Posture and slot are two essential components for quarterbacks when throwing the football. I am referring to trunk flexion and trunk lateral flexion throughout the throw when talking about posture. Spinal movements that are critical for quarterbacks are flexion and lateral tilt (side bending).
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Spinal integrity is key for proper deceleration of the throw. Quarterbacks need a proper decelerating or “braking” system to get the ball to “pop” off their hand. Ideal alignment is to have the spine as close to vertical on release.
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Keeping the spine straight helps decelerate the torso and keeps the slot and shoulders level. Notice in the above picture how the spine is straight and the shoulders are level. A level slot allows for optimal extension which creates great accuracy and velocity. When the spine falls forward (flexion) it will often pull the off-side shoulder and slot down resulting in a loss of accuracy and velocity.
Lateral tilt of the trunk will often result in a significant loss of velocity and accuracy. When the trunk begins to tilt towards the side, the head will follow, and the throwing side arm with often widen and/or raise resulting in a loss of control over the release point and accuracy. You also lose full extension out toward the target which causes loss of velocity and power.
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Slot refers to the “slot” of your arm during the acceleration phase and at the release point. Ideal for quarterbacks is to have their elbow level with their shoulder.. “Level slot”. The arm can widen when necessary and the angle can change but the slot always remains level. Notice how the angle of the arm changes but the elbow is level with the shoulder throughout.
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Having a level slot allows for optimal force through extension. Extension refers to the extension of the elbow joint. Force is created from the acceleration of the layback phase to the release. The more layback and extension a quarterback can get, the more force/velocity they can generate.
A great way to think about extension is like you are “touching” the target in the chest. This helps you get full extension at the elbow out towards the target. At release, it is ideal for quarterbacks to be maximally extended at the elbow. Here are some examples of great extensions on release.
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Slot can be summed up with this sentence.. “Level to out”.
Level = elbow level with the shoulder
Out = extension out towards the target
Level to out = elbow level with shoulder and extension out towards the target.
Prioritizing this will help optimize velocity and accuracy.
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