Catch and run routes
Create separation with pace and body control, then secure the ball with appropriate hands.
Two-Minute Drill: Catching the Football
From USA Football. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Follow USA Football's catching cues, pausing to examine hand position, eyes through the catch, and the moment the ball is secured.What this lesson is really solving.
Track the near point of the ball, present late hands as appropriate, secure before turning, and adapt hand shape for location. A route requires alignment, release, stem, exact break depth, body control, and a finish that gives the quarterback a clear window.
Understand the idea before touching the steps.
A route communicates timing and space; the catch completes that agreement.
Follow these steps in order.
Take the action in each step; then use the deliverable below to prove the lesson is finished.
- 1
Catch soft passes with eyes through the ball, thumbs together above the waist and little fingers together below when appropriate.
- 2
Secure the catch before turning upfield and practice boundary awareness and two-hand protection in traffic situations.
- 3
Learn stance, release, stem, break, and finish for slant, out, curl, go, and flat routes.
- 4
Run each route at the same early tempo, sink the hips at breaks, and arrive at landmarks on time.
See the standard in context.
Morgan catches ten gentle passes at chest height, five above the shoulders, and five low, tucking each before moving. Then a 5-yard out route is walked, jogged, and run at controlled speed with a cone marking the break and eyes returning to the quarterback.
Inspect before you move on.
- The catch is made with hands when possible and secured before running.
- Break depth and direction are consistent across reps.
- Poorly thrown balls are abandoned if reaching would cause unsafe collision or landing.
Your deliverable
Five core routes run from both sides with catch percentage and route-depth accuracy recorded.
Watch for this
Drifting through rounded cuts that change the quarterback’s timing and invite a defender into the route.
Prove it—don’t just recognize it.
You can run a route to a landmark, show your hands late, secure the catch, and transition safely.
Quick knowledge check
Answer from the lesson—not from confidence alone. Score at least 2 of 3 to unlock completion.
This curriculum-aligned check is scored automatically and stored with your account when signed in. It is an objective learning signal, but it has not yet been independently validated as a standardized assessment.
Tools, templates, and references
Pass the knowledge check above first.
Completion unlocks after a score of 2 out of 3. Then confirm that you produced the lesson deliverable.
Go to the knowledge check