Be an Athlete First and a Kicker/Punter Second

People often look at a kicker and think that they’re not an athlete. The funny thing about Kickers and Punters is they’re becoming recognized for athleteicism as the years go on. Watching videos of kickers and punters in the 1970’s and you see the one bar helmets and the barefooted players and that would make sense. Now though, Kickers and Punters are athletes too. More than anything, they’re athletes first and Kickers and Punters second. In this article, we’ll clear up any confusion you may have any give some examples of some athletes who just so happen to kick/punt footballs.

Kicking/punting is athletic

Kicking and punting is an athletic movement. It requires a lot of coordination and balance that a lot of people couldn’t even come close to doing. It’s pretty humorous to see non kickers try to kick a football well. 

Flipping that on its head, Quite a few kickers can run routes, throw a football or play defense. Now of course the level of speed and power may not be the same. When another position tries to kick/punt? 

It’s impressive if they can make a 30 yard field goal. By all means everyone has a difficult position but my argument is from a skill and coordination perspective, kicking and punting is more precise. Not only that but there’s a wider gap when comparing an athlete who does other positions to someone who kicks and punts. My argument is kicking and punting is the most technical position on the field and is the hardest to get really successful at when taking out speed/strength/power/size and going straight from raw skill. 

Being a quarterback is the hardest position to play on the field because there’s about 20 things that need to be done before the ball is even snapped. But if you take an athlete and tell them to get really good at kicking/punting, running routes, throwing a football, blocking a rusher, or defense, my opinion is kicking/punting would take the longest to get really good at. 

I’m not saying this logic doesn’t have flaws but it’s hard to argue if you’ve ever tried to kick/punt a football before. It can be humbling your first time through. It’s fair to say that running routes, throwing a football, and every other position should come relatively natural if you’re already an athlete. 

Examples of athletes who kick and punt

Marquette King You can’t talk about athletes without bringing up Marquette King. That guy is a multi-faceted athlete who has changed the way people view kickers and punters. Not only is he fast, he’s strong, explosive, and fun to watch. What do you expect, he’s an athlete!

Jake Schum

Another fun player to watch was Jake Schum. If you follow him on social media you’ll see his crazy garage gym setup which is something to admire. He is consistently doing all sorts of interesting and challenging workouts to change the narrative of the punters and kickers of the world.

Steve Weatherford

I feel like Steve was the first punter in the NFL who was physically bigger than almost everyone on his team. Think DK metcalf turned punter. Just an absolute tank of a human being. I believe it’s because of him that we now see a whole new generation of physically strong athletes who just so happen to kick and punt footballs.

Thomas Moorstead

Thomas is a great example of how to be a humble leader. The few workout posts he has are of some heavy lifts with little to no struggle. If you haven’t given him a look it’s worth a shot.

Matt Ammendola

I would say Matt is one of if not the most ripped kicker in the NFL. Him and Joey Slye are close in terms of athleticism. Again, a really explosive kicker who gets incredible height on his kicks and should be one to watch next season. 

Jason Myers

He’s had a few great seasons back to back and it’s no surprise it’s from the effort he puts in the offseason. If you watch Nick Novak’s posts, you can find videos of Jason training there and it’s cool to see the different types of workouts they’re doing to develop specific kicking related muscles. It’s no wonder why kickers and punters get better year after year. It’s from all the work they put in while no one is watching!

Joey Slye

I know for a fact Joey hangs out at the salty spitoon. Enough said..

That’s all i’ve got here. Is there anyone else you think I should add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!

If you haven’t already, get your copy of “The Art Of Kicking” and “The Art Of Kicking Journal” as they’re quickly becoming a must have in every kicker and punters tool belt! 

Also hit me up on social media @kickersofearth on all platforms to see what else i’m up to! 

Thank you and stay tuned for more updates.