Specialists Path- Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I believe that the holidays are a great time to look around and appreciate the special things we have in our lives. Those things can be a job, our health, and especially loved ones.

Throughout my years of playing and coaching I have built some special bonds with people throughout my life. Some of those people have been coaches and others have just been dear friends that have helped me along my path.

With the guidance and help of others I decided to take the chance to be a kicking coach when many other people in my life were steering me in other directions. I have had bumps along the way and I am sure that I will have plenty more but I always know that I can fall back on the people that love and care for me.

What I have learned from being a kicking coach is that you truly have to love to teach others and it certainly helps to have a giving spirit. There is nothing more exciting than seeing kickers improve and seeing the smile on their faces when they finally understand what you are trying to teach them.
I opened up Christmas gifts like most everyone else did on Christmas Day, but the gifts that I enjoy the most come from my human interaction with people.

Being able to be a voice for kicking specialists and to be able to show people how to do something (kick a football) which I have such a passion for is just an incredible feeling.

My goal is for others to find joy in kicking just like I do!

My goal for this next year is to open the mind of kickers and punters of all ages to dream of their potential successes and then go out and make it happen through hard work. A dear friend of mine always says “To have your head in the clouds but your feet on the ground”.

I was a dreamer as a young kid in Hendersonville, Tennessee. I dreamed of one day going and kicking at the University of Tennessee. I thought how incredible it might be to play in front of thousands of people and kick the game winning field goal! I backed those dreams up with a competitive spirit and a relentless work ethic.

I continue to dream as an adult. Dreams make life special and the pursuit of dreams is often times more fun than the fulfillment of those dreams.

My gift for kicking specialists is to go into 2011 with lofty goals in mind and figure out how you are going to achieve them.

The last thing I would say is to thank the people that have been instrumental in your life. The people that have helped shape you into the person you are today.

Here are a few of the people in my life that have been instrumental for me:

-My parents: Gary and Debbie, my grandmother Dorothy Evans, and the rest of my family

-Coach Bruce Hatfield, Coach Russ Plummer, and the Hendersonville Commandos

- My two closest friends Eric Collins and Rob Smith

-The Blakley Family

-The Ligon Family

-The Acosta Family

-The Anderson Family

-Craig Kasnoff

-Coach Gary and Michelle Zauner

-All my kicking clients- I learn more about coaching and people every time I do a lesson

These are just a few of the people that have helped me on my kicking “path”. I am sure I have left people off this list and the list will continue to grow over the coming year!

I thank everyone for their continued love and support of me as I continue to help kickers and punters grow as kicking specialists. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and that they have a wonderful New Year!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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