How To Punt a Football

Special Teams may not be the most exciting plays in football, but they are very important. Nick Saban, coach of Alabama, and Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, take pride in their special teams. It is no surprise then, that these two coaches are the most successful coaches in their respective leagues.

One aspect of Special Teams is punting the football. This occurs when a team has the ball and it has become the last down (4th down) and they are not in field goal range. They decide to punt the ball so that they can "flip the field" which forces the opposing team to go a further distance in order to score a touchdown.

How To Punt a Football:

Step 1: Line up directly behind the center. You should be anywhere between 16-17 yards behind the line of scrimmage where the football is.

Step 2: Count your players. You must make sure that you have exactly 10 players on the field so that makes you the eleventh player. This will prevent you from drawing a penalty.

Step 3: Stagger your stance. Place your dominate foot (The one you will kick with) in back of your plant foot.

Step 4: Place your hands waist level and signal to your center to snap the ball. This could be in the form of a clap, a head nod or a verbal signal.

Step 5: Catch the football and take your first step with your kicking foot.

Step 6: Arrange the football so that the tip of the football is angled slightly as if it is pointing towards the 2 on a clock.

Step 7: Take your second step making sure that the laces are facing up.

Step 8: Extend both your arms while holding the hand of your dominate foot open palmed underneath the ball.

Step 9: Drop the ball by removing your hands in a natural movement allowing the ball to fall straight down.

Step 10: Swing your kicking foot back and bend your knee so that you create a pendulum movement forward to kick the ball.

Step 11: Follow through with your punt by kicking your dominant leg as high as you can which should force your plant foot to skip off the ground before landing to stabilize yourself.

Step 12: Watch the flight of the ball and scream out any indicators to your teammates for what you want them to do. For example: Yell out the direction the ball will travel so they know where to run to tackle the opponent. (middle, left, right).