Overview:  This is the first in a series of drills that are a little “out of the ordinary” from punting drills you’ve seen in the past.  However, I believe they are a nice change that will assist you in learning/re-learning the basics behind the punt.  Performing the drills one-time is not satisfactory.  They must be done over and over until the punter does them by habit!

Drill 1

Name: Leg Lineup

Purpose:  To properly line up your punting leg with your drop arm and football

Equipment:  A punter and an age appropriate football, coach or teammate if available

Procedure:

1. Stand upright, relaxed.  Move your drop arm into a drop position.  I teach an underhand drop so this position will be with your drop hand (right hand for right footed, left hand for left footed) palm facing up.
2. Now, here’s the key – move your drop arm down towards your punting leg.  Did your hand hit your thigh?  If not it should have.  This is probably one of THE most important steps to do, to start your drop off correctly.  I encourage you to do this at the start of every practice session.  Your drop arm should line up with your punting leg so the ball is dropped directly over your punting foot.  This will also teach you to swing your leg straight up into the ball rather than trying to swing your leg to a ball that is dropped from a different spot.
3. Add the football.  Place the football in your palm (which is facing up).  Angle the ball with the front point of the ball pointed slightly towards your opposite leg.
4. Look at your drop position – are your arm and the ball lined up directly over your punting leg?  To test, have a partner take away the ball.  Move your arm straight down towards your punting leg.  Your hand should hit your thigh.  If is doesn’t, adjust your hand/arm position and replace the ball for a drop.  Once you have the correct position of the drop, look at and memorize where that location is in reference to the rest of your body.

Coaching Points:

1. This sounds simple, but in most cases the drop point of the arm will be lined-up with the center of the punter’s body.  They MUST get the drop over the punting leg.  Otherwise they will try to “swing” the leg towards the center of their body to meet the ball.  Move the arm/ball – not the leg!
2. It helps if a fellow punter, teammate or coach is available to watch and line-up the drop in this drill.  Sometime the punter can’t tell if their arm/ball is lined up with their leg.
3. Until they can line-up the drop every time, make them run through this drill at least twice before starting warm-ups and full-speed punting.

by Mark Simon