Kick-off

  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

Shooters/Line Drives

This type of kick-off is used to hinder kickoff returns by making it difficult for the receivers to catch the ball. The ball is kicked low and with power, but not rolling on the ground, until it crosses the 25 yard line. Kick just below the center of the ball and do not raise your kicking foot towards your opposite shoulder, and you will keep the ball low. Hang time should be around 2.0 seconds.

#37

Squib Kicks

Similar to the line-drive kick-off, but the ball hits the ground earlier. Kick the center of the ball and do not raise your kicking foot towards the opposite shoulder, and you will keep the ball very low. Hang time will be about 1 second, and the ball will land approximately 25 yards downfield.

Onside kick-off

The ball must go at least 10 yards downfield before your teammates can touch it. Onside kicks should land between the hash marks and the sidelines.

Line-drives/Onside kick-off

Kick the ball with medium power. The ball must hit the ground as soon as it leaves the tee. If you kick the ball too hard, it will go out of bounds; kick it too softly, and it may not go the required 10 yards.

High bouncers/Onside kick-off

Kick the ball on the top 1/3 to make it roll reverse end over end towards the sidelines. As the ball rolls, it may bounce up in the air, giving your teammates an opportunity to catch it. High bouncers, while not difficult to perform, are very difficult to predict.

#38

Practice drills

How many balls to kick

The more balls you kick the better, about 40-50 kicks.

Accuracy

Start on the 20 yard line and move the tee past the right or left hash marks toward the sideline. Continue moving to your right or left until the angle of the goal posts reduces the goal post opening. Kick the field goal from this mark to develop accuracy. Practice both left and right angles.

Learn how to fall down

Practice falling down by having someone brush up against you after you kick the ball. Act as if you have been run into by the defense and fall down. Your goal is to get a “roughing the kicker” penalty. Take advantage of the roughing the kicker penalty whenever you can. Do not try to hold yourself up if you are hit or rolled into; fall down immediately.

Concentration exercises

Practice “distraction” exercises. Have someone stand next to you while you kick and yell as loudly as they can to distract you. Have them jump up and down as you approach and kick the ball. Have someone throw towels, shirts, or balls across your line of site as you approach the ball.

Bad Hold

Have the holder hold the ball incorrectly on the tee. Have him hold the ball at various angles, tilts and rotations and kick the panel, seams or lacing.

Bad Snap

Bad snaps are a way of life for a kicker, so get used to them. Have the center intentionally snap the ball on the ground, snap it too high, too far to the left and too far to the right.

Start-Stop-Restart

As you start your approach, have the holder pretend he receives a bad snap and misses the tee the first time he places it down. This will cause you to stop your approach momentarily. The holder then resets the ball on the tee and you restart your approach.

Missed-hold drill

Learn what to do when the ball goes through the holder’s hands. One of two things can happen:

  • The ball rolls to the holder, who gets up runs with the ball and you lead block, or
  • The ball rolls to you, you pick it up and run with it and the holder blocks.

Previous | Next