Routes on air

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American football drill · Under-9 and up

Routes on air is the drill every football team runs and few run well: receivers and a quarterback, no defence, every route at its proper depth. Without a defender to blame, the only things left are the details, and that is the point. A slant at five yards, a hitch at six, a post at seven, and the ball out on time.

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Time
12 minutes
Players
4 or more: a quarterback and three lines of receivers
Equipment
  • 6 to 8 cones to mark depths
  • 4 to 6 balls

Setup

  1. Put the quarterback five yards behind the line of scrimmage, in the middle of the field.
  2. Three receiver lines on the line of scrimmage: one 15 yards to the left, a slot 7 yards to the right, and an outside receiver 16 yards to the right.
  3. Mark the break points with cones: five yards for the slant, six for the hitch, seven for the post.
  4. The left receiver runs the slant, the slot runs the hitch, the outside receiver runs the post. The coach tells the quarterback which one to throw.
  5. Receivers rotate lines after each rep, so everyone runs every route.

Coaching points

  • Stem straight upfield to the cone at full speed. A receiver who drifts before the break gives the route away.
  • Break sharply: plant on the outside foot to go in, on the inside foot to go out.
  • Eyes back to the quarterback as you come out of the break, hands ready.
  • Quarterback: the ball goes as the receiver breaks, not when they are open. On air there is no excuse to be late.

On the run sheet: Every route at its depth, sharp break, eyes back for the ball, quarterback throws on the break

Progressions

  1. Call the routes by number from your own route tree, so the receivers learn the language as well as the run.
  2. Run all three at once and let the quarterback pick, then add a single defender in the middle.
  3. Mark a no-run zone and finish each rep there, so receivers learn which routes score from inside the five.

How it runs

The quarterback takes the drop while three receivers run three different routes. On the left a receiver runs a slant: five yards straight upfield, then a sharp cut inside at about 45 degrees. In the slot a receiver runs a hitch, six yards and turn back to the quarterback. On the right the outside receiver runs a post: seven yards upfield, then a break towards the middle of the field. All three go on the snap, with the quarterback's drop, and the quarterback throws to the post, about twelve yards downfield.

Nothing in it depends on a particular rule set. In flag, where nobody blocks and the centre is a receiver too, put the centre in one of the lines, because they will run these routes on Saturday as well.

Why it works

Most youth playbooks are four or five routes in different combinations, and the combinations only work if the routes are at the depth the coach drew them. Running them on air, with no defender, takes away every reason for a bad route except the route itself. It is also the quarterback's best timing work: the throw goes as the receiver breaks, which is only possible when the break is always in the same place.

The mistakes to watch for

Rounding off the break, so a slant becomes a long curve that a defender can follow. Receivers who slow down to look for the ball before they have made the cut. And quarterbacks who wait until the receiver is wide open, which on air feels fine and in a game is an interception.

More American football drills

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It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.

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