by Vanessa Strobbe
Daily Lobo
He kneels in the grass, head up with eyes on the yellow uprights.
He pulls both socks up to his knees and softly tugs at the strap on his right cleat.
He stands, takes three steps back and two more to the side.
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Every time, he says to himself, "Groove it."
Kenny Byrd swears by consistency. The former UNM football kicker sticks to the same routines and superstitions when kicking and
training for football.
Right now, Byrd is preparing for the 2007 NFL Draft, which will be held April 28-29 in New York City.
Byrd spends four days a week working with UNM strength coach Aaron Day, but he sticks religiously to his own regimen as well.
He lifts lower-body weights on Mondays and Thursdays, upper-body weights on Tuesdays and Fridays, and kicks two to three times a week.
"My routine carries over everywhere," he said. "To be a good kicker, you have stick to what you do, and nothing else can interfere - not the loud crowd, not a pressure situation, nothing."
Three times a day, Byrd blocks out his surroundings and visualizes game situations where he is kicking a field goal.
"I go through my mental routine where I pick how far the field goal is, what the weather is like, what the crowd is doing - everything," Byrd said. "Then I have no surprises in actual games because in my head, I've made that kick so many times."
Byrd's discipline and ability to focus on one technique has been helpful to him, he said.
"Whether I'm in a team setting at practice, alone on the weekend or in a game, I kick the same kick every time," he said. "That's what I do to be the best."
After an hour on the field, Byrd packs up his gear and heads into the weight room in the Tow Diehm Athletic Complex where he begins his workout.
Since starting football for the first time as a freshman in college, the 22-year-old Byrd has gained 40 pounds. The St. Pius High School graduate played only soccer but was convinced by former UNM quarterback Casey Kelly to try kicking.
Byrd went 29-of-37 on field goals in 31 career games. For the 2006 season, he was first team All-Mountain West Conference, MWC Special Teams Player of the Year and a two-time semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given to the best field-goal kicker in college football.
He attributes his success not only to his hard work and mental toughness, but also to his pre-game ritual. Every game day, Byrd skips breakfast to sleep in, eats lasagna and a baked potato with two glasses of water, listens to the same songs and warms up for the game the same way.
Byrd said his routine is how he controls things, but he admits the NFL may have a few surprises for him.
"I'm training to be ready for whatever the pros will throw at me," he said. "But no matter what, I'll stay the same."
