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Barefooted kickers-- why?

Matt in SGS : 1/25/2015 1:07 pm
As I'm finishing up another game review, and the previous one with Atlanta had Paul McFadden, who was a barefooted kicker for the Giants. And I'm also seeing Tony Franklin, who was a barefooted kicker for the Patriots. The question is...what was the advantage of being a barefooted kicker to begin with? I don't think that we've had one in the NFL in many years, I can't think of one since the early 1990s. Was it just a fad from the late 1970s that carried over through the 1980s until it died out? Have kicking shoes gotten better to the point to make it unnecessary? Or did coaches do enough research and conclude that it's just stupid and could add risk on blocked field goals/ kick returns and they get that foot stepped on.
Why don't we go to the source?  
Doomster : 1/25/2015 1:15 pm : link
Ask Rex Ryan....
here's an article about it  
gidiefor : Mod : 1/25/2015 1:29 pm : link
basically the advantages of barefoot kicking have been replaced by advances in shoe technology - and the fact that it is painfull to kick without a shoe
Link - ( New Window )
Jeff Wilkins was the last NFL kicker  
Defenderdawg : 1/25/2015 1:30 pm : link
2002 Jeff Wilkins (St. Louis) was the last NFL kicker to kick barefoot, resurrecting the 80’s fad for the first part of the 2002 season.

As to why?

"Tony Yelk, EKS (Elite Kicking Solutions)
"The idea behind kicking barefoot is that you have a better feel of the ball coming off your foot. My belief is it does not present any real performance advantages. It really has an adverse effect in my mind. Footing is always an issue for kickers and punters, as we generate ground based power by transferring energy into a football starting with our feet. The inability to plant or keep normal rhythm throughout a kicking or punting play can be detrimental to its success.

Throughout my playing career I always used a kicking shoe. I recommend to all the athletes we work with at EKS to find a full grain leather shoe (not synthetic) that is a size smaller than the tennis shoe you would normally wear. This will provide a tight fitting shoe that will give you quality feel of the football on your foot. This shoe still provides stable footing required to maintain smooth rhythm to the football. I also recommend to the athletes we work with, especially collegiate and pros, to use a different plant shoe. The plant shoe should be a style that you can buy molded cleats and interchangeable cleats (2 pairs). This will give you two different planting shoes that can be used in different weather conditions, yet still maintain the same feel on you plant foot because it is the same style shoe, just with a different cleat pattern.

Footing is vital. Don’t get caught unprepared."


Link - ( New Window )
here's the key paragraph explaining it in that article  
gidiefor : Mod : 1/25/2015 1:31 pm : link
Quote:
Soccer-style kickers also can decrease the dampening effect of that flexed ankle by striking the ball high up on the foot. Impacting the ball on the instep means more of the leg’s energy is transferred to the ball because the ankle doesn’t bend as much upon impact. (Shoes also absorb some of the force of impact, which is why many kickers used to kick barefoot. Improvments in shoe technology — partially combined with an aversion to pain — have virtually eliminated barefoot kicking)
Good quite in same articke from Mike Lansford  
Defenderdawg : 1/25/2015 1:33 pm : link
Who was originally drafted by the Giants...ran afoul of BB and was waived

"I wore a shoe at Arcadia High School, Pasadena City College, and the University of Washington. I was able to use a 2" field goal block at all of those levels. When I was drafted by the NY Giants I struggled (understatement) with getting the ball up in the air... in fact, if I got it over my center's ass I considered it mildly successful (as did he). This lack of trajectory got me cut by the Giants, SF 49ers, and Oakland Raiders.

I was improving, but still not getting a clean hit on the ball...until I developed a blister, removed my shoe (only because barefooted Tony Franklin had just entered the NFL), made the LA Rams, and became the team's all-time scoring leader.

By removing the shoe, I dropped my foot lower to the ground...now I was hitting the ball clean with the same power I enjoyed when I kicked with the FG block.

A blister saved my career.

Even today, when I coach kickers, I'll remove my shoe to kick (much to the horror of my students and their parents). At times I'll make my kicking clients take their shoe off if they aren't getting their foot in the proper ball striking position. After coming out of shock they notice that their foot speed is incredibly faster.

Going back to a shoe was never an option. I've lost my big toe nail permanently as a result of the trauma, which ruined my foot modeling career."
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