with one player at a time.

Drill: Ball Reception II

A running back lines up facing away from the coach. The coach then tells the player whether he is to turn to his left or his right to make the reception. On the command "Hut" from the coach, the running back should drive up the field four yards and then turn to the proper side and come back toward the coach. As he starts back toward the coach, the player must locate the ball, reach out with his hands and arms, place his fingers in the proper position to make the catch, and finally use the proper hand to serve as the mitt for receiving the tip of the ball. The mitt hand should always be the hand on the side of the pass and the other hand should be used to surround and control the ball.

If the ball arrives on the right side of the running back, he should use the palm of his right hand as the mitt or contact point with the front tip of the ball. The left hand would then help the player control the ball and aid in securing the ball for carrying.

Starting with this simple drill, each time the running back makes a reception he must be instructed immediately to 'put the ball away,' grasping it firmly by the point with his mitt and squeezing it tightly to his body with his forearm. As the catch is made the player should use his mitt hand to start turning the ball in toward his body. His other hand should continue to turn the ball so that the running back is able to place the uncovered part or back of the ball securely up into his armpit area.

Players may find that they are not catching passes that are in the high area. Usually the inability to make this reception is due to the fact that the player has not cocked his wrists back toward his helmet. Without cocking his wrists, the running back will find that the palms of both hands are pointed down, directly toward the ground in front of him. Consequently, when the point of the ball makes contact with the mitt hand it is immediately deflected down into the turf and the pass falls incomplete.

Once each running back has worked to the right side sufficiently, the coach should flop the drill over and repeat the same maneuvers with the players on the left side.

Finally, the players should be lined up, one at a time, facing downfield directly in front of the coach. The coach now will tell the players left, center, or right, and he will throw the ball over their heads or shoulders as they run straight down the field. When a running back is making a reception over his head in this manner, he will find that he does not need to turn the ball to put it away; he can pull it directly into his side with the mitt hand.

"Play Football The NFL Way" is the first Instructional Manual for Football Players and Coaches ever published by the NFL. It is the ultimate position-by-position guide of techniques and drills for Offense, Defense and Special Teams. Author Tom Bass is a former NFL coach with more than 20 years of experience with the Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Copyright © Thomas L. Bass 2006. All rights reserved.