HOW TO PUNT A FOOTBALL PART 3: TAKING YOUR PUNTING STEPS

Special Team Servant's Complete Guide to Punting footballs Accurately, Consistently, and with Proper Technique

How To Punt a Football: Taking Your Punting Steps

Now that we know how fast our operation time should be from snap to punt, let's discuss the our punting steps.

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Your Steps Should Support the Operation Time of the Punt

We are trying to get our punt off as quickly as possible.

We should be taking steps that help us punt quickly but in control.

To help us take the appropriate punting steps, we should start with our feet being staggered. Specifically, your punting leg should be behind your plant leg.

Your feet should be shoulder-width apart.

You should be in a comfortable and athletic position. You should be slightly leaning forward, and your arms should be hanging as you get ready to catch the football in your hands (not your pads or facemark) out in front of your body.

You should be on the balls of your feet, but still very much in control and not falling over.

The Approach to Your Punt is a Two Step Approach

If we take any more than two steps as we try to punt the football, we would take up too much time and put ourselves at a great risk for a blocked punt.

If we take any less steps, we will unregenerate the amount of momentum we are capable of generating, and our punt will not be as high and far.

Your two punting steps should be quick, consistent, and efficient.

Your First Punting Step Should be Short and Effortless

Your first step should be effortless. The weight placement of your upper body slightly leaning forward should allow you to fall into your first step.

Your first punting step should be straight forward.

Your first step in punting the ball should be nice and short. Your first punting step should cover less than a yard.

If you find yourself reaching, taking a long and awkward stride, then you are covering too much ground and you're taking too big of a first step. All that movement is unnatural and forced, and we need to have our punting steps be very natural and effortless.

We Create Power and Momentum with our Second Step

Our second step is used to create power to punt the ball far downfield, high to hang, or both.

We should be driving forward with our second step to create the power.

Our body should open up as we take our second punting step.

As we take our second punting step, our hips should open up but remained straight downfield towards our target.

By driving forward in your second step, you're creating an openness that will allow your punting leg to have a full swing.

Keep in mind, there is a difference between taking a big step forward and driving your body forward to create openness.

Taking a big step forward is unnatural and will take you off balance and out of control. As a result, your next step will be more focused on covering ground and getting back into a more natural position.

If you drive forward, your body will still be in control and you will be in a great position to have a full leg swing as you punt the ball.

In short, it is about opening up your body. It is not about covering as much ground as possible.

After Our Second Step, We Punt the Football Down Field

You should be swinging your punting leg, generating momentum and power as you move from the second step which opened up your body.

You should punt through the football. Punting through the football means your leg continues to follow through and swing upward even after the ball left your foot.

Punting through the football also means the momentum continues through your entire body, your plant leg ultimately leaves the ground, and you continue to move forward.

A mistake many young punters make is to completely stop the momentum once the ball hits their foot. They don't follow through with their punting leg. The momentum doesn't lift their plant leg off the ground, and they don't continue to move forward after the punt. All of this means, they left power and momentum off the table and punted the ball lower and shorter than they are capable of.

We should only be covering about two yards as we punt the football.

Conclusion: Taking Your Punting Steps

Your punting steps should support your quick operation time, and you should only take two steps. Your first step is small while your second step opens you up. Your second step is what sets you up to generate maximum amount of power and momentum for a high and deep punt. After you punt the football, your punting leg should continue to follow though, and the momentum should take your plant leg off the ground carrying you forward.

The next step in punting footballs Accurately, Consistently, and with Proper Technique is having a controlled drop.