3-Camp Weekend Recap July 16-17, 2021
This blog article highlights the top performers of the big 3-camp weekend which took us to Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, and Seattle, WA on July 16-17! Check out the competition statistics for each camp and learn who was invited to the National Showcase, and what recruits earned spots on the Kicking World Hot Prospects List! Pictured above in main article photo L to R (Martin Connington, Cameron Pope, David Perez).
BIG PUNTING IN SEATTLE
At our Seattle kicking camp, we had so many big hitters. What we’re most proud of is the massive strides made on their punting by Day 2. Class of 2023 Punter Joel Garcia (Fife HS, Washington) hit a camp season-best 52/5.13 best ball during the pun elimination competition! If you know punting, anything after about 4.7 in HS is a major feat, but 5.0+ is an NFL level punt! After each competition, we pull out the top performers to have them kick or punt some extra balls on video for our social media channels. During this time current Hot Prospect Martin Connington (Bishop Kelly HS, Idaho) a Class of 2024 Punter proved why he’s listed as one of the best punters in the nation. He strung together 8 consecutive punts on video with an average of 50 yards / 4.7 seconds! The kid can really punt and we’re expecting very early college interest in Martin provided he puts together a compelling HS sophomore season.
CONSISTENT IN SEATTLE
Another Hot Prospect who joined us in Seattle is Cameron Pope (Eastmont HS, WA), the 2020 National Showcase Day 1 Field Goal charting winner (bested 80+ kickers at our invite-only Showcase in December). Cameron put on a similar exhibition during our double-elimination field goal competition as he completed the cycle of kicks from 30L, 30R, 35L, 35R, 40M, 45M, 50M, 55M (8/8) to claim this year’s Seattle kicking competition win for the Golden Boot. Cameron doesn’t swing hard and his kicks truly look effortless. His FG ball flight is very straight and he’s shown in his last 3 KW camp appearances to be one of the most reliable field goal kickers in the country, hence why he’s listed so high on our List for his competitive Class of 2022.
A new addition to our Hot Prospect List (OTC – on the cusp) is David Perez, a Class of 2023 K/P from Auburn Riverside HS in Washington who’s been working hard with us the last 2 camp seasons. This weekend he remained very consistent all-around on all 3 segments of FG, KO, P and put forth a respectable performance by finishing runner-up in the FG battle, and also finishing 3rd on kickoffs and hitting consistent punts both days all in the 3.9-4.1 hang time range.
We had a few other solid performers but the above 3 were most notable and we wanted to be sure to highlight them. For complete statistics of every camper by event, check out the Seattle camp results.
Seattle kicking camp team photo
COLUMBUS RAIN DANCE
It was a wet day in Columbus, Ohio but the campers persevered and put forth their best effort. Returning Hot Prospect Jake Walter, the stud Class of 2024 kicker/punter out of Hilliard Bradley HS in Ohio impressed as usual. Entering only his sophomore HS football season Jake is already booming kickoffs deep in the end zone and has the range to hit from 55 yard field goals. We’re expecting big things from this young prospect in the years ahead.
Two other Showcase alum – Nicholas West (Medina HS, OH) and Aiden Ighnat (Hilliard Davidson HS, OH) put together solid kicking throughout the day. Aiden looked very smooth on his field goals and the ball was jumping off his foot and getting great lift. His outing coupled with a strong 2020 National Showcase performance this past winter propelled Aiden Ighnat to a spot on our List as an on the cusp prospect.
Columbus kicking camp team photo
For complete statistics of every camper by event, check out the Columbus camp results.
INDIANAPOLIS MOON SHOTS
Our Indianapolis kicking camp was one of the strongest performances as a camp this year thus far. Five campers earned invites and a new Hot Prospect joined the club. Our YouTube channel and Instagram page was blowing up after followers saw the big 6’5 kicker Julio Macias crush ball after ball. His compelling all-around performance and leg strength earned him a place on the List as one of the top Class of 2022 kickers in the entire country. There were several kickoffs over 75 yards with 4.1-4.2 seconds of hang and one moon shot of 4.3 seconds, wow!
Showcase alum Trevor Henkle showed great consistency throughout the day earning him his 2nd consecutive invite. With a little more power and hang time, as he grows he could evolve into a future Hot Prospect.
Indianapolis kicking camp team photo
It was a fun day in Indy and many campers made new friends and enjoyed the camaraderie between coaches and students that we pride Kicking World camps on. As always our goal is to preserve a solid coach-to-student ratio to ensure lots of 1 on 1 time and real results for each camper. We believe this is a major differentiator with Kicking World camps over other kicking camps and sports camps around the world. Putting fundamentals & technique & real assessments over rankings ensures that our students maximize their full potential and ultimately get noticed.
Julio Macias & KW coaches at Indianapolis kicking camp
For complete statistics of every camper by event, check out the Indianapolis camp results.
NATIONAL SHOWCASE INVITEES
From our big 3-camp weekend where we trained nearly 80 students, keeping to our exclusivity when selecting National Showcase participants, here are this weekend’s newest invitees:
Seattle
Cameron Pope – Eastmont HS, WA
Martin Connington – Bishop Kelly HS, ID
David Perez – Auburn Riverside HS, WA
Columbus
Jake Walter – Hilliard Bradley HS, OH
Aiden Ighnat – Hilliard Davidson HS, OH
Nicholas West – Medina HS, OH
Indianapolis
Trevor Henkle – Zionsville Community HS, IN
Kyle Mattern – Carmel HS, IN
Nolan Foley – Center Grove HS, IN
Michael Joseph – Greenwood HS, IN
Julio Macias – West Noble HS, IN
Check out the competition statistics and leaderboard for each camp all season long and learn about what the National Showcase is all about, and view our entire Kicking World Hot Prospects List!
Parents of students featured in this article – please don’t hesitate to share this write-up with your local media and have them reach out to Coach Brent for a quote & more info! Press & Media should view our Press Kit – here you will find the official Kicking World logos and contact information for media and press purposes. We are available for interview requests and can help provide insight for your kicking articles and stories on any of the recruits mentioned in this article.
