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How to Successfully Punt a Football


Anyone can pick up a football, attempt to kick it and make it travel some distance. Ever wonder how to successfully punt a football? Here's your chance...

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging Instructions
things you'll need:
Football

Athletic shoes


1
Warm up and stretch. Take a short jog to get the blood flowing. When finished, stretch for 5-10 minutes. Concentrate on your legs, specifically your quadriceps and your hamstrings.

2
Begin by planting your left foot in the ground and swinging your right leg from behind your torso up as high as it can reach towards your forehead. If you are left footed, reverse these directions and all subsequent ones. This gets your leg warmed up to begin punting.

3
Hold the football out in front of your body with both hands. Make sure the laces on the ball are pointing straight up. Place your right hand on the back, bottom, right side of the ball and your left hand on the front, middle, left side.

4
Angle the football slightly towards the left, towards about 11 o'clock. This is so the outside of your foot stikes the ball evenly when your kick it.

5
To begin kicking, take a small step forward with your left foot followed by a moderate step with your right and then a final moderate step with your left foot. At that point you should firmly plant your left foot into the ground.

6
As you begin swinging your right leg through to kick the ball, slowly remove your left hand from the football. Be careful the maintain the slight angle you established in step 4.

7
As your right leg passes your left leg moving from back to front, drop the ball as gently as possible. Try to maintain the previously establish angle as well as the ball's parallel position to the ground.

8
The outside center of your foot should strike the ball on it's lower left side, where both surfaces are parallel to each other upon contact.

9
Make sure your right leg continues upward towards your forehead after making contact with the ball. This is called your follow-through.

10
If the angles are maintained and the points of contact met correctly, you should be able to admire a high spiraling punt at this time.