Specialist Path' In Season Routine

Now with the football season underway, I have gotten numerous emails from kicking specialists asking about what you should do during the season to stay healthy and keep playing at a high level.

The answer to this question is to develop a specific routine each week during the season. This routine includes lifting, drills, and other measures to keep your body healthy.

This is On A Specialist's Path-In Season Routine.

When I was a freshman in high school I learned the hard way about not having a kicking routine. I got the honor of dressing out for the varsity team at Hendersonville High School along with being the starting kicker for the freshman and junior varsity.

Even though I was ecstatic at the time to be on all three teams, this also meant three practices a day and three games a week! I was a young kicker excited to make an impression on anyone who would watch me kick and I certainly kicked too much. By the end of the season I had pulled my groin and was struggling to make it through the season.

You never get the ability of hindsight in life but I can at least help others to not repeat the same mistakes. One of the toughest things for kicking specialists is understanding that in kicking more is not always better. Let me repeat that more is not always better.

If you get a chance to watch the NFL kickers or punters on Sundays watch how easy they approach the ball and how smooth they swing. If you are using the proper technique than kicking should not be a very tiring exercise.

Technique is the most important part of kicking. A good athlete can use just natural ability to have success in high school but it takes technique to reach the highest levels. The reason I talk about technique so much in this article is because if you understand what you are doing then you can work drills that don't require numerous full kick and punt repetitions.

By the time you get to the regular season your leg should be in good kicking shape. The next step once you are in kicking shape is to get quality reps and to sharpen your technique.

Doing dry run kicks is very valuable for a kicker and working on the mold and drop is extremely important for a punter. These drills can be done without ever kicking a ball!

Kicking specialists should develop a kick or punt count to know how many reps they are getting during a given week. If a punter normally hits 50 balls on Monday's than they should hit 50 balls EVERY Monday. This helps the body to adapt into a routine and keep you healthy.

Another part of maintenance for a kicking specialist is to do some light lifting. In season lifting is not to get you stronger but to keep you healthy. Body weight lifts and some running is valuable to get some of the soreness out from the previous week's game.

The last part of the equation is to take care of the places on your body that get the most use. An ice bath (pictured above) is a great way to ice the entire lower body. This can be very valuable to kicking specialists and the majority of NFL kickers and punters use this after practice. If the team does not make an ice bath available then a simple ice pack after practice can be used.

The bottom line is that the best kickers and punter across the country don't get there by accident. They work on their technique but they also take care of their body. Are you doing everything you can do to keep yourself healthy during the season?

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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