Kicking In The Snow

Kicking In The SnowKicking in the snow is something that every kicker and/or punter should have the joy to experience.

I’m slightly kidding, but there ARE some great lessons to be learned if and when you have the opportunity to kick when the white stuff is falling down around you.

With all this snow activity down in Atlanta so far in 2014, we thought we’d take the opportunity to not only discuss the topic, but to get out and video a session while it was snowing last month.

Football Kicking Holder: ColossusWe can hear you guys up North right now, “But you guys are in down in Atlanta…what would you know about kicking in the snow?”

To be fair, I do NOT envy you high school kickers in Chicago in the off-season. I’m not sure what you guys do if you don’t have access to an indoor training facility.

When I played for the Vikings in 1996, we practically always practiced indoors once the snow started falling outside.  In fact, my very last regular season field goal conversion in the NFL was in Green Bay in December.  The box score is at the top of this post, and though we didn’t score a single point in the second half of that game, I won’t forget that last NFL field goal any time soon.

It was a 34 yard field goal just before the half, 30 degrees with 12 mph winds and the snow was falling as I lined up for the kick!  I remember squinting through the snow, falling diagonally in the wind as I lined up the kick.  So, I can’t claim “complete” ignorance on this particular topic.

Testing Your Balance & Concentration

What do we learn by kicking in the snow, even getting out and willingly practicing in these conditions?

First off, snow blowing in our faces during a kick truly tests our ability to concentrate on the task at hand.  Secondly, the footing is likely going to be tricky, so approach speed and balance are key to a successful kick.  We don’t want to end up on the ground!  Kicking in the snow forces us to truly concentrate on the task at hand above all else.

Okay, enough of this writing, let’s take a look at this clip below (or check it out on our YouTube channel).

The full version of this video (the longer, more in depth version that is) is in our members section so if you are a member, log in and check that out!