Punting a football is an action designed to provide impetus to an external object. Movements of this type culminate in brief contact with an object (moving or still) by a moving body part. In such actions the "imparting of force" is the principal aim and the skills involve applying the force to the correct point, and with appropriate amounts of force, to achieve the desired distance and direction (Wells & Luttgens, 1976, p. 466). The motion involved in kicking the ball is angular in nature as the lower leg engages in rotating about an axis in the knee joint and the thigh moves in a rotatory motion about the hip joint.
The series of movements involved in punting include the flexion of the hip with explosive extension of the knee and plantar flexion of the ankle at the kicking point. The sole base of support from which the kick is launched is the standing leg which supports the upward movement of the kicking leg by means of extension of the hip and knee and the plantar flexion of the ankle. At the point of kicking, backward inclination of the pelvis and trunk, slightly preceding the actual kick, initiates the stretching of the rectus femoris muscle. This stretch stimulates the stretch reflex and "removes slack" from the muscle which, in turn, allows the muscle's contraction to have a quick and strong effect on the extension of the knee (Jensen & Schultz, 1977, p. 335). The backward inclination also begins the forward and upward movement of the thigh just before hip flexion is initiated. This assists the force of the hip flexion. The action of punting can be called "whiplike" in its range from the initial backward swing of the trunk and the ensuing "lashing action of the leg" (Jensen & Schultz, 1977, 335).
The punter initiates the projectile motion of the football. The skill required is the ability to deliver placement and force such that the trajectory of the ball is high enough and adequate "relative height of release...