Kicking World Blog

Attention to Detail – Why Some Athletes Will Never Make the Cut

The importance of paying attention to the details

Coach Brent Grablachoff explains the importance of paying attention to details, especially for high school athletes being recruited to play college football.

Last week on a long drive from a camp in Oklahoma City down to Dallas, I had some time to think, and spent a good amount of it thinking about how there are two types of people out there. The first is OK with rounding corners, and completing tasks with an ‘OK Result’ and doing just enough to get the task done. Then there’s a second type, one who is fanatical about getting every little detail right, one who puts in an inordinate amount of time into their craft – be it football, job, family, career, etc. He/she is not happy until things are done exceptionally well; to perfection. The latter is the type of person I feel elite kickers tend to be. They must be fanatical about the details, the fundamentals, the fine points of the leg swing, foot to ball contact, checking wind, strategizing during a directional punt, etc.

Finish Strong
You can tell a lot about a student-athlete by watching them perform their football drills. Do they ‘half-butt’ them and maybe stop running 1 yard before the end of the finish line? Do they not start their kicking foot right up to the ball on the line drill, and start it in random spots each time? Do they nod you off as you’re coaching them but really aren’t listening and end up just doing it their own way?

Mediocrity is the path to Failure
Coaches, and Recruiting Personnel see through this stuff right away, and it’s a RED FLAG. If you are the first person above, you better change that right away, at least for your kicking/college football career if you want to have a football future. If you are OK with mediocrity and have grown accustomed to accepting average work, then keep doing what you’re doing and you might have a decent HS Career. But with mediocre work, I can almost guarantee you that you will not advance into the next level with the ‘big boys’ who put in the time, work, blood, sweat, tears and whom follow their training protocol with precision and extreme attention to detail. Mediocrity is a direct path to average, and many times failure.

Take The Extra 2 Minutes
What are some non-athletic/football related things that can set you apart in your recruiting efforts? Do you take the extra 2 minutes to proof-read your work? Do you communicate with coaches and know the proper usage of you, you’re, their, there, were, we’re, etc.? While not everyone is a spelling bee champion, I believe little things like this really help you stand out (positively or negatively) from other candidates/recruits. Whether you’re applying for your first job, a new career path, or trying to win the favor of some big time football coach, you need to take the extra 2 minutes to ‘check your work’ and provide the best version of you.

In Search of Special People
If you don’t take an extra 2 minutes to get it right, the coach will find someone who WILL. Cutting corners and turning in sloppy work is generally a reflection of someone as a whole; not just that one incident, but it typically indicates that that is how you go about things… all things. So if a Coach senses you are lazy or that you like to cut corners, he will quickly move on to the next recruit. Coaches and Employers are looking for special people, ones who will go above and beyond what’s expected of them. They know that elite athletes do this because 2nd place is not what they want. If you want to be the best; you have to train harder, longer and smarter than your competition.

Go Above & Beyond
Coach Brent Grablachoff and his Company Kicking World, and all of its coaches are fanatical about getting the fine details right. Kicking World coaches not only deploy industry best kicking, punting & snapping instruction, but also help shape and mold their students into accountable young (wo)men. If you’re ready to experience a different level of service, with authentic coaches who will put in the extra time to help you get it ‘just right’, then sign-up for a camp or lesson with Kicking World today.