Had a great time last weekend in the Dome for the LHSAA Championships and got a chance to unwind and absorb all that was around me (outside of muffalettas, meat pies, and Hurricanes).
One facet of the game that I gained a greater appreciation for was after getting to hook up with Leesville Head Coach, David Feaster, again. After exchanging pleasantries, we went straight for the low-down, "Coach, what the hell is up with your damn onsides kick!?". Weeks prior, Feaster and his Wampus Cats travelled to our stadium and unleashed a beast of a kickoff package that left us grasping for answers.
Feaster explained that when he arrived on campus he observed his kicker spending countless hours practicing kickoffs. To assess what kind of talent he had on the roster, he asked the kicker if he can kick it in the end zone. The player replied that, "no", he had never been able to get the ball into the end zone......close, but never far enough to garner a touchback. Coach Feaster couldn't see the logic in spending so much time on such a fruitless endeavor, so he had this player begin preparing to kick a focused, directional squip kick for onsides recovery.
tsnumai @ Yahoo! Video
Not the typical onside kick, this features a focused dto which 6 gunners converge on the single spot the ball is kicked. The ball is kicked so lightly that it travels the required 10 yards (to the 50 yd line) at the same rate as the kickoff team players. The ball arrives eligible for play along with entire kickoff team, who take out your returners and crowd the ball for recovery.
Frustrated at halftime with an adjustment, we ended up attempting to run this ourselves for our remaining 3 games in the post-season. It was no easy task tweaking the kick to not lead the pursuit team.
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