23 Jul 11 10 Steps to Emergency Kicking Tune-Up
This week I received a ton of calls asking ‘What can my son due to get his kicking/punting tuned up for the start of the 2011 season?’ (which begins on August 1st and only 10 days away!) Well, most of you who have been training with me on a consistent basis are already tuned up and ready to go. You’ve been following a program that has gradually increased your kicking frequency over the last few months and has improved your accuracy, distance and overall confidence.
Well what about the kickers and punters out there who let the summer slip away and have only practiced a couple times, or even worse- not at all! Yes, you are definitely behind schedule and should have been practicing all summer, but don’t worry! I have created a special 10 step emergency tune-up guide for you to follow over the next 10 days which you will start TODAY! This is for every kicker/punter whether youth, HS, College or Pro. You should print this guide out or save it to your phone so you can committ to it over the next 10 days. Good Luck!
1. Kick or Punt a total of 40 balls these days:
(F 7/22, S 7/24, T 7/26, R 7/28, S 7/30 and S 7/31).
This will allow you to kick 6 times over the next 10 days and help build your confidence back up and get your leg conditioned again for weekly kicking/punting.
2. Sprint:
You need to fire up those fast twitch leg muscles and build SPEED. Speed trumps Strength in kicking/punting. I am not asking that you go run incredible long jogs. What I’m recommending is something geared toward firing up your fast twitch muscle fibers and consumes much less time but is more challenging. The following sprinting drill will help generate more speed and allow you to get that ‘fast leg snap’ as well condition your body for the gruelling double-sessions with conditioning drills your coach will put you through the first 2 weeks of practice in August.
Shuttle Runs every other day through July 31:
Sprint Goal Line to 10 Yard Line (touch hand to line) and sprint back through Goal Line. Rest 5 seconds. Repeat and without rest run back to the 20 (touch hand to line) and sprint through goal line. Rest 20 seconds. Repeat both 10 and 20 and continue without rest sprinting to 30 yard line (touch hand to line) and sprint through goal line. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat all 3 without rest and continue sprinting to 40 yard line (touch hand to line) and sprint back through Goal Line. COMPLETE. This will probably tire you out if you haven’t been doing any conditioning. Do this every other day through July 31. If this is too easy for you, I would like you to repeat the process in reverse (Run to 40 and back, Rest 5 seconds. Run to 40 and back then 30 and back. Rest 20 seconds. Run to 40 and back, 30 and back, 20 and back, rest 30 seconds. Run to 40 and back, 30 and back, 20 and back, 10 and back. COMPLETE!
3. Stretch:
Your muscles need to be flexible and strong to endure daily double-session practices the first 2 weeks of football camp. Also, your legs need to be loose/flexible to ensure you can kick/punt fundamentally sound and decrease the risk of injury due to strained quads, hamstrings, groins, etc. The easiest solution to ensure you ‘get your stretching in’ is to follow the FREE downloadable 3 page Football Kicking ‘Stretching Guide’. Do this DAILY and do it 2-3 times per day. It should take you roughly 10 minutes each time you stretch. If you can committ to stretching when you shower in the morning, before & after you kick, and before you go to sleep you will feel much more ‘loose’ and you will significantly increase your chances of a healthy injury-free season. On top of that, your genuine well-being will improve and if you have constant back, hip or other pains, these stretches will help to alleviate some of that pain due to tension/pressure/stiffness.
4. Core Focus:
The word ‘core’ has become so widely used of late. I hear it used more often than anything in the workout world. Your ‘core’ refers to the center of your body consisting of mostly your Abdominal Muscles, Hips and Low Back. These 3 muscle groups are paramount in a kicker or punter. I encourage you to implement core excercises in the gym at your workout sessions now and through the season. I recommend a personal trainer who can help you with specific kicking or soccer type of core movements or simply calling me to schedule a 1 on 1 in-gym training session so I can show you around the gym and give you specific workouts based on your body type that will help improve your overall balance, stability and strength. If you don’t live in California and can’t come out to see me, here’s a few simply ones for you to do (do these 2-3x per week, usually at the end of your gym session).
* Bent Knee Leg Lifts on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Bent Knee Leg Lifts (with twist to each side) on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Straight Leg Lifts on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Low Back Extensions (don’t go past parallel) use weight like 10 to 25 pound plate to challenge even more
* Safe Hip Exercises (see #5. below)
5. Isometric Leg Speed/Strength Program
I’m not going into detail into this. You can read all about it at the link. I’ve been recommending this program for the last 4 years because it WORKS. It had added an average of 3 yards per each of my student’s field goals, kickoffs and punts. Do this starting ASAP through the season (full instructions included when you receive the program). Athletic Quickness Kick Farther Program
6. Kicking World eBook
This is it. Everything you need to know about field goal kicking, kickoffs, punting in a concise format with step by step guides on technique, fundamentals, drills, exercises and even discussion on gym workouts and kicking equipment you need. The best part about this Football Kicking eBook is it is downloadable immediately and you do not have to wait for any shipping as it is in electronic format only so you can read it on your iPad, iPhone, Smart Phone, Laptop, PC or Mac or even print it out! Read detailed description of the book I wrote here: ‘Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting’ by Brent Grablachoff
7. Emergency Tune-Up Lesson
Schedule a 1 on 1 Training Session with me any Sunday at Laguna Hills High School in beautiful Orange County, CA or any other day in beautiful San Diego, CA with 3 locations near downtown, La Jolla and East County! I offer kicking lessons and punting lessons year-round in So Cal. You can also fly me out to train your son 1 on 1 wherever you may be located or come train with me for a 3 Day session like this Professional Kicker did (see his before & after instructional YouTube Video).
8. Virtual Private Lesson
If you don’t have the means to see me in California, there is a ‘virtual private lesson’ option. You would simply e-mail or mail me footage of your kicks/punts and then we schedule a 15 minute phone call to break down your form/technique and help you understand everything that is going on and what you need to work on to improve. This is one of the best deals in the Kicking World Shop
9. LAST California Kicking Camp of 2011
Sunday, July 31 One-Day Camp Only!
Laguna Hills High School
8:30am-11:30am Youth Ages 10-12
12pm-3pm HS Ages 13-18
Cost: $100 Youth, $200 HS
Register Online Now!
10. LAST Texas Kicking Camp of 2011
Tuesday & Wednesday, July 26-27!
6pm-8pm, 8am-10am (both sessions included)
Cedar Park, TX
Cost: $300 Returning, $350 New Student
Limited to first 8 signups, Only 2 Spots Left, Call to Register!
As always, feel free to e-mail or message me on Facebook or YouTube if you have any questions or need help with anything. Our YouTube site and Facebook page are incredible resources for you to get free tips, participate in contests and make some kicking/punting friends. You must ‘LIKE’ the Facebook page to unlock all the additional features.
Have a great start to your 2011 Summer Camp!
-Coach Brent Grablachoff
619-564-1333
brent (at) kickingworld.com
www.kickingworld.com
Tags: Football Kicker Workout, Kicking Training, Kicking Workout
18 Jun 10 How to Kick a Football Farther!
Every week I hear “What can my son do to strengthen his leg and kick a football farther?” Today I’m going to give you a few tips to help improve your kicking and punting distance. Contrary to popular belief, kicking a football far is not necessarily due to a ‘strong leg’ but more commonly it is due to a ‘fast leg’ and precise ball striking. One of the easiest ways to immediately improve your distance is to work on striking the ball’s sweet spot with the correct part of your foot. You want to hit the ball with the upper instep of your foot (right at the second shoelace loop from the top of most soccer cleats). If you strike the ball down by your toe or on the middle/side of your foot you’re going to lose a ton of power! You also want to make sure your ankle and knee are ‘locked’ at impact. If you keep your leg or foot loose at impact you will severely cut down your power. In field goal kicking, punting, and kickoffs you want the ball to explode off your foot. See below for two excellent videos that will help you understand the above points.
To improve your leg speed there’s several things you can do and here’s a couple quick tips that will help you:
- Isometric Resistance Band Training (builds the fast-twitch muscle fibers)
- Sprinting short distance (20 to 30 yard wind sprints)
- Improving Flexibility/Stretching (allows your leg to snap through quicker)
- Leg swing motion in shallow end of pool (water resistance improves balance and speed)
Here’s 2 free instructional videos on our YouTube page that will help you with precision and power and kick the football farther. For detailed training tips, practice routines, kicking and punting fundamentals, techniques, mental training tips and more check out the Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting Book!
Tags: Football Kicker Workout, Kicking Instruction, Kicking Training, Kicking Video
11 May 08 How To Train For Kicking
Many of my students have asked me “How do I train to be a better kicker or punter?” There are several tools available to help take your kicking performance to a whole new level. Everyone knows that kicking field goals and punting more, attending football kicking camps, and weightlifting and running is a good start, but what else can you do?
A very important thing to realize is where your power comes from. Most people think just go ahead and pump up your leg and you will get stronger and kick longer field goals and higher and longer punts. That is not necessarily true. Your “core” is extremely important. The core is comprised of your abdominal (ab) muscles, both upper, middle, lower, and obliques (sides). It is very important to work these muscles. You work them when you kick, but that is not enough. You need to be doing swiss ball work and leg pulls and leg lifts. I talk more in depth about the exact exercises and drills you can in and demonstrate them with pictures in my complete kicking and punting guide found on www.kickingworld.com
Another way to build your kicking body is to work on balance exercises. As seen in one of the above pictures, you can do balance drills on boso balls as well as utilize medicine balls to learn stability and develop your supporting muscles in the kicking or punting leg swing. do encourage weightlifting in the gym, but so many people do not know the way to weightlift as a kicker. If you go do squats, power cleans, lifts, and bench presses, and think you are helping your kicking career, well you are missing a LOT! You are NOT a lineman or a running back. You are a specialist, and there is much more specialized gym exercises you need to be doing which I explain exactly how to do with pictures in the Kicking World: Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting
Tags: Football Kicker Workout, Kicking Book, Kicking Training
06 Dec 07 Kicking and Punting Book!
Do you want to improve your accuracy? How about your distance? What about your hang time and height? These are all common goals of kickers and punters. We’ve written the BEST kicking guide book that will dramatically improve your technique, form, and results for a more consistent, straighter, and longer kick or punt. If you want to be the BEST, learn from the BEST. ORDER the ‘Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting’ Today!
INSIDE YOUR BOOK…
· Fundamentals of Placekicking
· The Soccer-Style Form
· Extra Points and Field Goals
· Kickoffs and Onsides Kicks
· Punting Situational Drills
· Punting Form, Technique, Hang
· Drills and Skills for mastery
· How to get the optimal ball flight
*Bonus: The ‘Mental Game’
*Extra Bonus: Become Deadly Accurate
Tags: Field Goal, Football Kicker Workout, Kicking Book, Kicking Training
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