Kicking World Blog

First Ever American Football Kicking Camp in Italy – Recap

On August 3-4, 2013 Kicking World and EuroKickers made history by holding the first ever American Football kicking camp in Italy. United States and Europe...

On August 3-4, 2013 Kicking World and EuroKickers set history. The 2 instructional kicking companies joined forces and held the first ever American football kicking camp in Italy. Coach Christoph Kipperer from EuroKickers (Graz, Austria) and Coach Brent Grablachoff from Kicking World (San Diego, California) united to provide opportunity for aspiring European football kickers and punters who up until this weekend, knew very little about kicking in America.

Brent Grablachoff flew out from the US to meet Christoph in his hometown of Graz, Austria. The pair evaluated 15 specialists who attended the camp in Bolzano, Italy that came to learn and improve their field goal, kickoff and punting skills; and showcase their talents for potential visibility into college football programs. The students came from Italy, Austria and Hungary and all play in European football leagues in their home areas.

For most campers, they never had instruction like this before as guidance and fundamental instruction for kickers is very limited outside of the US. Coach Christoph received a scholarship in college and played at Division 1 Mississippi Valley State, so he’s well aware of the college recruiting process for a European footballer. Coach Brent helped place over 15 specialists into colleges last year on partial or full football scholarships so he was able to evaluate the talent in Europe and help provide guidance for the campers.

4 Specialists set themselves apart at camp this weekend:

Christopher Kappel
Vienna Vikings

  • Won Field Goal Competition with 55 yard FG
  • Booming kickoff leg, 65+ yard average
  • Hits a great field goal – excellent trajectory, lift and carry.
  • Also shows potential on punts
  • Needs to improve overall consistency
  • Potential D1 field goal kicker

 

Stefano di Tunisi
Milan Seamen, Italy

  • Won Kickoff AND Punt Competition
  • Huge kickoffs, 66+ yard kickoff average
  • Calm under pressure
  • Very coachable
  • Great attitude
  • 38.5 yard net punt average
  • D1 kickoff ability
  • Also shows potential on punts

Stefan Knaller
Danube Dragons, Austria

  • 64+ yard kickoff average
  • 3.8+ second KO hang time range
  • Runner up in field goal competition
  • Made field goals back to 55 yards
  • Excellent under pressure: calm, cool, collected
  • D1 level field goal kicker and kickoff specialist

 

Andraz Storcz
Budapest Wolves, Hungary

  • 37 yard net punt average
  • 68+ yard kickoffs
  • Hit several punts at 60 or more yards
  • Ability to hit NFL caliber punts
  • Needs to work on overall consistency
  • Very ‘raw’ in form, needs fundamental/technique improvement
  • Potential to blossom into a D1 level punter or pro punter

Another notable from camp is Matteo Lanteri from the Castelfranco Cavaliers in Italy who improved nicely over the 2 days. He put a nice streak together with field goals back to 45 yards and showed D3 level kicking ability.  He decided to walk on to Division 3 college football school, Becker College in Massachusetts this summer!

View Camp Results
View Camp Photos

Based on the success of the first ever American Football kicking camp in Italy, Coach Christoph Kipperer and Coach Brent Grablachoff are already planning their second camp in Europe. The pair hope to hold a second American Football kicking camp in Bolzano Italy again in 2014. EuroKickers already holds kicking clinics in Austria and surrounding countries, but this will be a unique arrangement for the two to continue to join forces and provide opportunity for more specialists across Europe. Follow the Kicking World and EuroKickers websites for details to come on future kicking camps in Europe.