Vision

Question
Hey, my name is Codie and I wanted to ask you how I can improve my QB vision on the field. Sometimes during games I rush myself through the reads, missing a WR open downfield and sometimes I wait to long for the routes to develop and end up having to run for what I can get or dumping off to my tail back. Also a couple of times when a WR beats a DB and is open downfield during man to man coverage I get happy feet and end up overthrowing him, is that normal or is there something I can do to improve that.

Thanks

Answer
Hello Codie and thank you for asking this question.

A lot of what you are talking about is expanding your focus while moving and performing better under pressure.  Visualization/mental practice can help.  What you do is mentally train yourself to see a receiver moving to where you can throw to them.  Your mind is an incredibly powerful computer, with the ability to take in, analyze, interpret and extrapolate data.  What happens is quarterbacks, who know what to do and how to do it, second guess themselves under pressure.  You know the results of that.  What you want is to get in the zone, where what you do just seems to flow just the way you want to.  You've probably felt this before, even in practice or during games.

Here's a mental training tool that can help.  To do this, get relaxed, close your eyes, and take five slow deep breaths.  Then, picture or imagine yourself on the practice field.  Make it as detailed as you can - things you see, things you hear, things you feel.  Then imagine you have the ball and everyone on the field is going in slow motion.  When that is happening, you can almost feel the receiver getting into where they need to be, you know the perfect velocity and trajectory you need to throw the football, and picture or imagine yourself doing it, and the receiver catches it easily.  Just imagine as it the energy just flows through you and it's almost like the football throws itself.  When you do this, what you're really doing is allowing your mind and body to work together to use all of those skills and abilities you've worked so hard to get.  Practice this in multiple situations, then progress to using this mental practice for competition.  Now give yourself some kind of signal to bring on this state of mind, maybe a word or color, and incorporate that.  Practice this a lot, the more you practice the better it works.

Then, when you are in a game, use your signal (or trigger) to bring on what you've been practicing.

I've helped many athletes improve their focus using this skill - it works!

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
Sacramento, California
http://www.thementalcoach.com