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Anyone ever actually enjoyed playing on special teams in your playing days? I'm talking everyone who has ever played full pad football at any level at any time.

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

I'm sorry to say that my football career ended after a failed attempt to walk-on for the Bobcats in the late 80's (wasn't as good as I thought I was nor big enough) but I did return punts and kick-offs in high school. I'll spare everyone my Al Bundy-esque tales of high school accolades.

Catattack wrote:I'm sorry to say that my football career ended after a failed attempt to walk-on for the Bobcats in the late 80's (wasn't as good as I thought I was nor big enough) but I did return punts and kick-offs in high school. I'll spare everyone my Al Bundy-esque tales of high school accolades.

Well, thanks for the input Cat, I was beginning to wonder. Found this great clip of a freshman age kid getting some serious wood on kickoff squad!
[youtube][/youtube]

uuhhhhh yeah i was a kicker.... so i guess thats kind of a given



when i wasn't kicking though, being on kickoff was fucking awesome. Just sprinting down the field like a bat out of hell and trying to fuck something up was great. I never had to worry about an assignment because they liked seeing me get fucked up

wideright82 wrote:uuhhhhh yeah i was a kicker.... so i guess thats kind of a given



when i wasn't kicking though, being on kickoff was fucking awesome. Just sprinting down the field like a bat out of hell and trying to fuck something up was great. I never had to worry about an assignment because they liked seeing me get fucked up

I was the five man..

I played special teams for Cal Poly in 2008. I was the kicker and let me tell you it really really sucked. I mean I was trying as HARD as I could but after the Montana game I didn't get a lot of respect. After the Wisconsin game my teammates would not even LOOK at me let alone talk to me. Like we had ANY chance of beating a Big- 10 team.

Walleye wrote:I played special teams for Cal Poly in 2008. I was the kicker and let me tell you it really really sucked. I mean I was trying as HARD as I could but after the Montana game I didn't get a lot of respect. After the Wisconsin game my teammates would not even LOOK at me let alone talk to me. Like we had ANY chance of beating a Big- 10 team.

Interesting first post..........

Finally flushed him out!

You know them walleyes are finicky biters.

Welcome aboard fish!

Coach Ford used to have a policy of putting the 3rd string QB at personal protector on the punt team when we first got there. He said it toughened you up. I did that my first year and I didn't enjoy it at all, although I did have a tackle at Montana which was pretty cool.

I also held field goals/PAT's in high school and college while I was a backup. My high school kicker went on to Michigan State on a full ride and ended up transferring to UNC, where he broke the NCAA record for most 50+ yard field goals in a game (52, 54 and 57 against Syracuse I think). I didn't like holding at all. A lot pressure for something that I never got to practice. I once f'ed up a hold in high school and the kid didn't talk to me for a few weeks. It was for a 67 yarder, which he defninitely had the leg for off of a 2 inch block. He never got a chance at a 60+ yarder again and he definitely blamed me for it. Dick.

Walleye wrote:I played special teams for Cal Poly in 2008. I was the kicker and let me tell you it really really sucked. I mean I was trying as HARD as I could but after the Montana game I didn't get a lot of respect. After the Wisconsin game my teammates would not even LOOK at me let alone talk to me. Like we had ANY chance of beating a Big- 10 team.

Kickers

I punt does that count?

Hated special teams. I was on the FG, punt return, kick return, and punt teams....hated all of them.

Willie wrote:I punt does that count?

As playing football? Just barely.

Mountaineer wrote:

Willie wrote:I punt does that count?

As playing football? Just barely.

Had 9 players from my high school senior class that went on to attempt playing at the college level, it's down to 3 and I'm one of 'em. And out of those 3, one has played in 12 varsity quarters, another at 9, while I have 23 under my belt. I know it's not much still but from a small Class-B school in small town Montana, it ain't bad 'tall.

I was just teasing ya, Willie.

Yup, your credentials are solid. Definitely not bad man.

clenz wrote:Hated special teams. I was on the FG, punt return, kick return, and punt teams....hated all of them.

A tip for future Wedgebusters, only a dolt will work hard to look good in practice to land on return teams. The secret is to accidently suck every time you practice. Football is risky enough without having to act as a target for a streaking human projectile. There are enough tards around to fill in for you on return teams, after all, it is because of these assignments that special teams are referred to as "special" teams.

KO, punt and cover, and even FG/XP allows opportunity to assault people, legally.

Not many other arenas in life allow that sort of thing.

I was a 4 year FG/XP starter! It's how I made the traveling team my RS freshamn year. Easiest job in the world UNLESS they stack up in your gap. Then its go time.

Special teams suck because you have to show up early for practice and run alot. F that.


In HS I only came off the field on kick offs. Last game of the year we'd have a senior only kick off kamakazi and I finally got to play kickoff. After sprinting down field and then having to play DE I was completely winded. I told the coach to take me off almost immediately.

I loved it. Since my school wasnt to big i player WR and CB, and Was on Kickoff, Kick Return, Punt, Punt return. There was nothing better on kickoff running down and smacking the hell out of some kid, same for punt. We once beat one of the top teams in the state because our sepcial teams pinned them inside the 20 on every single kickoff the whole game. On kickoff return i had three returns over the opponents 50 and 1 for a TD. Easily the most underrated part of football, special teams is a total blast and i enjoyed every second of it. Just look at Cal Poly and Montana. Cal Poly lacked special teams all year and it cost them 2 games, Montana's field go and PAT unit struggled considerably in the beginning of the year. I tell the kids i coach that special teams is the most important part of football, we have had 6 TDS on kickoff return, 4 on Punt and I lost count how many onside kicks in 08, and my current record is 11-2 with them

SUUTbird wrote:I loved it. Since my school wasnt to big i player WR and CB, and Was on Kickoff, Kick Return, Punt, Punt return. There was nothing better on kickoff running down and smacking the hell out of some kid, same for punt. We once beat one of the top teams in the state because our sepcial teams pinned them inside the 20 on every single kickoff the whole game. On kickoff return i had three returns over the opponents 50 and 1 for a TD. Easily the most underrated part of football, special teams is a total blast and i enjoyed every second of it. Just look at Cal Poly and Montana. Cal Poly lacked special teams all year and it cost them 2 games, Montana's field go and PAT unit struggled considerably in the beginning of the year. I tell the kids i coach that special teams is the most important part of football, we have had 6 TDS on kickoff return, 4 on Punt and I lost count how many onside kicks in 08, and my current record is 11-2 with them

My first year coachin HS FB I was in charge of special teams. I used to tell them The one thing all the good teams have in common is that they all play good special teams. It's a third of the game and important because the possession is definately changing in that play.

I hated it because I had to show up early to practice it. F that.

Wedgebuster wrote:

clenz wrote:Hated special teams. I was on the FG, punt return, kick return, and punt teams....hated all of them.

A tip for future Wedgebusters, only a dolt will work hard to look good in practice to land on return teams. The secret is to accidently suck every time you practice. Football is risky enough without having to act as a target for a streaking human projectile. There are enough tards around to fill in for you on return teams, after all, it is because of these assignments that special teams are referred to as "special" teams.

KO, punt and cover, and even FG/XP allows opportunity to assault people, legally.

Not many other arenas in life allow that sort of thing.

My high school coaches believed that the best athletes never left the field, sadly I took many blows from fuckers trying to break the wedge I was a part of. Got a few concussions from it, and in college it is what cost me my career. Not the concussions, but a guy screaming down the field at me, tripping and rolling full speed into the side of my knee.

That's the way Albany plays also. Special teams is priority #1. You never get removed from special teams. If you need a break, you take it from offense or defensive series. If you get taken out of O or D because of a blowout, you are still in on special teams. Most of the special teams groups were comprised of offense and defensive starters on the line so as to have more efficient team changes. E.g. - punt return consisted of almost the entire defense, with a change over of at most 2 inside linebackers for 2 end rushers and the safety for the return guy. Same with field goal block, which was just the defense. No reason to run people on and off the field.

danefan wrote:That's the way Albany plays also. Special teams is priority #1. You never get removed from special teams. If you need a break, you take it from offense or defensive series. If you get taken out of O or D because of a blowout, you are still in on special teams. Most of the special teams groups were comprised of offense and defensive starters on the line so as to have more efficient team changes. E.g. - punt return consisted of almost the entire defense, with a change over of at most 2 inside linebackers for 2 end rushers and the safety for the return guy. Same with field goal block, which was just the defense. No reason to run people on and off the field.

Yep, our Punt return was our starting defense, except we swapped a saftey for a RB to return, kick return was the D-Line, LB's, and the returners were a mix of secondary and RB's. Punt team was the starting defense, minus the slow lineman. Kick off was the starting defense minus the slow linemen. Field goal block was the starting defense, and the field goal team was the strongest guys on the team.


Thankfully I didn't play offense so I got a break there. Our coaches said if you need a break you are playing the wrong sport.

I was on kickoff my senior year in hs, and did a little punt returning my junior year. Kickoff was fun though.

Played iron man my senior year of H.S., so I didn't do special teams as I needed a break.

hank scorpio wrote:Played iron man my senior year of H.S., so I didn't do special teams as I needed a break.

Yeah so what positions involve "iron man"?

In HS I played OT, DE, kick return, punt return, punt, XP/FG, only came off the field for kick offs bacically.


...just wondering, I don't everbrag about HS sh!t either.