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

 

---

	Your site has been very helpful, relative to getting information out to the college coaches for my son Travis, and is greatly appreciated. Thanks for everything!
	-- Kicking.com Member

Doug and Tommy's Frequently Asked Questions: "Does the size of a kicker's foot affect his kicking ability (soccer style)? In other words is there an optimal foot size for kicking a football relative to the size of the football? Do kickers with smaller feet have an advantage, or is it the other way around? Am I at a disadvantage with an 11 1/2 foot or not? Can I overcome this, if so, how? Should I switch to toeing the ball?" -- Click here to read our answer