The Kicking Slump

If you participate in any skilled sport long enough (like pitching, kicking, serving a tennis ball, hitting a golf ball, etc) you will likely experience what is known as the ‘slump’.

In the movie, Tin Cup, Kevin Costner’s character experienced the ‘shanks’, which is a slump by another name.  One day he was knocking the golf ball a mile down the driving range. The next day, he can’t get the ball off the ground!

In a complete panic, he immediately questions everything he’s doing with his swing, all his mechanics. He then resorts to various tools and gadgets to help him find his golf swing again. Eventually he starts working with a psychologist to help bring his game back in line.

The point is, golf or kicking, it’s downright scary to feel like we have no control over our swing!

So it goes with kickers and punters too. Today the hero, tomorrow the goat.  The question is how do you bounce back once you’ve been to the bottom? How do you gain the confidence that you’ve lost when you start missing kicks left or right. Like most any other skilled sport it’s a question of confidence, finding that confidence after you’ve lost it temporarily.

So what causes us to suddenly question everything we know prior to the big meltdown? Well, many times it can be one game time experience, like a home run off a pitch to win the game, or a missed field goal that could have won the game.

However, this one negative experience doesn’t mean an athlete should question his ability suddenly. Pitchers give up home runs, kickers miss field goals, it happens….get over it.

A short memory is a kicker’s greatest asset so whether you made your last kick or missed it, it doesn’t matter. If you shanked your last punt, or cranked a 60 yard bomb…it doesn’t matter!

Remember, AFF (Always Focus Forward) will save you time and again. Your last kick or punt has absolutely nothing to do with your next opportunity. It’s a completely separate action whether you believe in hot streaks or cold ones.

Your so called ‘streak’, whether good or bad, is nothing more than the result of your brain either taking over or staying out of the way!

It’s just as dangerous to lose focus due to over confidence (truly believe this next kick will be successful simply because the last three or four have been) as it is to question every tiny detail after a miss or recent shank. Whatever happened on those last kicks or punts…that was then, this is now.

So, when you think to yourself, “why am I missing my kicks to the right”, or “why do I keep punting low end over end punts?” I can assure you that it’s no slump. It’s a technical glitch that needs to be identified and corrected.

So, please throw this magical concept of a ‘slump’ in the garbage the next time you feel the universe is suddenly against you. It has too many other things to deal with than messing with your swing.

Your kicking or punting swing can be corrected without resorting to the use of chicken bones or rabbits feet!

In fact, we are currently working on a step by step trouble shooting series of videos for our FGK Members that should release this off season for those in a panic.

We will help you identify the common issues that are causing you pain in your kicking, from contact and rotation to setup and alignment.

For punters, we will look at not only how you are dropping the ball, but where you are dropping as well as contact at impact.

We will announce the new video series soon so stay tuned and happy kicking!