The handoff
Why it works
Handoff relay teaches the timing; this teaches the shape of the hands, standing still, where there is nothing else going on. Almost every youth team runs one of these two and not the other, and the exchange keeps failing because the half they skipped is the half that was wrong.
Run it
6 MINSix each hand standing still, then six each hand with the run out. Six minutes.
Say this
“Inside arm up, outside arm down.”
Up across the chest, down across the belt. That is the pocket.
“Eyes on the pocket.”
The taker looks at the hole he is making, not at the ball or the giver.
“Squeeze before you go.”
One hand over each point of the ball before the first step.
Good looks like
- The pocket looks the same on the left side as it does on the right.
- The taker's eyes never follow the ball.
- There is a visible squeeze before any running starts.
- Twelve clean exchanges in a row before anybody moves their feet.
The mistakes
Both arms at the same height, which leaves a hole rather than a pocket.
Say: “Inside arm up, outside arm down.”
Watching the ball into the hands, which is what a receiver does and a runner does not.
Say: “Eyes on the pocket.”
Running with it loose under one arm, which is a fumble waiting for contact.
Say: “Squeeze before you go.”
One hand only, standing still, for the whole six minutes. The second hand is a different week.
Eyes closed for the taker on the last two reps each side, which proves the pocket is a habit and not a look.