Work on your kickers’ specific technique so they can develop their natural kicking ability into a repeatable, accurate skill under pressure.
An ideal session to run and then encourage players to use as homework. Challenge the players to practise with their stronger and their weaker foot.
Ensure the hips and shoulders are pointing down the pitch and the ball is held in the middle of the body.
The follow-through should be towards the target.
Put cones every 5m back from a set of goalposts.
Have a kicker start at the nearest cone and kick at the post.
Concentrate on the foot following through to the target.
When he has hit the post once, then he moves back to the next cone. He tries to get back as far as he can in 10 attempts.
Mark out the cones and balls as above.
The kicker has one minute to kick five balls through the posts.
The time element puts pressure on the technique to be repeated accurately.
DEVELOPMENT
Put two players against each other in the 15m channel. They aim to kick the ball as far down the channel without kicking the ball out of the sides. The receiving player kicks from where the ball lands or he catches it. The first player to land the ball over the other player’s try line scores a point.
Stuart Alred from the School of Kicking shows us the ideal position to start the running drop punt to make sure we engage the most powerful leg muscles. MORE
This simple session helps players discover ways to return kicks with good angles, passing and communication. It’s very open and allows players the chance to experiment as well as build up a repertoire of plays. MORE
Stop the high ball “bombs” destroying the confidence of your players by creating training sessions that challenge the players to think under pressure.
One reason why players drop “high balls” is because they have so much time to think about them. They tense up at the prospect of dropping the catch. Experts seem at ease in comparison. And that probably explains why they seem to catch the most difficult kicks more often. MORE
This session works on developing running and passing skills against different defences. Players should run angles at a defensive overload and straight lines if they have an overlap. MORE
All players may need to catch a high ball - forwards from kick-offs, backs from open play. The principles of “fielding” include being aware of your support players and thinking about what to do next. This session builds on those principles. MORE