Clipped toenails, grippy socks among Seahawks scoring secrets
Jan 16, 2015, 5:50 AM | Updated: 5:50 am
Seattle Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka let KIRO Radio's Jason Rantz in on some of the tricks he uses to keep those field goals coming. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)
How do you become the Seahawks’ top scorer?
Steven Hauschka recommends grippy socks, toe exercises, and keeping your toenails trimmed.
The Seahawks kicker, and points leader, shared a few of his tricks with KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz as the team prepares to play in the NFC Championship game against Green Bay on Sunday.
First, Hauschka let Rantz know about his special socks. Hauschka says they have special grip, like socks you might find in a hospital.
“They have rubber on them. That helps my feet stay in the shoe a little better because I’m constantly slanting at an angle and my feet used to slide around,” he says.
His kicking shoes are also really tight, so he likes to do toe exercises when they’re free.
“I pick up a towel and drop it. I basically do sets of 20 just to keep my toes moving around because they’re always in tiny shoes. It’s almost like Chinese foot binding or something in my kicking cleats. I like to get my toes moving around so they don’t lock up and get stiff.”
Finally, he says it’s important to keep his toenails trim and neat.
“You’ve got to be careful you don’t get any hangnails,” says Hauschka. “You’re kicking the ball all the time on your big toe and you don’t want all your toenails bugging you. You’ve got to be on top of that and make sure that you cut them properly.”
Even though he’s a pro-athlete on a championship team, Hauschka says he’s in charge of his own digits. No regular pedicures for this player.
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