On Sunday and Monday Caleb Morris a combination punter and kicker from Western Michigan University and his father, Dave were in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a One on One Punting and Kicking Lesson.
Caleb is not the starter at either position but is trying to make an impression on the coaches that he has improved his consistency and wants to compete for the starting jobs.
As Caleb warmed up and hit several punts I could immediately see that this young man had an explosive leg. I could also see that he had a couple of flaws in his punting technique that needed to be addressed.
The sequential camera photos revealed a nose up drop and a pretty severe crunch. These two flaws in Caleb's punting technique separately causes any punter some inconsistencies but in combination could really make a punter struggle on certain days. Especially windy days.
About (20) twenty minutes into the first punting lesson I took Caleb up to the press box to analyze his photo's. I asked him what he was willing to do to get better to compete for the starting job. He said, "whatever it takes".
I showed Caleb photo's and video of several NFL and college punters as a kicking coach I have been working with and training. He saw video of Jon Ryan, Brett Kern, Dave Zastudil and Drew Butler, 'Ray Guy Award' Winner. I also showed him some archive video of Ray Guy that I have in my files.
After the review session we hit the field and worked several drills. I introduced him to my Drop Progression and modified One Step Drill. We needed to improve his drop and body position. He worked on a nose down drop and keeping his torso more upright.
By the end of the first session he was achieving success. He was punting up and through the ball and kicking and skipping down field.
Caleb Morris was starting to get the idea of punting up and through the ball and punting more under control.
The second day we continued working on basic fundamentals and better timing and tempo. We also worked basic fundamentals with his field goal kicking technique.
I believe after two days of punting and kicking Caleb was getting the concept of not trying to kill the ball but punt and kick the ball with better technique and be more efficient with his foot to ball contact.
Sweet spot of the club to the sweet spot of the ball. I use this analogy all the time with punters and kickers. Fairways and greens is the key to a golfers success not winning the long drive contest. What applies to PGA tour players could also be said for punters and kickers trying to make it into the NFL, CFL or UFL.
I told Caleb to go back home and work the mirror, drop progression and modified punting drills for two to three weeks so the muscle memory would become more natural. As soon as he stopped thinking so much and let his natural punting and kicking ability take over he would see improvement.
It was a pleasure meeting and working with Caleb. I wish him the best of luck in the future. I hope the coaches at Western Michigan University give this young man a chance to compete for the starting jobs. If he works hard and becomes more consistent this young man has some excellent potential.
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