How To Punt A Football
I could go to ten schools and find at least five different ways coaches are telling their players how to punt a football. Just like we teach with field goals, when learning how to punt a football it is important to remember that everyone will have a variation, but the fundamentals remain common amongst all variations.
So, how many ways can you punt? I will not go through all of the variations of punting (please reach out to us for help on how your school handles kicking and punting), but will focus on two of the most popular versions…what we will call the pro-style and the rugby punts.
You will see both of these punting styles at just about every level of football, ranging from kids playing their first year, high school, to college. I cannot recall a time I have seen a rugby punt in the NFL, not to say it isn’t done, but rugby punts just are not as common at that level.
Pro-Style Punt
If your school does not use the pro-style punt, I highly recommend learning how to punt a football this way if you want to play at the next level. Even if you do not plan to punt at the next level, if you ever play for another coach, they may have a different outlook on how to punt a football.
Wondering what a pro-style punt looks like? The pro-style punt is the traditional punt you see when watching games on Sunday or Monday night football. The punter takes two or three steps (two steps is preferred) straight to the target they are punting toward. They will then drop the ball from about the height of their bellybutton.
They then need to drop the ball from the correct height, with the ball not being too far to the inside of your body or too far to the outside, and having the ball drop flat or with the front nose slightly pointed down. Sound easy enough? Doing all of these things consistently is not easy, as you can imagine. Learning how to punt a football this way takes a lot of time because you have to consistently do all of these little things right.
So why punt this way if it takes so much to punt the ball correctly?
When you see the difference in height (what we will often refer to as hang time), distance, and the quickness you can get the ball off. As you can imagine a high punt that goes a long way is a great thing, but who cares about how quick you punt the ball? COACHES CARE! Coaches like you to know how to punt a football faster so that the punt will not be blocked. They would rather you punt the ball 10-20 yards down field than to have a punt blocked.
Rugby Punt
Rugby punts can be a lot of fun as you get to show off some of your athleticism. The idea of the rugby punt is not kicking the ball high and far in the air. The goal is actually to kick the ball over the line of scrimmage, typically away from the punt returner, and have the ball bounce around (hopefully further down field). Very similar to a squib kick on kickoff.
On a rugby style punt the punter will receive the snap, jog to the right (for a right footed kicker) or left (for a lefty), extend the ball to the the side your are jogging to, and try to punt the ball end-over-end down the field. This is a fun punt and does not require as much intricate detail as the pro-style punt. That being said, there are also some disadvantages…higher risk of getting it blocked, harder to kick the ball to your target, and a high risk of getting a long return on you if the punt returner catches it in the air to name a few.
Please visit our online video training sessions, on-field lessons, and other resources to learn how to punt a football.
