Kicker Barth rediscovers accuracy, confidence

CHAPEL HILL -- Connor Barth enjoys listening to Tiger Woods talk about golf, whether it's about refining his technique, visualizing his target or maintaining his confidence.

To North Carolina's junior place kicker, it's easy to draw parallels between the swings of a golf club and his right leg. Like a golfer, Barth is always looking for ways, no matter how subtle, to improve his distance and accuracy.

Barth's latest thing? Making sure his toes make contact with his outstretched hand on his follow-through. Not just when warming up, as before, but also when putting foot to ball.

"Right now, it's just flowing," Barth said. "I've been inconsistent in that follow-through, kind of wrapping around it. But as long as I do that, it's straight every time."

The Tar Heels are counting on their free-spirited field-goal kicker to keep hitting 'em straight when they open the season Saturday against Rutgers. Barth was off-target too often in 2005. The same could be said for punter David Wooldridge.

Both think they've worked out the kinks that plagued the Heels' kicking game.

Wooldridge thinks his own confidence is back after an inconsistent season in which he struggled to drop punts inside the 20 and often failed to get enough hang time to do the coverage team any good. His 41.1-yard average was his lowest in three years.

Both kickers think they have added distance thanks to off-season work in the weight room and pool geared to build their fast-twitch muscles and add hip explosion.

Wooldridge also has worked since the spring as Barth's holder on field-goal and extra-point tries. He also has had to get used to catching the ball close to his body, not way out in front. The senior punter from Advance has even gotten extra practice handling snaps from junior Mike Murphy in their apartment.

"I've been told the first thing is catch the ball, and the second thing is get the right lean, then spin it," Wooldridge said of turning the laces away from Barth's foot. "I've been worried about getting the right spin as I'm doing it, so I've been a little slower. But I've changed up and gotten better."

Barth, a high school All-American at Wilmington Hoggard, had never experienced a slump before missing eight of his first 11 field-goal tries last season. His steps to the ball were off, and he came to realize that his smooth leg swings at practice weren't carrying over to games because he rushed his kicks. He regained confidence by making eight of his final 10 attempts.

"Early in training camp, I watched my 2004 film just to see what I was doing there," said Barth, who was 14-for-18 on field goals as a freshman, "and I was just trying to show I'm the same kicker I was."

Barth thinks he's more fine-tuned than the 18-year-old who made a 42-yarder as time expired to beat No. 4 Miami. He credits the tutelage of his father and former college kickers Paul Woodside and Tom Taricani at a summer camp.

"I think as we go forward, he'll continue to gain confidence," UNC coach John Bunting said. "That's something that possibly got in the way last year, and we want him to be as confident as possible when we enter the season."

Contact Jeff Carlton at 373-7065 or jcarlton@news-record.com