Kicking drill
Target Kicking Ladder
Build punt accuracy across increasing distances with a scoring system you can beat.
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 6 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball, cones
- Space
- 20-50m to target
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Open grass with at least 60m of length. Mark a 10m x 10m target zone with 4 cones, 20m from your kicking mark. Five to eight balls - the ball count is the single most important thing for solo kicking.
How to run it
- Kick every ball in your set at the target zone and score a point for each one that lands in it.
- Walk to the target, collect the balls, and now kick the whole set back at your original cones - this shuttle method means you never waste a walk.
- When you hit 8 out of 10 across two consecutive sets, either move the target back 10m or shrink the zone to 7m x 7m.
- Work the ladder from 20m out to 50m, then repeat the whole thing on your weak foot at half the distances.
- Six sets of six to eight balls is roughly 45 kicks in 25-30 minutes including retrieval.
Coaching cues
- Drop the ball onto your foot, never throw it
- Non-kicking foot points at the target
- Head down and forwards through contact
Common mistakes
- Throwing the ball onto the foot instead of dropping it, which adds rotation you cannot control
- Following through across your body rather than at the target, which pulls the ball off line
Related drills
- Spiral Punt DevelopmentBuild the long, low spiral that finds touch and makes the 50:22 possible.
- Box Kick with StopwatchBuild a box kick with the hang time to actually be contested, not just distance.
- Grubber Through the GateMaster the low end-over-end grubber that travels through a defensive line.
- Chip and RegatherExecute a chip at full pace and win the ball back yourself.
- Self Up-and-UnderBuild hang time on the bomb and practise the high-ball catch in the same rep.
- Drop Kick with TargetBuild a reliable drop kick for both drop goals and restarts.