Let me preface this series of articles by saying I am NOT a Doctor and the following information does not in any way constitute a recommendation or advice by me for your individual and specific situation. This article is for informational purposes only and is based solely on my experience as a former All-American collegiate kicker turned professional kicking coach with over 9 years of coaching experience. If you have an injury that persists and is not improving, you should speak with your trainer, visit a physical therapist and quite possibly even a doctor for further consultation, proper diagnosis and recommended solution.

I hope the following information on the 5 most common kicking injuries helps you. As always feel free to drop me an e-mail or check out our website www.kickingworld.com and all our other sites like YouTube, Facebook and this Blog for everything football kicking and punting.

#1 Hip Flexor (Strain/Pull/Tear)

The Hip Flexors are a group of muscles that help flex the femur (thigh bone) onto the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e. pull the knee upward. (Wikipedia). The Hip Flexors are triggered every time you kick or punt a ball whether football, soccer, rugby, etc.

Collectively known as the iliopsoas or inner hip muscles:

• Psoas major
• Psoas minor
• Iliacus muscle

In my opinion, the Hip Flexor is the easiest muscle area to injure as a place kicker and also the most common injury for kickers that I hear about and see throughout the year either from my students or from reports on ESPN, NFL Network, etc. Ironically enough, it’s not only kickers who injure their hip flexors. Some recent ‘famous’ professional athletes who suffered serious hip flexor injuries are as follows:

• Adam Vinatieri, NFL Kicker (New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts)
• Derek Jeter, MLB Short Stop (New York Yankees)
• Kobe Bryant, NBA Guard (Los Angeles Lakers)
• Greg Norman, PGA Golfer

As you can see, various sports are represented here. This goes to show just how common of an injury it is! So how do you injure your hip flexor and what are some signs of having an issue?

CAUSES
In my calculations, these are the 3 most likely ways other than a direct blow to a specific spot on your hip that you can trigger a hip flexor injury.

• Over-Kicking
• Not enough Rest
• Years of abuse/mis-care

SIGNS/SYMPTOMS

• Sore
• Pain when pressing into/around the hip flexors
• Pain when kicking or even at rest
• The feeling where you constantly need to stretch it or can’t sit with legs bent for too long without discomfort.
• Weak
• Clicking
• Popping
• Grinding
• Always sore after kicking
• Constantly needing to ice
• Never feeling full strength

If you experience any of these symptoms for a prolonged time and following the R.I.C.E. principle (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) does not resolve your pain and discomfort seek a professional’s opinion ASAP:

• First level- Athletic Trainer
• Second level- Physical Therapist
• Third level- Specialist Doctor (such as an orthopedic surgeon)

What Can I do if I think or know I have a Hip Flexor Injury?

• Follow your trainer, therapist or doctor’s recommendation.
• Implement a stretching and cautious strength building routine targeted around the surrounding areas of the injury to help strengthen the overall area.
• REST and ICE the injured area daily. (Game-plan here is to alleviate inflammation).
• You can also consider taking NAISDs

Q. What is an NAISD, is that a steroid?!
A. No No! An NAISD is a fancy for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug, which simply put, works to combat the inflammation along with your rest and ice methods.

I was taking 2 Aleve, 2 times a day for example and it certainly helped to alleviate my mild pain and help get me through the day while I was trying to recover from my hip injury.

BEST CASE SCENARIO
After some rest and proper rehab of your injury, you recover to regain most or all of your strength and you’re back on the field normal! (This is usually more likely with injuries that are recognized and address quickly).

WORST CASE SCENARIO
You may have to have surgery to correct the issue and possibly have 4-6 months or more of down time during recovery after surgery. I had to have surgery because my issue was not caught right away and all the while I just thought I was sore from kicking and it was normal to have that pain every day in my hip; but it is NOT normal.
If I would’ve caught mine earlier on I probably could have saved myself from surgery and you can too if you are diligent about your practice routine and pay attention to any change in your physical health! As soon as you recognize a persistent pain that doesn’t seem to get better after a couple days, please go tell your trainer right away and work through the levels (1. Trainer, 2. Therapist, 3. Doctor/Specialist) that we discussed earlier!

My Hip Surgery Story
I tore several areas within my hip flexor. The injury was caused due to overuse and kicking too many balls too often. I am now a firm believer in a specific practice routine with careful monitoring of how many balls are kicked in each session. I ensure that at all camps and private lessons we do everything we can to prevent this from happening to any of our students. The technical name of the injury I had was “acetabular labral tear” in which my only 2 solutions were to 1. Just deal with the pain the rest of my life or 2. Consent to arthroscopic surgery in my hip.

It sounds pretty gross but what they had to do was literally ‘pull out’ my leg from the hip joint and then go in and ‘clean’ up the labrum and smooth it out so that there was more room for the leg to swing around the ball. Think of it as everything was too ‘tight’ in there and every time I kicked, the bone would rub on the hip joint and put undue pressure on that injured area and it HURT like crazy!

I knew something ‘was up’ because I would be sore/tired after kicking only 20 balls. My leg would feel ‘swollen’ and inflamed after every kicking session. I seemed to constantly need to ice and take anti-inflammatory medicines to manage the pain/inflammation, but it never got better!

Finally, I called around and found Kevin Rausch, a renown Sports-Minded Physical Therapist based in Laguna Niguel, CA. I worked with him 3x a week and he helped me get a lot stronger, but after it was all said and done, I still needed surgery because the damage was irreversible.

I had the surgery and I was on crutches for about 2 weeks! It was awful because I couldn’t do anything on my own and I was rather immobile for a few days and totally ‘out of it’ after surgery! Fortunately, I got hooked back up with Kevin right after surgery and we followed a strict rehabilitation plan for a few weeks which later turned into more intense sports training and eventually he nursed me back to ‘almost’ full strength. I say almost, because after injuries I feel your body most of the time can never get quite back to how strong you originally were (although sometimes, people heal up stronger than before!).

The long story short I used to be able to kick upwards of 65 yard field goals on a good day but now after the injury and being out of kicking and exclusively into coaching I have a tough time going back outside of 50 yards (haha). What’s the moral of the story? Let’s make sure you don’t over kick and use this experience as a lesson to help you!

This concludes our 5 part series on The 5 Most Common Kicking Injuries. I hope you enjoyed it! To see all 5 parts of this series search by Tag “Kicking Injuries”.

RESOURCES
Hip Flexor Injuries
Kick Farther Program

Kevin Rausch of Rausch Physical Therapy & Sports Performance provides rehabilitation to athletes and active patients to treat overuse injuries, rehab from surgery and help to prevent future injuries by treating and managing their overall health. His practice is based in Laguna  Niguel, CA.
www.rauschpt.net

Warren G. Kramer III, MD. of Kramer Orthopedics is an Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in Arthroscopy, Shoulder, Hip and Knee Specialist. (He performed surgery on my hip) and is based in Newport Beach, CA.
www.kramermedical.com/Prov_DrWKramer.asp

About the Author

Coach Brent Grablachoff is a Professional Kicking Coach and Owner of Kicking World who trains youth, high school, college and professional football kickers and punters. He travels the country providing performance kicking camps in several states and offers year-round private instruction in San Diego and Orange County, CA.
www.kickingworld.com

Let me preface this series of articles by saying I am NOT a Doctor and the following information does not in any way constitute a recommendation or advice by me for your individual and specific situation. This article is for informational purposes only and is based solely on my experience as a former All-American collegiate kicker turned professional kicking coach with over 9 years of coaching experience. If you have an injury that persists and is not improving, you should speak with your trainer, visit a physical therapist and quite possibly even a doctor for further consultation, proper diagnosis and recommended solution.

I hope the following information on the 5 most common kicking injuries helps you. As always feel free to drop me an e-mail or check out our website www.kickingworld.com and all our other sites like YouTube, Facebook and this Blog for everything football kicking and punting.

#2 Groin (Groin Pull/Strain/Tear/Hernia)

Groin Injuries are commonly mis-diagnosed for Hip Flexor injuries and vice-versa. The reason being, the two muscle areas are very close to each other on the inner portion of your leg. A pulled groin muscle typically means you did something to your ‘adductor’ or inner region of thigh which is opposite of ‘abductor’ or outer region of thigh. For some reason I see more groin injuries with soccer players than I do with my kickers and punters. Possibly because the leg swing path of a kicking a soccer ball is a bit different than a football kick or punt.

A groin injury can happen in anything- not necessarily just kicking a football or soccer ball, but also other athletic activities such as running, sprinting or weight lifting, to name a few. A groin injury feels very weak and painful and usually you cannot kick at all during a groin injury. In my experience, most soccer and football related groin injuries are pulls or strains that simply require rest to heal. Follow the R.I.C.E. principle which states: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. So, you would take time off from your activity, ice it (maybe 20 minute intervals a few times a day), Compress it which would mean keep it wrapped or tight, and Elevate it (so get off your feet as much as you can and lay down with your feet slightly higher than your chest) so it can take down the swelling in that muscle area.

Pulling or Straining your groin unfortunately is a very common injury in any athletic event or sport. Two things that can really help lower the chances of a future groin pull are:

1. Proper Stretching & Warming Up before Kicking or Punting
2. Strengthening of your ‘Core’ muscles. i.e. the Lower Abs, Oblique, Low Back, etc. (Your ‘Supporting Muscles’).

Doing the above two steps will help alleviate some of the strain and pressure exerted by the groin and allow other muscle groups to help pull some weight. I also highly recommend wearing compression shorts when you kick and taking extra time to stretch your groin and hip area before you kick. The bottom line is to be smart when you train and when you kick. If you feel you are getting tired and your leg feels rubbery, weak or like you should stop kicking, then you should STOP immediately. I see too many kickers and punters who go those extra 4 or 5 balls and that is how they usually hurt themselves. Be deliberate in all you do, have a daily practice regime and be smart about your kicking/punting practices and your daily training program!

Stay tuned for the #1 Most Common Kicking Injury and how to prevent, recognize & heal it!

About the Author

Coach Brent Grablachoff is a Professional Kicking Coach and Owner of Kicking World who trains youth, high school, college and professional football kickers and punters. He travels the country providing performance kicking camps in several states and offers year-round private instruction in San Diego and Orange County, CA.
www.kickingworld.com

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
My snapping career began the summer leading into my freshman year of High School when my Uncle (who played Tight End and snapped for Cal State Fullerton back when they had a football program) showed me the basics of throwing and snapping before double session week. After I graduated HS in 2001, I played one year at Saddleback Community College where I was the starting long snapper as well a back-up tight end. At the end of my first JUCO season, Texas Tech approached me and offered me a scholarship opportunity for my 3 remaining seasons of eligibility! I graduated from Texas Tech in 2005 and played in front of millions of people on national TV and against some of the top athletes in the country. It was an awesome experience!

Without the proper snapping instruction however, none of this would have been made possible. I was fortunate to have coaches at the beginning of my career that understood the art of long snapping. They took the time to explain the basic mechanics and snapping techniques that go missed through simply watching NFL Snappers on TV.

I am very excited about this new partnership in having Coach Ian Smetona train our snappers. He was an excellent Division 1 Snapper at Texas Tech, has been coaching snappers over the last few years on his own and now is joining forces with us. This will add even more value to Kicking World which has established itself as the leader in personalized kicking & punting instruction. Adding snapping to our service offering will allow all three specialists to grow & improve together. We will implement more ‘live drills’ that will help simulate the in-game environment and greatly enhance the ability of our kickers, punters and snappers to dominate under pressure. -Coach Brent Grablachoff, Owner & Coach of Kicking World

PHILOSOPHY
There are no tricks or gimmicks to becoming a solid long snapper. A lot of the snapping instructors I see today are coaching players to “perform” at showcase camps, workouts and tryouts. They are not offering any real world solutions to being a useful team contributor on the football field- which is what really matters. You want to help your team win more games and add value to the overall Special Teams core. If all you can do is be a great snapper in gym clothes with no rush or pressure, you are going to be embarrassed your first day in pads! My goal is to help make sure you are ‘ready’ for the next level.

My coaching philosophy involves an emphasis on snapping fundamentals & technique, accuracy, consistency and throwing mechanics that ensure you can duplicate the overall ‘process’ time and time again. Everyone has a personal preference regarding form and stance: no-look vs. look, etc. I am not going to tweak your stance preference unless your existing form is inhibiting your accuracy potential. Whether you’re a first time snapper or a top snapping prospect, I will help you!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

• Professional 1 on 1 snapping instruction
• Focus on fundamentals & technique
• Mechanical breakdowns so you learn how to “correct” after a bad snap
• Perfect the challenging snap-to-block technique
• Mental training
• Situational drills w/kickers, holders, and punters for game-time preparation
• Perform accuracy drills to gain consistency in short and long snaps
• Learn how to land the laces out on every FG/PAT snap

RATES
The same rates will apply just as Coach Brent’s 1 on 1 and small group kicking and punting lessons:

Small Group Session (3-4 students, 1 hour)
$70      per session
$300    5 sessions pre-paid

1 on 1 Snapping Lessons (exclusive, 45 minutes)
$120    per session

SCHEDULE A SESSION
I am available most Sundays at Laguna Hills HS in CA and work alongside Coach Brent’s kicking and punting lessons. This allows both the kickers, punters and snappers to get in live work on top of all the instruction and drills that we do. I’m excited about this tremendous opportunity and look forward to training all you snappers! For any questions and to arrange a snapping lesson with me, please e-mail me directly at ian@kickingworld.com or contact Kicking World at www.kickingworld.com or 619-564-1333.

Best of luck to you all this season!

-Coach Ian Smetona

Let me preface this series of articles by saying I am NOT a Doctor and the following information does not in any way constitute a recommendation or advice by me for your individual and specific situation. This article is for informational purposes only and is based solely on my experience as a former All-American collegiate kicker turned professional kicking coach with over 9 years of coaching experience. If you have an injury that persists and is not improving, you should speak with your trainer, visit a physical therapist and quite possibly even a doctor for further consultation, proper diagnosis and recommended solution.

I hope the following information on the 5 most common kicking injuries helps you. As always feel free to drop me an e-mail or check out our website www.kickingworld.com and all our other sites like YouTube, Facebook and this Blog for everything football kicking and punting.

#3 Quadriceps (Pull/Strain)

The quadriceps consist of 4 major muscles in the front of the thighs:

* Rectus Femoris
* Vastus Lateralis
* Vastus Medialis
* Vastus  Intermedius

Those muscles sound pretty ‘official’ huh? Well they are Latin words meaning: Rectus (Straight), Vastus (Resister). All 4 components of the Quadriceps are extensors of the knee joint. The Rectus Femoris also helps in flexing of the hip.

How Can I hurt my Quadriceps?
Kickers and Punters can experience quadriceps pulls and strains quite easily when they ‘overload’ their leg. What I mean by that is, say you are a beginner kicker, maybe 13 or 14 years old and previously you played soccer. You never kicked a football before (it’s a completely different motion). You go out on your first day of kicking and use mostly your ‘quad’ muscle to kick the ball. That’s ok, but the problem is you kicked 50 footballs, and you never kicked a football a day in your life before that! Things like that put you at risk of pulling any muscle, especially something like the quadriceps. Another way you can hurt your quadriceps is by kicking too much weight or lifting too much weight with that muscle. An example would be your leg is not ‘kicking conditioned’ and you’ve never worked that muscle hard before. You go out and kick a 1+ pound football around all day and that heavy resistance takes a toll. After one wrong kick your leg just says – wow, this is too much to handle, and shuts down. The Quadriceps could be the first thing to give out.

So I’m hurt, now what?
So what can you do if you hurt your Quadriceps? Well it’s not too far off from the protocol discussed in the previous article on Hamstrings. Follow the procedure of Rest, No Kicking or Punting for a few days, Ice and Anti-Inflammatory. Another great idea is to ‘wrap’ your quad if you absolutely have to kick (i.e. if this happens during the season and you can’t just choose to sit out for a week). Or get kinieso tape and set yourself up (this stuff is good for several injuries). You can ask your athletic trainer at school to do this. That tight compression (not too far off from wearing a real tight Under Armour shirt when weight lifting) will help keep the muscles in place and cut down on everything moving around and causing more issues and more pain. It should in theory help to warm up the area and cut down on the discomfort enough to help get you through the game. Another good thing to try is gently massaging and stretching the injured area.

Ouch, You did What?!
Regardless if you are injured or not, I feel it is an absolute necessity for kickers and punters to wear some style of ‘compression shorts’ while they kick and punt. The following story may sound completely ‘nuts’, but it is a true story. I got a call from a student a couple years ago saying he couldn’t make our lesson that coming weekend (and he never cancels and was 100% committed to training) so something did not seem right. I asked him, ‘what’s up’? He hesitantly replied, “I was out kicking with my shorts and boxer shorts and twisted my balls”. (LOL) I kid you not. Of course I am not referring to footballs. It took my student a couple months to recover from this injury after having had surgery to ‘un twist’ them (OUCH!). The moral of the story is, make sure you wear some sort of compression short like an Under Armour or Nike. They don’t have to be so tight that they cut your circulation or anything like that, but just tight enough to keep everything secure and this will help you several ways:

1. Keep your muscles warm
2. Prevent ‘stuff’ from bouncing around
3. Help prevent and calm injuries

Follow the above steps and they should absolutely help you on your road to recovery.

How Many Balls Should I Kick?
Remember to be diligent in all you do, keep a log of how many balls you kick each day and be weary of kicking more than you need. Typically I recommend a good practice session should include 40-45 total balls kicked. So if you are a field goal kicker who also does kickoffs, that could mean maybe 30-35 field goals and 7-10 kickoffs. If you punt also, just mix it in and switch it up each day based on what your priorities are.

Stay tuned for the #2 Most Common Kicking Injury and how to prevent, recognize & heal it!

About the Author

Coach Brent Grablachoff is a Professional Kicking Coach and Owner of Kicking World who trains youth, high school, college and professional football kickers and punters. He travels the country providing performance kicking camps in several states and offers year-round private instruction in San Diego and Orange County, CA.
www.kickingworld.com

Let me preface this series of articles by saying I am NOT a Doctor and the following information does not in any way constitute a recommendation or advice by me for your individual and specific situation. This article is for informational purposes only and is based solely on my experience as a former All-American collegiate kicker turned professional kicking coach with over 9 years of coaching experience. If you have an injury that persists and is not improving, you should speak with your trainer, visit a physical therapist and quite possibly even a doctor for further consultation, proper diagnosis and recommended solution.

I hope the following information on the 5 most common kicking injuries helps you. As always feel free to drop me an e-mail or check out our website www.kickingworld.com and all our other sites like YouTube, Facebook and this Blog for everything football kicking and punting.

#4 Hamstring (Hamstring Pull/Strain/Tear)

When I was a freshman in college I came into summer training camp with high hopes of beating out the then senior kicker who had the starting job. I was not drinking nearly enough water during the hot summer practices in August. I was kicking a lot and working out a ton in the gym trying to do whatever I could to garner the job. Well one day I went overboard. I was so focused on showing the coaches my ability and trying to prove my worth that I could earn the starting kicker position. I kicked 60 plus field goals and several kickoffs trying to ‘win the job’. Needless to say it was way too much (see other articles where we mention a good protocol of how much you should kick) and I wound up straining my hamstring.

I of course had to go to the trainer and figure out my next plan and how to rehab back to full strength. The prognosis was rather simple “Brent, you are dehydrated and you kicked way too much! … Let’s get some fluids in you and I want you to rest for 5 days with no kicking AT ALL and no leg workouts AT ALL” (Trainer John).

No more kicking for you!
As most of you can probably relate, I didn’t know how I would go 5 days without kicking and still earn the starting job as a freshman. It was a real tough 5 days of ‘waiting’ but I managed and sure enough after the rest period, my hamstring strain, also known as a pull, healed up!

I was back on the field and a couple days later I earned the starting job and at the end of the season I earned 1’st Team All-American honors as a freshman kicker! So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t over-kick, drink plenty of water, especially in the summer/hot seasons, and listen to your trainers!

What do I do if I pull my hamstring?
If you too experience a hamstring pull from over kicking (and sometimes more commonly from Punting) you should rest without kicking or punting, ice and give it time to heal. Typically 4-6 consecutive days of no kicking, punting or any leg exercises in the gym should revive you back to normal. If you still experience pain after a week of rest, you should definitely go see a doctor to get it evaluated and see what is wrong and how to fix!

Stay tuned for the #3 Most Common Kicking Injury and how to prevent, recognize & heal it!

About the Author

Coach Brent Grablachoff is a Professional Kicking Coach and Owner of Kicking World who trains youth, high school, college and professional football kickers and punters. He travels the country providing performance kicking camps in several states and offers year-round private instruction in San Diego and Orange County, CA.
www.kickingworld.com

#5 Patellar Tendinitis

Let me preface this series of articles by saying I am NOT a Doctor and the following information does not in any way constitute a recommendation or advice by me for your individual and specific situation. This article is for informational purposes only and is based solely on my experience as a former All-American collegiate kicker turned professional kicking coach with over 9 years of coaching experience. If you have an injury that persists and is not improving, you should speak with your trainer, visit a physical therapist and quite possibly even a doctor for further consultation, proper diagnosis and recommended solution.

I hope the following information on the 5 most common kicking injuries helps you. As always feel free to drop me an e-mail or check out our website www.kickingworld.com and all our other sites like YouTube, Facebook and this Blog for everything football kicking and punting.

#5 Patellar Tendon (Patellar Tendinitis)

I unfortunately also had to experience this injury throughout my years of kicking! And it still haunts me to this day! A Patellar Tendon is the tendon that runs from your knee cap down toward your Tibia (shinbone). The symptom Patellar Tendinitis occurs from repeated pressure put on the tendon/knee. If you jam your plant foot into the ground HARD several times a day over several weeks and years of your career, you will most likely experience this at some point as well. Another similar type of ‘impact injury’ would be the shin bone. That too can take a beating from a hard, repeated plant foot day after day.

Fortunately there are some remedies for these injuries.

1. Don’t slam all your weight hard into the ground when you plant.
2. Try to transfer some of your weight to kicking leg side of body at/after impact.
3. Over The Counter (OTC) NAISDs such as Aleve can help bring down the inflammation and sooth the pain and help bring it back to normal.
4. ICE Can also help bring down inflammation and help heal the injury.
5. REST is the most important of all these strategies.

My patellar tendinitis was real bad because in college I played on that ‘old school’ type of turf field which is called Astro Turf. You know, the type the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles used to play on back in the day? Well that is so hard and right below is concrete so it was not good for my knee!

Also, before I became a kicking coach and really learned the proper techniques and honed my teaching, I used to kick with sloppy form- driving the majority of my weight into the ground hard! There was no shock protection because all my weight would be slammed into my plant leg and it would be like driving a truck with no shocks- it is NOT a smooth ride and sooner or later it will cause damage to your vehicle! Well that’s what I did- I caused damage to my patellar tendon from all the over-use and poor form.

So what did I do to ‘heal’ my injury? Well for me the protocol was rest, ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and I had to get a couple cortisone injections to really reverse the inflammation as quickly as possible. Years later, I am back to normal, however on those cold days I still get flare ups and it’s not fun : (

A side note regarding knee injuries. There’s a couple NFL Kickers who injured their knees, but not from kicking! Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers kicker tore his ACL by making a tackle on the opening kickoff of the 2011 NFL Football season- what a bummer! Bill Gramatica, former Arizona Cardinals kicker injured his knee (tore ACL) jumping up and down celebrating a field goal! Sort of funny I know,  but not really since they severely hurt themselves!

Bottom line- work on your technique so you don’t drive all your weight into the ground and you will alleviate a lot of the pressure and impact by practicing better kicking form. Don’t forget to REST for a while after you experience this issue before going right back to kicking.

Stay tuned for the #4 Most Common Kicking Injury and how to prevent, recognize & heal it!

About the Author

Coach Brent Grablachoff is a Professional Kicking Coach and Owner of Kicking World who trains youth, high school, college and professional football kickers and punters. He travels the country providing performance kicking camps in several states and offers year-round private instruction in San Diego and Orange County, CA.
www.kickingworld.com

You can track practice sessions or games and use it as a diary of your kicking sessions or just to brag to your friends or coaches about how good you did! Record your individual kicking stats to help improve your kicking game. thefirst mobile app for football kickers and punters to use on iPhone and Android mobile phones. Coach Brent created this App for all his students to be able to track, analyze and improve upon their kicking skills. The App is currently available to everyone in the Android Marketplace and Apple App Market. The major benefit of the App is that you can track details of your field goals, kickoff and punting progress over multiple sessions and use the data to spot trends and pinpoint your strengths & weaknesses.

Coach Brent Grablachoff started Kicking World a couple years after his college football career. At the beginning of his humble start he didn’t always have hundreds of kicking students like he does today. He started small just like any business, but with consistent hard work, referrals and results he obtained for his students; the business grew fast! When he first started his objective was to create a means for anyone to see him for kicking lessons and no one would ever be turned away. Now as Kicking World has grown to a world-class leader in Personalized Kicking & Punting Instruction, there’s not enough time in the day for him to service everyone. So Brent created a very economical package that will get you great training for a low price. Of course seeing him and his staff in person for private lessons or a camp is the BEST solution, but in case that is not an option for you, we have some great ideas to help get you kicking on a budget!

1. Virtual Private Lesson
What is this you may ask? Well it is a way for you to get a ‘jump start’ on your kicking by sending Coach Brent recent video footage of you kicking or punting. Coach Brent will review your footage and then schedule a call to discuss all the fine points over the phone with you and your Dad, Mom or Coach. In addition to the ‘virtual private lesson’ over the phone, you will also get an e-mail recap of everything so you can have it on hand and available to reference as you begin your new training regime!

Why is the Virtual Private kicking lesson such a powerful solution for you? Well, it allows you to simulate a private kicking lesson with Coach Brent without leaving your house and you get all of this for only $50.00!  Signup for a Virtual Private Kicking or Punting Lesson

2. Kicking & Punting eBook
Here’s another incredible low cost solution for you or your son to get the best kicking and punting instruction available in the country. You can purchase our ‘eBook’ which is an electronic book that Coach Brent wrote. It’s over 65 pages long and includes EVERYTHING you need on field goals, punting, kickoffs, onside kicks, mental game, etc. It’s instructional, informative, step by step, complete and will help you get results! The best part is right after purchase you get instant access to it and can view it on your computer, laptop, iPad, Smart Phone, etc.! All this for less than $20 bucks! Download the Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting eBook

3. Win a FREE Camp Admission
We hold monthly contests on our Facebook Page and give away awesome prizes like t-shirts, hats, hoodies and even free camp admissions! All you have to do is “LIKE” our Facebook page by going to that link above and clicking “LIKE”. You will then be able to interact with everyone at Kicking World and even make some new friends who are also kickers and punters.

4. Instructional YouTube Videos
In case you don’t already know about our YouTube page, which is the leading football kicking video site in the country; we have hundreds of football kicking and punting videos available for FREE. These instructional videos educate you, help you visualize good form and allow you to learn a ton of new things about kicking and punting. You can also watch some of the wildest kicking videos you’ve probably ever seen. Some examples are 13 year olds hitting 60 yard field goals, Youth football players hitting 40+ yard field goals, Onside Kicks that stay in the air forever and kickoffs that go through the goal posts! Also, Coach Brent has a few instructional videos where he teaches you some of the basics of field goal kicking, punting and onside pop up kickoffs. Make sure you Subscribe after visiting Kicking World’s YouTube Channel.

5. FREE TIPS for VIP Members
Lastly, here’s yet another FREE way to get kicking instruction without having to pay a dime! Simply add your e-mail address to our ‘VIP E-mail List’ signup form which is located on the home page of our website at www.kickingworld.com You will automatically start getting e-mails from Coach Brent which include free kicking tips, exclusive videos not seen on our YouTube page and the first to know about any upcoming camp dates. If you are not VIP yet, what are you waiting for?

6. Coming Soon! … The Complete Guide to Kicking DVD!

We hope this list of the top 5 ways for you to get Kicking on a Budget has helped you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our website, Facebook or YouTube pages. You can signup directly for a camp or private lesson on our website or feel free to Call Coach Brent for more info. Thanks for reading and best wishes for a great football career!

Well what about the kickers and punters out there who let the summer slip away and have only practiced a couple times, or even worse- not at all! Yes, you are definitely behind schedule and should have been practicing all summer, but don’t worry! I have created a special 10 step emergency tune-up guide for you to follow over the next 10 days which you will start TODAY! This is for every kicker/punter whether youth, HS, College or Pro. You should print this guide out or save it to your phone so you can committ to it over the next 10 days. Good Luck!

1. Kick or Punt a total of 40 balls these days:
(F 7/22, S 7/24, T 7/26, R 7/28, S 7/30 and S 7/31).
This will allow you to kick 6 times over the next 10 days and help build your confidence back up and get your leg conditioned again for weekly kicking/punting.

2. Sprint:
You need to fire up those fast twitch leg muscles and build SPEED. Speed trumps Strength in kicking/punting. I am not asking that you go run incredible long jogs. What I’m recommending is something geared toward firing up your fast twitch muscle fibers and consumes much less time but is more challenging. The following sprinting drill will help generate more speed and allow you to get that ‘fast leg snap’ as well condition your body for the gruelling double-sessions with conditioning drills your coach will put you through the first 2 weeks of practice in August.

Shuttle Runs every other day through July 31:
Sprint Goal Line to 10 Yard Line (touch hand to line) and sprint back through Goal Line. Rest 5 seconds. Repeat and without rest run back to the 20 (touch hand to line) and sprint through goal line. Rest 20 seconds. Repeat both 10 and 20 and continue without rest sprinting to 30 yard line (touch hand to line) and sprint through goal line. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat all 3 without rest and continue sprinting to 40 yard line (touch hand to line) and sprint back through Goal Line. COMPLETE. This will probably tire you out if you haven’t been doing any conditioning. Do this every other day through July 31. If this is too easy for you, I would like you to repeat the process in reverse (Run to 40 and back, Rest 5 seconds. Run to 40 and back then 30 and back. Rest 20 seconds. Run to 40 and back, 30 and back, 20 and back, rest 30 seconds. Run to 40 and back, 30 and back, 20 and back, 10 and back. COMPLETE!

3. Stretch:
Your muscles need to be flexible and strong to endure daily double-session practices the first 2 weeks of football camp. Also, your legs need to be loose/flexible to ensure you can kick/punt fundamentally sound and decrease the risk of injury due to strained quads, hamstrings, groins, etc. The easiest solution to ensure you ‘get your stretching in’ is to follow the FREE downloadable 3 page Football Kicking ‘Stretching Guide’. Do this DAILY and do it 2-3 times per day. It should take you roughly 10 minutes each time you stretch. If you can committ to stretching when you shower in the morning, before & after you kick, and before you go to sleep you will feel much more ‘loose’ and you will significantly increase your chances of a healthy injury-free season. On top of that, your genuine well-being will improve and if you have constant back, hip or other pains, these stretches will help to alleviate some of that pain due to tension/pressure/stiffness.

4. Core Focus:
The word ‘core’ has become so widely used of late. I hear it used more often than anything in the workout world. Your ‘core’ refers to the center of your body consisting of mostly your Abdominal Muscles, Hips and Low Back. These 3 muscle groups are paramount in a kicker or punter. I encourage you to implement core excercises in the gym at your workout sessions now and through the season. I recommend a personal trainer who can help you with specific kicking or soccer type of core movements or simply calling me to schedule a 1 on 1 in-gym training session so I can show you around the gym and give you specific workouts based on your body type that will help improve your overall balance, stability and strength. If you don’t live in California and can’t come out to see me, here’s a few simply ones for you to do (do these 2-3x per week, usually at the end of your gym session).

* Bent Knee Leg Lifts on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Bent Knee Leg Lifts (with twist to each side) on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Straight Leg Lifts on Dip/Pullup Bar
* Low Back Extensions (don’t go past parallel) use weight like 10 to 25 pound plate to challenge even more
* Safe Hip Exercises (see #5. below)

5. Isometric Leg Speed/Strength Program
I’m not going into detail into this. You can read all about it at the link. I’ve been recommending this program for the last 4 years because it WORKS. It had added an average of 3 yards per each of my student’s field goals, kickoffs and punts. Do this starting ASAP through the season (full instructions included when you receive the program). Athletic Quickness Kick Farther Program

6. Kicking World eBook
This is it. Everything you need to know about field goal kicking, kickoffs, punting in a concise format with step by step guides on technique, fundamentals, drills, exercises and even discussion on gym workouts and kicking equipment you need. The best part about this Football Kicking eBook is it is downloadable immediately and you do not have to wait for any shipping as it is in electronic format only so you can read it on your iPad, iPhone, Smart Phone, Laptop, PC or Mac or even print it out! Read detailed description of the book I wrote here: ‘Complete Guide to Kicking & Punting’ by Brent Grablachoff

7. Emergency Tune-Up Lesson
Schedule a 1 on 1 Training Session with me any Sunday at Laguna Hills High School in beautiful Orange County, CA or any other day in beautiful San Diego, CA with 3 locations near downtown, La Jolla and East County! I offer kicking lessons and punting lessons year-round in So Cal. You can also fly me out to train your son 1 on 1 wherever you may be located or come train with me for a 3 Day session like this Professional Kicker did (see his before & after instructional YouTube Video).

8. Virtual Private Lesson
If you don’t have the means to see me in California, there is a ‘virtual private lesson’ option. You would simply e-mail or mail me footage of your kicks/punts and then we schedule a 15 minute phone call to break down your form/technique and help you understand everything that is going on and what you need to work on to improve. This is one of the best deals in the Kicking World Shop

9. LAST California Kicking Camp of 2011
Sunday, July 31 One-Day Camp Only!
Laguna Hills High School
8:30am-11:30am Youth Ages 10-12
12pm-3pm HS Ages 13-18
Cost: $100 Youth, $200 HS
Register Online Now!

10. LAST Texas Kicking Camp of 2011
Tuesday & Wednesday, July 26-27!
6pm-8pm, 8am-10am (both sessions included)
Cedar Park, TX
Cost: $300 Returning, $350 New Student
Limited to first 8 signups, Only 2 Spots Left, Call to Register!

As always, feel free to e-mail or message me on Facebook or YouTube if you have any questions or need help with anything. Our YouTube site and Facebook page are incredible resources for you to get free tips, participate in contests and make some kicking/punting friends. You must ‘LIKE’ the Facebook page to unlock all the additional features.

Have a great start to your 2011 Summer Camp!

-Coach Brent Grablachoff
619-564-1333
brent (at) kickingworld.com
www.kickingworld.com