Specialist Path' Alan Gendreau

The majority of kids in the United States that kick a ball are not kicking footballs but rather soccer balls. There are many kids, including myself, that dreamed of one day playing in a World Cup and certainly not a Super Bowl.

Alan Gendreau is certainly a soccer player by heart, but he is now the star kicker for the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University. His natural ability to kick a ball has opened the opportunity for a free education and quite possibly a look from the NFL in a few years.

This is a great story for younger soccer players who are thinking of coming out for the football team and becoming a kicker.

This is Alan Gendreau On A Specialists Path.

This Spring and Summer, high school coaches will be scouring the soccer fields looking for their next great kicker. Alan didn’t know his path as a kicker but his football coach saw things pretty clearly.

“I had competitively been playing soccer for about 10 years and my school was very small. They had their first football season in 2004 and my older brother handled all the kicking duties”, Alan said.

“I never really had any desire to be a kicker because I thought I wanted to play soccer in college, but when my brother graduated high school in 2005, I was pretty much forced into filling the spot for my brother.”

Alan was thrust into the starting kicker in 2005 but he took to the position like a fish in water. Even though he didn’t see himself as a kicker, his high school coaches and eventually college coaches started to take notice.

“I had no intentions of pursuing football in college probably until the end of my junior season when I was having coaches tell me I should send film to certain schools”, Alan said.

“But thoughts of playing football in college actually started playing in my mind when I hit a 57 yarder in a homecoming game my junior year. I had no knowledge of college kickers and the way scholarships worked because I was set on going to play soccer in college.”

Many times our path in life is influenced by the people around us and Alan’s coaches kept pushing him to reach his potential in athletics and assisted in his personal growth.

“Looking back, I can remember a couple coaches pushing me in the direction of playing football in college because they saw potential in me that I hadn’t recognized”, Alan said.

“To me, I was just doing what I had grown up doing, kicking a ball. But I would say my soccer coaches throughout my teenage years helped me in my growth as a young man and seeing my full potential not only on the playing field but in life as well.”

What high school kickers and punters learn in retrospect about the recruiting process is that it is all about who you know and the relationships you make in recruiting. Alan was fortunate to have a strong bond with Coach Hunt at the University of South Carolina. This relationship opened up doors that he never would have dreamed of…literally!

“During the recruiting process I was in communication with the University of Florida and the University of South Carolina”, Alan said.

“Throughout my senior season, I was in a consistent speaking schedule with Coach John Hunt at the University of South Carolina and I was thinking that was where I would be going school. I was preparing to be a Gamecock but about 3-4 months before signing day, Coach Hunt informed me that Coach Spurrier wasn’t going to put another kicker on scholarship as they had a junior in Ryan Succup.”

“While I was initially disappointed, Coach Hunt promised me many references to other coaches in need of a kicker. I can specifically remember the day my head coach in high school came up to me and said, “Alan, the coach at Middle Tennessee State called and they are VERY interested in talking to you.” My first response was “WHO!?” haha.

“But Coach Hunt and Coach Stockstill were very close because Coach Stockstill used to be a coach at South Carolina. I went up to MTSU for a visit and liked the area and school. It also helped that they were in desperate need of a field goal kicker. One thing I’ll never forget were the wise recruiting words of Coach Stock on my visit. He said, “Alan, the only thing you will be paying for if you come here is McDonalds if you ever get hungry”. It was pretty sad, but that’s what sold me!”
Much like in high school, Alan was thrust directly into the starting kicker position at MTSU and had to get some on-the-job training. He has certainly experienced the highs and lows of being a college kicker and he has developed a few nicknames along the way.

“There isn’t a better feeling on earth than when you gain the respect of your teammates, especially being a kicker”, Alan said.

“But in order to gain respect from your teammates you have to perform well in front of them. I would definitely say my freshman year kicking the winning PAT on ESPN2 and my sophomore year, making the game winning field goal with no time left against Maryland at their place would be my most memorable moments so far in my career.”

“But also, throughout the last 3 years I have developed some nicknames from my teammates, for example; Auto (short for automatic), Ice, golden toe etc. But these nicknames don’t really mean anything but it makes you feel good and appreciated by teammates.”

While Alan has had a few struggles during his career, it has helped to have such a supportive coach to help him through the tough times. Having a coach believe in you can be one of the best ways to increase a kicker’s confidence and Coach Rick Stockstill (pictured above) has done a fantastic job developing Alan as a player and a person.

“I would say my freshman year I was faced with some adversity when I missed 3 field goals over three games”, Alan said.

“But I remember Coach Stock bringing my nerves down and telling me to just stay calm and do what I know how to do. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I was learning how to adapt to a new environment and being far away from home and a lot of factors.”

“After my 3 misses and advice from Coach Stock, I went on an 8 kick streak. So I took Stock’s advice and applied it to my game. I have remained calm in every kick I attempt since then and I have been having a great time at what I do. I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made to come to MTSU.”

Alan’s poise and talent has helped him become one of the best kickers in the Sun Belt Conference. He was just recently named conference player of the week honors after making a 55 yard field goal this season.

Alan never would have anticipated using his soccer cleats for kicking footballs rather than soccer balls, but his football talents have led to many wins for the Blue Raiders and quite possibly a shot in the NFL.

Not too bad for a guy that never had any plans to play football!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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