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

Arm and hand position at drop

Your arm should be just on the outside of your punting leg when you use the “Side-hold” method. [See picture 36.] This technique compensates for the fact that your hand is to the right of the ball. Drop your arm just to the right of your leg. The ball will be properly aligned on to your foot. If you use the “top-hold” or “underneath-hold”, then your arm must be moved in slightly to the left.

#36
COMMON ERROR
Holding the ball too far to the right of the leg, forcing you to reach outside for the ball, and which will cause the ball to be punted left. [See picture 37.]
#37

Shoulder position at drop

Must be level with a slight lean over your hips. Bend at your waist and knees.

Lower the ball to the foot

Your hand and arm should work as a unit in lowering the ball to your foot. As your arm lowers the ball, release the ball. The ball will drop about 8" to 12" from the time you release it to the time your foot hits it. If you hold the ball higher and drop it 8"-12", it will get more height because the point of contact is higher. Conversely, if you hold the ball lower and drop it 8"-12" before you punt it, it will get less height and more distance because the point of contact is lower.

If it is windy, then you want to hold on to the ball a little longer and reduce the drop to 5"-8".

Control drop speed

The ball must be laid down onto your foot, not pushed or thrown on it. If you use the “top-hold” method, there is a tendency to push the front part of the ball down towards the foot, resuting in an end-over-end punt.

Release the ball

The ball release is very important. The ball must be released from your fingers and thumb simultaneously. Since the underneath-hold technique has your fingers on the bottom of the ball and your thumb on top, there is a tendency for your thumb to release the ball first, causing the ball to roll forward off your hand. If you use the “top-hold” technique, the “roll-off” will not occur.

COMMON ERROR
Top-hold technique: Pushing the forward point of the ball downward.
The side-hold technique causes the the ball to rotate counter-clockwise, like a helicopter.
The underneath-hold technique is most prone to poor release. Because the thumb is on top of the ball to hold it in place, there is a tendency to release the ball first with the thumb, which causes the ball to roll off the hand.

Bend your knee and cock your leg

Bend your knee and bring your foot behind your butt to “cock” your punting leg. The fast snap of your knee will bring your foot quickly towards the ball. The faster the snap, the more power you will transfer into the ball. More power creates more distance or greater hang time.

The Toe Point

The toe of your punt foot must point downfield when you make contact with the ball. [See picture 38.] Make a straight line from your toe to your ankle. The straighter the line, the better contact your foot will make on the sweet spot of the ball.If you do not point your toe (as in picture 40), your toe will strike the tip of the ball and the ball will spin backwards, resulting in a high, short punt.

#38 #40

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