Off Season - Specialist

Good Morning, and happy Monday! As my boss would say, its the first Friday of the week.

I once saw a stat that said if you score on special teams during a game, your percentage to win the game goes up to 85% demonstrating the impact of specialists on the outcome of the game. Therefore, having a position specific off season training program for this group is important and we will cover this today. Bringing the last position specific programming series to a wrap.

*The injuries discussed in this newsletter are for general educational purposes only. I am not affiliated with the athlete’s medical team, and the information shared does not reflect any insider or team medical details. Specifics about the injury are often unavailable, which can significantly influence the estimated timeline for return to play.

Disassociation of the Hip

Disassociation of the hip is the ability to move the femur in the hip socket independently from the pelvis and lumbar spine.

This is extremely important for kickers and punters because a kick and punt is a rotational powerful movement that depends on the hip moving independently from the pelvis and trunk with the kick leg and the plant leg.

If hip disassociation is not possible, this can result in a less fluid motion, less powerful motion, and less range of motion for the kick or punt.

Disassociation of the hip can be achieved with different single leg or split leg exercises such as split squats. Focusing on power (heavy weight with fast bar speed) will have a better representation of performance on the field vs slow bar speed and heavy weight. Additionally, exercises like deadbugs, single leg RDLs, and step ups can also achieve hip disassociation to improve performance.

Pelvic Mobility and Control

Having pelvic mobility and control as a kicker or punter will allow for a more powerful and fluid kick in these athletes. With pelvic mobility, if the kicker has a lack of range of motion in any motion of the hip, but specifically flexion and extension, this limits the amount of force being able to be produced during the kick.

Pelvic control is important for performance in kickers because it is the connection between the kick leg, plant leg, and trunk. If the pelvis is unstable, power production leaks out resulting in shorter kicking distance and decrease accuracy of kicks.

During a kick, the plant leg stables the pelvis allowing for a stable fulcrum for the kicking leg. If the pelvis is unstable, the swing path changes and contact with the ball becomes inconsistent decreasing accuracy.

The pelvis is also a center for transfer of power from the core to the lower extremity. If there is lowered pelvic control, that strength will leak to stabilizing the pelvis instead of fully transitioning into the kick leg resulting in reduced power.

One of my favorite exercises for pelvic control and hamstring strengthening is single leg glute bridge sliders. Other exercises to improve mobility and control are fire hydrants with internal rotation on a bench, pigeon drops, single leg RDL, and eccentrically controlled step downs.

Ankle Inversion

Ankle inversion is important for kickers because it helps control strike contact, directional control of the ball, and more consistent kicking mechanics.

Exercises for ankle inversion can be accomplished in open and closed chain, but I would personally prefer open chain exercises even though closed chain is better for strengthening. And that is because the inversion of the ankle during kicking is open chain.

Ankle inversion exercises can be very simple with a theraband or manual resistance at the end of a programmed workout.

*Due to my professional association with the Atlanta Falcons during preseason and my current role with the Florida State Seminoles, I will not provide educational content or commentary on any injuries within these programs during or after the season.

Hip Six

The hip six represents the 6 motions of the hip (flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal and external rotation). All of these motions need to be strengthened, have mobility, and generate power for better kicking.

There are a million different exercises to improve these motions. However, one thing I would like to point out is coupling motions similar to kicking. Therefore, with adduction, coupling internal rotation, knee extension, and internal rotation to represent a kicking motion.