Have you ever watched a professional game of rugby and specifically watched the goal kicker effortlessly slot 5 from 5? Regardless of the crowd size, noise, who he is playing and where he is playing. He systematically goes through his routine and 80-100% of the time the ball sails through the posts…. If it does miss it might hit the upright or cross bar. Although sometimes I have watched professional games and the kicker has had an absolute shocker and kicked goals like he was on the golf course. Shanking it, slicing it left then over correcting and hooking it right. Sometimes you are unlucky for example Scotland v Romania in the 2011 World Cup when Chris Patterson had the ball fall off the tee mid way through his run up and grubbered it along the ground.
I have always admired professional players who kick goals as I believe you must have pretty big balls to step up for the team and nail the penalty or goal that will determine the game as the result can brand you as the hero or the loser. I know what it is like to be on both ends of that final kick. I would never brand myself as the hero just the final part of a team effort and luckily I have had more successful nudges than misses. Most goal kickers know that misses hurt like hell. Nobody feels what you feel but for me when I let the team down I tended to punish myself a lot. As I got older I realised this self punishment did no favours for my confidence and always affected later kicks in the game or my performance on the field. I believe part of the disappointment was my drive to improve and never have to go through that experience again. After the first miss I thought about how I would achieve success next time. I thought you need to try harder, you need to work harder and you need to practice more. Yes I was right in some respect but after the first few days reflecting on that missed kick. (By the way I am still gutted about missing it years later) I went back to the drawing board and thought there must be a smarter way.
Here is how I broke it down and how it might help you with your kicking. Firstly I looked at the kickers who I admired and asked a few questions. Who were the best? What were the common traits of each player? Could I break the skill down into a few parts and if I got those parts all right easily kick 5 from 5?
1. The Set Up. Every player would line the ball up with the seam facing towards the goal. The exception was some players would slightly tilt the ball away to combat the natural curve after the kick produced from the pivot of the hip. The tee choice was merely a preference for the set up. For example if a player wanted it higher, lower or to stand it more upright or lean it further forward. Personally I like to have it slightly ***led forward and I use a low set kicking tee as when I was younger I learnt to kick off a crow’s nest made from the grass or sand.
2. The Run Up. Now every player has a unique style before his run up and a classic example of this is Jonny Wilkinson. He adopts a powerful stance elbows tucked in and hands held together almost as if he was praying before he kicked. A lot of these physical movements are simply to get the body and mind ready for the kick. More often than not the kicker would kick through the ball from a 45 degree angle.
3. The Opposite foot placement. The opposite foot would always be placed alongside the ball about a half a foot to the side. The angle of this foot would always be pointing in the direction of the posts. Angled out it would go left and angled in it would go right.
4. The Sweet Spot. The kicking leg would always connect with the same point on the ball. Normally it is around a 1/3 the way up from the base of the ball along the seam.
5. Shoulder and Head. If the kicker was a right footer his left shoulder and head would always be over the ball in a powerful position and his head down eyes fixed on the strike. The opposite for a left footer.
6. The Follow Through. After the strike every player would follow through the line of the ball. Some players however to fall away to the side of the ball instead of in front of the ball. If you swing through the ball and finish in front more often than not you would achieve greater distance and a higher level of accuracy.
Following the basics of goal kicking you can improve your technique dramatically. There are lots of others things you need to get right which include the way you practice and mindset. If you are a kicker everything has to be positive. Regardless weather you miss or slot it. Each kick you learn what worked well and what didn’t. When I broke the skill down into these 6 key skills my consistency and accuracy improved. Practicing and evaluating only six things after each kick allowed me to critic the part that I didn’t perform so well and improve or work on it for the next kick.
I went from kicking around 50-70% in the season to 70-80% after my first year and my second year kicking above 80%. The results have been great throughout my career and I will continue to focus on improving and getting better with each training session. I only every practice now for a half an hour each time and for 5 mins before a game. This is the least amount of volume I have ever practiced but my percentage of successful kicks remains high. I must add that I have adopted a number of other techniques and strategies to keep me fresh and consistent. All of which can be learnt and passed onto other players, one playing I am working with cannot kick to save himself (maybe a little harsh) even though he thinks he can kick but I believe I can teach him to kick with a few sessions and get the results.
I have always admired professional players who kick goals as I believe you must have pretty big balls to step up for the team and nail the penalty or goal that will determine the game as the result can brand you as the hero or the loser. I know what it is like to be on both ends of that final kick. I would never brand myself as the hero just the final part of a team effort and luckily I have had more successful nudges than misses. Most goal kickers know that misses hurt like hell. Nobody feels what you feel but for me when I let the team down I tended to punish myself a lot. As I got older I realised this self punishment did no favours for my confidence and always affected later kicks in the game or my performance on the field. I believe part of the disappointment was my drive to improve and never have to go through that experience again. After the first miss I thought about how I would achieve success next time. I thought you need to try harder, you need to work harder and you need to practice more. Yes I was right in some respect but after the first few days reflecting on that missed kick. (By the way I am still gutted about missing it years later) I went back to the drawing board and thought there must be a smarter way.
Here is how I broke it down and how it might help you with your kicking. Firstly I looked at the kickers who I admired and asked a few questions. Who were the best? What were the common traits of each player? Could I break the skill down into a few parts and if I got those parts all right easily kick 5 from 5?
1. The Set Up. Every player would line the ball up with the seam facing towards the goal. The exception was some players would slightly tilt the ball away to combat the natural curve after the kick produced from the pivot of the hip. The tee choice was merely a preference for the set up. For example if a player wanted it higher, lower or to stand it more upright or lean it further forward. Personally I like to have it slightly ***led forward and I use a low set kicking tee as when I was younger I learnt to kick off a crow’s nest made from the grass or sand.
2. The Run Up. Now every player has a unique style before his run up and a classic example of this is Jonny Wilkinson. He adopts a powerful stance elbows tucked in and hands held together almost as if he was praying before he kicked. A lot of these physical movements are simply to get the body and mind ready for the kick. More often than not the kicker would kick through the ball from a 45 degree angle.
3. The Opposite foot placement. The opposite foot would always be placed alongside the ball about a half a foot to the side. The angle of this foot would always be pointing in the direction of the posts. Angled out it would go left and angled in it would go right.
4. The Sweet Spot. The kicking leg would always connect with the same point on the ball. Normally it is around a 1/3 the way up from the base of the ball along the seam.
5. Shoulder and Head. If the kicker was a right footer his left shoulder and head would always be over the ball in a powerful position and his head down eyes fixed on the strike. The opposite for a left footer.
6. The Follow Through. After the strike every player would follow through the line of the ball. Some players however to fall away to the side of the ball instead of in front of the ball. If you swing through the ball and finish in front more often than not you would achieve greater distance and a higher level of accuracy.
Following the basics of goal kicking you can improve your technique dramatically. There are lots of others things you need to get right which include the way you practice and mindset. If you are a kicker everything has to be positive. Regardless weather you miss or slot it. Each kick you learn what worked well and what didn’t. When I broke the skill down into these 6 key skills my consistency and accuracy improved. Practicing and evaluating only six things after each kick allowed me to critic the part that I didn’t perform so well and improve or work on it for the next kick.
I went from kicking around 50-70% in the season to 70-80% after my first year and my second year kicking above 80%. The results have been great throughout my career and I will continue to focus on improving and getting better with each training session. I only every practice now for a half an hour each time and for 5 mins before a game. This is the least amount of volume I have ever practiced but my percentage of successful kicks remains high. I must add that I have adopted a number of other techniques and strategies to keep me fresh and consistent. All of which can be learnt and passed onto other players, one playing I am working with cannot kick to save himself (maybe a little harsh) even though he thinks he can kick but I believe I can teach him to kick with a few sessions and get the results.
