Drilling the 5 Catch Categories to Enhance WRs Production

By Eric Miller
Wide Receiver’s Coach
Twitter: @coachericmiller

There are five types of catches that a wide receiver can make: routine catches; jump balls; body catches; over-the-shoulder catches; and lastly, one-handed catches. Each of those types of catches correlates to either a different body position or hand placement that a wide receiver can be in when attempting to complete a catch. Routine catches are the typical catching opportunities that many of us are mostly aware of. Jump balls are any catch where the receiver has to vertically jump for a ball. Body catches are most useful when having to make a grab in heavy traffic, (i.e. situations in which there is more than one defender in the vicinity). Over the shoulder catches are used for catching more vertical type routes where the receiver must run up under a ball that has been loft high into the air. Lastly, one-handed catches are simply catches made with one hand, regardless of if it is out of necessity or for added flare.

In this article, I want to breakdown the 5 types of catches that occur in game competition. I will discuss methods and techniques for being able to make the appropriate catch for each of the five types as well as pointers on how to best execute each catch. Understanding the different types of catches that a receiver may get and how to apply the appropriate hand and body placement within a given situation greatly increase your player’s odds of being able to consistently make in-game catches.

Below are key coaching points for each of the 5 types of catches that my players work on both during the in-season and the off-season.

ROUTINE CATCH

HIGH BALL

• KEEP PALMS AND FINGERS WIDE
• HANDS FORM DIAMOND
• FLEX WRISTS AND ABSORB BALL
• SQUEEZE IT

LOW BALL

• KEEP PALMS AND FINGERS WIDE
• THUMBS UP AND FINGERS DOWN
• ABSORB BALL
• SQUEEZE IT

PROFILE (OVER)

• KEEP PALMS AND FINGERS WIDE
• HANDS FORM DIAMOND
• FINGERS FACING SIDELINE, ALMOST PARALLEL TO GROUND
• ABSORB BALL
• SQUEEZE IT

PROFILE (UNDER)

• PINKIES TOUCHING
• KEEP PALMS AND FINGERS WIDE
• FINGERS FACING SIDELNE, ALMOST PARALLEL TO GROUND
• ABSORB BALL
• SQUEEZE IT