On Monday Rob Maver, Canada's #1 Ranked Punter flew into Arizona for One on One Punting and Kicking Lessons.Maver is the only kicker in Canada to be in the top five of both punting and field goals. The 22-year-old led the CIS in punting, averaging 46.12 yards per punt. And he was fourth in field goal percentage, making 78.26 per cent of his field goals. Both numbers lead the OUA.
The combination punter/kicker Rob Maver from Brampton, Ontario was named both a First-Team All-Canadian as one of the best special team players in the Country in the punting category and a Second-Team All-Canadian in the kicker category. This past season the third-year Political Science student averaged 46.12 yards on 67 punts and 55.17 yards on 35 kickoffs.
For three days the two big legged Canadians, Josh Maveety (left) from Bishop's University in Quebec and Rob Maver (right) worked on their punting and field goal kicking technique in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Rob contacted me months ago after finding my website (www.coachzauner.com) and checking me out on the Internet. In June he attended my PRO Development Camp in St. Paul Minnesota. At my camp I noticed immediately that Rob has a big time leg. I also noticed he had some flaws in his punting technique.
Rob, has aspirations of being a professional punter and is bound and determined to be the best he can be and take his game to the next level. During my PRO Development Camp he liked my teaching and coaching philosophy of A Natural Style of Kicking and Punting approach and what I was teaching with my power zone punting technique.
Rob and I have talked a lot in recent months and knows that to be noticed and make it to the NFL he will have to take his game to the next level. He feels that I am the man to take him there.
So, for three days on the practice field Rob punted and kicked and for two nights at the Holiday Inn, Rob and Josh worked their drills. For both Canadians this was a business trip to get better.
During my PRO Development Camp in Minnesota I noticed that Rob had a big leg but a very long three step approach and some very slow get offs. I mentioned to Rob that you can't punt in the NFL with handling times of 1.6 to 1.8. I told Rob we needed to train him to punt with handling times of 1.25 to 1.35 and total get off times of two seconds or better.
At the end of the first day Rob was killing the ball. He was punting the ball high and far. He hit six big time punts in a row with 4.8 to 5.2 hang times. I didn't want him to get a big head so I started to stress get off times. When I put the clock on him and stressed faster handling times he started to hit some stray bullets.
In the video review I pointed out to Rob what he needed to do to get faster. Eliminate unnecessary movement. In the photo below you can see Rob catching the ball into his body. That's a 'NO NO'!
He also was not timing up his jab step when catching snaps. He would catch the ball and spin it without moving then take three steps. That is also a 'NO NO'!
Rob Maver working my Jab and Catch Cone Drill
At the end of the second day we worked on Rob's directional punting technique. In Canadian colleges and the CFL the Canadian fields are much wider at 65 yards and the Art of Directional punting is very important.We took Rob's power zone punting technique and incorporated it into his directional punting skills left and right. Once again Rob ended the second day of punting with six consecutive SNO spiral nose over punts to the sideline.
Rob Maver Directional Punting Right
Rob came to improve his punting technique and got a bonus. He also improved his field goal kicking technique. At the end of each practice we worked about 15 minutes on his field goal technique. In Canadian colleges and the CFL the kickers are allowed to use a one inch block.
Once again Rob showed a big leg and some excellent potential as soon as he hit his first kick. As he continued to kick I pointed out a couple of minor inconsistency's with his technique. He was a quick fix.
Immediately after I would make a correction, Rob would hit a better ball and feel a better kick and contact on the ball.
At the end of the One on One Kicking Lessons Rob was no longer crunching. He was kicking up and through the ball and transferring his weight down field with much better tempo and timing.
Rob Maver with Excellent Field Goal Technique
Rob ended the three day session with some kickoffs. He he some excellent kickoffs but I could tell his leg was getting tired. He mentioned he usually doesn't work on kickoffs until right before the start of the season. He looked pretty good to me.
It has been a real pleasure meeting and working with Rob Maver. He definitely has showed me why he is the #1 College Punter in Canada. I would hope that after our One on One Punting and Kicking Lessons he will continue to be the #1 ranked punter and improve his field goal kicking ranking to also be the #1 ranked College kicker in the Canada.
I would also like to see the NFL bring some of the top Canadian and Australian draft eligible punters and kickers to the NFL combine to compete with America's best. The NFL is always trying to go global...why not the the kicking world.
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