James Wilhoit Kicking Coach: Trip home to Tennessee in March

Monday, March 8, 2010

Trip home to Tennessee in March

After taking a deep breath from working on Coach Zauner's College Senior Specialists Combine, I was able to come home to Tennessee and do my passion, which is working with kicking specialists. From talking to quite a few people at home I believe that I was very fortunate that the weather cooperated this past weekend as it was a beautiful day for lessons. This past Sunday I worked with Payne Shanafelt (Ravenwood), Hayes Foster (13 year old kicker), Eric Frieman (Vanderbilt), and finished the day by giving Brian Davis (Arkansas State signee) a sports psychology presentation in preparation for College Football this fall.

First up is Payne Shanafelt (Ravenwood). Payne will be entering his senior season of football next year and will be handling the punting duties and will be competing for the field goal job. I worked with Payne specifically on his punting this weekend. When I started the lesson with Payne I noticed some inconsistencies with his footwork and drop. We worked on the Drop Progression Drill and he saw some great results.

Payne listened very intently and worked hard on the drills I showed him and found immediate improvement. By the end of the lesson Payne hit 4 punts of 40 yards or longer with hang times all above 4.2 seconds. His best ball of the day was a towering punt that was over 50 yards with 4.54 hang time. I was very impressed with Payne's improvement and I look forward to working with him again in April.

Next up was Hayes Foster, who is a 13 year old kicker from Murfreesboro. Hayes is a very successful soccer player and his father, Tom, brought him to me for an evaluation. My mentor, Coach Zauner, says it correctly when he says that "it doesn't take long to spot kicking talent" and it didn't take long for me to see that Hayes was extremely talented.

I showed him a few tips and his natural talent just took over. I believe that with hard work Hayes has an excellent chance at a Division 1 scholarship in his future.

Finally on Sunday night Brian Davis (former Brentwood High kicker & Arkansas St commitment) and his father, Greg (testimonial below), came by my house for a sports psychology presentation. Brian has the opportunity to compete for early playing time at Arkansas State and was looking to take his game to the next level by focusing on the mental side of the game.

It was a very busy weekend but it was again great to get back to helping specialists in Tennessee. I will be conducting lessons in Memphis this weekend and will be back in April for more lessons.