July Training Tips
    

With football season less than two months away, you have time for only about 15-20 kicking workouts if you practice regularly. If you average about 70 full kicks per workout, that adds up to about 1000 - 1500 full kicks. That is enough kicks to make a big positive impact on your kicking if you practice mindfully and purposefully.

Training goals:

  • Make most of your practice kicks as similar to game kicks as possible.
  • Address any weaknesses now

When you get to the field, warm up with any running and stretches that you normally do. One warmed up, all of your kicking should be divided in two segments - warm up/technique segment , and game-kick practice segment.

Warm up/technique segment is made up of any warm up drills you do and another 10-20 full kicks. These are the kicks when you should be working on making any technique tweaks and working on your weaknesses.
Game-kick scenario segment is all about working on different types of kicks with the main focus being on getting the job done versus messing with technique between kicks. Kickers need to consistently move to different spots to attempt field goals - going close, far, left hash, right hash, middle, slightly off middle...in random order. Practice kickoffs that you will be asked to do in games - short pop ups, directional kickoffs, squibs, etc. Punters need to take all of their punts with someone snapping the ball to them or giving them a firm underhand toss. Punting out of the hand is not what you need at this point. Ability to catch and handle a football in a speedy and efficient manner before punting it is at least as important as your leg strength. Punt from different parts of the field (receiving the snap at different spots ranging from your end zone to 50 yard line), trying to hit the best possible punt for every on-the-field scenario.

Below are sample workouts for a kicker and a punter for the month of July. These are just to give you an idea of what they are suppose to look like. Feel free to adjust to your need and preference.


SAMPLE KICKING WORKOUT IN JULY

  • 10 - 15 minute warm up that includes some running, dynamic stretches, and foam roller
  • 10-20 no step drill kicks
  • 10-20 full kicks, taking your full field goal steps and focusing on making good contact and hitting a straight ball. Go to the back corner of the end zone, try to hit the near upright with 3 kicks. Don't chip at the target. Swing through the ball with full force. Go to the other back corner of the end zone, take 3 more kicks at the other near upright. Then go to the middle of the field. Take about 5-15 kicks from a comfortable distance (not too far). Try to hit a straight ball down the middle of the goal post. Work on anything that needs to be addressed with your mechanics.
  • Game Scenario Kick Practice: Take 20-30 kicks from random spots ranging between 20-yard FG and end of your FG range from anywhere and everywhere between hashes. In order to randomize my kicks, before kicking a set, I like to stand in the end zone and throw footballs all over the field within my field goal range - left, right, close and far. Where ever they stop rolling, that is the spot that I kick them from. If they go too far, I bring them closer. If they go outside the hashes, I bring them in to the hashes. Kick all your footballs, retrieve them, come back to the middle of the end zone and repeat. Assuming that you have 4 or more footballs, I recommend retrieving them by yourself instead of having your parent or friend constantly toss them back to you. Break between sets is great to regroup mentally and physically. If you do have someone with you, ask them to hold a football for you. It is a good idea to start getting used to a person holding for you rather than your using your sticks (metal holder). After completing your field goals, shift focus to kickoffs. Run through your kickoff steps few times without kicking the ball. Run throughs without kicking should be performed at your normal game-speed stride. Hit two kickoffs right down the middle. Then hit 10-12 kickoffs that are a mix of everything that you will be asked to do - directional, pop up, squibs. Finish the practice with 5 onside kicks


SAMPLE PUNTING WORKOUT IN JULY

  • 10 - 15 minunte warm up that includes some running, dynamic stretches, and foam roller
  • Punting drills are the key to becoming a solid punter. Start the workout with 10-15 minutes of drills - drop drill, steps and swing drill, catch and handle drill (drills explained at TheKickingCoach.com on instructional videos page).
  • Go to a sideline and hit 5-10 punts across the field. Your goal is to kick it far and straight. If you are a right-footed punter standing on the 10-yard line on the sideline, your punts should land somewhere between a 5-yard line and 20-yard line as close to the other sideline as possible (or beyond it if you are bombing them). You can do these punts out of the hand or with a snap/underhand toss.
  • Move to the middle of the field. Scatter footballs between goal line and 50 yard line. Walk up to each football, have someone snap/toss it to you, punt it away. With punts close to your end zone, drive them for maximum distance. Punts that you are punting from your own 35 to 50-yard line, punt them toward the numbers, or down the middle with more hang time. You should be moving at close to game speed - aiming for about 1.4 second handling time (catch to kick). After you hit a set, turn around and repeat in other direction. Aim for 40-50 punts.

TKC Athlete of the Month - Class of 2022 Kicker/Punter Brady Braun from Indiana

Brady Braun started kicking in 4th grade. With no soccer background, he was off to a slow, slow start. It would be a whole year, kicking once per week, until Brady made his first extra point - from the 5-yard line. During that year, he did not use a metal holder because he frequently clipped it with his shin - which did not feel good. Someone always had to hold the football for his field goal practice. Fast forward to this summer...prior to starting high school, Brady is crushing 50-yard field goals off a 1-inch tee with a solid form ( VIDEO HERE ).
I know what some of you are thinking - parental abuse. His dad made him drop everything and kick all the time. You are wrong. Brady kicks only once per week all year around. During the winter, he either deals with the cold or kicks in a field house into a net. He takes some breaks from kicking for family vacations and holidays. And he kicks 2 to 3 times per week in late summer and during the season. He plays basketball, runs track, does exceptionally well in the classroom, plays video games, has a girlfriend, and leads a normal life of a 14-year old kid.
He is kicking 50 yard field goals before starting high school because he has been kicking once per week since he was in 4th grade utilizing the most powerful training principle of all - consistent training over a long period of time . Great job !