Once again this week I had quality kicking specialists in Scottsdale, Arizona to train and work with. In the photo above (left) is kicker, Austin Starr (University of Indiana), snapper, Nick Sundberg (Cal. Berkeley) and punter/kickoff specialist, Tim Masthay (University of Kentucky). 
Austin Starr was back in town for another three day One on One Kicking Lessons. As I mentioned in my first blog, Austin was coming off a injury this senior year that had changed his kicking swing and style. He was kicking at and around the ball which was causing inconsistency.During the three days we kept working on foot position drills and the One step drill to get Austin to kick up and through the ball.
When Austin kicks up and through the ball and makes good foot to ball contact the ball goes high, far and straight.
Kicking the ball with a holder is one thing, however kicking with a snap and hold is the best way to train.
In the photo above Austin has Nick Sundberg snapping and Tim Masthay holding. Austin has shown me that he has improved from our first session. He has a strong leg but like many kickers the key to his success will be consistency.
Austin is trying to get his swing more consistent so he can impress the NFL Scouts in March at his Pro Day. The first time we met back in January, Austin was not able to kickoff because of his hip injury.
Early in Monday's workout lesson while Austin was fresh, I wanted to see him kickoff. I had heard he had a big leg and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Austin warmed up and then started to launch some ball high and far. I believe with a slight breeze he hit several balls 5,6,8 and 9 yards deep with anything from 4.2 to his best 4.41 hang time.
The key Austins and every kicker's success in kicking field goals and kickoffs is his foot to ball contact. In the photo below is a close up of Austins foot position on the ball on one of his kickoffs that he launched into the end zone.
Austin gave a testimonial on his first visit. He once again enjoyed his visit to Scottsdale, Arizona and his One on One Lessons and knows from the lessons and video exactly what he needs to work on to take his game to the next level.
Next Man Up is University of Kentucky senior punter, Tim Masthay.
Tim is a good looking 6'2 about 205 pound punter and kickoff specialists with a big leg. Tim came to Scottsdale, Arizona for some One on One Punting Lessons to prepare himself for the NFL Combine next week in Indianapolis.
In the first lesson I watched and analyzed Tim's technique. I asked him a lot of questions and he gave me answers. Tim like many punters gave me some answers that made me scratch my head. He talked about dropping the ball with a straight nose (below photo) and outside his hip.
We worked on drills to get his placement directly in front of his punting leg however, he still was dropping the ball too straight in my opinion.
Tim also had a lot of arm movement. He was pumping or bouncing the ball and tossing the ball to his foot as seen in the photo below.
After our video review I introduced Tim to my drop progression drill. He worked on getting the ball directly in front of his punting leg and dropping the ball to his foot.
With a better placement and drop Tim started to hit the ball more consistently to the top of his foot. Tim started to hit more (SNO) spiral nose over punts to the power zone.
By the end of the 2nd lesson Tim was getting the idea. He was starting to smile. Some of his better power zone punts were going 45 to 50 yards with 4.8 to 5.1 hang times. In the photo below Tim was dropping the ball directly in line with his punting leg and with the ball slightly nosed in.
After each practice we worked on Tim's kickoffs. Tim definitely has an excellent kickoff leg and should impress the NFL Scouts at the Combine.
During Tim's visit he mentioned to me that he always had several concerns about the things he was doing with his punting technique but didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong and maybe how to fix it.
Tim now knows exactly what to do and how to take his punting game to the next level. Click below to listen to Kentucky's Tim Masthay's testimonial on working with Coach Zauner.
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