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GUEST EXPERT ARTICLE
First, Nick Folk is a quality NFL kicker. He's proven on arguably one of the best special teams organizations in the NFL going nearly 84% in his rookie year and over 90% in his second.
This year he's struggled. Off season hip surgery certainly must have something to do with his slump, it's difficult to make adjustments to the different feel the body has after a major surgery and the hip is the center of a kicker's power. I watched the video of his kicks and I'm seeing a slight drop in the plant leg before contact as if he's stepping in a hole, and it seems to me Nick's left shoulder is too far back in his last step. All of that makes sense for someone who has gone through hip surgery.
Still, I don't think it's as much a physical as a mental issue. I believe Nick is having a problem with focus and sometimes that's a more difficult problem to overcome than an injury.
During the game against New Orleans, the television commentators were lamenting Folk's string of misses while showing him continually missing off the kick stand in pre-game warm-ups. That's where I was watching for signs of focus problems.
Here are some "tells" that can help you recognize if you're losing your focus:
- Jerking the head up on or before contact: This is caused because we want to see the successful kick go through the pipes. The problem is, and every kicker knows this, you're not really aiming at the goal once you've completed your walk-back; you're concentrating on making clean, consistent contact with the ball.
To fix this issue practice off your kick stand or tee and keep your eye on the spot or on your block until you know the ball has gone through the goal posts. DO NOT look at the kick! If you're working with a holder, let him tell you if the kick is good or not.
You can fine-tune your feel by telling your holder or a coach whether you've gone left, right or center without looking up. See how accurate you are by feel alone.
- Tension after the kick: Again watch Nick on the warm-up video. It seems his body is crunching after the follow through. You might also find yourself clenching your fists as soon as you hit the ball. It's hard to shake the disappointment of a miss, particularly in warm-up where you typically feel much less, if any pressure. This can become a cycle that makes it difficult to relax and return to proper form. Instead you begin to anticipate the worse and the result is tightness in the approach.
The fix is to relax; easier said than done! Take some deep full breaths or jog 40 or so yards and back to loosen tension before you try another kick.
- Hanging or shaking your head after the kick: Similar to the tension problem. The sooner you can shake the miss instead of your head and return to form the better your chances to break a slump.
After a miss you've got to do some positive self-talk. Tell yourself you're capable of hitting the next one; after all, you've hit many more than you've missed. Tell yourself everyone misses once in a while; the great kickers have no memory when they miss.
A great drill for this is to go back to no-steps and one steps and try to hit an upright. Mentally it doesn't matter if you're slightly right or left, you expect it. Ping the pipe and you know you hit it dead on. This shifts your expectations; you know if you can “ping the pipe” you can put it in the 18 foot space that gives you three. Once you feel that you've "sighted in" again, go back to splitting the uprights.
Focus cannot be forced. Focus is really the process of letting go of distractions, turning off the noise so your mind & body can stay with the task at hand.
Kyudo is the Japanese art of archery. In this practice, masters shoot at a target dozens of yards away without looking at it. Just like a kicker, they know their spot and they focus on their form. They know if they go through their set-up and motion properly, they'll hit the target.
They don't even worry about hitting the target! They learn to let go of the idea that the arrow is going to hit or miss; that's secondary to form and execution. Thinking about the target is a distraction; it's part of the noise!
It's the same with kicking. Focus on the simple things and let go of the distractions. Tension is the enemy of power and accuracy. The sooner you can relax the sooner you'll return to your natural form; the form you've practiced thousands of times and the form that you know will get it through the pipes.
- If you miss, let go. That kick is gone and holding on to it does no good whatsoever.
- Let go of the expectations of your coaches, teammates and fans. You're in a lonely world as a kicker, especially when you miss! Turn off the noise around you and allow yourself to return to your form.
- Get back to basics. Don't go to the sideline and start kicking holes in the net. Take a few deep breaths, jog a few steps to loosen up and just relax and work your basic technique.
I hope the best for Nick Folk. If he can take some time to relax and return to the form and mindset that earned him an NFL kicking job, he'll be back and better than ever. Learn more about Jim Bouchard >>> |
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