15 Jun 11 2011 Austin Kicking Camp Re-Cap
We made our 4′th Annual stop in Austin Texas for the big summer kicking camp. Everything was bigger like Texas is known for. The kicking/punting distances were not big, they were insanely HUGE! Temperatures were soaring up to 101 degrees throughout the 2-Day Instructional Kicking Camp and kicking competitions and the kicking action was just as hot.
This weekend’s camp was the most impressive display of kicking I’ve seen at any of our camps in the last 4 years. Never have so many students hit as many 50+ yard field goals as this weekend! The field goal competition was won on a 58 yarder! The most astonishing thing is that the majority of campers were under-classmen and they still hung back to 50 yards plus! – Coach Brent Grablachoff
The 2-Day Instructional Kicking Camp again proved to be a success because of focus on quality kicking instruction, technique heavy teaching and drills and fundamental demonstrations. The overall process of the camp ensured each student was ready for the big competition on Day 2.
Results
We saw improvement from EVERY kicker but notably a few extremes that are not typical results. Grant Carlson (13), an 8th grader hit a few 45 yarders at camp, gaining 10 yards on his previous long Field Goal. Brannen Carraway (14) drilled a few 45 yarders and several 40 yarders throughout the day thus improving 10 yards on his previous ‘comfortable’ range of 30 yards! Jared Haynes (13) who won the ‘younger group’ FG Competition with a 56 yarder improved nineteen yards on his previous long of 37 yards! If you don’t believe it, watch the testimonial video below!
Texas Builds Champions
Football is so big in Texas and there are so many great teams and athletes who come out of the state. Winning state championships is what it’s all about at the HS Football level in Texas. So for a little motivation before the Day 2 competition, Coach Brent invited his friend Ralph Moccio out to help out with the camp. Ralph is a former standout tight-end and safety from Toms River North HS in NJ which is the area Brent is originally from. Ralph’s football team in his senior year won the NJ State Championship! Ralph proudly showed off his big ring to all the campers and they were pumped for the competition!
Competition Preview
I’m going to provide some commentary about our 2011 Austin Texas kicking competition, but keep it relatively short and sweet because you can view the full camp stats and see the incredible results for yourself! We had 11 under-classmen and 4 upper-classmen at this event. Two in 8th grade, Eight Freshmen, One Sophomore, Two Juniors and Two Seniors (All grades are based on Fall 2011 Class). With this said, most of the time I would expect the competitions to go rather quickly since the majority of the students were frosh! Well this was not the case as even though there were a lot of young students, they all had cannons for legs!
Younger Group Kicking Competition
Grant Carlson, Wesley Sparr and Evan Crocket were all within tenths of a point of winning the younger group kickoff competition. However in the end Evan was able to pull it out by a small margin. Congrats! In the Punting competition Jared Haynes, a Hutto Hippo (school & mascot) was able to squeeze out Andrew Tucker by a very small margin. The field goal competition was ridiculous. Three students advanced all the way to 53 yards! Evan was the first to drop out at 53 yards. Then there was Connor and Jared going back and forth where they both made their 53 yarder and then Connor missed his 56 but Jared nailed it! Jared won the younger group field goal competition with an extremely impressive 56 yard field goal. Jared (13) will be a freshman in high school this coming season! Jared even went on to dual it out with the older group winner all the way back to 58 yards! Congrats Jared on winning the Golden Boot Award for the younger group!
Older Group Kicking Competition
In the Older Group we had one guy with a bazooka for a leg. He would just fire off 60+ yard kicks left and right during the warm-ups. We saw a few of his kickoffs go through the goal posts! Andrew Procell wowed campers with his big leg by winning both the kickoff and punting competition. Check out the camp stats page for his impressive numbers. The grand finale of them all is the field goal competition. You already got a little preview by reading about Jared’s feat in the younger group. Well let me introduce you to a field goal kicking machine: Kevin Marcotte from Lake Travis HS, home of the 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 etc. State Champs! Winning at Lake Travis HS is a tradition and Kevin certainly represented his school to the fullest in our field goal competition.
Kevin Marcotte was a perfect 8 for 8 through 50 yards folks! That is consecutive kicks from 30L, 30R, 35L, 45R, 40M, 45M, 50M, 53M! Because him and Jared kept drilling their kicks we had to move the boys back or else we’d be there all day! Chris Nichols and Andrew Procell were still ‘alive’ through 53 yards but they both had their second miss on the first 56 yard field goal so they were eliminated. Kevin missed his 56 yard field goal too, but that was only his first miss of the whole event! Kevin had now won the older group competition but surprisingly Jared Haynes, the 13 year old with a cannon was still in the race. We let the two face off until one was left standing. We had to go back to 58 yards until finally Jared came up just short while Kevin nailed his and won the 2011 Kicking World Austin Kicking Camp ‘Golden Boot Award’ which signifies he is the BEST kicker at camp. Congratulations to both Jared and Kevin! Check out all the great photos from our 2-Day Texas Kicking Camp!
The Next Level
Do you want to showcase your talent at a Kicking World camp? How about learn from awesome coaches who put their hearts into what they do? Our main focus is helping you grow, improve and get results. Check out the video testimonials below to learn why people come to our camps. This is a video of several students from the Austin camp who share their experience about the weekend. We encourage you to check out our website, videos, social media pages and connect with Coach Brent and staff. Be sure to sign up for our next camp or schedule private lessons with us. Till next time, keep kicking and ya’ll have a great summer!
Tags: Austin Kicking Camp, Field Goal Competition, Kicking Competition, Texas Kicking Camp
05 May 11 2011 Dallas Kicking Camp Re-Cap
This was our 4th consecutive year back to the Lone Star State and the caliber of kickers and punters did not disappoint as usual. What a fun experience we all had from kicking at the ‘mini Jerry Jones’ like indoor stadium to getting tons of instruction and fun competitions outside in the famed Gopher-Warrior Bowl in Grand Prairie, TX. Kickers and Punters traveled from all over the state of Texas as far as 6+ hour drives and even one student came out from NJ!
The format was a 2-Day Kicking Camp with focus on instruction on Day 1. We teach the fundamentals and technique of field goal kicking, punting and kickoffs. Half-way through the first day’s session we break for lunch which is a nice opportunity for students to make new friends. After lunch is over we get back to work quickly and break down video from the morning kicking. This provides each student the ability to actually see their form on the big screen as coaches diagnose and repair form ailments.
Texas is known for changing conditions and weather that surprises you from one day to the next. When I arrived in Dallas the weather was 98 degrees, hot and sunny! At the start of our camp it was cloudy, cool and thunderstorms and tornados in the forecast! None of us were hoping to experience a Texas twister so we prayed the weather would hold out at least until our 2 day Kicking Camp was over! Fortunately, we were blessed with weather that circled all around the town of Grand Prairie and held out just long enough to provide us a wet free camp. Five minutes after camp was over it started lightning and raining!
For the Day 2 competition we had very strong swirling winds in the 20 MPH range. I asked the students if they wanted to eliminate variables and kick in the indoor football complex or if they wanted to do it outside. The response was unanimous that they wanted to try the competition in real life conditions even though it was windy and FRIGID (45 degrees). I applaud them on being brave and wanting to take on a challenge!
The competitions were fierce and some of the students really set themselves apart quickly. You can reference the full camp stats here. We’ll start the play by play with the ‘Older Group’ which was 10th and 11th graders (class of 2013 and 2014). Matthew McCrane of Brownwood HS and Sean Pollock of Royse City HS went the distance in what felt like a heavyweight boxing bout! The two were head to head the entire field goal competion. It went to the tune of make, make, make, make, make with hardly a miss mentioned anywhere! Nearing the end of the competition from 50 yards away Matt missed and Sean had the chance to close out the camp if he made it. Unfortunately Sean pushed his (or should I say the wind pushed it) but had PLENTY of leg and it gave Matt another chance to stay in the game. So after the first 50 yard field goal attempt, both Matt and Sean had 2 misses. But since they were tied we had to go to a bonus round. We kicked again from 50 yards and this time Matt nailed his and Sean’s got pushed again in the wind and Matt McCrane was crowned the Golden Boot Award winner of our 2011 Dallas Kicking Camp! Both boys did exceptionally well and are already very good kickers and will only continue to grow into even better kickers over the coming years.
In the Older group kickoff competition consistency won. Chris Gulla from Toms River North HS in Toms River, NJ was able to come away with the win. He didn’t even hit his best balls but because of his consistency with a respectable hang-time and deep ball he was able to knock off everyone else. The whole key to our kickoff and punting competition is consistency. Since students only get 2 attempts at each, it really trains you to perform under pressure and doesn’t allow you anytime to ‘get in a groove.’ It’s very much so like a game scenario where you may come in cold off the bench and are expected to put a perfect punt of kickoff down the field with little prior warm-up time. So that is why we do it this way.
In the Older group punting competition we had a very quiet young man who let his kicking and punting ability speak for himself. Again, consistency won here. Ronny Vega who traveled from Eastern Hills HS in the DFW area of Texas was able to come away with the win in our punting competition because of his consistent punts. None were rockets, but they were consistently good enough to beat out the other boys. See all the photos from the Texas Kicking Camp!
In the Younger group- Reagan Bates cleaned up shop in the field goal competition with a perfect 100% field goal accuracy rating as he nailed his 30, 30, 35 and 35 kicks to knock off everyone. We even gave him a 40 yard kick just to try after he had already won and he drained that too! Great job Reagan! Reagan also won the kickoff competition for the ‘younger age group.’ In the punting competition, there was one clear winner and Andrew Tucker wowed everyone with some high, tight spirals that looked like missiles. His hang-time average was 3.91 seconds and he is only in 8th grade! His punt distances were a very respectable net 35 and net 40 (50 and 55 yards in air from where he kicked it). I really look forward to seeing Reagan and Andrew’s improvement over the coming years. These guys should make for excellent kickers and punters in high school and beyond!
I want to thank everyone who made it out to the Dallas Kicking Camp in Grand Prairie, Texas this year. Us coaches has a blast teaching you everything we know and watching your improvement over the 2 days. A lot of friendships were forged and memories made. We may be coming back to the Gopher-Warrior Bowl again this winter so make sure you watch our website and Facebook page for updates. We also have a camp in Austin next month on June 11-12. Till then, keep kickin’ and ya’ll have a successful 2011 football season in Texas! -Coach Brent
Tags: Dallas Kicking Camp, Field Goal Competition, Kicking Competition, Texas Kicking Camp
27 Apr 11 2011 Spring Break Kicking Camp Re-Cap
On Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, 2011 Kicking World held our annual Spring Break Kicking Camp! Students, parents and family traveled from all over California as well Nevada, Utah, Alabama, Hawaii and Canada to attend the marquee event that was held at beautiful Laguna Hills High School in Orange County, California. This year we introduced new elements to camp including:
- 2-Day Event
- Competition Stats Posted Online
- Slow-Mo Video Review/Analysis
- Lunch by Jersey Mike’s Subs
- 2 New Camp Awards
Adding something new to camp each year is important as it keeps our students coming back excited to learn and experience new things. -Coach Brent Grablachoff
The big rave of the 2011 Spring Break Kicking Camp this year was the video review session. We broke for lunch mid-day on Saturday (Day 1) and it was a perfect opportunity for students to relax out of the sun, down some lunch and make new friends. After lunch we embarked on a review, critique and analysis session as Coach Brent broke down the intricacies of every student’s field goal form & technique. Rest assured, not all of them were pretty! But by the end of the video review session all students knew exactly what they needed to work on throughout the remainder of camp.
Click Here to view tons of photos from our 2-Day 2011 Spring Break Kicking Camp!
Day 1 was a scorching 98 degrees, but all in attendance knows it was certainly hotter on the football field! Estimations were in the 110-112 degree range. Although the temperature was hot, I think the kicking and punting was even hotter! Students learned the basics, fundamentals, techniques and even more advanced drills and strategy for all 3 facets of the kicking game- field goals, kickoffs and punts. By the end of Day 1 everyone was prepared for the big competition on Day 2.
Sunday came and fortunately the heat cooled down a bit and it was a modest 85 degrees for most of the day. We did a review of all areas of the prior day’s instruction and then we held competitions for most of the day. Our punting and field goal competitions are quite simple. They’re designed to make you be accurate under pressure with minimal warm-ups. Students don’t get 5, 6, 7+ kicks to try to get a good ball. You only get 2 chances for punts and 2 chances for kickoffs. You are scored by adding the average of your 2 distances and your 2 punts. That number is your score or points for that particular event. We saw some amazing kickoffs and punts on Day 2. We were all very pleased with the improvement everyone made, especially on punts this particular camp!
The main event is the field goal competition which is run a little different than most camps. We do a double-elimination event which simply means each student has ’1 life’ during the field goal competition. So they can miss once, but if they miss twice they are out. We keep going back in distance until there is only one student left in each age group. The last person ‘alive’ is declared the Golden Boot Winner (the most accurate kicker of the camp). This year we had an awesome field goal battle going all the way back to 53 yards before a winner was determined!
This year we organized competitions into 2 groups based on age: 7/8/9 grade and 10/11 grade. We declared a winner for each of the 3 events- FG, Kickoff, Punt for both age groups. We also gave out 2 special awards this year that we haven’t in the past. The ‘Hussle Award’ is awarded to the player who exhibits leadership and pep during the camp. This is the person who is the first to each drill and has a great attitude throughout camp. We also gave out the Most Improved Award. Most Improved in our book is a very special award. It means to us this student is one who is able to quickly implement what they learn at camp and improve their skills with noticeable results the fastest. It does not mean they were not good at first and then got better. In fact this year’s winner(s) all were good kickers that became even better by the end of the camp. We coaches had such a tough time picking just 1 Most Improved so we named 4 winners!
To see complete camp results, award winners and detailed and sortable stats for each student at camp you can view the kicking camp statistics page.
Our Spring Break camp was another success and we thank all who made the commitment to be a part of it with us. We look forward to seeing you again soon at another camp in the near future!
Tags: California Kicking Camp, Field Goal Competition, Kicking Competition, Orange County Kicking Camp, Spring Break Kicking Camp
26 Jul 10 San Diego Pop Warner Kicking Camp Re-Cap
On Sunday, July 25th we had a San Diego Pop Warner Kicking Camp at La Jolla High School. The camp was open to all youth kickers and punters ages 10-13. We had students come from all over Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles, Temecula Valley and even Sacramento California! The youth kicking camp is designed for the beginner and intermediate pop warner kicker who is still learning the basic fundamentals in order to consistently kick extra points and even make field goals. We work on everything from extra points to field goals from the hash marks to kickoffs, onside kicks, and even some punting! As we do at every kicking camp, the focus is on kicking instruction with 1 on 1 coaching throughout the camp with high coach to student ratio. After all the camp students learn the techniques we give them a free kick period to practice what they’ve been taught. We also have a kicking competition for each facet of the kicking game: field goals, kickoffs and punting. All kicking camp students participate in the fun kicking competitions and have the opportunity to try to win awards. We give out all sorts of cool prizes like Wilson TDY footballs, Wizard football holders, kickoff tees, field goal blocks and more!
In this year’s summer San Diego Pop Warner kicking camp we had some impressive kicking talent. Our most accurate kicker of the camp was Alec Dibell of Fullerton Pop Warner. Alec made 4 field goals in a row back to 30 yards allowing him to knock off the competition and win most accurate kicker overall and for his age group of 13 year olds. In the younger group, we had the 10, 11 and 12 year olds competing. There was a clear winner in this group as young Jake Haggard, only 10 years old of San Clemente Pop Warner was able to also make 4 field goals in a row back to 25 yards. We also had a longest field goal competition where each student got a chance to see how far they can kick! Andy Clyde, 13 of the Irvine Chargers Junior All-American Football League won the longest field goal of the camp with a 35 yard field goal! All 3 campers happen to be active Kicking World students! Great job boys!
In the punting competition Cole Carpenter, 12 years old of Temecula Valley Pop Warner won the younger age group with a 35 yard Punt Average. Alec Dibble of Fountain Valley Pop Warner displayed some awesome punting skills winning the 13 year old group with a 46 yard Punt Average! Great job on those punts!
By the time we got to kickoffs everyone’s legs were starting to die out. This is the case at most kicking camps- the last section tends to be the weakest. Even though the boys were tired they still were able to pull together some long kickoffs! Cole Carpenter of Temecula Valley Pop Warner won the younger group and Andy Clyde (Irvine Chargers JAAF) crushed the competition and won the overall and older age group kickoff competition with a 44.5 yard kickoff average!
All in all the camp was a major success because we had plenty of kicking instruction 101 geared toward the beginner pop warner kicker and punter. By the end of the kicking camp it was obvious there was dramatic improvement from everyone. Some of the kickers were able to perfect their onside kicks and even hit the hard to master ‘pop-up onside kick’! One kicking camp student couldn’t make it over the goal posts kicking from the goal line, but by the end of the camp he was routinely kicking extra points! It was a fun day out on the field and it’s very rewarding working with the younger guys and witnessing their kicking improvement.
Tags: Kicking Camp, Kicking Competition, Onside Kick, Pop Warner Kicking Camp, San Diego Kicking Camp, Youth Kicking Camp
20 Jul 10 Orange County Kicking Competition at Irvine High School
On Sunday, July 18th we had a special mini kicking competition at Irvine High School for some of the Kicking World students. It was a hot day out on the field turf but we all had fun. I’ve been coaching some awesome kickers this year who work hard each week and I wanted to do something different besides the regular kicking instruction we normally do. To spice things up we had a field goal competition with 4 of my students- Zachary Christensen of Mission Viejo High School, Christian Rodriguez of Fountain Valley High School, Nicholas Mares of Servite High School and Bailey Lipschultz of Alta Loma High School. Bret Miller of San Clemente High School was unable to attend. We had a double-elimination field goal competition and the winner got a Kicking World Under Armour heat-gear training shirt. It was a close kicking competition with a lot of laughs and good times. Ultimately Zach Christensen was able to pull ahead as the winner with a beautiful 53 yard field goal. All 4 guys exhibited great poise, confidence and excellent ability under the kicking competition pressure. I’m really looking forward to this 2010 football season and seeing how our Kicking World students do. I’m expecting big things from everyone! Check out Kicking World TV for the best football kicking videos!
Tags: Field Goal Competition, High School Kicker, Kicking Coach, Kicking Competition, Kicking Instruction, Orange County Kicking Competition
12 Jul 10 2010 Toms River NJ Kicking Camp Re-Cap
What an amazing kicking camp with excellent talent from all across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Quebec, Canada. That’s right- Canada! One student drove down from Canada to partake in the 2010 Kicking World New Jersey Kicking Camp at Toms River North HS on Sunday, July 11, 2010! The afternoon kicking camp session had football kickers and punters in attendance with ages ranging from 13 to 19. Many of the players who attended the 2010 NJ kicking camp had a solid foundation already and there were also some beginners just learning the ropes. It was a great mix of kickers who showed they can learn new technique and implement it and improve quickly. There was one kicker who went from normally kicking 30 yard field goals and by the end of the camp he hit his first 40 yard field goal! One kicker was able to learn how to get his kickoffs into the end zone consistently with a few small tweaks in his steps and form. All in all the camp had amazing talent and we saw many students kicking 45+ yard field goals and even some 55 yard field goals!
Right before the camp started we had a heavy rain shower but fortunately it passed after 10 minutes! The beautiful Toms River North field turf stadium drained quickly and we were able to start on time and stay rain-free for the remainder of the camp. The brief rain was a relief since it had been 95 degrees plus the previous few days in New Jersey. Thankfully the rain didn’t cool off any of the hot kicking talent!
The field goal competition was amazing as Christopher Gulla (15) who will be the Varsity kicker as a Sophomore (Toms River North High School) in the 2010 football season won the overall field goal competition. Christopher attended the NJ kicking camp last year and also has had private training with Coach Brent. At the camp we had a double-elimination field goal competition format and normally the winner might miss once before ultimately winning; however Christopher was perfect from start to finish! Chris Gulla hit 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 yard field goals all in a row with tons of pressure on him from the noise and distractions during the final rounds of competition. He was able to keep his composure and edge off Max Bodreau (19) College kicker at FX-Garneau College in Quebec City, Canada. Max was no easy challenge as he also impressed on the field with 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 yard field goals but ultimately missed from 55 while Christopher hit the 55 yard field goal. Congratulations to Christopher Gulla for one very impressive showing. We have honorable mention going to Scott Skripko (Delaware Valley Reg. HS), John Kilduff (Wallenpaupack Area HS) and John Scelfo (West Babylon HS) all going back to 40 and 45 yard field goals. I expect to see Christopher Gulla playing at a big time Division 1 College Football program in the near future. I also believe Max Boudreau has a real shot of transferring out to a good college football program in the states should he desire to do so.
We had two groups for the competition and Christopher won the ‘older kids’ group which consisted of 15, 16, 17 and 19 year old students while we also had a group for the 13 and 14 year old players. In the ‘younger group’ there was a clear winner in Zane Wasp (14) of Chaminade High School in Long Island, NY who hit all consecutive kicks from 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 yards. He did not miss once! Zane shows a ton of potential and I look forward to seeing his growth over the next few years.
In the punting competition John Scelfo (17) of West Babylon HS in Long Island, NY cleaned up shop with a 48.5 yard net punt average! John won the overall punting competition and his age group of 15-19 year olds. In the 13/14 year old group it was Franco Rifici Jr. (14) Holy Spirit HS taking the win with a 44.5 yard net punt average! In the punting battle John and Franco showed great natural talent with some high hanging tight spirals that cut right through the air with ease. Both young men exhibited excellent punting talent and I would expect to see both of them excel in punting this upcoming season. An honorable mention goes to Max Boudreau who hit a beautiful 58 yard net punt in competition time but flubbed a short second punt to put his average below John’s. Max also hit a 69 yard punt in the free-kick period!
By the time we got to the kickoff competition it was clear everyone was tired. Between the heat, long day in the sun and possibly some kickers not being in ‘game-season’ shape yet I believe many of the kickoffs were a few yards less than what the players were capable of. Ultimately two players pulled it together and won the kickoff battle. Max Boudreau (19) FX-Garneau College in Quebec, Canada won the kickoff competition for the older group with a 63 yard average and Franco Rifici Jr. won the younger group with a 54.5 yard average. Franco Rifici Jr. won both the punting and kickoff competition for his age group. Congratulations to all on a job well done!
It was very noticeable that everyone who attended the kicking camp improved dramatically from start to finish. We always start the camp off with the very basic ‘kicking 101 fundamentals’ which includes footwork, ball contact, impact position, follow-through and tips to ensure a consistent approach and confident form every time. Usually at this point there’s a lot of scratching heads from the campers as they sometimes learn an entirely new approach after having mastered soccer in the past; but field goal kicking tends to be new to them. At the end of the instructional period in this camp and by the time the kicking competition came along it was obvious that the students mastered the kicking form and picked it up rather quickly. It was very rewarding for me as a kicking coach to witness their growth and quick improvement in only 3 hours.
I’m looking forward to having everyone at the camp again next year and can’t wait to come back ‘home’ to New Jersey to see everyone’s improvement in the coming months. I normally visit New Jersey one to two times a year where I am available for private kicking instruction and can work with you while I’m in town in Toms River, NJ. Best wishes for much success in everyone’s upcoming football season! Be sure to check out all the great photos and action videos from the kicking camp!
Tags: College Kicker, Football Kicking Camps, Kicking Camp, Kicking Competition, New Jersey Kicking Camp
12 Jul 10 2010 Youth New Jersey Kicking Camp Re-Cap
We had our 2010 youth kicking camp at Toms River North High School on Sunday, July 11, 2010. The day was a major success as there were Pop Warner football players from all over Ocean County in attendance. Jersey Shore Pop Warner Football League (JSPWFL) represented the camp to the fullest with players coming from Toms River Raiders PW, Jackson PW, Lakewood PW, Lacey PW and Point Pleasant Beach PW. The morning kicking camp was focused on kicking fundamentals 101, teamwork, building friendships and having fun!
Our youth kicking camp is geared toward the beginner kicker and punter who wants to learn the basics and some intermediate skills in a fun atmosphere. We teach you everything you need to learn to kick a field goal, punt a football and kickoff more effectively with more confidence. In Pop Warner football most leagues award a PAT (extra point) kick as 2 points versus the normal 1 point. This is an added value for a team if they have a kicker who can consistently make their extra points. Unfortunately most youth football players never learn how to kick field goals and the coaches have to settle on trying to run it in or throw for 1 point after the touchdown. However if you come to one of our youth kicking camps this need is addressed and you will learn how to kick consistent field goals! At a Kicking World youth kicking camp each player develops a foundation in football kicking and punting as well as team work and discipline that will help them the rest of their football careers.
This year we had a ‘fun’ competition for field goal kicking and kickoffs. We had a battle in the 10 year old group with Aidan Schell (10) 1st place of Jackson Pop Warner ultimately edging out Rashaun Reeves (10) 2nd place of Lakewood Pop Warner with a last second pressure field goal. In the 11/12 year old group we had a clear winner in Daniel Van Clef (12) of Jackson Pop Warner. The kickoff competition was very exciting as Tyler Sosa (12) of Toms River Raiders PW earned 1st place by edging out Todd Stueber (11) 2nd place of Toms River Raiders PW by only 1 yard to make it one of the closest kickoff competitions in a long time!
It was great to be back in New Jersey and we really look forward to working with more and more Pop Warner football kickers and punters in the future. Thanks to Jersey Shore Pop Warner Football League for sending your players to the kicking camp. We look forward to having you back in Toms River next year! Be sure to check out all the photos and videos from the kicking camp!
Tags: Football Kicking Camps, Kicking Camp, Kicking Competition, New Jersey Kicking Camp, Youth Kicking Camp
27 Jun 10 2010 Texas Kicking Camp Re-Cap
I just got back from our 2010 Texas Kicking Camp at Travis High School in Austin Texas. It was a HOT weekend with temperatures hitting 100+ degrees on the field on Sunday! The football camp had kickers and punters in attendance from as far away as the tip of Oklahoma, Dallas and West Texas. It’s always a pleasure being in Texas- the southern hospitality and the warmth and friendliness of the people is very welcoming. Kicking World goes out to Texas every year to hold a kicking camp and we may even be coming back twice a year for a camp in Austin and Dallas and private kicking lessons based on the increasing requests from parents in Texas.
While the camp was one of our smaller camps with 10 students in attendance; there was nothing small about the talent! We had kickers hitting 45+ yard field goals into the wind and kickoffs a few yards deep in the end zone. Many of the students were beginners who have just started kicking in the last year or so. By the end of the camp everyone improved greatly whether it was learning how to make solid contact consistently or perfecting their ‘hurdle’ follow through on kickoffs or acing their pop-up onside kicks. Each of our students were able to quickly implement what was taught. I find that the smaller kicking camps of less than 20 participants tend to produce quicker results because there is more ’1 on 1′ time with each student.
A trip to Texas is not complete unless you get some Barbecue! I always make a stop at Rudy’s BBQ. This year I ate their famous BBQ beef briscuit and baby back ribs. Man do I miss Rudy’s!
Enough of the food talk and on to the competition results! At our camp this year we broke out the competitions into 3 age groups. We had the 13, 14 and 15 year olds in one group, 16 year olds in one group, and the 17 year olds in another group. As we always do- our camp is focused on instruction but at the end of each phase (field goals, punting, kickoffs) we hold a kicking competition. The field goal competition showed excellent kicking skills from all and in particular Chris Nichols of Vista Ridge HS, Austin Barton of Cypress Christian and Cory Patton of Vista Ridge HS. In the punting competition one student pulled ahead with an easy victory with a 47.5 yard net punt average. The kickoff competition was an exciting duel with Cory Patton of Vista Ridge HS and Anthony Firth (college) going into double over-time where Cory ultimately closed the deal with a 67 yard bomber.
A special thanks goes out to all the generous parents who helped with the ‘camp essentials’, the ball-shagging during the camp and for the great photos and video you all took! It was a pleasure meeting everyone at the camp and I’m really looking forward to coming out to Texas again soon. Check the website and blog with updates and news about any upcoming kicking camps in Texas. I may also be flying out to Austin TX very soon to hold private lessons. Have a great rest of your summer and best wishes for a successful football season! Please remember me next time you’re at Rudy’s!
Tags: Kicking Camp, Kicking Competition, Kicking Lessons, Texas Kicking Camp
12 Jun 10 2010 USC Kicking Camp Thoughts
Coach Brent and a handful of Kicking World students attended the USC Kicking Camp. The 2010 USC Kicking Camp had several kickers and punters in attendance! The camp participation was quite impressive as kickers and punters came from all over California including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and even out of state! The kicking camp itself was very long at over 4+ hours. I myself as a kicking coach am very concerned about the amount of balls each participant kicked and punted yesterday. It seemed like many of the kids after the camp were limping off the sidelines obviously due to over-use because of the amount of balls that were kicked. Generally I recommend my kicking students to kick between 40-55 balls a day MAX on a heavy day based on their age, size, and skill level. I believe at the 2010 USC kicking camp most of the participants each kicked and punted well over 75 balls! This could make for many sore hip flexors, groins, and other over-worked muscles. I recommend you all ice up and take it easy until your leg feels back to strength! We firmly believe there is a limit to how much you should kick in one day and it’s important to monitor your kicking volume so you don’t hurt yourself.
COMPETITION RESULTS
Kicking World students fared very well in the kicking camp! One of our students won the kickoff competition for his age group with impressive bombs at 65+ yards! Over half of the Kicking World students placed in the top 3 for field goals and kickoffs in their age group at the USC Kicking Camp! As their private kicking coach I am very proud of my young men and the hard work and great character they exhibited on the field. During and after the camp I had several parents and fans coming up to me asking “Do you coach that kid?!” They wanted to know because there’s something ‘different’ about a Kicking World student.
KICKING WORLD PHILOSOPHY
We not only teach you how to become a better kicker and punter by helping you add more height, consistency, and distance to your ball; but more importantly we teach you how to be great young men with hard work ethics and excellent character that help you stand out from the crowd. I took a lot of pride in watching my young men excel today in the USC Kicking Camp and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to coach each and every one of you! Please keep up the great work and keep representing Kicking World the way you do! Way to work today!
04 Jun 10 Kicking World Kicking Camps Preview Video
We’ve created a compilation video from our 2010 Spring Break kicking camp to show everyone what our football camps are all about. Take a look at this awesome video and witness the action from warm-ups to instruction to competitions to awards presentation. Coach Brent and the staff at Kicking World put their hearts into the camp and we really hope you enjoy the video!
A mashup video of our 2010 Spring Break Kicking Camp at La Jolla High School in San Diego, CA. Kicking World offers performance football kicking & punting camps in California, Texas and New Jersey and year-round private kicking instruction in Orange County and San Diego, CA. Come train with us and improve your field goal form, kickoff technique, and punting skills.
Tags: Football Kicking Camps, Kicking Camp, Kicking Competition, Kicking Instruction, San Diego Kicking Camp
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