We’re going to cover how to stay warm on the sidelines and what to think about in order to stay prepared for the actual game!
But before we get into the article, I just want to let you know that The Art of Kicking Ebook, You can also check out the resources page as well; there you can find everything that will be helpful to expedite your kicking/punting journey!
So, whenever you guys are in a game, it is imperative that you, guys, are focused in the moment because in a lot of games and a lot of times, you want to let your mind go crazy. I made a post on this earlier, but we’ll just boil it down into something that’s very common within the kicking and punting community, and just athletes in general, as our brain starts to go crazy, what could come, and what already happened.
How to handle being nervous
The most important thing that you could possibly do is to forget whatever is going to come and what has already happened, and just be present in the now. The best thing you could possibly do is to just have fun whenever you’re playing a game. Relax. Enjoy every single game, every single kick, that happens because you won’t know if it might be your last.
At one point, it all ends. So, you gotta soak in every single moment because it all goes so fast. But, I promise you, you’re gonna be just fine. If you’re stressed right now, look back to a time two years ago when you were stressed, but you got past it perfectly fine. You’re gonna be okay.
How to stay warm on the sidelines
In terms of staying fresh for a game, the second the team crosses the 50-yard line, you should already be practicing into the net and kicking. Make sure that you are pointing the net to the direction you guys are actually kicking. Whether you’re kicking towards the scoreboard or away doesn’t matter because every quarter you’re flipping the net around.
So, flip the net around; punt, kick, get your reps in. If you have someone that can hold the football for you, that’s even better because that gives you a visual representation of what it’s going to look like. If not, that’s completely okay as well.
Apart from the net and pointing it to wherever you’re kicking, try not to over kick it because you’ve got a long season, and it’s not like you have to kill your leg or kick 120 footballs on game day. What happens if you have to kick a game-winner from 55 yards and you’ve destroyed your leg from practicing all the time?
You might need to do one kick into the net every time they cross the 50-line. If they’re on the 50 or past it for 5 minutes, maybe give yourself another rep, but try not to do so many reps to where you’re exhausted by the end of the game.
Visualizing every rep
Every rep is quality. In order to stay warm on the sidelines, You have to focus on a game rep in your head. Visualize the snap, visualize the hold, and think about what it would look like when it goes through the uprights dead-center – the perfect kick.
I would value visualizing the perfect rep and punt and kick over kicking a hundred times. So, if you could just visualize yourself kicking the whole game and hitting 10 field goals into the net the entire game, that’s perfectly fine because you’ll find that you’ll actually do better with that than you would from just kicking over and over again.
Don’t forget to have fun on the sidelines
You want to stay warm on the sidelines. You want to stay relaxed. You want to have fun. Try to talk to your teammates whenever you can. Loosen up a little bit. Talk to the trainers. Let your mind get away from the kicking itself and just try to have fun with it. It’s a game after all.
So, stay warm on the sidelines. Kick wherever you guys are going. Kick into the net. Visualize the ball going through with your perfect kick. Definitely have fun.
The last thing is just try to imagine everything being a game rep. You’re imagining all of it happening in real-time. You’re really honing in on what it feels like when it actually happens, so that when it does happen, you’re ready.
Thanks guys for checking out the article!
Other than that, check out the resources page. The Art of Kicking Ebook, journal are available now! That’s a huge resource for you kickers and punters. I highly recommend them to anybody who is kicking and punting at any age. That’s what it’s designed for. We also have resources below like social media channels you can use to reach me.
Other than that, thank you guys so much. I’ll see you next time.
