Andrew Fletcher (MBA)

On Saturday and Monday Andrew Fletcher (Montgomery Bell Academy) got some One on One Instruction for his field goals and kickoffs. Andrew is a very accomplished kicker and is known for being the MVP of the State Championship his sophomore season as he hit 5 field goals in the game.

Andrew wanted to work with me to improve his kicking and also to get a better understanding of the recruiting process. Andrew is getting numerous inquiries from programs across the country and sometimes that process can be very confusing. I was in a similar situation coming out of high school so I was able to give him some insight into the whole process.

The first thing that Andrew and I worked on was moving to a one inch block for field goals rather than the two inch block. Andrew has been using the two inch block for quite some time but after watching him kick a few times I knew that he would not have any problem making the transition. Andrew has great technique, which comes from having a great kicking coach in former Vanderbilt kicker John Markham.

I was able to refine a few things on Andrew's field goals and he seemed to really like the results and by the end of the day we started kicking some field goals off the ground. Andrew was very impressive for a guy that had very little experience kicking off the ground before our session. I felt that it was important for him to practice kicking off the ground because he will be attending quite a few college camps this summer and I am sure they will ask him to kick off the ground!

On the second session I worked with Andrew on his kickoffs. Andrew has a very explosive leg but I could see right away that the explosiveness that he has on field goals was not translating on his kickoffs. We worked on adjusting his approach to the ball and his tempo and by the end of the day he had been kicking quite a few kickoffs inside the 5 yard line from the 30 yard line with solid hang time. Andrew was learning a new technique and still showed great potential with his kickoffs and I see his distance continuing to improve with continued practice.

I pushed Andrew pretty hard during the two days and he responded very well. He is a very impressive kicker and I expect him to be contributing to a major Division I college here in the next few years. It was a pleasure working with Andrew and I wish him the best in continuing his kicking career.

Stay Tuned for More of Coach Wilhoit's Blogs!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com