Placekicking

  1. Choose Your Approach
  2. Warm-ups
  3. Stretching
  4. Kicking routine
  5. Mental routine
  6. Proper distance and angle from the ball at ball address
  7. Foot placement at ball address
  8. Position of arms, shoulders and hips at ball address
  9. Where to look when waiting for the ball to be snapped
  10. What to think as the ball is snapped
  11. Timing with the center, holder and you
  12. When to start the take-off for the kick
  13. Steps
  14. Where to look when approaching the ball
  15. Proper take-off toward the ball
  16. Foot speed at the approach
  17. Position of hips and shoulders at ball approach
  18. Position of arms at ball approach
  19. Position of kicking foot prior to the kick
  20. Positions of kicking thigh and knee at explosion into the ball
  21. Position of arms at contact
  22. Foot placement and angle of planting foot at contact
  23. Position of head at contact.
  24. Position of shoulders at contact
  25. Position of hips at contact
  26. What part of the ball to kick
  27. What part of the foot kicks the ball
  28. Position of laces, tilt and angle of the ball on contact
  29. Ball rotation on contact
  30. Position of head during follow-through
  31. Position of shoulders during follow-through
  32. Position of arms during follow-through
  33. Position of planting foot during follow-through
  34. Position of hips during follow-through
  35. Position of kicking foot during follow-through
  36. Position of head after follow-through
  37. Position of kicking foot after follow-through
  38. Where to land after follow-through
  39. Speed of ball rotation after the kick
  40. Holding the ball
  41. Which hand to hold the ball
  42. Wind direction and speed
  43. Temperature
  44. Seam vs. panel vs. laces
  45. Accuracy
  46. Indicator as to why the kick missed
  47. Increasing traction
  48. Kick-off
  49. Normal kick-off
  50. On-side kick-off
  51. Practice Drills
  52. Height
  53. Maximum Distance
  54. Quick kick
  55. Bad holder
  56. Weekly workout schedule
  57. Game day schedule
  58. Miscellaneous
  59. Adjustments for missed kicks
  60. Injuries
  61. Weight training
  62. Equipmen
  63. Glossary

Speed of ball rotation after the kick

The faster the ball spins, the less distance the ball will travel. If the ball spins very fast, you have kicked too far under the sweet spot. Make contact a little higher on the ball.

COMMON ERROR
Hitting the tee with the foot, causing excessive spin.

Other factors influencing the success of the kick that are not under your control:

Holding the ball

The holder must hold the ball gently with one finger.

Which hand to hold the ball

If both center and holder are good and give you plenty of time to kick the ball, the holder can use either hand. If either the center or the holder is slow, have the holder hold the ball with the right hand. If he holds the ball with his right hand and you kick the ball before he gets his left hand out of the way, the ball will still travel toward the goal posts. If he holds the ball with his left hand and you kick the ball before he gets his right hand out of the way, you will kick the ball into his right hand, which effectively blocks your field goal.

Factors affecting the flight and distance of the ball after the kick:

Wind direction and speed

Wind will almost always be factor, unless you are in a dome. Wind can come from any direction or swirl around.

Determine wind direction by picking up some blades of grass and tossing them into the air (if you are playing on fake grass, bring a small piece of tissue paper to toss). Look at the goal posts. If there are colored flags or streamers at the top of the upright, see which way they are blowing. If the grass blows one way and the flags blow another, go with the flags. Since the ball travels fastest right after it has been kicked, the wind will not affect the ball as much as it will when the ball crosses the crossbar.

Adjust to the wind conditions by moving to your left if the wind comes from the right and, conversely, move to the right if the wind comes from the left. Do not aim outside the goal posts hoping that the wind will move the ball into the uprights. Always aim your kick inside the uprights.

Temperature

The colder it is outside, the colder the ball will be and the less distance it will travel. Try to keep the ball warm if you can. Note: While massaging the ball before you kick might gain you some TV time, it has no practical effect on ball temperature.

Seam v. panel v. laces

Distance is ranked according to what part of the ball is kicked:

  • Kick the seam opposite the laces, and the ball will travel the farthest.
  • Kick any panel, and the ball will travel a little less far.
  • Kick the laces, and the ball will travel even less far.

Accuracy

Why do things go wrong? Form errors may not translate into a missed extra point or short field goals; however, form errors are magnified as the field goal distance increases.

Indicator as to why the kick missed

The flight of the ball is the best indicator as to why you missed. See Adjustments for Missed Kicks.

Increasing traction

Traction is most important on your planting foot. For soft grass and mud, use a football shoe instead of a soccer shoe. Many football shoes come with interchangeable cleats. Soccer shoe cleats are molded and generally come in one length. This is why many kickers wear a different shoe on the plant foot than on the kicking foot.

Carry a tongue depressor when playing on grass fields to remove the dirt/grass/mud from your cleats just before kicking.

If you kick on fake grass, there are special shoes that have many more cleats then traditional grass soccer shoes. Find out if any of your games will be played on fake grass and be prepared to use artificial turf shoes.

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