Specific Workout For Kickers, A Different Level

 

When it comes to a football team’s position, kickers are different in many ways.  They talk, walk, act different, and usually have a nickname that resembles how they look or where they’re from.  Kickers are just a different breed built like no other position on the football field.  Now, different doesn’t necessarily mean bigger, faster, and/or better.  Being different means the kicker position requires a special kind of training to actually improve the abilities they are required to perform1.  Throughout my college career I always lifted, ran, and trained alongside my teammates; being a kicker wasn’t a good enough excuse to get out of it.  We weren’t treated differently while weight training and for the most part I still got stronger by doing so.  Many college programs do not have a specific kicker’s weight training program because it’s not a priority or it hasn’t been brought up to the weight training staff/coaches so they end up doing what everyone else does, like myself.  But, kickers don’t practice nor play the same way the other positions on the field do.  Their skills are far too different, it’s almost like a separate sport!  So if football players don’t have the same lifting program as basketball or baseball,  I believe kickers should have one of their own too.  

Through research and experience I have found out that having a weight training program for kickers from off-season, to pre-season, and even carried on throughout season- could only benefit the kicker in a positive way, resulting in a positive asset to the team in general.  Many can agree that having a great kicker that comes in “clutch” when the team needs him the most- becomes an asset to the team.  In order for a kicker to come in “clutch”, he must need not just a good but also a specific weight lifting program to increase the performance of his sets of skills.  Skills include leg speed, accuracy, power and explosion2.  In order to increase the ability of those mentioned previously, the athlete must stress different and specific muscle group to maximize the efficiency of the weight lifting session.  

Do not misinterpret that I’m suggesting for kicker to have an easier workout than the rest if the team but a more specific workout that is made for their skill set.  Work kickers hard, push their limits but push the right limits.  

1Fitness, M. (2012, June 25). Punter Power: Steve Weatherford's Football Workout. Retrieved March 2, 2016, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/punter-power-steve-weatherford-football-workout.html

2How To Train For Kicking. (2008, March 11). Retrieved March 1, 2016, from http://www.kickingworld.com/how-to-train-for-kicking/