As a wide receiver, it can be touh to work on your skills on your own, as by definition of your position you need someone else there to practice with yout. But there are a couple of very effective drills that you can do all on your own, to help with your hand strength as well as your catching ability!

Fingertip Pushups

Hand strength can be extremely valuable to a receiver, giving him the ability to go up and snatch the ball out of the defenders grasp, or even keep a ball he has already caught secure as the defensive back swipes away at his grip.

And while you can get fancy sponge balls or all other kinds of replacements, some good old fashioned fingertip pushups are a great way to strengthen the hand as well as the entire forearm.

It’s just as simple as it sounds – have your players get in push up position, up on their fingertips, and go up and down on your command.

As they go up and down, make sure they count out the pushups, this will promote communication within your team, and can be very intimidating for opponents pre-game as well!

Flip Drill

This is another one you can do alone, as long as you’ve got a football. Hold the ball outstretched in your hand, and flip it backwards up onto the back of your hand, and then use the back of your hand to flip it right back around.

This drill does a great job of improving not only your hand eye coordination, but teaches you to focus in on the football, as well as get used to it’s odd oval shape.

Don’t get frustrated if you can’t do it right away, just keep practicing and you’ll eventually have it down – just remember to try and maintain contact with the ball throughout the whole flip!

Figure 8 Drill

This is actually a basketball drill, but it serves the same purpose with a football as it does with a basketball – familiarizing your hands with the shape and texture of the ball as well as improving strength and your hand eye coordination abilities.

Bend over, and spread your feet a little bit wider than shoulder width. Now move the ball from left to right, going in between your legs and back around. The key is to perform this drill at a high speed – really push yourself as hard as you can, and make sure to go both directions an equal amount.

Coaching Tips

• Performing these drills at the highest speed and intensity is your surest way to see results – pacing yourselves in these drills will render them near useless

If you’re worried a little bit more about your coverage than your receivers, make sure to check out this post on defensive back fundamentals!