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For those that know Kicking
Posted on 9/6/21 at 7:45 am
Posted on 9/6/21 at 7:45 am
On Reichard’s longest field goal, he drew the ball in nicely while on one of his shorter attempts, the ball started just outside the left upright and cut back in. Is kicking like golf where the hardest shot is a straight ball and he’s intentionally drawing/cutting the ball? The one that cut didn’t necessarily seem like great contact but it worked out perfectly so I assume ball movement is done on purpose.
5
Posted on 9/6/21 at 8:26 am to Bryant91092
I would say the cut is mostly divine intervention. Right footed kickers usually draw the ball when hit perfectly . The amount can depend on the tilt of the ball by the holder and kicker preference . For whatever reason, maybe just better skill and practice but NFL kickers can consistently hit it straighter
Posted on 9/6/21 at 11:21 am to Bryant91092
I was a kicker at a fairly high level, a lot of people think when they hear “soccer style” that you strike the ball like a soccer ball. Not the same. Your golf reference is pretty spot on, you are almost striking the ball like a sand wedge. If you ever pay attention closely to a kickers clear on their kicking foot, there is almost drag marks across the top. Similar to the grass stain of striking a golf ball.
Too your question of draw and push it’s kicker dependent but when kicking from the hash you have to account for your either push or draw. It seems Will anticipated his push from the hash based on his thousands of reps and knowing his normal movements.
Too your question of draw and push it’s kicker dependent but when kicking from the hash you have to account for your either push or draw. It seems Will anticipated his push from the hash based on his thousands of reps and knowing his normal movements.
Posted on 9/6/21 at 11:24 am to CrimsonBoz
I think Will got lucky as hell 
He even said something to holder
He even said something to holder
Posted on 9/6/21 at 11:31 am to Bryant91092
The kickers aren’t trying to curve the ball in. They’re just trying to kick it in. If it draws in or slides in, that’s just grace. Especially on a 50+ yarder, they’re just trying to kick it hard and straight. A kicker is mostly focused on making contact with the ball, kind of like in golf - keeping the head down through contact
Posted on 9/6/21 at 11:40 am to Bear88
Maybe lol. There is luck involved.
Posted on 9/6/21 at 11:47 am to Bryant91092
quote:
On Reichard’s longest field goal, he drew the ball in nicely
I wish I could get my tee shots to consistently do that.
Posted on 9/6/21 at 12:28 pm to ArmyTide
Disagree. The best kickers can absolutely hit the ball with the anticipation that it will move to the left or the right. Reichard's not just trying to kick it straight. He's bending it like Beckham.
Posted on 9/6/21 at 12:41 pm to SECSolomonGrundy
Most have a natural draw/slice
Posted on 9/6/21 at 3:32 pm to Bear88
I always had a natural draw I was a left footed kicker.
Posted on 9/6/21 at 5:12 pm to Judah Mann
It's easy. An inside-out golf swing puts a draw-spin on the ball. Tee the ball up just back of your left heel and "close" your stance (right foot 6" farther away from line to target). Chin up, eyes on ball. Start backswing turning only your hips, by straightening right knee and bending left knee. Torso will follow hips, left shoulder clearing under your chin and club head will initially depart away from the ball along an inside-out path, remaining close to ground. Then freeze your twisted torso right there and push your arms straight up, cocking your wrists at the top which creates stretch tension all the way up your rotated backswing. You should be able to barely see the back of your left hand at the top of your backswing from the corner of your eye. Leave your hands at the top as you start your downswing with your hips, creating more stretch tension. That pulls your arms into the downswing in a slightly inside-out direction. Release your cocked wrists near the bottom of the downswing -- clubhead returns via inside-out path to ball with maximum speed at impact. The result is a nice drawspin/topspin with lots of airborne distance, forward bounce and roll.
This post was edited on 9/7/21 at 9:03 pm
Posted on 9/6/21 at 5:51 pm to Bryant91092
The golf comparison is a good one. Whether its an extra point or a 50 yarder, the technique is the same. If you try to hit the ball harder the technique suffers and so does accuracy. Using the same technique with repetition a kicker can increase his accuracy and consistency. Too many college kickers are poorly coached..especially from the hash marks...they kick straight and miss versus lining up correctly. Its strange that such a game changing skill gets so little attention...until its needed to win a game! College kickers kill me every Saturday!
Posted on 9/6/21 at 5:51 pm to TidalSurge1
I hope you have all those thoughts grooved into your swing without having to think about all that every shot….. damn
Posted on 9/6/21 at 6:06 pm to Bear88
I do. Stance closed for long clubs. Backswing: (1) turn hips open, (2) lift hands up & cock wrists. Downswing: (1) turn hips closed (leaving hands at top), (2) release wrists at bottom of downswing. Groove it into a brisk-paced rhythm. Practice it repeatedly until it's embedded into muscle memory. Same swing for all clubs. Just gradually adjust from closed stance on woods to open stance on short irons & wedges.
This post was edited on 9/6/21 at 6:28 pm
Posted on 9/6/21 at 6:14 pm to TidalSurge1
My old baseball swing comes into play so I have always played a draw/hook…. If it goes right I might as well go to the bar that day
Posted on 9/6/21 at 6:18 pm to Bear88
Yeah. In a golf swing, uncocking your wrists too soon can cause an outside-in clubhead path, putting a slice-spin on the ball.This post was edited on 9/7/21 at 9:55 am
Posted on 9/7/21 at 10:00 am to CrimsonBoz
quote:
I always had a natural draw I was a left footed kicker.
Me too. Right footed though.
The general setup for any kick was to position myself so the kick was aimed for a point 100 yards straight through the right upright to account for the draw. When a kicker is doing what looks like a chop, this is usually what they're doing.
Posted on 9/7/21 at 12:01 pm to Bigbens42
quote:
quote:
I always had a natural draw I was a left footed kicker.
Me too. Right footed though.
The general setup for any kick was to position myself so the kick was aimed for a point 100 yards straight through the right upright to account for the draw. When a kicker is doing what looks like a chop, this is usually what they're doing.
Exactly. Just like golf for me, I selected a target and aimed for it just like golf. Let my natural draw do whatever and accounted for it. Typically unless some outside force worked against me I would have to a T the same draw on 1000 kicks.
Posted on 9/7/21 at 12:31 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
It's easy. An inside-out swing puts a draw-spin on the ball. Tee the ball up just back of your left heel and close your stance (right foot 6" farther away from line to target). Chin up, eyes on ball. Start backswing turning only your hips, by straightening right knee and bending left knee. Torso will follow hips, left shoulder clearing under your chin and club head will initially depart away from the ball along an inside-out path, remaining close to ground. Then freeze your twisted torso right there and push your arms straight up, cocking your wrists at the top which creates stretch tension all the way up your rotated backswing. You should be able to barely see the back of your left hand at the top of your backswing from the corner of your eye. Leave your hands at the top as you start your downswing with your hips, creating more stretch tension. That pulls your arms into the downswing in a slightly inside-out direction. Release your cocked wrists near the bottom of the downswing -- clubhead returns via inside-out path to ball with maximum speed at impact. The result is a nice drawspin/topspin with lots of airborne distance, forward bounce and roll.
I'm afraid all that stuff might interfere with my beer drinking.
Joking aside....thanks for the tip. I can draw my fairway woods and long irons at will, but not my driver. I had my handicap down to 9, now I'm playing to a 13.
This post was edited on 9/7/21 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 9/7/21 at 1:08 pm to SECSolomonGrundy
quote:
Disagree. The best kickers can absolutely hit the ball with the anticipation that it will move to the left or the right. Reichard's not just trying to kick it straight. He's bending it like Beckham
I was a soccer player too lol. It's way different. Hooking a soccer ball is a breeze. A round ball by nature can be more easily steered depending on how you strike it just due to the physics involved. They'll behave pretty predictablly given their uniform shape. Kicking a football that travels end-over-end is more like a knuckleball. You can get it in the general area you want it to go but you'll always be at the mercy of a lot of stuff beyond your control.
The main thing with kicking a football is that your kicking motion should be as close to identical as possible on every single kick. Even on kickoffs your final 3 steps should be the same as a field goal. It's like free throws, all about repetition. I probably kicked 3000 practice balls before I ever took that first XP in live action.
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