Mitchell Mascaro (South Doyle)

On July 20 & 21 Mitchell Mascaro (South Doyle) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Mitchell is competing for the starting placekicking and kickoff job and was looking to improve his technique. He is entering his senior season and has been working hard to earn some playing time.

Mitchell kicked a few kicks for me with his old technique and I could see right away that he had some tools to be a good kicker. I showed him a couple of things I thought he needed to refine. He was very receptive to coaching and he did everything that I ask him to do. At first the technique was a little different from what he had previously done but after watching the video it made much more sense.

Mitchell was having a little problem with his foot position but he started to improve with it on the second day. Foot position is something that takes some trial and error and just like with golf if you hit one good shot or kick it will keep you coming back for more. We worked on kickoffs and I introduced him to a 5 step kickoff approach and he started to get the hang of it.

It was great working with Mitchell and I hope he has a great season. I apologize to he and his father for not being available to do a follow up lesson but I just happened to run out of time this Summer. It was great working with Mitchell and I believe he is going in the right direction to become a very good kicker.

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Bryce Berry (South Doyle)

On July 20 & 21 Bryce Berry (South Doyle High School) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Bryce is entering his senior season and contacted me awhile back about getting some lessons. Bryce is returning this year as the starting kicker and is looking to have a big season.

Bryce kicks a very nice ball and I was impressed with his consistency. After watching him kick a few I saw that he just needed to refine a few things in his technique to help him become even more consistent. I went over the One Step Drill with him and he seemed to pick it up pretty quickly. We reviewed the film at the end of the first session and I believe it really helped Bryce see some of the small imperfections he had in his swing.

The next day Bryce came out and was kicking even better. As you can see in the picture (above) a slight change in his foot position was needed and he made the correction on the final day. He kicked numerous field goals with good height and distance. Finally we moved to kickoffs. Bryce is never going to be known for kicking touchbacks but I helped develop a more consistent approach for him. We worked on his steps and he seemed to become much more comfortable with his kickoffs.

It was a pleasure working with Bryce over at South Doyle High School. He is a very smart and hard working guy who has the ability to continue improving. The willingness to take on new ideas and to improve are important concepts for any kicker and I believe that Bryce has those traits. I wish him the best of luck in the season and look forward to seeing his progress.

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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.

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Nick Campbell (Tennessee Tech)

On July 15 Nick Campbell (Tennessee Tech) received some One on One Instruction for his Punting. Nick was the starting punter this past season and had a pretty solid season and is looking to have an even better season this year. Nick had not received very much individual punting instruction and like most college kickers and punters he really does not have anyone there to coach him in college.

I started the lesson by asking Nick to hit a couple of punts for me. He hit about 6 or 7 punts and they were all booming spirals with around 4.4 to 4.5 hang time. After watching those kicks I thought I might not need to coach him much more!

I decided to introduce to him the One Step Drill and the Drop Progression Drill. He really picked the drills up extremely quickly and started to boom some balls from the One Step Drill. I worked with him on trying to refine some of his fundamentals with his steps and his drop.

Since he picked up the drills so quickly, I was able to move to Pooch Punts and Directional Punts. He actually hit his Pooch Punts better than his regular punts and hit some punts with 4.9 and 5 second hang time!

Nick is a very polished punter and I really enjoyed working with him. He was very coachable and had a great ability to take in knowledge. I recommended that he get in contact with Coach Gary Zauner and attend one of Coach Zauner's Pro Development Camps. Nick still needs to continue to refine his technique but he has the ability to hang with some of the best punters in the country and just needs the exposure that Coach Zauner can give him! I want to wish Nick the best of luck this season and I look forward to working with him again in the future.

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Nick Pollard (Father Ryan)

On July 18-19 Nick Pollard (Father Ryan High School) received some One on One Instruction for his Field Goal Kicking. Nick is one of the top kickers in the state of Tennessee and is highly rated by Chris Sailer and Ray Guy kicking services. Nick came to work with me on transitioning to the ground for field goals.

Foot position, foot position, and more foot position was the focus over the two days of lessons. Nick has a huge leg and has the capability to be a big time college kicker. I was impressed with the 'pop' in his leg but he was having trouble getting the same distance and height that he was showing when kicking off the one inch tee. This is a common problem with kickers that are making the transition off the ground. In the picture (above) you can see Nick closing off his foot.

I worked almost exclusively with Nick's foot position and it is a difficult thing to teach because a lot of kickers are use to 'closing off' their foot when kicking. We worked on the No Step Drill, One Step Drill, and a modified One Step Drill. By the end of the last day Nick was finally starting to get the hang of it.

Nick is a bright kid and hard worker and it was a pleasure working with him. I probably told him some things he did not want to hear but I believe my job as a consultant is to tell the truth. He now knows what he needs to work on and I believe with a few weeks of practice he will be booming those same kicks off the ground as he is with the one inch tee. I wish Nick the best of luck in the future and I hope to work with him again after the season as he prepares for college.

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Brian Davis (Brentwood)

On July 17 & 18 Brian Davis (Brentwood High School) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Brian has attended some college kicking camps this Summer and wanted to work with me before attending Auburn's camp and another competitive camp in Wisconsin.

As we started the lesson I saw that Brian was very smooth and had good technique. He had been kicking off the ground for at least two years and was much more comfortable than most high school seniors. I did not want to change what Brian did well but I did see some minor things I could refine to make him more efficient. In the picture (below) you can see that Brian has a tendency to crunch and keep his head down. The first day we really worked on field goals and focused on keeping his chest up.

On the second day Brian told me that he had studied the video from the first day and after watching a few kicks I believed him. He was kicking with his chest up and was booming the ball. Next we worked on kickoffs. Brian was crunching again on his kickoffs and it took several kicks until I was able to figure it out. I told Brian a couple of things to focus on and he felt much more comfortable by the end of the session .

Brian did a great job in the two sessions. He is one of the best kickers I have worked with this Summer. I believe he has Division 1 talent and the next step is to get an opportunity. It only takes one college coach to fall in love with him and I think he deserves that opportunity. I really enjoyed coaching Brian and I look forward to seeing his progress this season.

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Will Robertson (White House Heritage)

On July 16 & 17th Will Robertson (White House Heritage) received some One on One Punting Instruction. Will is entering his senior year of high school and will be doing the kicking and punting duties this fall. Will is more of a punter than a kicker but he asked to get some punting instruction since he had never received any instruction for that part of his game.

Like most kickers who try to be punters, Will wanted to put the ball outside his hip and swing around the ball. Soccer players have a tendency to want to hit a punt much like a goalie but this is not the correct technique for punting.

I put Will through some drills to improve his punting by walking through these two pieces of tape and through the 'Power Zone'. As you can see in the picture (below) he really starts to get the hang out of it at the end and hits some very nice Spiral Nose Over (SNO) Punts. He hit about 6 or 7 in a row that were long and high.

Will has a long way to go to be a college punter but I feel that he has definitely improved his punting and can be a much more effective high school punter for his team. I wish we would have had time to work on his kicking but it was great to improve his punting since a punt is the greatest exchange of field position in a game! I want to wish Will the best of luck this season and it was a pleasure working with him.

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Cookeville High School Clinic

On July 15th I conducted a Kicking Clinic at Cookeville High School. Coach Jerry Joslin contacted me a few months back about having a clinic with his specialists. As you can see in the picture (above) I worked with 3 punters and 3 kickers and taught the coaches how to help their specialists'. I worked with the specialists from 9 to 12 PM with video review at the end and then came back in the afternoon and worked full the full operation with the snappers and holders from 1 to 3 PM.

In the morning session I worked with the punters first and introduced the Drop Progression Drill. Next, I went over and worked with the kickers on the One Step Drill. I really spent a lot of time in the morning just working on the fundamentals. The nice thing about a group session is that if one specialist understands a concept before another than the other specialists can watch that person to catch on quicker.

In the afternoon I taught kickoffs to the kickers. I had Cookeville's starting kicker, Nick Mittel, kicking kickoffs into the end zone with good hang time and Coach Joslin had a little smile on his face when watching the ball sail into the end zone. The other kickers were able to watch and learn from Nick and that certainly helped them.

Finally we concluded the session by working with full operations for field goals and punts. I saw quite a few booming punts and field goals that were flying through the uprights. I really had a lot of fun working with the guys over in Cookeville. I look forward to seeing an improved special teams this season for the Cavaliers and I hope to work with them again next year!

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Ben Driver (DeKalb Co)

On July 14th & 19th Ben Driver (DeKalb Co) received some One on One Punting Instruction. Ben will be a freshman this year and his father, Greg, contacted me about doing some punting lessons. Ben had kicked and punted a lot in the backyard and wanted to get some formal instruction.

I don't normally do this but I split up Ben's lessons to fit him into my schedule. It worked out really well though because I was able to introduce the Drop Progression Drill to him and he was able to go home and practice for a few days. As you can see in the picture (above) he is doing a really nice job of locking the ball out on the table.

On the final day of lessons we were able to put the drills together and really go out and punt. Ben hit a few Spiral Nose Over (SNO) punts and looked much more fluid. The next step for him will be to drop the ball instead of tossing it. He improved so much with his fundamentals and with some growth and maturity he has a chance to be a fine punter.

It was a pleasure working with Ben and I look forward to seeing his progress. I hope to work with him in the future and I expect him to continue to improve over the coming months. He was a hard worker and that certainly pays off when learning something as difficult as punting!

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Corey Acosta Follow Up

On Tuesday Corey Acosta (Christian Brothers High School) received some Kicking Instruction with his snapper and holder. Corey has been very busy in the kicking circuit as he has been to approximately 15 or 16 scholarship camps including Tennessee, Vandy, Stanford, LSU, Syracuse, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, and just recently Arkansas. Corey has done a fantastic job at the camps and is now preparing to have a monster season on the field. I have worked with Corey for over a year now and he has been one of my best students. He works very hard and is very coachable and I expect he will be receiving a major Division 1 scholarship in the near future.

Corey mentioned to me awhile back about getting together and working with his snapper and holder. Corey has not had as much experience kicking field goals in a game and so I really wanted to work with him on his timing along with working with his snapper and holder. There is definitely a technique to holding and so I spent a good bit of time working with Corey's holder. I also worked with his snapper on getting perfect laces every time. This makes a kickers job so much easier.

Next, we worked on the full field goal operation. Corey has improved so much even from the last time we work together in May. He has become very smooth and under control, which makes kicking look almost effortless. Corey has worked very hard and listened very carefully and I am very proud of all that he has accomplished and will accomplish in the future.

After working on field goals we moved to punting. Corey had done very little punting when I met him last year but he has developed into a competent punter. I worked with him on some things to shore up his technique with his footwork and drop. We worked on the Drop Progression Drill and he started hitting quite a few Spiral Nose Over (SNO) Punts.

It was great working with Corey again and it worked out perfectly that I was in Memphis and was able to go to a cookout to celebrate Corey's birthday. Corey has become a great kicker and also a really good friend. I look forward to seeing his progress this year and I expect big things from him in the future.

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Dylan Burnett (Brighton)

On Sunday and Monday Dylan Burnett (Brighton High School) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Dylan had been to some college camps this summer and is looking to have a big senior season. He has been working on kicking off the ground for his camps and he will be transitioning back to the one inch tee for the season.

Dylan is big and athletic and I could see by watching a few kicks that he had a very good leg. After analyzing his technique I could see that he was not opening up his foot upon impact on the ball. Kickers can get away with incorrect foot position with the tee but when you transition to the ground you must tighten up your technique so we worked almost solely on foot position during the lessons.

Dylan has a very tight plant as you can see in the picture (above) and it leads to bad foot position. We worked on opening up his foot and leg so that he could hit the ball much more efficiently. I had Dylan do the No Step Drill, One Step Drill, and a modified One Step Drill to help him with his foot position. Old habits die hard though and finally at the end of the lesson we were able to make some strides. I believe that the changes I helped him make are the right ones but they only work if someone takes it home and buys into them.

Dylan is a supremely gifted kicker who hasn't reached his potential yet. I expect that once he looks over the video he will be able to analyze his foot on the ball and he will see his kicks go much higher and longer!

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Anderson Goin (Briarcrest)

On Sunday through Tuesday Anderson Goin (Briarcrest) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Anderson has been a very good soccer player in high school and he decided to come out for football and be a kicker for his senior year. He and his father contacted me a few months back and explained to me that he had never been coached and had a really strong leg, which was music to my ears!

I watched Anderson kick a few balls and I had to agreed with his father that he had a HUGE leg. His warm up was a few kicks from 30 yards, 40 yards, and 50 yards. He would kick the ball with great power and distance but he was very erratic. I started the lesson by shortening up his steps and helping Anderson kick more down the field.

After giving Anderson some basic instructions I just got out of the way and watched in amazement as he started going through a very impressive field goal workout. We started at 40 yards and after each kick we moved back in distance. He made numerous 50 and 60 yard field goals and even hit a 64 yard field goal off the top right upright!

After the field goal workout we began to work on kickoffs. We did some 2 step and 5 step kickoffs and once he got more comfortable he started booting them into the end zone. He hit some 5 step kickoffs 68 to 69 yards with 4 second hang time.


On the second lesson we worked on kicking field goals from the hash and it took Anderson a little while to find his line from the right and left hashes. I sometimes had to remember that Anderson had never had any instruction until I worked with him. I worked on a lot of basic situations with Anderson to prepare him for kicking in a high school game. On the final day we worked perfecting his kicks from the hash along with his kickoff steps and just basic kicking knowledge.

Anderson is just a natural ball kicker and I was very impressed with how quickly he learned the techniques. He was a coaches dream because he had a really big leg and had never been coached, which means I didn't have to correct a lot of bad habits! I expect some really big things from Anderson this season and I believe with the proper time to develop he could have a bright future in kicking.

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Phillip Houston (Harding Academy)

On Sunday and Monday Phillip Houston (Harding Academy) received some One on One Kicking Instruction. Phillip is looking to be the starting kicker this year and wanted to get proper instruction before his season. As you can see in the picture (above) Phillip is a big University of Tennessee fan and I was impressed with the shirt!

Phillip had received very little instruction and so he had very few bad habits to break. I worked with him on walking down the field and keeping his chest up with his follow through. Phillip was a quick study and after some brief instruction I could see dramatic improvement with his field goals. I moved him around to different hashes and he did quite well.

The next step was working on kickoffs. In the picture (above) you can see Phillip doing the perfect follow through on his kickoff as his chest his up and his eyes are following the flight of the ball. He did a great job learning a new technique and he was very enthusiastic to learn.

I want to wish Phillip the best this season. He was very easy to teach and a joy to coach. My advice to him is to keep working hard and to work on that foot position. I expect to see Phillip kicking field goals for his team this season and having great success.

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