| | By Doug Brien
Special to ESPN.com
Editor's note: What is life in an NFL training camp like? Kicker Doug Brien takes you inside the camp of the New Orleans Saints with his weekday diary for ESPN.com.
Monday, Aug. 7
THIBODAUX, La. -- As a team, we were generally pleased with our performance against the
Vikings. Although it is the preseason, it was important to the coaching
staff to get a win under our belts. Because we did not win many games last
season, the coaches want to instill the habit of winning in this year's
team.
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| Brien |
I am often asked what it is like to kick a field goal at the end of a game
that dictates whether we win or lose the game. It is a great feeling to
make a crucial kick that secures a victory and it is equally painful to
miss. However, I never think of any kick as a "game-winner." To me there
is no such thing. A kicker or any other individual player never wins or
loses a game alone in a team sport. If I make a kick, I will not take credit
for winning the game and the opposite is true if I miss. To me, every kick
throughout a game is equally important. It doesn't matter if the kick is a
PAT in the first quarter or a 49-yard field goal with :03 remaining. Each
and every kick requires my best effort.
So, when I went on the field to kick a field goal with a few seconds
remaining last week, it wasn't a "game-winner" to me. It was just another
kick. And on every kick, my goal is not to think at all. Anytime I start
to think about a kick, I get into trouble. Since my body is better at
kicking than my brain, I try to put myself on autopilot (in the "zone") and
just let the kick happen. My mental coach has a saying that helps me add
perspective to the prospect of kicking a game-deciding field goal: "a kick
is a kick is a kick." The day a "game-deciding" kick becomes something
other than my normal kick is the day I am in trouble.
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On every kick, my
goal is not to think at all. Anytime I start to think about a kick, I get into
trouble. ” |
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Some of you might wonder whether it is possible for me to totally remove
myself from the externals of a kick. It is much easier said than done.
For that very reason, I work with a mental coach, Dr. Joel Kirsch, who helps
me to increase my concentration and focus. He believes that the mental
side of the game is just like the physical side: to improve, one must
practice. Four years ago, I started waking up at about 6 a.m. to spend an hour
meditating and doing other concentration drills so that I can improve my
ability to focus. This practice has helped me immensely.
In the future, when you see me make a field goal you will know what I am
thinking about: absolutely nothing.
Material from kicking.com.
Visit Doug Brien's web site at http://www.kicking.com
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ALSO SEE
Doug's diary: Running behind schedule
New Orleans Saints
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