Every quarterback has a few minutes before kickoff to get loose, find their release, and get a feel for the ball. How you use those minutes matters. A rushed warm-up, or one that's different every week, can carry over into the first series. A good one has you throwing like it's the second quarter on the opening drive. Here's a simple pregame throwing routine you can adjust to your own arm, plus the one piece of the warm-up most players overlook: the ball.
Why a Routine Beats Just Throwing
The goal of a pregame warm-up isn't to get in a workout. It's to get your arm loose, lock in your grip and release, and walk onto the field feeling the same way you do every week. A routine helps because:
- It's repeatable. Doing the same thing in the same order every game takes the guesswork out of getting ready.
- It builds from short to long. Your arm gets loose gradually instead of jumping straight to deep balls.
- It covers the throws you'll actually make. Footwork, drops, and timing throws, not just long toss.
- It calms you down. When the routine is automatic, your head is free to think about the game plan.
A Pregame Throwing Routine, Step by Step
Use this as a starting point. Your coach's plan comes first, and the number of throws in each step should fit your age, your arm, and how much time you have.
- Get loose first. Before you throw a ball, do the team's dynamic warm-up or a light jog and some arm circles. Throwing cold is the fastest way to feel off.
- Wrist flicks and close throws. Stand a few yards from your partner and flick the ball using mostly your wrist and fingers. This is where you lock in your grip and feel the ball come off your fingertips. Our grip guide covers where your fingers should be.
- One-knee throws. Drop to one knee and throw with your upper body only. It isolates your shoulder turn and follow-through, so you can check that the ball is coming out with a tight spiral.
- Short throws standing. Back up to around 10 yards and throw with your full motion. Focus on stepping toward the target and finishing with your throwing hand pointed at it.
- Drops and timing throws. Add your footwork: three-step and five-step drops, then throws to receivers running the routes you'll see on the first script. This is the part that looks most like a real game.
- Stretch it out. Once you're loose, move to intermediate and deep throws. Only go long when your arm feels ready, not as the first thing you do.
- Finish short. End with a few easy, accurate throws so the last thing you feel before kickoff is a clean release.
Warm Up With the Ball You're Going to Play With
This is the step most quarterbacks skip. If you warm up with an old practice ball and then take the first snap with a different one, your hand has to adjust in the middle of the drive. Leather balls don't all feel the same. A brand-new one is slick and stiff, and a worn practice ball can feel completely different from both.
The best routine uses the same kind of ball you'll throw in the game, with the same broken-in feel. That's a big part of why players use prepped balls: every one in the rotation feels the same, so nothing changes between warm-ups and the first snap. If you're still breaking in a new ball yourself, How to Break In a Football walks through what that takes.
Every Sam's Footballs ball goes through our 12-step process, done by hand, one ball at a time, with 3 days of drying and setting time, and it's grip-tested before it ships. It comes out of the box ready to throw, so the ball you warm up with on Friday feels like the one you practiced with all week.
Use the Warm-Up to Check the Conditions
Pregame is your chance to learn what the weather is doing before it matters. Throw into the wind and with it, and notice how much the ball moves. If it's cold or wet, pay attention to how the ball feels in your hand and keep a towel close. Our post on prepped footballs in rain and cold weather covers what changes when the conditions turn.
Common Warm-Up Mistakes
- Going deep too soon. Long throws belong at the end of the routine, after your arm is loose.
- Throwing too much. The warm-up is to get ready, not to tire your arm out before the game starts.
- Rushing the footwork. Sloppy drops in warm-ups turn into sloppy drops on the field.
- Switching balls. Warming up with one ball and playing with a very different one means your grip has to adjust mid-game.
- Ending on a bad throw. If the last ball wobbles, throw one more short one and finish clean.
Your Pregame Ball Bag
Bring a towel, and bring a couple of balls that feel the same so you always have a dry one. For the whole quarterback room, a 6-ball Wilson GST team pack ($950) gives everyone the same feel. For a single quarterback, the Fully Prepped Wilson GST ($170) is the ball we recommend for most players, and The Duke ($185) is the official NFL game ball. Already have a leather ball you like? Send-In Prep gives it the full treatment for $50.
After the game, let the balls air dry if they got wet and store them indoors. How to Care for Your Prepped Football has the details.
Warm Up With a Game-Ready Ball
Hand-prepped, grip-tested leather footballs that feel the same in warm-ups as they do on the first snap.
Shop Fully Prepped Footballs