Stretch or Bounce Stretch??

A two way go or run to daylight I call running the "V". Coach CAmpbell

J.C. - GREAT POINT!!! Vs "free access" Corners - the HITCH is the greatest play in the game of football (Joe Gibbs quote)!

You'll average more yards per attempt on the Hitch than the stretch or any toss. It is really nothing more than a "long handoff"!!!!!

Joe Gibbs once saide that the Hitch is FOUR football plays.

A) Our "sweep". (They actually considered it their "sweep")

B) Short Pass

C) Intermediate pass (18-20 yds deep) IF you convert it to a fade vs a hard corner & throw it in the holke between CB & deep safety in a Cover 2.

D) Deep pass (30-40 yds deep) if you play tight press man with no deep help (converts).

The hitch is a great pattern, no doubt, but it is also a pattern that many high school QBs struggle with the most.

We've had kids who could throw the ball 65 yards downfield and hit a streaking receiver in stride, but asking them to get the ball to a receiver running a simple 8-10 yard stop pattern is like pulling teeth.

Two years ago, we played a team in the 2nd round of the playoffs who really respected the speed of our outside receivers. Their CBs were playing 10-12 yards off. Because of that, our OC called Stops and Quicksmashes all day, but our QB (a kid who threw for over 3200 yards in two varsity seasons) couldn't get the ball to the WRs running the hitch. The ball either burned worms in front of the WR or sailed over the WR's head out of bounds.

That's why I have come to believe that there is no "perfect" play in football. When we, as coaches, draw up the Xs and Os, it always looks good. The problem is that sometimes we forget that the Xs and Os only work if the kids execute it.

COACHES,

IT IS ALL ABOUT PROPER MECHANICS FOR YOUR QB'S AND REP AFTER REP AFTER REP WITH THE KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO BE CATCHING HIS THROWS. TOTALLY AGREE YOU BUILD YOUR SYSTEM AROUND THE KIDS, NOT VICE VERSA, BUT THE HITCH IS SUCH A VALUABLE PLAY I WOULD REALLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU WORK ON IT. JUST MY WAY.

Coach Easton

FOOTWORK IS ALWAYS THE FIRST PROBLEM IN ANY BAD THROW, RELEASE POINT SECOND. GOOD MECHANICS CONSIST OF THROWING THE BALL THE SAME WAY EVERY TIME YOU THROW IT. ZEROING YOUR DOMINANT EYE ON A SPECIFIC PART OF YOUR RECEIVER (NUMBERS IF RECEIVER FACES YOU, INSIDE ELBOW IF ANGLING AWAY SUCH AS IN A QUICK OUT, ETC.) QUICKLY BREAKS YOU OF LOOKING AT THE WHOLE RECEIVER AND ALLOWS YOUR MECHANICS TO INCORPORATE A VERY SOLID COACHING POINT. STEPPING (DISECTING YOUR TARGET WITH YOUR FRONT FOOT) AND STEPPING INTO YOUR THROW WITH THE BACK FOOT, MUCH AS A PITCHER STEPS INTO HIS PITCH BY PUSHING OFF THE RUBBER, ALLOWS YOUR QB TO THROW WITH HIS WHOLE BODY NOT JUST HIS ARM. RELEASING THE BALL AT THE PROPER RELEASE POINT AND FOLOWING THROUGH COMPLETES THE QB PROGRESSION OF GOOD THROWING MECHANICS. BUT, THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF ANY SUCCESSFUL PASS PLAY IS FOR THE QB TO THROW THE BALL ON TIME!!! ON A HITCH, HE MUST GET RID OF THE BALL ALMOST INSTANTLY, SO THE RECEIVER HAS TO BE " TIMED UP" WITH HIM IN ORDER TO MAKE THE PLAY GO!!! REP IT AND REP IT AND REP IT. I ONCE HEARD JOE MONTANA SAY THAT HE NEVER FELT COMFORTABLE THROWING ANY ROUTE UNTIL HE HAD REPPED IT A MINIMUM OF 2,500 TIMES!!!

Coach Easton