My kicking career began my senior year of high school. I played soccer my entire life and planned to play in college. Because my high school team was so successful and my dad thought I might be good, I decided to give kicking a try. In the beginning the only thing I had going for me was a strong leg; my technique and consistency were terrible.

When I moved on to playing at UC Berkeley, I was fortunate to get some good coaching from Steve Mariucci (now head coach of the 49ers) and Gary Zauner (now special teams coach for the Minnesota Vikings). After I learned the proper basic techniques, I could begin the arduous task of transforming myself from a soccer player kicking a football to a real placekicker. It took many years of hard work, but I definitely feel like it all paid off.

The techniques I outline on this site and on my CD-ROM (it goes into a lot more detail) are the basic fundamentals that I feel are important for every kicker to utilize. I learned these techniques over the course of my career and have made them an integral part of the way I kick. There is no one proper kicking style (as many coaches like to tell you); however, these basic fundamentals need to be integrated into your own individual style.

The instructions I give for placekicking on this site are in three parts:

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

 

	Every kick means everything and nothing at the same time
	-- Dr. Joel Kirsch

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