How to Kick a Football ? Lessen 1

Part 1. Kicking the kickoff

1

Place the football on the tee. This is the easiest way to begin kicking a football. Cheap plastic tees are available at most sporting goods stores, as well as more expensive pro-style tees. Whichever tee you elect to use, place the ball so the laces are away from you and toward your intended target. The ball should be upright so the points are aimed straight up and straight down and tilted slightly backward.

• Anytime you're kicking, make sure your ball is pumped up to the proper specifications. Kicking a flat ball is counterproductive and can be somewhat painful on your foot.

2

Practice your approach. In a football game, the tee and resulting kick is used at the beginning of the game and after points are scored for the kickoff. The goal is distance, aiming to kick the ball about a yard deep into the end zone (about 65 yards in college and pro ball, 60 yards in high school). You can back up as far as you want to for a running start at the ball.

• Set yourself several yards behind the tee, to the opposite side of your kicking foot. If you're right-footed, take a few steps to your left.
• Some kickers favor a nine step approach for kickoffs. Start with your non kicking foot, taking a short "jab step" to get you started. Practice running up to the ball several times, aiming to plant your non-kicking foot directly beside the football. The location of your plant foot should be about a foot away from the ball, the center of your foot aligned with the football.
• Practice this without a football but with a tee several times to get your timing right.

3

Kick the ball. After arriving at the ball with a correct plant and stepping motion, a free flowing controlled leg swing is necessary. Many young kickers believe that they need to throw their entire body into their swing to get distance, but like golf, a kicking swing is all about form and control.

• Your kicking leg should be cocked at its apex just as your plant foot makes contact with the ground. You shouldn't have to reach back any farther than your normal running stride. It should be comfortable and not over-extended, but ready to snap down into kicking form just as you've planted.
• Your toe should be pointed down, and you should make contact with the center of the ball using the inside-top of your foot along the inside laces of your shoe. Your leg should be straight. Don't worry too much about accuracy for now, just let one rip to get a feel for the speed and strength required.
• Old-school kickers sometimes favor a smaller number of steps and a toe-kick, which results in less accuracy but lots of power. You can experiment with this style once you've got the fundamentals down.

4

Follow through toward the target. Bring the arm opposite your kicking foot across your body to counterbalance the leg swing and allow their leg a clean swing lane to come up through the ball. Keep your head down on the ball and allow the momentum of your leg swing to carry your body through the kick.

• Imagine your toe is a remote control you have to use to point the ball toward the target. After you make contact, aim where you want it to go.

Part 2. Kicking the Field Goal

1 Shorten your approach. Kicking a field goal requires a more coordinated timing than kicking off, because the defense will be trying to block the kick or otherwise disrupt the play. Shortening your approach to two or three steps allows you to approach the ball much more quickly, ensuring a successful kick.
• The three-step approach is the most common. It's quick enough to beat the defense, but also allows another beat for a missed snap and for the holder to get the ball oriented correctly. From the location the ball will be kicked (start practicing with a tee before graduating to a holder), take three steps straight backward and two steps straight to the left (if you're 

             2 Practice your approach. Standing with your non-kicking foot forward, imagine a straight line between you and the ball as you approach, keeping your feet oriented straight. Like with a kickoff, your first step will be a jab step, but with your kicking foot this time. Practicing running in a straight line at the ball, your third step planting directly beside the ball with your kicking leg ready and cocked.

• In a two-stepping pattern your first step is a balance step, setting up your arms and body for the drive into the ball. After this step, you should be halfway to the ball and in a direct line to your plant spot. The second step is the plant step, which sets up the kick and plants the foot.

right footed) or to the right (if you're left footed).

    3

Develop your accuracy. Field goal kicking is a game of precision and your accuracy is all in the approach. Make sure to avoid an off-kilter sidestep as you approach, keeping your steps in the straightest possible line to the ball. Planting your non-kicking foot too far back will result in your pulling the ball too far across your body, and planting your non-kicking foot too far forward will result in a kick too low and weak for make it through the uprights.

4

Practice with a holder. After you're knocking in the three-pointers from all over the field, start practicing your timing with a partner as a holder. Your holder will need to catch the ball, place it, and reorient the laces toward the goal all while you're running toward him at full speed, so getting your timing down is critical.

• The ball should be planted enough before you plant your foot that you can see it and correct accordingly.

  

Part 3.  Developing the Mental Game

1

Focus on the little things. Kickers are in a very vulnerable position in football. They rarely get any recognition until the game is on the line and the team needs the ball to sail through the uprights for a victory. Recently, some coaches have even started "icing" the kicker before an important field goal by taking a time out just before the kick, to amp up the stress of the situation. But by focusing on the little things--your approach, keeping a straight line, planting your foot, and following through, you should be able to put this stress aside and make accurate kicks.

2

Participate. Sometimes, among a football team, the kickers will be seen as somehow separate from the rest of the team. By participating in the team's conditioning and lifting activities, you will not only become a better athlete, but also an integral part of the team. #*Never allow yourself to become secluded as you will need your teammates' support to be successful in games. Make friends on the team and actively congratulate their successes.

• Build a good relationship with your holder and snapper so you can step onto the field knowing you're well rehearsed and in sync, ready for a successful kick.

3

Control your emotions before and after. No one makes every kick. But dwelling on a missed extra point will only hurt you later in the game when you've got the chance to seal it with a field goal. Kickers need to get each kick out of their system quickly and focus on the mechanics of kicking.

• When you make one, celebrate and enjoy the field goal like a running back would enjoy a touchdown, but don't dwell on the good any more than you would the bad.
• To keep focused on other things, watch the game. You should be whooping and hollering along with the rest of the guys on the team to get your mind off of your own tasks until it is absolutely necessary.

>>Lesson 2 end !!

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