FIELD GOAL KICKING-A WORLD OF PRESSURE!!!
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:50 pm
Field Goal Kicking-It's Huge... Man!! 8)
Almost every week CFL football games are decided by the success of the field goal kicking unit. A great field goal kicker is a tremendous weapon, but the efficiency of the entire field goal unit is vital to his success.The focus on special teams continues to increase in the CFL. More and more time is spent at practices on special teams play. At one time, practicing special teams was almost an afterthought, resulting in a few special teams plays being worked on towards the end of a practice. Not anymore! Our Leos are a great example of a CFL team that will start a practice with special teams work!!
The area of special teams is such a wide topic that this thread will focus on the field goal kicking unit. It’s a unit whose performance is so critical to a successful season. Most often, field goal kickers lead the league in scoring. Field goal units are vital because every time they step on the field they provide their team with the opportunity to score. Fans mostly notice the field goal kicker and the result of his kick, but it’s important to keep in mind that the kick is only one part of the total operation of the field goal unit. Field goals are missed at times due to a poor snap, a poor hold, or a breakdown in protection even though a missed field goal is usually always blamed on the field goal kicker.
Some Background........
Before continuing with this thread I want to say that I'm certainly no expert on field goal kicking. I‘ve never been a special teams assistant coach. The information shared here comes from a variety of sources. I learned a lot from a number of special teams’ assistant coaches and key individual players on those field goal units. I gained a valuable experience from Lui Passaglia, by holding footballs for him, at times, at one Leos training camp while the rest of the squad was working on other drills. I also learned by attending a couple of outstanding coaching clinics that focused only on special teams play. Perhaps I learned the most about field goal kicking from drinking many ‘cold ones’ with Dave Cutler each summer. Cutler may have been a’ toe punch kicker’ but his knowledge of the field goal kicking game and the psyche of a field goal kicker gave me a real insight into that world through his eyes.
At the college level I was always looking for new opportunities to learn new positions. Sometimes practicing at the same position can become a little boring once in a while. While I played safety at college, I would back up anywhere at practice or following practice, if there was a need for a unit or a few players to spend some extra time working at something. I learned all our offensive plays and sometimes worked with the offensive scout team unit. I became our third string field goal kicker, as well as playing my starting safety position. It was fun to practice field goal kicking and receive some good coaching tips .I always believed that it would be fun to throw a pass or attempt a field goal in a game.
Well, in one game, the inevitable happened and both our field goal kickers got hurt. The first was hit on a rough play call and the second went down after missing a kick and getting blocked. The coach sent me in to try a 42 yard field goal on fourth and two, with a minute and a half left in the game, with our team down by 3 points.The whole situation is burned into my brain forever, I remember the knots that hit my gut.. the light headed feeling!! I can remember jogging out on the field in a bit of a trance, stepping into the huddle, and the holder calling the play. I took my requisite steps backwards and and then my angled steps to my left. I remember the steam coming off the defensive lineman as they lined up. I saw the defensive unit not only looking very intense but also excited. I was a rookie kicker and the blood lust was in their eyes at the opportunity to block an anticipated low field goal kick.
In our huddle, the sweat soaked jerseys of our offensive lineman demonstrated their toil. The battle they had endured in the trenches, was lined in their faces. I remember my left leg starting to vibrate from the tension. We broke the huddle and lined up. The holder was in position and I was just about to say ‘Ready’ (even though I wasn’t) when I heard a whistle and a timeout was called from our sideline. I wasn’t part of the conference that took place on the sidelines but a decision was made to not kick and instead gamble on fourth down. We converted the fourth down gamble and went in to score.
At that one moment, and only that one moment, I was able to appreciate the pressure that a field goal kicker experiences. When I looked into those offensive lineman’s faces the last thing I wanted to do was attempt that field goal and risk letting them down in such a hard fought game. It was fun at practice but the real thing was so much different. It was very lonely and the pressure was incredible. Our field goal kickers returned to action the next week and the following season and throughout the rest of my playing days I never practiced kicking field goals again with my team. It was a pressure I decided I could live without forever!!
Field Goal Kicking Is A Priority At The Pro Level
Mistakes don’t happen often with a field goal kicking unit at the CFL pro level. You’ll see lots of mistakes at the university and high school level. At the pro level they spend the time and effort to make sure it’s done right. Although they get a miniscule amount of playing time compared to other units, the field goal unit is involved in can often have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a game. Long snappers and field goal kickers usually spend an enormous amount of time prepariing for those brief but very important moments. Time and preparation takes place all off-season as well as during training camp and the regular season. It’s impossible to wait until the beginning of preseason practice for long snappers and field goal kickers to start getting ready. Most long snappers and kickers practice three times a week in the off-season as well as lifting weights on off-days.
The Science of Field Goal Kicking 8)
There is a growing movement toward understanding what field goal kickers do to be successful. Throughout most of the history of the CFL, most coaches who were responsible for special teams really didn’t know how to coach field goal kickers. As football continues to become more specialized a natural development will begin to occur, with consultants being hired to work with field goal kickers… just as consultants are hired to work with hockey goalies. In fact it’s starting to happen already.
Just Kick The #&* Ball!! :x
The positive with our Leos right now is not only Benevedes’ knowledge of the kicking game but also the fact that Wally was a field goal kicker himself. While Wally was a ‘toe puncher’ he understands the mental aspect of field goal kicking. Most football coaching staffs are not as fortunate to have a former field goal kicker as we are. Most Head Coaches are clueless about the techniques of the position. Their attitude has been and often still is that they don't care how the field goal kicker kicks the football. The view-- was, just bring me someone new if the guy we have can’t get the job doneâ€â€like what’s the big deal…just kick the #&* ball!!
The Old Days Are Gone!
However, while a lot of Head Coaches don’t understand the integral aspects of field goal kicking they understand it’s importance. Today's kicking game is a fine-tuned machine compared with the old days. Kickers became so deadly that rule changes were created to discourage long attempts.However, while there are coaches who are moving towards the science of field goal kicking… there are also the traditionalists who haven't yet bought into the science of kicking. They believe kicking is a skill, but a kicker's mind is as important as his leg. Their view is that you can teach too much and create paralysis by analysis".
I learned from Dave Cutler is that 90% of field goal kicking is confidence, visualization, relaxation, and dealing with pressure-the mental aspects of the game. However, I also believe that there is important value to continuing with the direction of looking at field goal kicking as a science as well. If a kicker has outstanding fundamentals he will be more successful and if he is successful, he will be more confident.. and therefore be able to better deal with the mental aspects of field goal kicking.
Practice Makes purrfect!!
All of us who have been die hard fans of the Leos over a long period of time know what a pro Lui Passaglia was. He had great technique and he also had tremendous mental toughness to deal with the incredible pressure of field goal kicking.Passaglia also had great practice habits. He changed his routine to keep fresh and he worked on every aspect of his game. Passaglia was both our field goal kicker and our punter . In the area of field goall kicking Pasaglia practiced kicking using no steps and one step. He would move the football to a spot lined up with an upright and practice hitting the upright. It was amazing to watch his accuracy. He did dry run drills, one step drills, line drills, down the sideline drills.
However, one drill that I worked with Passaglia, at his request, was a bad hold drill. It was an amazing drill!! Basically Passaglia wanted me to give him all the bad holds I could come up with. I told him I was a terrible holder so that wouldn’t be a problem. He kicked field goals while I tilted the ball forward, backwards way too far, too far to the right and the left. He even kicked field goals with the football almost flat on the ground. He kicked it falling early out of my hands. He practiced every eventuality. He not only kicked bad holds straight away but in close from the hashmarks. To see him complete so many of those bad holds was amazing and if he missed one he wanted to do it again!! It's no wonder Passaglia became the best field goal kicker in the CFL..his preparation and practice habits were outstanding to go along with his great talent.
The Five Components of Field Goal Kicking
There are five major components that must be performed at a very high level for a field goal successful. They are the timing of the field goal attempt, the protection, the snap, the hold, and the place kick.
1. Timing
Field goals have to be kicked in a certain amount of time for success. The operation of a field goal, from the time it takes for the center to snap the ball, the holder to put it down and the kicker to get the ball kicked cannot exceed 1.3 seconds and preferably should be completed in 1.25 seconds or less. If done within this time limit, even with a good rush, should enable the field goal kicker to get his kick off.One question I ‘ve been asked is how does the 1.25 seconds of a field goal attempt must break down. There isn’t much margin for error. It takes longer for the holder to place the football than it takes for the snap to get there. The football will get to the snapper, about 12 inches above the ground in .4 seconds. That gives the holder .8 of a second to get the ball placed from the time it touches his hands.
Almost all professional teams have a long snapper whose major priority is to get the football back to the holder on the field goal unit. The long snapper can be a backup at another position but the long snapper has become so important that CFL teams are becoming more reluctant to use him as a backup starter on offence or defense.In the CFL most holders are backup quarterbacks. Ben Cahoon holds in Montreal but the quarterback not only has good hands but can also run and throw on a potential botched attempt. We’ll never really know if Peter Ohler bobbled the snap in the 1964 Grey Cup before throwing the football to Jim Carphin in the end zone. However, since they spent time practicing it the day before I’ll always believe they ran the play without anyone else’s knowledge.
2. Protection For A Field Goal Attempt
Not many fans pay much attention to the field goal formation and the blocking that is utilized. However, they are important aspects of successful field goal kicking. Most field goal teams will use offensive lineman, defensive lineman, and linebackers as blockers. Most field goal attempts will use a balanced formation, with equal numbers of players blocking on each side of the center. However, there are times when the field goal unit needs to use an unbalanced formation.
However, when the football is close to the goalline and on the hashmarks, most teams will go with an unbalandced line. An extra blocker is moved from the short side of the field to the long side of the field in those situations. Blocking for a field goal is is simple but critical that it’s executed properly. The key is to have a a low inside pad over a 'heavy inside foot'. Each blocker steps inside to protect and seal the inside gap without moving their outside foot. The linemen need to stay low and square and not allow any penetration. Each blocker supports the outside gap with his outside hand. All interior linemen use a three-point stance and get as low as they can to not allow the defense to knock them backwards.
The blockers on the outside of the field goal formation have the most difficult responsibility because they have to be prepared to block two rushers. The first responsibility is the inside gap. The technique is called a rocker technique. This technique involves blocking the inside gap first, using the same blocking technique to begin with but after stepping with the inside foot, the blocker rocks back at a 45 degree angle to protect the gap between himself and the wing. The guards are the first players who set their stance once the center has set his. The split should be approximately 3â€
Almost every week CFL football games are decided by the success of the field goal kicking unit. A great field goal kicker is a tremendous weapon, but the efficiency of the entire field goal unit is vital to his success.The focus on special teams continues to increase in the CFL. More and more time is spent at practices on special teams play. At one time, practicing special teams was almost an afterthought, resulting in a few special teams plays being worked on towards the end of a practice. Not anymore! Our Leos are a great example of a CFL team that will start a practice with special teams work!!
The area of special teams is such a wide topic that this thread will focus on the field goal kicking unit. It’s a unit whose performance is so critical to a successful season. Most often, field goal kickers lead the league in scoring. Field goal units are vital because every time they step on the field they provide their team with the opportunity to score. Fans mostly notice the field goal kicker and the result of his kick, but it’s important to keep in mind that the kick is only one part of the total operation of the field goal unit. Field goals are missed at times due to a poor snap, a poor hold, or a breakdown in protection even though a missed field goal is usually always blamed on the field goal kicker.
Some Background........
Before continuing with this thread I want to say that I'm certainly no expert on field goal kicking. I‘ve never been a special teams assistant coach. The information shared here comes from a variety of sources. I learned a lot from a number of special teams’ assistant coaches and key individual players on those field goal units. I gained a valuable experience from Lui Passaglia, by holding footballs for him, at times, at one Leos training camp while the rest of the squad was working on other drills. I also learned by attending a couple of outstanding coaching clinics that focused only on special teams play. Perhaps I learned the most about field goal kicking from drinking many ‘cold ones’ with Dave Cutler each summer. Cutler may have been a’ toe punch kicker’ but his knowledge of the field goal kicking game and the psyche of a field goal kicker gave me a real insight into that world through his eyes.
At the college level I was always looking for new opportunities to learn new positions. Sometimes practicing at the same position can become a little boring once in a while. While I played safety at college, I would back up anywhere at practice or following practice, if there was a need for a unit or a few players to spend some extra time working at something. I learned all our offensive plays and sometimes worked with the offensive scout team unit. I became our third string field goal kicker, as well as playing my starting safety position. It was fun to practice field goal kicking and receive some good coaching tips .I always believed that it would be fun to throw a pass or attempt a field goal in a game.
Well, in one game, the inevitable happened and both our field goal kickers got hurt. The first was hit on a rough play call and the second went down after missing a kick and getting blocked. The coach sent me in to try a 42 yard field goal on fourth and two, with a minute and a half left in the game, with our team down by 3 points.The whole situation is burned into my brain forever, I remember the knots that hit my gut.. the light headed feeling!! I can remember jogging out on the field in a bit of a trance, stepping into the huddle, and the holder calling the play. I took my requisite steps backwards and and then my angled steps to my left. I remember the steam coming off the defensive lineman as they lined up. I saw the defensive unit not only looking very intense but also excited. I was a rookie kicker and the blood lust was in their eyes at the opportunity to block an anticipated low field goal kick.
In our huddle, the sweat soaked jerseys of our offensive lineman demonstrated their toil. The battle they had endured in the trenches, was lined in their faces. I remember my left leg starting to vibrate from the tension. We broke the huddle and lined up. The holder was in position and I was just about to say ‘Ready’ (even though I wasn’t) when I heard a whistle and a timeout was called from our sideline. I wasn’t part of the conference that took place on the sidelines but a decision was made to not kick and instead gamble on fourth down. We converted the fourth down gamble and went in to score.
At that one moment, and only that one moment, I was able to appreciate the pressure that a field goal kicker experiences. When I looked into those offensive lineman’s faces the last thing I wanted to do was attempt that field goal and risk letting them down in such a hard fought game. It was fun at practice but the real thing was so much different. It was very lonely and the pressure was incredible. Our field goal kickers returned to action the next week and the following season and throughout the rest of my playing days I never practiced kicking field goals again with my team. It was a pressure I decided I could live without forever!!
Field Goal Kicking Is A Priority At The Pro Level
Mistakes don’t happen often with a field goal kicking unit at the CFL pro level. You’ll see lots of mistakes at the university and high school level. At the pro level they spend the time and effort to make sure it’s done right. Although they get a miniscule amount of playing time compared to other units, the field goal unit is involved in can often have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a game. Long snappers and field goal kickers usually spend an enormous amount of time prepariing for those brief but very important moments. Time and preparation takes place all off-season as well as during training camp and the regular season. It’s impossible to wait until the beginning of preseason practice for long snappers and field goal kickers to start getting ready. Most long snappers and kickers practice three times a week in the off-season as well as lifting weights on off-days.
The Science of Field Goal Kicking 8)
There is a growing movement toward understanding what field goal kickers do to be successful. Throughout most of the history of the CFL, most coaches who were responsible for special teams really didn’t know how to coach field goal kickers. As football continues to become more specialized a natural development will begin to occur, with consultants being hired to work with field goal kickers… just as consultants are hired to work with hockey goalies. In fact it’s starting to happen already.
Just Kick The #&* Ball!! :x
The positive with our Leos right now is not only Benevedes’ knowledge of the kicking game but also the fact that Wally was a field goal kicker himself. While Wally was a ‘toe puncher’ he understands the mental aspect of field goal kicking. Most football coaching staffs are not as fortunate to have a former field goal kicker as we are. Most Head Coaches are clueless about the techniques of the position. Their attitude has been and often still is that they don't care how the field goal kicker kicks the football. The view-- was, just bring me someone new if the guy we have can’t get the job doneâ€â€like what’s the big deal…just kick the #&* ball!!
The Old Days Are Gone!
However, while a lot of Head Coaches don’t understand the integral aspects of field goal kicking they understand it’s importance. Today's kicking game is a fine-tuned machine compared with the old days. Kickers became so deadly that rule changes were created to discourage long attempts.However, while there are coaches who are moving towards the science of field goal kicking… there are also the traditionalists who haven't yet bought into the science of kicking. They believe kicking is a skill, but a kicker's mind is as important as his leg. Their view is that you can teach too much and create paralysis by analysis".
I learned from Dave Cutler is that 90% of field goal kicking is confidence, visualization, relaxation, and dealing with pressure-the mental aspects of the game. However, I also believe that there is important value to continuing with the direction of looking at field goal kicking as a science as well. If a kicker has outstanding fundamentals he will be more successful and if he is successful, he will be more confident.. and therefore be able to better deal with the mental aspects of field goal kicking.
Practice Makes purrfect!!
All of us who have been die hard fans of the Leos over a long period of time know what a pro Lui Passaglia was. He had great technique and he also had tremendous mental toughness to deal with the incredible pressure of field goal kicking.Passaglia also had great practice habits. He changed his routine to keep fresh and he worked on every aspect of his game. Passaglia was both our field goal kicker and our punter . In the area of field goall kicking Pasaglia practiced kicking using no steps and one step. He would move the football to a spot lined up with an upright and practice hitting the upright. It was amazing to watch his accuracy. He did dry run drills, one step drills, line drills, down the sideline drills.
However, one drill that I worked with Passaglia, at his request, was a bad hold drill. It was an amazing drill!! Basically Passaglia wanted me to give him all the bad holds I could come up with. I told him I was a terrible holder so that wouldn’t be a problem. He kicked field goals while I tilted the ball forward, backwards way too far, too far to the right and the left. He even kicked field goals with the football almost flat on the ground. He kicked it falling early out of my hands. He practiced every eventuality. He not only kicked bad holds straight away but in close from the hashmarks. To see him complete so many of those bad holds was amazing and if he missed one he wanted to do it again!! It's no wonder Passaglia became the best field goal kicker in the CFL..his preparation and practice habits were outstanding to go along with his great talent.
The Five Components of Field Goal Kicking
There are five major components that must be performed at a very high level for a field goal successful. They are the timing of the field goal attempt, the protection, the snap, the hold, and the place kick.
1. Timing
Field goals have to be kicked in a certain amount of time for success. The operation of a field goal, from the time it takes for the center to snap the ball, the holder to put it down and the kicker to get the ball kicked cannot exceed 1.3 seconds and preferably should be completed in 1.25 seconds or less. If done within this time limit, even with a good rush, should enable the field goal kicker to get his kick off.One question I ‘ve been asked is how does the 1.25 seconds of a field goal attempt must break down. There isn’t much margin for error. It takes longer for the holder to place the football than it takes for the snap to get there. The football will get to the snapper, about 12 inches above the ground in .4 seconds. That gives the holder .8 of a second to get the ball placed from the time it touches his hands.
Almost all professional teams have a long snapper whose major priority is to get the football back to the holder on the field goal unit. The long snapper can be a backup at another position but the long snapper has become so important that CFL teams are becoming more reluctant to use him as a backup starter on offence or defense.In the CFL most holders are backup quarterbacks. Ben Cahoon holds in Montreal but the quarterback not only has good hands but can also run and throw on a potential botched attempt. We’ll never really know if Peter Ohler bobbled the snap in the 1964 Grey Cup before throwing the football to Jim Carphin in the end zone. However, since they spent time practicing it the day before I’ll always believe they ran the play without anyone else’s knowledge.
2. Protection For A Field Goal Attempt
Not many fans pay much attention to the field goal formation and the blocking that is utilized. However, they are important aspects of successful field goal kicking. Most field goal teams will use offensive lineman, defensive lineman, and linebackers as blockers. Most field goal attempts will use a balanced formation, with equal numbers of players blocking on each side of the center. However, there are times when the field goal unit needs to use an unbalanced formation.
However, when the football is close to the goalline and on the hashmarks, most teams will go with an unbalandced line. An extra blocker is moved from the short side of the field to the long side of the field in those situations. Blocking for a field goal is is simple but critical that it’s executed properly. The key is to have a a low inside pad over a 'heavy inside foot'. Each blocker steps inside to protect and seal the inside gap without moving their outside foot. The linemen need to stay low and square and not allow any penetration. Each blocker supports the outside gap with his outside hand. All interior linemen use a three-point stance and get as low as they can to not allow the defense to knock them backwards.
The blockers on the outside of the field goal formation have the most difficult responsibility because they have to be prepared to block two rushers. The first responsibility is the inside gap. The technique is called a rocker technique. This technique involves blocking the inside gap first, using the same blocking technique to begin with but after stepping with the inside foot, the blocker rocks back at a 45 degree angle to protect the gap between himself and the wing. The guards are the first players who set their stance once the center has set his. The split should be approximately 3â€