Thanks for your reply to my previous questions. I'm fascinated by people who perform well in high-pressure situations.
Punters operate under a unique set of circumstances, appearing a limited number of times during a game, but their performance has a huge impact on the outcome of the game. They have to adjust between booting the ball as far as possible, getting enough air under the ball so that coverage can get down field, and placing the ball in short field positions, away from the opponent's best return guy, but not quite into the end zone. All of this takes place with 60k+ live fans and tv audiences watching their every move, while lightening-fast bulldozers charge them when their bodies are in a highly awkward, vulnerable position.
Punting from the end zone? Forget about it. The snapper has to adjust, the distances are off for the punter, and he has little time to get a kick away. Even a successful execution will usually result in a shorter kick. The whole situation is largely the responsibility of an offense that didn't move the ball away from the goal line.
I'm curious as to why a fellow would choose to become a punter. What personal qualities make for a good punter? Are they usually guys who are unaffected by pressure situations or do they have an extraordinary ability to put the pressure aside? If you don't mind saying, what were some of your personal methods for dealing with the demands of being a punter? What kinds of coaches, personality-wise, work best for training kickers? Do you think that there is anything that MSU can do better to attract and develop punters / kickers?
You mentioned that your time with DM helped you build a gritty disposition toward adversity that serves you well in life. Do you believe that your experience at the position of punter has helped you build qualities that benefit you today?
Thanks again.
Ya know it's something I kind of fell into. I always say I was just some skinny kid with a little bit of a talent but with a good work ethic. Growing up I just naturally had a strong leg. Kickball, football, etc. Everything started to come into play in 8th grade for me. I signed up for a kicking camp at Auburn that summer. Ended up winning it all. So from there I figured I may be on to something here.
As far as qualities, I'm of the opinion that it depends on your personality. Think in terms of different golfers. Dustin Johnson can hit it a country mile and is really good. But then you have someone like Jordan Spieth who is very well rounded and coincidentally has more majors under his belt. You also have to know thyself. I'll never be able to average 50-60 yards per punt. Just won't happen and that's due to my build. And that's ok. So that means in order to be successful, I had to perfect other aspects of the punting game. Hang time. Precision. Consistency. Get off time. I wasn't the type of punter that can just use strength to compensate for mistakes. I broke everything down from a scientific point of view. There was a reason for every little thing in all of my punting motion.
So here's how I broke everything down:
-How I stood - staggered with right foot back, hips already pointing to where I was punting to. This cut out any unnecessary movement. Arms slightly swinging. This kept me loose and not up tight.
-How I caught the ball - not with arms fully extended but also not against my body. This allowed me a split second to feel the laces and flip the ball around.
-How I held the ball - I practiced my drop literally thousands of times. All with different ways to hold the ball. I had more consistent results in holding it just under the white part of the ball with one finger above the side seam and the rest below.
-How much angle I gave the ball - I dropped the ball at 11 o clock because I would consistently hit the sweet spot at 11 as opposed to 12 or 10 o clock.
-How I stepped - you don't want too much crossover in your steps as that encourages your leg to swing more side to side rather than up and down.
-Point of impact - this depends on if you're pooching, driving, or just regularly punting the ball. So for pooch you want your impact point to be higher. For driving you want the impact point to be lower. etc.
-Follow through - being able to position your body that will allow your leg to swing through the ball. For me I had to be cognizant of not hunching my back too much as that would deter a good follow through.
I think handling pressure can be both natural and something learned. I was blessed with a calm disposition. I naturally handled pressure by focusing even harder. I improved upon that by understanding what I call "the field". If you've ever seen The Legend of Bagger Vance or For The Love of The Game, you know what I'm talking about. May same cliche or cheesy but I'm a believer in it. You train yourself to block out everything and see yourself being successful even before doing it.
For my personal methods - Go to YouTube and search Bagger Vance - The Field. I watched that clip before every single game. I also understood when it was time to get emotionally up for the game and when it wasn't. So Friday night and Saturday morning, I just distracted myself. I listened to bands like Explosions in the Sky. The only time I thought about the upcoming game at that point was when I was picturing myself being successful. Nothing else. I'd go back to watching TV, etc. Once we got on the bus, now it was time to start getting emotionally up. Que the pump up music. Start thinking about the opponent. The venue. The weather conditions. The wind. Other factors. Use warmup as a confidence builder. Go out and boom some 60 yarders. Try to hit the ESPN camera. Stand at the 50 and punt a few in the stands. The idea is when it's really time to go out and perform, it's just a reaction. Similar to hitting a baseball. My best punts happened when I simply reacted rather than trying to kill it.
I think the most successful coaches understand the personality of their punter and kicker first. Second, gameday is a time for positivity and confidence building. Not over thinking. The time to holler and "coach" is early in the week.
I think they've done a better job in recent years in getting someone that's been there to coach up our current players. I think we'll see that translate over into the games.
Oh for sure. Speaking in front of crowds? Nothing to it. A task that requires laser focus? Yep.
Great questions. Hopefully I didn't overload the answers.