Our new PUNTER speaks!

Kentucky Jet · May 23, 2005

Training gets serious

Postcard from a punter

By Ben Graham

May 1, 2005

"Welcome to the New York Jets. Now here is your locker, your session starts in 10 minutes."

After a cancelled flight due to mechanical problems and then missing the connecting flight, I arrived at JFK Airport from a kicking camp in Nevada, at 7am on April 7. A car service was sent to pick me up, but, instead of taking me straight to the hotel for the night, it took me directly to training after a sleepless night on the plane. Not the perfect way to start a new career, but I was as keen as mustard to start my first session.

I couldn't believe my luck when I was taken to my locker and found I would be wearing No.7. As it turns out, someone had done their research and thought I'd feel more at home wearing my old number.

Pre-season officially started on April 4, but the camp was seen to be more important to my development. Given my late arrival, I had no idea whether my new teammates were new signings or veterans, so I treated everyone with the same respect. Except, of course, the legendary Curtis Martin and the quarterback, Chad Pennington. "G'day, mate" just keeps rolling off the tongue.

That first session lasted more than five hours all up. Upper-body weights, plyometrics, core, a running session, punting session, meeting and a stretch. Nothing I haven't experienced before, but it's the first time I've trained with no sleep. It's fair to say I slept like a baby that night.

The past three weeks have been pretty intense in more ways than one. The Jets have appointed a new head fitness coach, Marcus Paul. He was recruited from the New England Patriots, winners of three of the past four Super Bowls, and has introduced a variety of new exercises and equipment. Everyone is gradually adjusting to a fresh program, where the focus is always power.

Loris Bertolacci, the fitness and conditioning coach at Geelong, would be impressed with the weights room and some of the athletes in it: defensive linesmen squatting 700 pounds (318 kilograms) and bench-pressing 500 pounds (227 kilograms) and wide receivers with a 38-inch (97-centimetre) vertical leap.

Learning a new game is also a big challenge. Although the punter doesn't need to know everything involved in every play, I like to pick the brains of other players and coaches to get a total understanding of the game.

Most of the players were curious about Australian football and a few had a vague idea of what it was all about. They kept asking me to explain how it worked, so I managed to get hold of a 2004 highlights package. The guys loved it, but didn't understand a single thing. Our centre, Kevin Mawae, was in the rooms and his son recognised my accent. The first thing he wanted to know was whether I knew the "Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin. You can't imagine how much the Americans love Steve Irwin.

The time difference back to Geelong has made it difficult to keep regular contact with my former teammates, but I've had a few late-night phone calls from the boys. Of course, they didn't realise that it was 3am. I shoot out a few SMSes to see how they're going and I listened to the end of the Port Adelaide game before I went to training and was proud of the way they fought it out. But as much as I've tried to keep abreast of what's happening in the AFL, my time is eaten up by immersing myself in the football culture over here.

The more I see, the more the NFL is like a game of chess on a playing field. The strategies and play-books, video analysis, scouting for the draft, the training program, the practice sessions themselves are all so definite and structured.

Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff is one of the best in the business. His knowledge and experience is fantastic for me to help learn my new craft. He is giving me every opportunity to continue to progress and perfect my technique. There is a lot more to the punting game than just get it and kick it. And it will probably take a while to master the whole thing, but everyone has to start somewhere. So far, there has been a mix of constructive criticism and positive reinforcement.

Living in New York is also pretty intense. It's the most expensive city in the world. Ask New Yorkers about the cost of living or the city tax or the traffic and they will say: "Where else would you rather be?" It truly is an amazing place; I just can't wait to enjoy it with Katie and my two princesses. The most difficult thing I have ever had to endure is the last five weeks without them.

Pre-season in the NFL started to get serious last week. The training up until then had been purely conditioning and strength work, with a few kicking sessions in between.

Last Monday and Tuesday were the first of the OTAs (organised team activities). They are full days of running the plays and strategies at game intensity - straight out of the play book. When it is your turn to go, you've got to be ready for action. Everything moves so fast. It is just like the movies.

For the first time, up close, I saw the ingredients of what makes this sport such a passion for tens of millions of people - the power, the speed, the skill, the attitude, the toughness. It's lucky they do wear pads and helmets.

The week ended with the club's first mini-camp, which is where I'll be when you read this. It's at the club's facility on Long Island and is the first chance the Jets' fans get to come and watch practice for the season.

The NFL Players Association allows only a certain number of full practices before the season starts and a mini-camp counts as four days of full practices. All players and coaches stay in a hotel and basically eat, sleep and breathe football, which is fine by me. I can't get enough of this new challenge. =D>

Kentucky Jet · May 23, 2005