grip

Football is one of America's favorite sports. In the 2016-17 year, approximately 1.09 million high school students participated in the sport, and the Superbowl was the nation's most-watched television event for four years in a row. Though it takes many different skills to become adept at the game, one of the most important ones is catching.


Thanks to the advanced football grip gloves of today, amazing and impressive catches are being made left and right; for the modern day receiver, the grip on your football gloves make all the difference in the world. Let's take a closer look at the role grip plays in football.


Catching


Every member of every Pee Wee football league in America is taught the same thing: catch the ball with your hands! Despite the self-explanatory nature of this statement, inexperienced (or misguided) receivers will often end up making catches with their arms, chest, or stomach; it's almost instinctual to try absorbing the ball by trapping it as it hits you, but the proper way to receive a ball is with your hands outstretched in front of you -- which is why grip is so important.


Regardless of your training schedule or coach, you won't be able to exercise the proper technique if you don't have enough grip strength. Since this is what allows you to stop the ball's flight away from your body, a quality pair of gloves (and a strong grasp) are essential.


Possession


However, your battle doesn't end once the ball is in your hands. As bad as a dropped catch can be (as it can kill the momentum of your team's offense), a fumble can be even worse because it may allow the opposing team to gain possession. Obviously, the best way to prevent that from happening is that secure grip; not only will you be running, but you'll have to fend off attempted strips by defenders whose sole goal is to jar the ball loose. To make matters more complicated, running is often a one-handed job. Because you have less support, your grip needs to be impenetrable while you weave through a swarm of defenders.


There you have it: if you have a weak grip -- or a shoddy pair of football gloves -- you'll never be able to seriously compete in the sport.