Punting

  1. Choose Your Approach
  2. Warm Up
  3. Stretching
  4. Pre-punt mental routine
  5. Distance from the center
  6. Alignment to the line of scrimmage
  7. Foot alignment prior to the snap
  8. Upper body, arms and hand positions
  9. Leg Position
  10. While you wait for the ball to be snapped
  11. Concentrate as the ball is snapped
  12. When to start the take-off
  13. Proper stride length
  14. Take off towards the ball
  15. Weak snap
  16. Bad snap
  17. How high to hold the ball
  18. How to catch the ball
  19. Ball rotation in hands
  20. Grasping the ball
  21. Angle of ball
  22. Elbow extension
  23. Hold the ball through the strides
  24. Extend the ball outwards at the approach
  25. Ball angle and tilt of drop
  26. Arm and hand position at drop
  27. Shoulder position at drop
  28. Lower the ball to the foot
  29. Control drop speed
  30. Release the ball
  31. Bend the knee and cock the foot
  32. The Toe Point
  33. The plant foot
  34. Foot contact on sweet spot
  35. Contact point on foot during contact with the ball
  36. Optimum contact of the ball with the foot
  37. Position of arms during contact with the ball
  38. Position of head during contact with the ball
  39. Position of hips during contact with the ball
  40. Position of shoulders during contact with the ball
  41. Position of hips at point of contact with the ball
  42. Follow through with the punt foot
  43. Punting foot after follow-through
  44. Position of head after the follow through
  45. Position of planting foot after the follow-through
  46. Body position after follow-through
  47. Game situations
  48. How high should the follow-through be?
  49. Distance from the line of scrimmage after the punt
  50. Other factors affecting the flight and distance of the ball after the punt
  51. Wind direction
  52. Temperature
  53. Seam vs. panels vs. laces.
  54. Height
  55. Out of end-zone punts
  56. Distance
  57. Common Injuries
  58. Weight Training
  59. Practice techniques
  60. Ask the Coach
  61. George's Notes
  62. Glossary

Pre-punt routine

Punt the ball into a net or air punt (no ball) 15 times.

Distance from the center

Line up 12 to 13-1/2 yards from the line of scrimmage. For college and the pros, this distance is between 14 and 15 yards.

Alignment to the line of scrimmage

Line up behind the center to give him a straight target.

While you wait for the ball to be snapped

Look downfield to see where the punt-return men line up. Find out the jersey number of their best punt-return man. Punt away from him.

Foot alignment prior to the snap

Place feet shoulder-width apart, parallel to each other and pointing downfield.  [See picture 7.]

#7

COMMON ERROR
Pointing the punt foot at 2 o’clock, or creating a V with your feet, causing the first step to be in an outside direction instead of straight downfield. 

Upper body, arms and hand positions

Relax your body, keep it straight up and down, with a slight bend at your waist and knees. Arms should be relaxed at your sides [see picture 8] until the center assumes the “snap position” (hands on the ball). After the center takes the snap position, raise your arms and hold your hands approximately waist high, ready to catch the ball, palms facing each other. [See pictures 9 and10.]

#8 #9 #10

Leg Position

As you stride with flexed knees, keep your legs together just a you would if you were walking down the street. [See picture 10.]

COMMON ERROR
Legs farther apart than a normal walk. This causes you to waddle down the field. [See picture 11.]

#11

Concentrate as the ball is snapped

Visualize your form.

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