If you watch today’s 95th edition of the Rose Bowl football game (5:10 P.M. ET, on ABC), you might see USC Kicker Jordan Congdon, a young man whose athletic performance has improved from an overhaul in his biomechanics.
Jordan and I met in the early part of 2008 when he came to my Solana Beach, California clinic to see what my team and I could do help him kick pain-free. After resolving a couple of chronic injuries—one to his inner groin, and another to his lower back—I helped Jordan reorient his kicking mechanics, which resulted in both pain-free kicking and an extra five to seven yards tacked onto the end of each of his kicks.
As it turned out, Jordan had been kicking in pain for most of his high school and college career, and it wasn’t until we worked on his biomechanics—which is something I do quite often for high-performance athletes—that Jordan truly realized the joys of playing football.
If you’re unfamiliar with him, Jordan Congdon originally signed with the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers’ and was named to freshman All-American teams selected by the Football Writers Association of America, ESPN.com and Rivals.com. Previously, in 2004, Jordan was honored with a high school All-American selection, and later went on to tie the University of Nebraska’s record for most field goals in a single season (19) and ranked first in the nation among freshman kickers in field goal accuracy. In December of 2006, Jordan left the University of Nebraska and eventually walked on for Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans.
Here’s wishing Jordan and all athletes a safe and productive New Year. If you’re a high-performance athlete (amateur or otherwise), contact my office to see how we can help you with your own biomechanics.