Raiders Kicker Matt Gay Hitting Mastery
Raiders Kicker Matt Gay Hitting Mastery
Video Transcript
I'm hitting the ball really well right now.
I'm really pleased with, with how I'm hitting it right now.
I'm getting back with Joe.
Um, we get each other pretty well, and I think we vibe off each other really well.
He knows kind of what I need.
Um, my goals for at a training camp is just to like get back to feeling like my true self, get back to hit the ball, get back to.
Um, Not thinking too much.
I think I'm at my best when I'm not thinking too much.
I'm just jogging out there hitting balls and jogging off.
Uh, I'd like to get back to that performance and that, that peak where I was in , you know, 21, 22 in LA.
Um, I know that that's still in me.
I know I still have that.
I've shown myself that I can do it with the way I'm hitting the ball right now.
It's just translated into games, and I think if I can keep doing that, keep pressing the envelope and keep getting there, then by the time season starts, I'll be able to feel really good going to games and be able to feel really comfortable that I can just hit that stride.
I mean, first thing me and Joe did was sit down and kind of look over film over the last couple of years.
He brought back film from when I was with him in in LA and we kind of looked to see what had gone wrong or what was different or what had changed and just trying to get me back to.
A couple of, just a couple of cues, like for me, and not like I can't overthink tons of stuff, but like one or two cues that helped me, uh, lock in my technique have been really good.
And the way I said me and Joe work really well together, he kind of gets me, he kinda knows.
When to push me, what to say, um, but it's been really good for me, so we kind of diagnosed the film and we're able to eliminate some stuff that was just too much stuff going on in the swing and take that out and I've really seen the benefits of it through OTAs and through the first couple of weeks here, the first week here just haven't hit the ball.
I feel like I've always been able to hit the ball pretty good.
I think when I'm smooth and it looks very calm is when it's actually the most powerful as opposed to like when it looks like I'm really going after it.
And so again eliminating some of those things in the swing and just keeping things simple and smooth, I've seen a little bit of the ball kind of popping off the, the foot and we're probably going this way with the wind which helps so not too bad.
What throughout the offseason would you say you've worked on the most, whether that be mentally, physically?
Uh, Both, I mean, physically and just taking care of my body, making sure that everything feels healthy, feels good.
I think eliminating some of those things in the swing has helped my body feel good.
I think keeping it simple as, you know, my body hasn't felt as sore, I'm not doing as much movement and things like that, the swing feels simple and then mentally it's just being able to like.
Coming off, you know, Quote unquote, a couple of, you know, rougher years.
As people would say, just being able to like get that out, check it out, go back to be like, hey, I'm back with Joe, I'm back with the Saints.
This is what's capable, like putting on film and like, hey, this is what I'm capable of, this is what I'm chasing, and everything's in front of me still.
So I just, you know, looking forward and looking at the future as opposed to, you know, focusing on those last couple of years, take glimpses of the past that have been really good and use that to just look forward and keep, you know, stacking days on days so feel good going into the season.
