The football grip is finger pads on the laces, thumb under the ball, ball held back behind the ear before the throw. Wrong grip and the throw wobbles or duck-flies short. Get the grip right and the throw improves immediately.

What you need: A youth-size football. Open grass.

Setup: Two kids 10 yards apart. Or kid + parent.

How to run it:

  1. Show the grip: index, middle, ring fingers across the laces. Pinkie off the back. Thumb under the ball, opposite the index.
  2. Have the kid set the grip 5 times. Check it.
  3. Show the throw: ball back behind the ear, elbow up, throwing-side foot back. Step with front foot. Throw over the top.
  4. They throw 10 passes. Reset the grip after each.
  5. Last 5: focus on the spiral. A spiral means the grip and release are right.

What to watch: Does the ball spiral? A wobble means the index finger isn’t the last finger off the ball. The release point is the index finger.

If they’re struggling: Use a smaller ball (Wee or Pee Wee size). Or shorten the distance to 5 yards.

If they’ve got it: Move back to 15 yards. Add a target on the wall. They have to hit the target with a spiral.