A.J. Haglund One on One Lessons

On Tuesday and Wednesday A.J. Haglund was in Scottsdale, Arizona for some One on One Kicking Lessons.

In 2008, San Jose SaberCats' Kicker, A.J. Haglund was named AFL Kicker of the Year as voted by AFL Head Coaches, players, fans, and the Arena Football League Writers Association. A.J. played his College football at Central Oklahoma.

For the last couple of years A.J. has been kicking in the Arena Football League. A.J. is a well built, 5'9" 180 pound good looking athlete with a very lively leg. In A.J's first One on One Lesson I watched him go through his kicking routine.

I observed and analyzed his kicking style. Anyone that kicks in the Area League on those 9' wide goal posts and is 'AFL Kicker of the Year' must be accurate.

A.J. not only has excellent pop on his kicks but also gets the ball up very quickly.

He went through his One Step Drill and progressed to field goals. I not only liked his kicking ability but his kicking demeanor. He was really kicking well until we moved back to 50 plus yard field goals.

We finished the morning session with kickoffs. A.J. impressed me with his kickoff distances and hang times.

We video taped all his kicks from various angles. The information I get from asking kickers questions and the answers I receive in addition to the video review really helps me in my analyzing process.

As I showed the video and dissected A.J's technique he was on the same page with my thoughts. He mentioned that he always felt he needed to refine certain aspects of the kicking technique but didn't know how to go about it. He said I want to get better so I can get a shot in the NFL and I want to do whatever it takes to get more consistent.

That's all I need to hear to get the green light. Tuesday night I went back over the video and came up with a plan.


We started Wednesday's One on One Lesson with my favorite Drill. For those that know me you know the answer. In the above photo you see A.J. working the One Step Drill.

Once again, I designed an individualized workout and routine that I thought would help A.J. become a more consistent kicker.

A.J. has a great deal of potential but needs to kick with better rhythm and tempo. The entire lesson was based on two teaching points.

However, those teaching points are top secret information and if I tell you I might have to erase you.

I put A.J. through a series of drills that I felt would give him the proper muscle memory to kick on a more consistent basis any place on the field. Short or long field goals, it doesn't matter. I want him to kick more under control and with better tempo.

I told him to take his driver out of his bag and start kicking with a three wood.

After about an hour workout of doing kicking drills, I put A.J. through a field goal workout. He was 9 for 9 on all his kicks. The field goal workout consisted of field goals ranging from 35 moving all the way back to 56 yards.

He made all the kicks and was almost perfectly down the middle on all his kicks. He smiled at me and said, " I'm now kicking a straight ball and don't have to worry about my hook or draw."

We finished the second session with some kickoffs, however, A.J's leg was pretty tired. He kicked a couple balls near the goal line but I could see he had no pop left in his leg so I told him to stop. I saw enough of his kickoff ability after the first session.

After talking to A.J. and Albin, his father, I felt I had another satisfied client.

Albin, is a LaCrosse coach here in the Phoenix area and watched both sessions. Albin also teaches and instructs private and group LaCrosse lessons. I was interested to hear his critique and observations of my teaching methods.

It's always good to have people in the same business, or profession evaluate your performance.

Listen to Albin Haglund observations, also in the coaching business, regarding his son's

One on One Kicking Lessons:

A.J. Haglund, 2008 AFL Kicker of the Year testimonial:

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