Here on Long Island we are stuck inside enduring another long winter. With significant snowfalls falling on a weekly basis, even the idea of Spring arriving seems ages away. However, in reality there is a light at the end of the tunnel, we are starting to see some moderate temperatures in the upcoming forecast and March 21st is less than five weeks away. The off-season is not as long as you may think, we only have six months before fall football camp. What you should be thinking about right now is what you can do to get better.
It can be easy to get frustrated during the winter months being stuck indoors and unable to practice. But the winter provides an opportunity to focus on the minute details that could go overlooked the remainder of the year. Starting each year building from the ground up allows you to re-enforce the foundations of your technique. Doing this will solidify your belief and trust in what you are doing and give you confidence going into the new year.
Here is a list of several simple muscle memory drills that I teach for Kicking and Punting ....
It can be easy to get frustrated during the winter months being stuck indoors and unable to practice. But the winter provides an opportunity to focus on the minute details that could go overlooked the remainder of the year. Starting each year building from the ground up allows you to re-enforce the foundations of your technique. Doing this will solidify your belief and trust in what you are doing and give you confidence going into the new year.
Here is a list of several simple muscle memory drills that I teach for Kicking and Punting ....
When people watch professional athletes perform they assume that their talent is the overwhelming factor and the key to their success. While their talent is definitely important, what makes them successful is that they have worked hard and put in the time to Master the Fundamentals of the game. They make the difficult look simple and effortless not by ignoring technique but by obsessing over it. If the best athletes in the world take the time to make sure they incorporate fundamental drills into their practice routine you should too.
Don't ever think that you are above the fundamentals. Mastering the fundamentals are the only road to consistency. Those who are not disciplined and neglect these important elements of training will not have a strong foundation to build upon and therefore will limit their potential.
Here is a list of several simple muscle memory drills that I teach for Kicking and Punting ....
Don't just go through the motions with these drills. If you are going to do them, do them Right.
Practice does not make Perfect, PERFECT Practice Does.
BE PRECISE & Focus on the Details & Always think Quality over Quantity.
Kicking Drills
1) Leg Lock Drill - A good warm up to get the mind and body connected. This is a muscle memory drill that will help you get accustomed to the proper body position at impact. Do as many of these as you can in between kicking sessions and do at least 15 before you kick when you go practice.
Stand next to the block without a ball and put your plant foot in the proper spot for impact. Then put your left arm out to help you balance and slowly and under control point your toe down and away toward the ground while you lock your kicking leg. Try and use something to lean on if you can to help you get the feeling of having a good lean in your plant leg. Make sure your Hips are behind the ball and your plant leg maintains some flex at impact. (You can do this Drill on Air, or with a Soccer Ball wedged underneath the Couch.)
Don't ever think that you are above the fundamentals. Mastering the fundamentals are the only road to consistency. Those who are not disciplined and neglect these important elements of training will not have a strong foundation to build upon and therefore will limit their potential.
Here is a list of several simple muscle memory drills that I teach for Kicking and Punting ....
Don't just go through the motions with these drills. If you are going to do them, do them Right.
Practice does not make Perfect, PERFECT Practice Does.
BE PRECISE & Focus on the Details & Always think Quality over Quantity.
Kicking Drills
1) Leg Lock Drill - A good warm up to get the mind and body connected. This is a muscle memory drill that will help you get accustomed to the proper body position at impact. Do as many of these as you can in between kicking sessions and do at least 15 before you kick when you go practice.
Stand next to the block without a ball and put your plant foot in the proper spot for impact. Then put your left arm out to help you balance and slowly and under control point your toe down and away toward the ground while you lock your kicking leg. Try and use something to lean on if you can to help you get the feeling of having a good lean in your plant leg. Make sure your Hips are behind the ball and your plant leg maintains some flex at impact. (You can do this Drill on Air, or with a Soccer Ball wedged underneath the Couch.)
2) Ball Contact Drill - Tee the Ball up and stand about 3 feet away on your natural angle of approach from the ball. Keep both of your feet close together with all of you weight on your right foot. Step into the Plant Foot with your left foot and work on transferring your weight while maintaining a good strong plant leg preventing you from sliding past the ball. Swing your leg quickly and focus on striking the ball with your Leg Locked and making contact with the Ball with the Bone of your foot while your toe is pointed down and away. You can have someone stand about six yards away with their hands up. Just practice hitting the ball to them with good end over end rotation. Don't Swing ALL Out ... Just swing Easy focusing on Contact, feel the Bone of your Foot and the Pop of the quad making a difference at impact.
3) Dry Run - Steps that are precise and repeatable every time are critical in order to be consistent. Practicing Dry Runs are the way to gain confidence in your alignment, tempo and the rhythm of your approach. Dry runs will definitely help you become more comfortable with the entire process of the kick and help you to focus on going to the plant foot on a direct path.
Take your steps and go through a full swing without a block or ball. Feel the speed of your swing with your toe pointed & Leg Locking at impact. In general it is difficult to kick every day but you can do dry runs at anytime all year round in order to work on your tempo and to rehearse your steps.
4) Kick & Skip - One of the most common flaws young Kickers have is their inability to continue forward after striking the ball. If your plant foot is stuck in the same place after the kick you are sacrificing not only power but accuracy as well. The Kick & Skip drill will help you to eliminate this bad habit. Think of being Smooth with a Quick leg.
On a straight line, do a full Dry Run but focus on pushing forward with the plant leg immediately following "impact" or "leg lock" allowing the momentum of your kicking leg to take you down the field. You should feel as if you have someone pulling you Down the field with a rope attached to your kicking foot. Use the Momentum from your kicking leg and work on your upper body staying tall in order to allow your leg and hips to get through the kick and go forward to the target. Kick, then Push forward with left Leg into the skip and exaggerate your follow through by walking forward.
3) Dry Run - Steps that are precise and repeatable every time are critical in order to be consistent. Practicing Dry Runs are the way to gain confidence in your alignment, tempo and the rhythm of your approach. Dry runs will definitely help you become more comfortable with the entire process of the kick and help you to focus on going to the plant foot on a direct path.
Take your steps and go through a full swing without a block or ball. Feel the speed of your swing with your toe pointed & Leg Locking at impact. In general it is difficult to kick every day but you can do dry runs at anytime all year round in order to work on your tempo and to rehearse your steps.
4) Kick & Skip - One of the most common flaws young Kickers have is their inability to continue forward after striking the ball. If your plant foot is stuck in the same place after the kick you are sacrificing not only power but accuracy as well. The Kick & Skip drill will help you to eliminate this bad habit. Think of being Smooth with a Quick leg.
On a straight line, do a full Dry Run but focus on pushing forward with the plant leg immediately following "impact" or "leg lock" allowing the momentum of your kicking leg to take you down the field. You should feel as if you have someone pulling you Down the field with a rope attached to your kicking foot. Use the Momentum from your kicking leg and work on your upper body staying tall in order to allow your leg and hips to get through the kick and go forward to the target. Kick, then Push forward with left Leg into the skip and exaggerate your follow through by walking forward.
Punting Drills
Punting is different from Kicking in that there are multiple moving parts that the specialist must master. The Punter has to Catch the ball cleanly, Mold it into a proper grip and Drop the ball on a level plane in order to strike the ball solid and hit a good punt. All of that has to happen quickly while the punter is walking forward into an oncoming rush. Limiting the unnecessary movement of the ball and your body will limit the possibility of something going wrong. With all of these different variables it is extremely important to focus on each element individually in order to make sure the Punt technique as a whole, is sound. It is very important that any Punter aspiring to improve and make it to the next level spend a majority of their practice time doing these drills.
1) Catch & Mold - Catch the ball with your hands out & away from your body and quickly move it to your kicking leg at hip height with a proper grip. Be precise and make sure the ball is slightly outside your hip with your arms extended. Now Repeat. You can just spin the ball in your hands if you don't have a partner to toss you the ball.
2) Walking Leg Tap - While holding the ball out in front of you. Take your natural walking steps and Lightly tap the ball with the shin of your kicking leg. Do not drop the ball, bring your leg to the ball while keeping a tall posture. The top half of your Shin bone should hit the inside half of the bottom of the football. This teaches you to maintain good posture while taking small steps as well as where the proper location of the drop should be.
3) Kneeling Drop Drill - You can do this drill all day, perfecting the drop is the most important part of the punt, without it the rest of your technique means nothing.
Take a knee on your kicking leg. Hold the ball out in front of your hip with both hands as you would if you were standing. Make sure you have the Ball molded properly with the nose tilted slightly down and in. Take your first hand off the ball and then drop the ball to the ground with the other. It is not a Toss or a Push, It is called a Drop for a reason. Your Hand should fall quickly out from under the ball and backward to your side to allow the ball to fall freely to the ground. The Ball should bounce back slowly toward you after hitting the ground. If it comes back quickly the ball needs to be more level. If the ball bounces away from you the nose is up in the air and needs to be tilted down. Work on this to establish a consistent and reliable drop that is the same every time.
- CK
RSS Feed
