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Punt Drop Drill: A Consistent Drop for Better Punts

Updated · Fact checked

On a field goal or kickoff the ball sits still. On a punt, the ball and your body are both moving, and the drop is the moment you hand the ball to your foot. If it tilts, drifts or gets flipped up on the way down, the foot meets a different ball every time.

The punt drop drill takes the leg out of it. You drop the ball and let it hit the ground, then read how it landed. Once the drop repeats, you add the steps and the swing.

The Drop - How to Punt a Football Series by IMG Academy Football (2 of 5)IMG Academy

How to do it

  1. Set the hold

    Stand tall with the ball at chest height, arms extended and elbows slightly bent, laces up, bottom of the ball level with the ground.

  2. Guide it down

    Lower the ball a few inches with your hands before you release it. Never toss it up or flip it.

  3. Let it land

    Let it drop to the ground without kicking it. Watch the bounce: flat and straight up is the goal.

  4. Add the catch and steps

    Have a partner toss the ball, mold it into your drop hand as you step, then drop. Add the swing once the drop is consistent.

Sets and reps
Drop consistency: 3 sets of 5 each side, 30 seconds rest. (The separate Catch-to-Drop Tempo Drill in the punter plan is dosed on its own: 3 sets of 5, 45 seconds rest.)
Equipment
Football, A partner to toss the ball (for the catch and steps)
Muscles and skills
Hip flexors
Used in these 440 plans
Punter

Coaching cues and common mistakes

Coaching cues

  • Hold the ball with the laces up
  • Guide the ball down, don't flip it
  • Drop to the foot at the same spot

Common mistakes

  • Tossing the ball up
  • Drifting drop

Read the bounce

Kansas punter Kyle Thompson told KU Sports he does about 50 ball drops a day. His test is the bounce: if the ball lands flat and bounces straight up, it was a good drop. If the nose hits first and it kicks forward or backward, that is the drop that leads to a shank.

Wisconsin's version, published in Gridiron Strategies, has the punter hold the ball at chest height with arms extended and elbows slightly bent, keep the bottom of the ball parallel to the ground and drop it softly. Guiding it down the first 6 to 8 inches before letting go removes the common habit of tossing it slightly upward.

Build it into the full punt

Catch-to-Drop Tempo Drill is a separate related exercise in the punter plan, with its own dosage; the drop drill on this page is the drop consistency rep. To build toward it, start standing still. Then add a catch from a partner's toss, molding the ball into the drop hand as the first step goes forward. Then add the steps, and only then the swing. Coaches split on the hands. Wisconsin's drill uses a one-hand drop, and its notes say youth coaches can try keeping two hands on longer when a player has smaller hands. A USA Football guide keeps both hands on until the guide hand steers the ball onto the foot. Both are taught, so settle on one with your coach and repeat it. The full plan is on the punter training page, and hang time charting shows whether a cleaner drop is putting more time on the ball.

FAQ

How do you practice a punt drop?

Hold the ball at chest height, arms extended, guide it down a few inches and let it fall to the ground without kicking it. A flat landing that bounces straight up means a good drop; a nose-first landing means the ball tilted on the way down.

Should the laces be up on a punt drop?

440's cues say yes: hold the ball laces up. A USA Football punting guide also tells punters to keep two hands on the football, laces up, on the drop.

More punter drills

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Sources

  1. The Drop - How to Punt a Football Series by IMG Academy Football (2 of 5) (YouTube description, IMG Academy kicking coach Brandon Kornblue, uploaded 2015-01-09), IMG Academy (YouTube)
  2. Tom Keegan: Not dropping and dropping football vital for KU punter (Aug 19, 2018), KU Sports (Lawrence Journal-World)
  3. Six Drills For Better Punting (Pat Tearney; drills of University of Wisconsin special teams coach Darrell Wilson), Gridiron Strategies
  4. How-to guide for punters and special teams coaches (Bill Hewitt, 1/24/2018) (under the heading "Drop"), USA Football

Program numbers (benchmarks, sets, reps, loads, protein targets) are 440 Football's own prescriptions. For athletes 13 and older; check with a physician or a registered dietitian before major training or diet changes.