HOW TO KICK A FIELD GOAL PART 4: PLANT FOOT PLACEMENT

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

How To Kick a Field Goal: Plant Foot Placement

Now that you know how how fast your operation time should be from snap to kick, the next area we will be discussing is the our plant foot placement.

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If You're New to Kicking Field Goals, Let's First Define What Your Plant Foot Is

Your plant foot is your non-kicking foot.

This is the foot that stays on the ground as you kick the ball.

Your Plant Foot Should be Appropriately Placed Away From the Football

So what is appropriately placed?

It is different for every kicker but relatively the same.

When you kick a field goal you would have a plant foot that is appropriately placed away from the ball if it is the distance of your foot.

To clarify, this is not a foot a way from the ball as in 12 inches. Rather there should be a space between the football and your plant foot that is equal to the size if your actual foot.

If you are closer to the ball, you will feel jammed up and pressed for space when you kick a field goal.

If you are further away from the ball, you will be reaching more than what is natural which may result in barely connecting with the ball or pushing it.

That's just one area of your plant foot placement.

Your Plant Foot Needs to Aligned with the Ball

Your plant foot alignment will vary based on whether you kick off the ground, a one inch kicking block or a two inch kicking block.

Generally speaking, the lower you are kicking to the ground, the further forward your plant foot should be. The taller of a tee you are kicking off of, the further behind the ball your plant foot should be.

If you are kicking a field goal of the ground like kickers in college or kickers in the NFL, your heel should be right in line with the football.

If you are kicking a field goal off of a one inch block, the football should be in line with the middle of your foot or just in front of your ankle.

If you're like most high school or middle school kickers and using a two inch kicking block, the football should be in line with your toes.

Your Plant Foot Should be Pointed Towards the Small Target Between the Uprights

Remember picking out a very small target between the uprights when we talked about aiming small and missing small?

When you kick a field goal, the toes of your plant foot should be pointed towards that small target.

Quite often the ball goes where your plant foot is pointed. When you watch missed kicks in slow motion on Saturdays and Sundays, take a look at the kicker's plant foot. More often than not, their plant foot is pointed somewhere outside of the uprights and their ball follows, resulting in a missed kick.

If you want to make a field goal or extra point, you must make sure your plant foot is pointed towards that target between the uprights.

Conclusion: Plant Foot Placement

When kicking a field goal, your plant foot is your non-kicking foot. It should be one foot away from the football when you kick, and it should be downfield based on the size of kicking block you're using. Generally speaking, the lower you are kicking to the ground, the further forward your plant foot should be. The taller of a tee you are kicking off of, the further behind the ball your plant foot should be. Finally, your plant foot should be pointed towards the small target you picked between the uprights.

The next step in kicking Field Goals Accurately, Consistently, and with Proper Technique is making sure you hit the ball with complete leg lock.