Tips with Nick: Punt Grip

In this all new video from Tips with Nick, Coach Nick Fleming explains how to properly grip the ball when punting. Watch now!

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Body Lean

Not sure whether to bend at the waist or how much lean you should put into the ball? Coach Nick Fleming's all new Tips with Nick addresses body lean and what you need to know when making a proper kick. Watch now!

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Angle of Contact

Coach Nick Fleming outlines the basics of angle of attack and what it takes to achieve a successful kick. Watch him explain angle of attack and his other basic tips to help you improve. Click here for more Tips with Nick.

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Foot Contact

Coach Nick Fleming's basic video instruction continues with Foot Contact. For more instruction and to watch the first five videos of the series, click here.

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Setting the Ball on the Block

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Tips with Nick - The Basics - Approaching the Ball

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The Basics: Steps Back

              

By Coach Nick Fleming

Kicking is all about inches and angles.  As a beginning kicker, understanding the importance of proper steps can be difficult because the kicker’s mechanics are not developed enough to be able to figure out what caused the bad kick.  Being off by a few inches or a couple degrees can make a huge impact on how you contact the ball, the trajectory of the kick, or the power of the swing.  Here are seven tips to remember to maintain the consistency of the steps and create the best contact.

1. Starting Point

·         The starting point for our steps will be our plant spot, with your left foot on the plant spot and your right foot next to it heels together.

2. Find your Target

·         Pick out a target beyond the uprights to aim for.  I use the expression “aim small, miss small.” If you aim for the wide uprights, you can miss the wide uprights.  If you aim for the top of the light pole behind the uprights and miss the top of the light pole, you still have a chance to make it through the uprights.

3. Take Your Steps Back

·         While keeping your eyes on your spot behind the uprights, take 3 easy steps back.  Keeping your eyes on your target will help you stay straight as you walk.  When taking your steps, think about your spacing.  You want your spacing to be as natural as possible.  I like to think “how would I walk 100 yards backwards?” and try to replicate that form while I take my three steps back.  Don't over stride, don't start and stop 3 times, just take easy and consistent steps.

4. Stop and Regroup

·         Make sure what you have done so far is exactly what your want.  Try to draw an imaginary straight line from your left toe, through your plant spot, ending at your target behind the uprights.  If you can draw a perfectly straight line, you know you walked straight back.  If you cannot, start the process over.

5. Get Into Focus Mode

·         Now it’s time to turn into a robot.  It’s time to forget about what the kick means in the game, what the other team may be doing, or what the fans are screaming from the seats.  You only have a handful of opportunities during a game to do your job well, so you do not want lack of focus to be a reason for a missed kick. 

·         After I have regrouped and am comfortable with my steps back, I focus on the block or spot if off the ground, and my eyes won’t leave that spot until after the kick.  This helps block out unnecessary distractions.  A lot of kickers will look up two or three more times later in the progression, but then you may see something you were not expecting to, like defensive overload, player substitution, insufficient gap coverage on the line, and you could lose focus.  You know where you are trying to kick it, so you don't need to pick you head up again.  Focus and get ready to do your job

6. Side Steps

·         With the same mental approach as your backwards steps, take two easy side steps over, 90 degrees from your plant spot.  Again, if you had to walk 100 yards sideways, how would you walk?  If you feel your shoulder dipping to get more ground, or if your steps are drastically short of shoulder width apart, you might need to make a change.  Remember, what comes consistently is what comes naturally, and what comes naturally is what you can do without thinking about it.  Take easy, natural steps.

7. Get Ready to Attack the Football

·         When you’re getting set-up there are only a few things to keep in mind.

·         First, keep your weight on your lead foot, which hopefully is your plant foot.  This will cut down on your reaction time as you approach the ball and create better consistency in your steps. This will also prevent you from taking a third step or a “jab” which can easily get out of control.  “Jab” steps are not a bad thing, but you have to control the distance of them which can be hard to do as situations get more exciting and your blood gets pumping.

·         Secondly, make sure your hip and lead toe are pointing at the plant to keep the hips from unnecessarily rotating and remain as accurate as possible. 

·         Finally, do what comes naturally.  Think about how you would start a race on the playground when you were young as you will usually find a lot of similarities in your stance for the race and your stance for the beginning the kick.


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The Basics: The Plant Spot

By Coach Nick Fleming

Height, power, and accuracy; all of these are important when it comes to kicking a football, and all are affected by where a kicker plants his foot when kicking.  Here are some tips to ensure you have a proper plant no matter which tee you use.

There are two important factors that affect a kick.  The first factor is how close a kicker’s foot is to the ball on the X-axis (close or far from the ball).  It is difficult to make proper contact if a kicker plants too close to the ball and are unable to open and expose the proper spot on the foot. The distance from the ball, as well as the appropriate amount of body lean, have to be altered to make good contact. When a new kicker is starting out, I recommend planting either a football length or a shoe length away from the ball.  This will allow enough room for the foot to open up and expose the proper spot on a kicker’s foot to make contact with the ball. It will also be close enough for the kicker to maintain good momentum through the football.  This length is a general guideline but can be an inch or two closer or farther away based on the kicker’s comfort level.

The second and more important factor affecting a kick is where a kicker plants on the Y-axis (close or further from the upright).  This axis has greater impact on power and height, but depending on whether the kicker uses a block or kicks off the ground, the plant spot will change.

If a kicker is using a 2” block, the plant should be knuckle of foot even with the football.  This allows contact with the ball to occur when the leg is on its upswing and the ball will get over the line of scrimmage more easily. This is the main purpose for using a block.   If a kicker is using a 1” block, the plant spot will need to move closer towards the uprights, so that the laces are even with the ball.  This will create contact with the ball during the upswing portion of the kick, allowing for better height at the line of scrimmage.  The benefit of using a 1” block rather than to a 2” block is that it allows the kicker to plant further up the Y-axis, with contact on the ball happening closer to leg lock (the point of the swing when the knee locks out), which can generate more power.  A kicker using a 1” tee will need to rely on better mechanics to get the ball over the line of scrimmage versus using a 2” block.

When kicking off the ground without the aid of a block, the plant spot should be back of the heel and even with the ball.  Obviously, a kicker no longer has the aid of raising the ball off the ground to make contact on the upswing, so he will need to rely on great mechanics to get the ball over the line of scrimmage and downfield with good distance.  A benefit to kicking off the ground is the ability to make contact at leg-lock which will create more power. 

New kickers should be aware that using a tee also creates more breathing room for erratic plant spots or swings; so don't jump right into kicking off the ground because it might give a kicker an extra yard or two of distance.  Without proper mechanics, the extra power gained from making contact at leg-lock isn’t noticeable because poor technique won’t allow it to happen.  A kicker should practice off a tee until the mechanics are perfected. 

As a recap, here are the important tips to keep in mind about Plant Spot:

·         A football length or foot length away from the ball is a good guideline for plant spot on the X-axis

·         When using a 2” block, the knuckle of the foot should be even with the ball on the Y-axis

·         When using a 1” block, the top of the laces should be even with the ball on the Y-axis

·         When kicking off the ground, the plant spot should be back of the heel and even with the ball