HOW TO KICK A FIELD GOAL PART 2: APPROACHING THE BALL

Special Team Servant's Complete Guide to Kicking Field Goals Accurately, Consistently, and with Proper Technique

How To Kick a Field Goal: Approaching the Ball

Now that you know how to properly line up for a kick, the next area we will be discussing is how to approach the ball.

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Having a Proper Approach to Kick a Field Goal Starts with Your Alignment

The inside of our hip should be aligned with the outside of the football.

This ensures we will be taking the shortest and straightest steps as we approach the football.

Make Sure Your Pace to Kicking the Football is Natural

A very common error in younger kickers is sprinting to the ball when they try to kick field goals. Approaching the ball faster will not make you kick it any further. If anything, approaching the ball faster makes it harder to stay in control and be consistent.

You also want to make sure you're not going too slow. You may notice this in your approach if you feel like your last step needs to be really stretched just to get to the ball. Stretching to get to the ball is also an indicator that you may be too far away, in which case you'll need to revisit Part 1: Lining Up for a Kick.

Find a nice, natural, comfortable pace to the ball that you can completely control and easily repeat.

A Jab Step Can Help Start Your Approach to Kicking the Football, But it is Not Necessary

A jab step is simply a quick step up and down with your plant foot (your non-kicking foot). It is personal preference whether you have a jab step or not. At the end of the day, you need to do what ever is most comfortable, most natural, most controllable, and most consistent - for you.

You do not gain ground or make forward progress toward the ball when taking a jab step.

A jab step helps kickstart your momentum when you take your first step towards kicking the field goal.

If you take a jab step, you will want to make sure it doesn't add any more time onto your operation time. If you can't time your jab step up just right, or if you take too big of a jab step, you may slow your operation time and feel rushed with your approach. This also puts you at a great risk to have a blocked kick.

Your Approach to Kicking the Football Consists of Two Full Steps (Not Including the Optional Jab Step)

The first full step towards kicking the field goal is with your kicking leg. This is a full step after the optional jab step.

The second full step towards kicking the field goal is with your plant leg.

It is simply 1 step, 2 step, kick. Each step should be comfortable. Your second step is the step where you'll be winding up to kick the field goal. This step is going to be slightly larger of a step than your first, but it shouldn't be too large where you are more focused on gaining ground to the ball than you are in winding up to kick the ball.

Your Approach to Kicking The Football Should be A Straight Approach

A straight approach is absolutely necessary to accurately kicking your field goal.

When you line up for a kick and kick a field goal, you create a right triangle. The right angle is made when you take your two steps to the side, and the hypotenuse (longest line of the triangle) is from where you start your kick to where you end your kick. In your approach to the ball, you want to make sure you stay on the hypotenuse line.

The mistake to avoid is taking a "C" route towards the football. If you take a "C" route towards the ball, that means your approach is taking you inside the triangle. This will cause you to open up your kick and make it more likely that you will pull the ball wide left for right footed kickers or wide right for left footed kickers.

Taking a straight path towards the ball allows you kick the ball square and reduce the risk of pulling the kick and ultimately missing your field goal.

Don't Cross Your Steps on Your Approach to Kicking the Field Goal

When you approach the ball, make sure your steps are straight.

In other words, make sure your feet aren't crossing when you approach the ball. Crossing feet mean your right foot starts on the outside of the line and crosses your body, then your left foot starts on the inside of the line and crosses your body.

If your feet cross on your approach towards the ball, you will be out of balance. Being out of balance also puts you out of control, and out of control makes you inconsistent.

Conclusion: Approaching the Ball to Kick a Field Goal

In order to correctly approach the ball, you need to be properly aligned with the ball. Your inside hip should be aligned with the outside of the ball. Your pace to the ball should be natural, and you can take an optional jab step if needed. You should take two full steps towards the ball, and your first step starts with your kicking leg. Your approach to kicking the field goal should b straight, and your steps should not cross.

The next step in kicking Field Goals Accurately, Consistently, and with Proper Technique is making sure your timing is right.