The Kicking Coach

Any chance that you get to kick field goals with a snap and a hold at this stage of the offseason is huge! If they are hanging out by the weight room, grab them and get some kicks in. You don’t need a goal post. Straight and far is straight and far regardless of the target. #kicker #thekickingcoach #kickingcamps #chicagokickers #collegekicker #highschoolfootball #punter #fieldgoal

Kai first attended our Chicago Kicking Camp as a 12-year old! He has been working consistently on his skills since then, going through usual ups and downs of a kicking journey. Kai is on the way up now! He is a regular staff member at our Chicago kicking camps that he attended in middle school and high school. #thekickingcoach #thekickingcoach #kickingcamps #highschoolfootball #nflpunter #topkickerinamerica #southcarolinafootball #nflcombine #collegepunter

If I got a dime every time that I told someone to stay tall, keep body rigid and mostly down the field, I would be richer than Jake Elliott ! The only way to smash the ball this far with Jake’s body weight, is to put all of it behind the ball. If you body is a straight line and slightly behind the ball on contact, you are doing that. By keeping your upper body down the field through bottom of your swing, you maintain tension in your body and make your foot accelerate. So many kickers allow their upper body to rotate toward the ball or crunch, causing off balance body and foot deceleration. If I had another dime for every time I told someone to keep the kicking foot open through bottom of the swing, I would be richer than Jake Elliott and Harrison Butker together ! Look at his kicking foot after the kick. It is still open long after ball is gone. Stop rolling the foot over early and getting sloppy contact and rotation. Bonus tip: Look at his starting stance. Balanced and normal. What is normal anyway…you may think. When it comes to kicking, normal means not doing dumb sh*t in your stance. Turn your body where you are going, non kicking foot at the plant spot, kicking foot at the holder. Don’t put your feet tight, stick your butt out, turn body left, point your feet out like a clown, tilt your head, or do anything that would make a person look at you and ask themselves…whats wrong with that guy. Start balanced and normal. #thekickingcoach #kickingcamps #kickingcoach #chicagokickers #collegekicker #nflkicker #highschoolfootball #topkickerinamerica #nflkicker #jakeelliott #collegeexposure #kicking #punting

Few years old, still amazing kick. Kicker Michael Farkas (more of a punter) attended our camps where he did not learn this kick. This was is all personal skill and creativity. Check out his awesome foot to ball contact! #thekickingcoach #kickingcamps #chicagokickers #collegekicker #highschoolfootball #onsidekick #indianakickingcamp #ohiokickingcamp #iowakickingcamp

Kickers, get a bunch of kicking reps this winter. Punters, have a football in your hand as much as possible. Kick a football, kick a soccer ball, kick a pillow. Kick it easy, kick it hard. Just focus on great mechanics and get reps in. Punters, spin the ball to yourself, find grip quickly…drop it on the floor few hundred times per day. Have a ball in your hand while you are watching tv. There is no ceiling to how good you can get. Odds are pretty good that if you do more than your competitors, you will be better. #thekickingcoach #kickingcamps #chicagokickers #nflkicker #highschoolfootball #collegekicker #nflpunter #topkickerinamerica #pingponggirl

Michigan kicker was, and is a better kicker than Ohio State’s kicker. Fundamentally better…which usually means statistically better. It definitely was the difference today! State of Ohio produces so many….so many…so many top level high school kickers. Why is OSU letting them go elsewhere? They all grow up buckeye fans and would die to play there. #thekickingcoach #kickingcoach #kickingcamps #chicagokickers #collegekicker #highschoolfootball #michigankicker #ohiokickingcamps

Cairo Santos is one of the best kickers in the league. He is a consistent performer in challenging weather conditions. His plant foot is narrow, allowing him to have a very vertical swing, which keeps the ball flight straight with maximum height possible. Kicking foot is open with contact high on the instep, getting the best possible contact a kicker could get. Kick is blocked. He can’t do anything about Packers trying to block his kick. All 11 players have specific job to do. All he can do is his part. #kickingcoach #thekickingcoach #nflkicker #chicagokickers #kickingcamps #highschoolfootball #cairosantos #chicagobears

Last night was an anomaly to say the least for Jake Elliott who has been 🎯 since high school. Thoughts 👇 All three misses were same kicks. Ball started straight, rotating clean, and then hooked. This kind of ball flight is an indication that the cause was foundation, aka. body posture and rigidity. Ball is hit with perfect straightness, rotation and trajectory in the early stages of the flight. But then as it loses velocity starts hooking. Jake hit it flush. But during the contact part of the swing, he must have allowed his body to rotate a bit more than usual. He relaxed his body a bit more than usual. And ball got away from him. The reason why high level kickers make it look so easy is because the velocity and forces that they exert on the body by swinging kicking leg/foot hard at the ball are countered by antagonistic forces that are exerted by every part of the body that is not kicking leg. And they finish balanced, making the whole process look easy. You see the leg swing. But you don’t see how hard body works to keep itself steady and balanced. #kickingcoach #thekickingcoach #nflkicker #jakeelliott #kickingcamps #highschoolfootball #collegekickers #chicagokickers

Chatting about what it takes to make it to the NFL on evening news. #thekickingcoach #kickingcoach #michigankickingcamp #midwestkickingcamos #kickers #punters #nflkicker #nflpunter #chicagokickers

If you can hit a straight ball, you can afford to miss a bit in both direction and still make kicks. If you are hitting a draw or a hook of some sort, keep chipping away at your skills. In order of importance: 1. Make cleaner foot to ball contact 2. Be more rigid and balanced with the body on contact 3. Be straighter with steps and firm with posture on approach #kickingcamps #nflkicker #kickingcoach #thekickingcoach #chicagokickers #kicking #punting