How to Get More Velocity on Your Throws

Are you a quarterback wanting to throw harder and with more velocity? Then this blog is for you.

Are you a quarterback wanting to throw harder and with more velocity? Then this blog is for you.

In this blog, I go over several keys to help your throw with more velocity and power.

To understand how to throw with more velocity we need to touch on a little bit of physics.

Force = mass x acceleration.

Assuming mass stays constant, you must increase acceleration to increase force.

Simply speaking, when throwing the football, force is generated from your back hip and travels up your kinetic chain & out through your hand. Therefore, if you want to throw with more velocity then you must focus on force production through your hips and sequencing correctly through your kinetic chain.

How to produce more force through your hips.

Although this sounds simple, it takes time, effort, and dedication. This is why it is key for quarterbacks to train like a quarterback in the weight room. A significant amount of your training should emphasize rotational acceleration and force production through your hips. Here is one example from our drill library of a rotational movement to increase force production in hips (link). Perfect fundamentals are key but you can only get so far with velocity and power if you are not training in the weight room to generate rotational force.

Importance of the kinetic chain

For quarterbacks, the kinetic chain refers to the correct sequence of energy transfer from the ground up. This is essential because a correct kinetic chain will transfer almost all the force generated from your hips into your throw. An incorrect kinetic chain is like a leak in a system… you will lose a significant amount of force that was originally generated by the time you release the football. The correct sequence of the throw is listed below.

Pull ➡️ hips begin to rotate ➡️ external rotation of shoulder ➡️ torso begins to rotate ➡️ arm accelerates forward ➡️ elbow extension

One key that you need to focus on is rotating your hips before your torso rotates through, this is a common mistake that results in significant loss of velocity. Check out our blog on kinematic sequence for more information on this topic.

Common mistakes that result in loss of velocity

Here are several common mistakes that I often see that result in loss of velocity:

1. Opening up the torso and off-side too early or past the target. You need to keep the torso closed while the hips rotate and then keep off-side steady through the acceleration phase of the throw.

‍2. Over-rotation of the hips. Your hips should finish squared to the target. Over-rotation of the hips past the target results in a significant loss of velocity.

3. Leaning to the side. Pulling your body to the side and leaning will result in a significant loss of velocity. At release, your spine should be straight and your hips and shoulders should be level.

4. Leaning forward into the throw. At release, your spine should be straight and not flexed forward. Forward flexion of the spine results in loss of velocity when throwing.