by Blaize Shepherd

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: November 12, 2011

If you want to learn how to throw a football, you will need a football, either a real one or a practice football, like a nerf football. It is better to start with something easy, so you get the feel for it. Once you have a feel for it, you can move on to the real thing.

Let's begin by examining the football. It is an oval-shaped object usually pig skin or leather, often plastic and sometimes foam. It has a finger grip or strip located across the football from centered in the middle of the ball length wise. The strip can be leather, plastic, foam indents, strings or other various styles.

Beginners, such as young children, should start with the foam ball. They are easy to grasp and don't kill you if they hit you. Firmer, larger, leather and solid plastic footballs can really bring you to tears if your hit with one hard enough. They can also smack your fingers and bend them backwards painfully, if you're not careful.

Grab the ball with your dominant hand and align your fingers to fit the indents or finger grips. Your fingers should be on the top and your thumb, near the bottom of the ball, depending on how big your hand is. Keeping the grip of the finger holds firm, raise the football and bring it level to about your ears. Lean back some, bringing your opposite shoulder slightly leaned into your other arm and more in front of you. Twisting your body toward the ball and keeping your face straight forward. Put your strength into it and throw the ball releasing it when you have come to the end of your normal reach length.

Practice throwing harder, reaching back farther and higher up to get the ball to travel farther and higher above the ground. Or use a foam one, they travel fast and far with a little practice. If you want the ball to travel faster, keep the grip tight, closer to you and don't over reach when throwing the ball. If you really want to act professional, you can act like your free hand is trying to control the ball some times, by holding the free hand off and on on top of the ball as your leaning back into your throw, like the professional football players do before deciding to throw.

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