Wide Receiver Tips and Tricks to Impress Coaches

Wide receiver is one of the more popular positions to play on offense. This is because you get to go out for passes and handle the football. The drama and excitement of catching a long pass for a touchdown is certainly one of the draws as well. Still, there are a great many little things that the wide receiver must do to succeed. Here are some wide receiver tips and tricks to increase your playing time and impress your coaches:

Always run your routes full speed. One thing that drives coaches crazy is when their wide receiver runs lazy routes when the ball is not coming their way. The truth is, you are only hurting yourself and the team when you slouch on these plays. When you run slow or lazy on these plays, the cornerbacks and defense knows you are not involved in the play and can cheat over to help with others. By running full speed, you are putting that doubt in their minds that they have to cover you just in case. Always go full tilt.

Block when the play calls for it. Another pet peeve among coaches is when the wide receiver will not block down field on a running play. You have to get out there and get in the way of the defense to give the running back the best chance at success. Do not be afraid to lay a serious block down. It will get you a bunch of playing time with your coaches to be sure.

Run full speed into your routes and cuts. Many receivers will not go top speed until they enter the meat of their route. You have to go full speed for your cuts to have any meaning. An out route for example, is only effective if the cornerback thinks you are going long first. They will not think that if you are running half speed into your cut.

Do not give up on your route. Some receivers simply give up on a route if they are not open on the first move. You can not do this and expect to get playing time from most coaches. Regardless of your talent, there will be times when you are covered well. Continue to run the route and you might come open later in the route.

Learn how to help the quarterback by finding the open spot. The open spot on the field often means coming back to your quarterback when they are scrambling. Do whatever is necessary to get open and make yourself a large target for a quarterback in trouble. You will pick up hustle points with the quarterback and coach, and will increase your playing time. When a quarterback knows they can count on you to get open, more passes will come your way as well.

Practice like you play. The game of football is not one that can be faked. If you practice slow, you may never see the field during the game. Get out there and mix it up in practice. Show what you can do and practice exactly as though it were a real game all the time. You will get more playing time for sure.