A brand new authentic leather football can feel slippery, hard, and rigid when you first purchase it. In this post we will be discussing different methods on how to break in a football for kicking. A broken in football can add 5-10 yards to your kicks and they tend to be much more forgiving coming off your foot.
New Authentic Leather Footballs
In a previous post I talk about the different types of footballs on the market but that if you are serious about kicking that you need to invest in genuine leather footballs. These footballs typically run around $100 each. A new football often times has a “waxy” coat on the ball that will rub off over time. The leather can also feel rigid and hard when kicked. For this reason most quarterbacks, receivers, and kickers prefer game balls to be broken in before being used in competition. Below are some tips on ways to speed up breaking in a football.
Remove Waxy Film
If the football has a waxy film on it then you will want to rub it down with an old rag. This will help remove the protective coat that many balls are shipped with. If you do not do this the waxy film will come off with use but taking a few minutes to wipe it down will speed up the process.
Inflate
Inflate the footballs to the highest recommended pressure. Typically this is around 13 PSI. You can then kick these balls for several weeks and then lessen the pressure to the lower recommended limits. This will stretch the internal bladder of the ball and stretch the leather.
Laundry Bag
Another trick that I have seen kickers do is take an inflated football in a webbed laundry bag and wack it against a concrete wall. This could scuff the balls up so if you are worried about this I would not recommend. However, I have seen it done and it is one way to quickly stretch the leather.
45 lb Weight
Yet another trick I have seen kickers do is use a 45 lb weight and bounce it up and down off of the middle of the football. Many kickers will focus on the seems because these tend to be the last thing to break in. This is obviously not something I would recommend for a younger player but older players who can easily manage a 45 lb weight this might be something worth trying.
Dryer
The final trick I have seen done is taking a football that is inflated to the highest recommended level and put it in a dryer. As the ball heats up the air will expand and stretch the leather and internal bladder even more. This could damage your dryer so make sure you get approval before trying this trick.
Practice
The last thing is to use the footballs in practice. Kick the footballs as much as possible and let other players use the balls. The more they get used the quicker they will get broken in. Once you have the balls how you like them then set them aside and use them for game balls. Footballs will eventually get over used so you need to always be breaking balls in.
Conclusion
Hopefully this post has provided you with some tricks on how to create “bombers”. This is a term I have heard kickers call broken in footballs that fly off the foot. If you have suggestions or other tricks for kickers to try then please add comments.