With high school and college football season quickly coming to a close, we are forced to evaluate our teams, players, and coaches. We look at the winners and the losers and the statistics of the season. The teams moving into the postseason share several statistics. Obviously, they have a better overall win and loss statistic, but how do they get to that point? Is it the coach? Is it the overall camaraderie? What players make or break a team?

The Quarterback: The Backbone of the Team

Obviously, a team must play as a team. That means the coach must have a great rapport with his players, and the players must play well together, reading each other’s signals and knowing the plays before they occur. However, the glue that holds any football team together is the Quarterback. The Quarterback is the coach’s eyes, ears, and mouth on the field. He sees the plays before they appear and relays the coach’s message to his teammates.
As a result of his position, his teammates often respect him and his opinion. Every good team has a well-respected quarterback at the helm. Therefore, the quarterback sets the tone of the team. As the quarterback listens and respects the coach and stands up for his team when needed, the players will follow suit. A good quarterback helps his team look like a well-oiled machine, as opposed to a group of middle school kids playing touch football.

Quarterback Training

Beyond showing and practicing respect and leadership, a good quarterback has to be well trained and a solid athlete. Players like Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger would be ineffective as leaders if they did not play the game well. Therefore, training is essential.
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As with many athletes, training, especially during the season can consist of hours of endurance and strength training. Many star athletes spend 2 to 4 hours in the gym and then another hour or so on the track. This type of training is necessary for any athlete and helps build endurance, strength, and discipline. However, what sets a football player apart from other athletes is his skill and knowledge of football. So, not only are players training in the gym and on the track, but they are training on the field, honing their skills.

Depending on the position, there are numerous pieces of equipment that can be used on the field for training. Obviously, the quarterback has to practice his passing and running.  Whenever possible, the quarterback will practice with his teammates so the teammates can get real life experience to perfect their skills. However, when the quarterback is needed elsewhere or special teams needs to practice separately, how do you replace the backbone of the team? That is where a quarterback machine is useful. While a quarterback machine cannot completely replace the real thing, it can stimulate a wide range of passes and even set up for kickoffs and punts.

The backbone of the team is never replaceable. However, he cannot be in more than one place at a time. Even more importantly, he cannot be in the right place at the right time if he suffered an injury in practice. When you need a healthy quarterback for that big game, check out the Quarterback Machine at First Pitch at  With the help of the right equipment, your team can be a well-oiled machine and enjoy postseason success!