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Let’s have a serious conversation…aka ditch Anders
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<blockquote data-quote="Thirteen Below" data-source="post: 1030760" data-attributes="member: 18006"><p>I know. So many people say, "well, all they have to do is kick a ball", but you know what? All a pitcher has to do is throw a ball. All a goalie has to do is stop a puck. Anyone can do it, right?</p><p></p><p>Kicking (especially at the NFL leve) is an incredibly difficult, demanding task. Your timing has to be precise within a tiny fraction of a second, and your footwork literally within millimeters. Every single time. The swing of your leg has to be nearly perfect, every single time. Your plant foot has to come down in the exact right spot relative to the spot of the ball, certainly within an inch and preferably within a half inch, in order for your kicking foot to be at exactly the right point when the arc of the foot connects with the ball. Every single time.</p><p></p><p>As you make contact, your hips need to be square, your back straight, your head down, and your chest out over the ball. You have to strike it perfectly on the seam (and let's just hope your holder got the ball down in proper alignment), and it also needs to be as close as possible to perfectly vertical or the flight of the ball may bend or wobble. So, hopefully he got that right too, and that his timing is as precise as yours and perfectly in sync. Every single time, of course.</p><p></p><p>Your kicking foot needs to strike the ball about 1/3 of the way up - a little higher or a little lower, depending on the distance and how flat or how high a trajectory you want. You also need to visualize in your mind the arc the ball needs to follow in order to clear the defensive linemen and comfortably clear the uprights on the other end of its flight, and that trajectory is different on every distance and wind condition, and while you visualize that path in your mind, your kicking foot needs to follow the exact angle of the first portion of the arc so when the ball leaves your foot it's on the proper trajectory.</p><p></p><p>Every single time.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, you need to be watching for wind gusts and calculating wind into your aimimg point, possibly adjusting your intended trajectory for the ball in order to line-drive it through the wind - which means adjusting the angle of your foot and the impact point on the ball by a few millimeters, and oh by the way it's raining. Or snowing. Or both. So pray to heaven that your plant foot doesn't even slip an inch on the turf.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and if - while you're running up to the ball - you notice that the snap is off or the holder slightly bobbles the catch, you need to instantly "hitch" a step halfway through the stride so that you get to the ball a fraction of a second late; but you need to think quickly, because that has to be both decided and done within a half second, without disrupting your approach or allowing the sudden change in stride to affect the alignment of your hips and upper body.</p><p></p><p>In fact, all of these things that need to be done exactly the same way and nearly perfectly Every Single Time all take place in the span of less than 1.3 seconds at the absolute most on every single kick.</p><p></p><p>And all this while 70,000 people are watching you from the stands and millions more on television, and if you miss the kick half of them will be furious at you. But of course, if you make it, the other half will be furious. But I guess they sort of cancel each other out, so don't even think about that, right? In fact, don't let <em>any </em>of it get inside your head, because after all - you're only kicking a ball. Anyone can do it, can't they?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thirteen Below, post: 1030760, member: 18006"] I know. So many people say, "well, all they have to do is kick a ball", but you know what? All a pitcher has to do is throw a ball. All a goalie has to do is stop a puck. Anyone can do it, right? Kicking (especially at the NFL leve) is an incredibly difficult, demanding task. Your timing has to be precise within a tiny fraction of a second, and your footwork literally within millimeters. Every single time. The swing of your leg has to be nearly perfect, every single time. Your plant foot has to come down in the exact right spot relative to the spot of the ball, certainly within an inch and preferably within a half inch, in order for your kicking foot to be at exactly the right point when the arc of the foot connects with the ball. Every single time. As you make contact, your hips need to be square, your back straight, your head down, and your chest out over the ball. You have to strike it perfectly on the seam (and let's just hope your holder got the ball down in proper alignment), and it also needs to be as close as possible to perfectly vertical or the flight of the ball may bend or wobble. So, hopefully he got that right too, and that his timing is as precise as yours and perfectly in sync. Every single time, of course. Your kicking foot needs to strike the ball about 1/3 of the way up - a little higher or a little lower, depending on the distance and how flat or how high a trajectory you want. You also need to visualize in your mind the arc the ball needs to follow in order to clear the defensive linemen and comfortably clear the uprights on the other end of its flight, and that trajectory is different on every distance and wind condition, and while you visualize that path in your mind, your kicking foot needs to follow the exact angle of the first portion of the arc so when the ball leaves your foot it's on the proper trajectory. Every single time. Meanwhile, you need to be watching for wind gusts and calculating wind into your aimimg point, possibly adjusting your intended trajectory for the ball in order to line-drive it through the wind - which means adjusting the angle of your foot and the impact point on the ball by a few millimeters, and oh by the way it's raining. Or snowing. Or both. So pray to heaven that your plant foot doesn't even slip an inch on the turf. Oh, and if - while you're running up to the ball - you notice that the snap is off or the holder slightly bobbles the catch, you need to instantly "hitch" a step halfway through the stride so that you get to the ball a fraction of a second late; but you need to think quickly, because that has to be both decided and done within a half second, without disrupting your approach or allowing the sudden change in stride to affect the alignment of your hips and upper body. In fact, all of these things that need to be done exactly the same way and nearly perfectly Every Single Time all take place in the span of less than 1.3 seconds at the absolute most on every single kick. And all this while 70,000 people are watching you from the stands and millions more on television, and if you miss the kick half of them will be furious at you. But of course, if you make it, the other half will be furious. But I guess they sort of cancel each other out, so don't even think about that, right? In fact, don't let [I]any [/I]of it get inside your head, because after all - you're only kicking a ball. Anyone can do it, can't they? [/QUOTE]
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