Calling FG Kicker Specialists

Paging Barrister

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He's only attempted 3 kicks of 40+

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Even his extra points and short FG's have a low arch. Before Domingue beat him out, I don't recall his kicks being so low.

He's Polish.

Former college kicker here:

Launch angle is baked into approach and foot placement on the ball. It's not something you can immediately fix over-night because that foot placement is a part of the ingrained swing.

The analog is trying to fundamentally tinker with a golf swing. Tiger was one of a few players who, in his prime, was able to work out swing trajectory mid-season. But most people who try and adjust, say, steepness of the hands or pitch of the swing have to wait until an off season because it's not something you can just adjust on the fly without the possibility of everything going to hell mid-tournament as you lapse back into the old motion with new approach. That's a bad, bad recipe for disaster.

In a sense, you are who you are at this moment. CD should have gotten training to adjust his launch angle in the off season by shortening his stride and concentrating of loft. There are some additional mechanics you can work on to do this, but making that adjustment so that its second-nature at this point is harder than you think.

tl;dr The low trajectory is a big problem, but it may not be something he can fix without fricking up his confidence in his motion. Why? Because the more you think about this shite, the more likely you are to frick it up. Kicking is a reflexive skill, not a cognitive one.

kickers, like golfers will develop small mechanical flaws in their swing that they have to work on.

Currently, Colby is setting his plant foot a little too far forward. This is causing his strike foot to contact the ball slightly higher than the target "sweet spot" and thus creating a lower trajectory. The "sweet spot" is about a 1 inch square located 2.5 inches below the mid-line of the ball.

In order to impact the "sweet spot" for ideal trajectory, the plant foot needs to be behind the football. HS kickers using a 1" tee will want their plant overlapping into the ball and younger kickers using a full 2" block will want their plant foot fully parallel to the ball.

Colby is very much aware and is working on a shorter more compact approach that should prevent him from planting too deep. As I said in an earlier thread, Jack is actually putting up the best ball right now.

Colby has the most game experience and has handled pressure cooker kicks for us. I am not worried. He knows what is going on and working to tweak this.

Colby, glad to hear you're aware of the mechanical issues!

It's more complicated than what you describe re: the plant foot, but sure. There's ankle lock, proper follow through, and torso roll. It starts with plant-foot placement, but fixing that will present a secondary issue in that you're forcing the kicking leg to be more "compact." It's a feel thing. Even a one-inch change in placement can make you feel like you're going to whack your holder in the helmet on the follow-through.

When the snap comes, it's an automatic reaction. Maybe CD can fix it, but in pressure situations your body defaults to muscle memory. If the ingrained strike is off, then the ball will remain low. I've watched CD warm up before multiple games this year and the stroke that he uses in pre-game is far more fluid than his in-game kicks.

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My youngest was All-District and All Metro in HS after starting to kick in August of his senior year. Right out of the gate he had amazing loft off the launch. When he worked out with Wade Richey, Wade said that (and his height) were his biggest assets...

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Soccer player? Sounds about right.

The average college kicker ought to never mess around with anything beyond 50 yards on game day during their warmups. It encourages you to reach and do stupid things in your stroke. If you can kick a PAT properly then you can kick a 60 harder if you have the leg for it. I've seen CD messing around like this in warmups and it's a pointless exercise, akin to a dick measuring contest.

Rotate around 40 yards and work on loft and striking. All you want to do is keep the gears greased and your leg ready. Nobody gives a shite if you can hit from 65, it ain't happening in a game.

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The low trajectory is a big problem, but it may not be something he can fix without fricking up his confidence in his motion. Why? Because the more you think about this shite, the more likely you are to frick it up. Kicking is a reflexive skill, not a cognitive one.

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This is what I suspected to hear, but was hoping for a better answer. Thank you for your input, sir. Too bad Les did not hold on to Domingue.

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How possible is it for Delahoussaye to change his loft angle while retaining reasonable accuracy

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I doubt he gets a stronger leg before the bama game.

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doctatigah

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Somebody get the Doctah a contract, this guy knows what he's talking about! BDP can be assistant special teams coordinator and stick to recruiting and maybe the occasional fake!