Being a better Quarterback

Question
Hey Coach, I am just starting high school this coming year.  I was a quarterback in middle school(started all last year).  I recently went to a three day camp at the high school I will be going to.  The head coach started working with me at quarterback and he must have liked what he saw cause he gave me the high school's ball to keep.  I was just wondering what I can do between now and August 1 to improve my arm strength, accuracy, footwork, speed, and anything else a quarterback will need to play high school ball(I am 5 foot 10, 150 pounds).  My dream is to play college football but I know I am going to have to work.

                                         Thanks

Answer
Cameron -

Thanks for writing.. Well, as you already know, playing QB is a very tough thing to do.. It sounds like you are off to a good start, getting to camps.  That is a big part of answering your question here.  Being a good QB is all about the mental side of the game.  Yes, having a good arm and being fast helps, but none of that does a lick of good if you dont know the position and the game itself.  So if you really would like to excel as a QB, start hitting the "books" and get mentally prepared.

First thing is to learn as much as humanly possible about the offense you run.  As the QB you will need to know every players job, on every play.  So that is 11 jobs per play x the number of plays in the play book.  Next, get a feel for how your coaches like to attack a defense.  What do you do well as a team?  Once you have your team's info down pat, start learning the base defenses.. What are the fronts?
3-4, 4-3, 4-4, 3-3, 5-2...  Strengths and weaknesses of each?  Goals of each?  Once you have all of that, put them together.. How does your offense work against each?  What will you basic reads be on passing plays against each? Base coverages?  Progressions against each coverage? Any audibles? What would they be?  

Learning this info will give you a distinct advantage over other QBs at that level.

"Football is nothing more than a chess match using real people".. Remember that as you go along in your career!

Physically, start off by just following your team's weight program.  Just make sure and stay as flexible as possible.  Muscle will do you no good if you are too tight to use it properly.  

Arm stength, do a lot of rotator cuff exercises, power bands, and stretching.  Also, throwing the ball.. A few times a week, get out and do some long tossing with the football.  After a proper warm up that is.  Try and push your limits each week, even if it is by a yard or two.  Accuracy is a different story.  Having proper mechanics will help this greatly.  Have a coach look at your mechanics and see if anything needs to be tweaked a bit.  

For speed, I highly recommend starting a PLYOMETRICS routine.  They are a simple group of exercises that will increase leg strength big time.  Look that up on the net and see what comes back.  Start with a basic program and work up as you get stronger at them.  As for footwork, that is all learning proper mechanics, again, and having someone to keep you on the right track.  Different QBs have different footwork depending on what the offense calls for, so make sure and ask the coaches what they want before spending the time on it.

I think you will find that as you get into high school ball, things will speed up, and speed up fast.  So the best thing you can do is come in prepared for that.  You will find a lot of physically gifted players out there, but very few who are as mentally prepared as they should be.  So take your advantages where you can.  Do everything you can to be ready, and put in the hard work both physically and mentally.  It will come, just be patient.

Best wishes

Coach Perl