P Shane Lechler holds several NFL and Raiders team records. Tony Gonzales.
Oakland Raiders punter SHANE LECHLER and USA Football will donate a $1,500 equipment grant to the football program at East Bernard (Texas) High School, Lechler's alma mater. East Bernard is 50 miles west of Houston.
USA Football named Lechler to its 2011 All-Fundamentals Team, honoring 26 NFL players who employ proper technique for younger players to emulate. Each All-Fundamentals Team player is awarded a $1,500 equipment grant from USA Football to donate to the youth or high school program of his choice. Lechler selected East Bernard High.
Lechler's extraordinary punting mechanics and leg action make him an important contributor to the Raiders' success. With balance and good posture, the Oakland punter's catch, drop and leg snap is one fluid motion that young punters can mirror to become more fundamentally sound.
Indianapolis-based USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, is the official youth football development partner of the Raiders, the NFL and each of the league's other 31 teams.
Employing core football fundamentals advances a youth player's performance and safety. USA Football has educated more than 75,000 youth football coaches in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., through its online courses and single-day coaching clinics since 2006. Approximately 3 million American children age 6-14 play organized tackle football, placing it among the country's most popular youth sports.
The USA Football All-Fundamentals Team was assembled by a five-person selection committee:
- CHARLES DAVIS, USA Football spokesperson, football analyst for NFL Network and FOX Sports
- HERM EDWARDS, ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL head coach
- MERRIL HOGE, USA Football board member, ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL running back
- JIM MORA, UCLA head football coach, USA Football Tackle Advisory Committee member
- CARL PETERSON, USA Football chairman, former NFL team executive and assistant coach
NFL Films footage highlighting USA Football All-Fundamentals Team players' techniques is available at: www.usafootball.com/all-fundamentals-team.
About USA Football:USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its players and each of the league's 32 teams. Indianapolis-based USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and provides $1 million annually in equipment grants and subsidizes youth league volunteer background checks. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
