By Coach Nick Fleming
At
the very beginning of kicking, even before you actually swing your leg, there
are a few things you need to think about before lacing up your cleats to give
kicking a try for the first time. When
you choosing your equipment, a few things are obvious;
you need a ball,
you need some cleats, but what about those kicking tees that are different
sizes? Here are some important things to consider when choosing the correct tee
for you.
When
thinking about kicking tees, it’s important to remember one really solid piece of advice,
and that is “higher tees and blocks do not
automatically mean more distance.”
In fact, distance is more directly related to a kicker’s mechanics and natural power of their
swing. The main thing a kicker should
consider when choosing a tee is “how easily can I get the ball up over
the line of scrimmage so the defense cannot block the kick?”
Kicking
tees and blocks are made to give the kicker an easier time to get underneath
the ball and get it up in the air. Beyond
the high school level, if all kickers were forced to kick off the ground, you
would see a lot of blocked kicks because getting the ball up 10 feet in the air
in 7 yards or less is quite difficult to achieve with pure mechanics. Using a tee leaves a little room for error
when trying to hit the sweet spot. The
mechanics related to kicking with a tee or block are relatively simple, the
higher the ball is off the ground, the more your foot should make contact with
the ball when your leg is on the upswing.
When a kicker makes contact with the ball when their leg is on the
upswing, it is much easier to get the ball up in the air because the leg is at
a better angle when contact occurs and popping it up in the air is easier to
do. For those who are already deep into
the mechanics of kicking, remember that your plant spot should move back (away
from the uprights) as the tee gets higher so that it is easier to achieve
contact on the upward portion of the swing.
So,
how does a first time kicker know if they want to use a 1/2”, 1”, or 2” tee or block? The
best way to find an answer is through trial and error. Each beginner has different form, so they
should find the tee or block that gives them the most success right away and then
work from there. My general rule of
thumb is if you haven't played soccer or are one of your team’s better athletes, start with the 2” tee as that is usually easier for the “non-soccer”
athletes to be successful
(esp. toe kickers). However, if you have
played soccer your whole life and the soccer swing is already refined, try the
1/2”
or 1” as that might be an easier transition with the swing you
already have.
One
question I always seem to get is regarding when to kick field goals off the
ground. I tell all of my students that
if you are dead set on kicking in college, you should be practicing off the
ground during the offseason from freshman year on. For some students, the transition from a
block to the ground is a long and hard road, so get a head start on making sure
you’re
ready when it’s time to impress a college coach. However, I would recommend
for high school kickers to use a block during the season. Even if you’re more comfortable kicking off the
ground, chances are good that your high school holder is not skilled enough to
place the ball perfectly every time, so give yourself the extra breathing room that
comes with using a block whenever you have the option.
For
kickoff tees, use the same height tee that you are comfortably with using for
field goals. By using the same tee, you don’t
need to become comfortable having two different swings (an inch higher or lower
than the other). Kicking is all about
making your swings as consistent as possible and each inch and degree of angle
matters, so don’t make it harder on yourself by
needing to create a kickoff swing an inch higher than your field goal swing.
Make
sure to subscribe to us on YouTube, like us on Facebook at All AmericanKicking, follow us on Twitter @allamericankick and Instagram at allamericankicking. Also feel free to reach out to me directly
with your questions on kicking at nick@AllAmericanKicking.comnick@allamericankicking.com.
