Matt Gossett (Carson Newman)

On July 18 and 19 Matt Gossett (Carson Newman) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Matt just graduated from White House High school and will be enrolling at Carson Newman. Matt had a very successful senior season and had the difficult decision of choosing to walk on at Tennessee or going to Carson Newman. I believe he made the right choice for his future and I know he is excited to get started with college football.

Matt warmed up and kicked a few balls to start the first lesson and I could see that he had a good bit of talent. He hit a smooth and consistent ball but was a little inconsistent. He would hit a couple of balls real well but then would mishit one of to the left. I saw that he had the tendency to crunch a lot on his kicks, which can really limit distance and accuracy.

We worked on his tendency to crunch by doing some kicks on air and doing the One Step Drill. He made some great strides in the first day and was even better in the second. He started to kick the ball like a pro and I was very impressed.

Next, we moved to kickoffs. He had an interesting way to mark off his steps for kickoffs as he would jog back for a few seconds and that would be his steps back. I had never seen that before and another kicking coach had told him that was acceptable but I could not allow him to do that. It is extremely difficult to be a good kickoff man without consistent steps. Once I got his steps in order he was really able to kick the ball much better.

It was a real pleasure working with Matt. He was a very polished and coach able kicker and I believe he has a chance to move up quickly on the depth chart over at Carson Newman. I want to wish him the best of luck this season and I hope to work with him in the future.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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