Wilhoit's 2011 Sr Specialists in Murphy Fair

I am happy to announce that I will be featured in this year's Murphy Fair Magazine.

I will be listing who I believe are the top 2011 college kicking prospects in the state of Tennessee. Along with listing the top high school seniors, I will be writing a page article about a high school specialist's path to getting a college scholarship.

Murphy Fair is one of the foremost experts in Tennessee High School Football and his annual magazine sold over 6,200 copies last year.

The magazine highlights Tennessee high school football and is highly anticipated for parents, players, and coaches across the state of Tennessee.

Spencer Roth-Knoxville Catholic

I am excited to be featured in the magazine and I look forward to offering a way to highlight the top kicking specialists in the state.

Last year there were quite a few top kicking specialists that received scholarships like; Corey Acosta (Southern Miss), Nick Pollard (U. of Tenn Chattanooga), Brian Davis (Arkansas St), James Satterfield (UT Martin),and Tyler Emmetts (Cumberland U.) just to name a few.

This year there are a few specialists that I believe are Division 1 material that I have worked with like Spencer Roth-Knoxville Catholic , Jackson Redditt-Wilson Central (pictured below), and Greg Colquitt- Maryville to name a few.

Jackson Redditt-Wilson Central

There are many more college prospects that I will work with later in the Summer and a few other kicking specialists that I have not had the chance to work with.

I am excited for the Summer of lessons as I will be traveling all over the state helping kicking specialists by doing One on One kicking and punting lessons.

Greg Colquitt-Maryville Punter

This is a very exciting Summer for kicking specialists across the state and I wish them the best of luck at Summer Camps and I am here to answer any questions that players and parents might have during this important time.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Austin Starr On 'A Specialist's Path'

James Wilhoit's On 'A Specialist's Path'

Former Indiana University kicker Austin Starr’s path to being a kicker has been one of great promise and overcoming adversity.

Austin was on top of the college kicking world in 2007 when he was nominated as a Lou Groza finalist. At that time he thought his ‘kicking’ future looked very bright. However, by the following year he was just wishing for an opportunity to get signed by an NFL team.

This is the life of a kicker.

I met Austin last year and we spent many conversations about being a kicking specialist, and about life in general.

I am happy to share with you Austin Starr On ‘A Specialist’s Path’.

Austin started kicking during his sophomore year in high school when the football coach looked to borrow a kicker from the soccer team.

“During my sophomore year in high school, the football coach asked the soccer team if anyone was interested in kicking that year,” Austin said. “I gave it a try and eventually became the starter early that season.”

Once Austin became the starter for his team, he was determined to take his game to the next level.

“Soccer played a big role in helping me develop a fast/strong leg,” Austin said. “I went to a bunch of kicking camps that helped me learn the basic technique but the biggest work was kicking all the time to develop muscle memory.”

As Austin continued on his path he found that private kicking instruction helped him get to the next step.

“My kicking coach, Mike Panasuk really helped me learn the more advanced techniques to become an NFL prospect”, Austin said.

Coach Panasuk has been a kicking coach for 15 years and has had brief stints in professional football in training camps with the Falcons and Broncos.

Check out video on Austin with Coach Panasuk http://tinyurl.com/2g78srw .

Austin’s hard work culminated in a preferred walk on spot at Indiana University under Coach Gerry DiNardo, but that would not be the last head coach during his college career.

After his redshirt year in Bloomington, Coach DiNardo was fired and replaced by Coach Terry Hoeppner.

Austin was influenced by many people during his path, but the coaching he received at Indiana was a big part of his development and he credits no one more for his kicking success than Coach Hoeppner.

While Coach Hoeppner’s was at Indiana, Austin earned the job as the kickoff specialist in his freshman year. He earned the job of field goal kicker a year later.

Tragically, after two years with the team Coach Hoeppner was diagnosed with brain cancer and died later that year. This was emotionally devastating to Austin. But Austin was determined to use this situation to inspire him, rather than deter him from his kicking path.

The university mourned the loss of their coach and the 2007 season was dedicated in his memory. Austin responded by having a career year. He went 21 of 23 on field goals and was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award.

His banner year peaked in the final game of that season against Purdue as he hit a 49 yard game winning field goal. He was able to share his moment of triumph with an emotional embrace with Coach Hoeppner’s wife Jane, after the game.

“The 2007 Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue was the most meaningful and memorable moment of my career,” Austin said. “The entire season was in honor of my late Coach Terry Hoeppner. It was the last game of the regular season and we had to win in order to become bowl eligible. I was very fortunate to contribute to that win.”

After coming off the ‘high’ of that magical 2007 season, Austin dealt with a tough blow with an unexpected injury. During one fall practice, Austin had a tough day kicking and he decided he just wanted to kick his way ‘out of it’.

Being the hard worker he is, Austin had the equipment staff turn on the lights to the field as he wanted to keep kicking into the night to discover why he had such a tough practice. This led to an injury to his hip flexor that never fully healed during the season.

“During the 2008 season I developed a hip flexor injury,” Austin said. “I didn’t perform very well that season and it really hurt my chances in making the NFL. I just kicked through the pain and tried to stay positive because in my mind there was no other alternative.”

Fans being fans (and people being people) the same fans that were praising him during his banner 2007 season, were now the ones criticizing him for his injury plagued season a year later.
“It really challenged the mental part of my game,” said Austin. “I’m now a better kicker having gone through public criticism from fans, and from overcoming physical adversity.”

After finishing up his 2008 season Austin came to Scottsdale, Arizona to work with Coach Zauner.

Austin was one of the first people I met while assisting Coach Zauner, and I was impressed with his talent. He came back to Arizona for additional lessons that year and we spent quite a few nights enjoying Mexican food and talking about life.

Shortly after the 2009 NFL Draft, Austin was signed for Mini Camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars. That didn’t work out for him, and after being released from the Jaguars he continued his training and also decided to attend Coach Zauner’s 2010 Free Agent Specialists Combine.

Austin is still training for the NFL, but he has now set in motion a solid ‘back-up’ plan. He was a very accomplished student and has decided to pursue dentistry if his dream of playing professional football doesn’t fall into place.

“I think it’s really important to point out that football does not last forever,” Austin said. “There are so many variables that can play into a specialist’s career excelling or falling short, but every NFL career will eventually end.”

Austin may end up playing on Sunday’s but the hard work and character he has shown over his college career will carry with him for a lifetime.

“I know I’m going to sound like a parent but I’ve realized that getting a college degree is one of the best accomplishments you can achieve in your life,” Austin said. “So many more doors are opened when you have a college diploma. It’s great to try and pursue the dream of being a specialist in the NFL, but you’re hurting yourself if you don’t have a backup plan.”

I’m tempted to end this entry about Austin by saying something really like “Austin’s backup plan as a dentist could be filled with a few ‘cavities’ along with way” but I’m sure he’ll ‘fill them in’ just fine.”

However, being the son of a dentist, I won’t do that to you.

I’ll just end this post by saying “no matter deep the ‘rough-spots’ in Austin’s life may be rooted, I’m sure he will be ‘crowned’ with success.”

Visit:http://www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com/

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Zauner's Arizona Pro Development Camp

On May 21-23 I worked with Coach Zauner on his Pro Development Camp at the Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Arizona.

This three day camp is designed for college and free agent kicking specialists to improve their technique along with Coach Zauner explaining what the standards are to make it in the NFL.

Working closely with Coach Zauner for the past two years and coaching college and high school kickers in Tennessee, has given me a unique perspective on the 'path' it takes to make it from a high school specialists all the way to professional kicking specialist.

It was a great weekend as I was in charge of the kickers while we were on the field, and Coach Zauner conducted the video review sessions and meetings and handled the punters.

We had some very talented kickers at the event including Jacob Branstetter (pictured above), who is entering his senior year at the University of Kansas. He is thought of as one of the top kickers in the country for next year and even hit a 57 yard field goal in 2009 against Oklahoma.

There were many other talented kickers from all over the country that attended like:

• Joshua Shene: Former Ole Miss kicker
• Nick Freeland: Indiana U. Kicker
• James Aho: New Mexico U. Kicker
• Randy Bullock: Texas A&M Kicker
• Fabrizio Scaccia: Free Agent Kicker
• Nicholas Pertuit: Free Agent Kicker
• Giannis Kourlesis: Free Agent Kicker
• Cody Morrow: Mid America U.

It was fun working with such a talented group of specialists as a whole but what I really enjoyed was working with the quite a few of the field goal kickers after the sessions on some minor technique issues that needed to be tweaked.

I saw great improvement with the kickers by the end of the four practices as each kicker had a good idea of where they stood and what drills they needed to work on to improve their game.

Coach Zauner did a fantastic job with the punters. This was a very talented group and Tom Malone (pictured above), free agent punter, was one of the best as he hit a 5.6 hang time on the first day of practice.

The snappers came out on the second and third days as we worked on live operation for the kickers and punters. Live operation is crucial to any specialist and that is something I think is a real advantage of this camp.

Also, I gave my Sport Psychology presentation for the group on what it takes to take your game to the next level. Every specialist at the camp was talented but what separates the good from great kickers is the mental side of the game.

Overall I thought it was a great camp that covered not just the technical aspect of the game but it worked with the player as a whole.

If you are a college or free agent specialist and you are looking to take your game to the next level you should really check out the remaining two Pro Development Camps in Minnesota.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Tim Masthays On "A Specialist's Path"

(Sorry to all you I.E. users for the first upload!)

This fall, when Wisconsin fans settle in on Sunday afternoons to watch their beloved Green Bay Packers, they might possibly see Tim Masthay, a reserved red head from Kentucky, booming towering punts to keep the opponents at bay.

Tim is vying for a kicking specialist spot on the Packers roster.



As the former University of Kentucky punter, Tim’s specialist’s path has taken him from hitting punts at a local rugby field with friends, on to becoming an All SEC punter, and now, to one of two punters on the roster for one of the most storied professional franchises in all of sports.

During my playing days at Tennessee I had been aware of Tim’s talent. When I finished my career in college I was able to get to know him much better while I was working with Coach Zauner.

It’s amazing to think that at one time, this extremely talented punter from Murray, Kentucky almost gave up punting all together. However, with the support of coaches, family, and with faith, Tim is in the position he is in today.

This is Tim Masthay On ‘A Specialist’s Path’.

Tim, like many other kicking specialists, started his ‘kicking’ path on the soccer field. But unlike many other specialists, he was not recruited to play football by the team’s coach, but by a friend that was on the football team.

“I always played soccer growing up, so I was accustomed to kicking a ball,” said Tim. “When I entered high school, the head football coach and one of my best friend -who was a star offensive tackle on the team- began trying to persuade me to kick a different shaped ball a shot”, Tim said.

His friend’s encouragement and persistence helped in recruiting him to the football field. “I was aided by some of my friends who would shag balls for me while I was trying to learn how to kick in my neighbor’s yard, or at the high school practice field, or sometimes the college rugby field which was located near my friend’s house”, Tim said.

After a few years of casually kicking a football with friends, Tim finally relented to his peers requests and decided to try out for the football team.

“I didn’t give it much thought initially,” said Tim. “But somewhere along the way I began seriously considering playing. Toward the end of my sophomore year I decided I would go out for the team my junior season and that’s what I did.”

Tim is an excellent athlete and in high school he didn’t want to be ‘just a kicker’ on the football team. Since he had good size and speed, he also decided to play wide receiver in addition to handling the kicking and punting duties for his high school team.

“My favorite part of high school football was scoring a touchdown, kicking the extra point, and then kicking off!” Tim said.



After a while, Tim put his wide receiver days behind him and took his kicking skills to the University of Kentucky on full scholarship. When he arrived on campus the coaches had plans to use him mainly as a punter and kickoff specialist.

His path to becoming a college punter was aided by his head coach at Kentucky.

“My head coach in college, Rich Brooks, was also the punting coach,” Tim said. “He worked with me day in and day out my entire four years and always stuck with me, through thick and thin. The perseverance he showed in developing me as a punter has aided me in continually trying to improve and stick with it even when things seem bleak.”

Early in his college career, Tim faced some inner demons that caused him to question his motivation to continue playing football.

“My sophomore year of college I wanted to quit playing football. I felt like I was taking steps back as a punter and that I would always just struggle and be miserable about it,” said Tim. “I didn’t plan on quitting in the middle of the season, but I did give it serious consideration right in the middle of the season,” he added.

Playing in the SEC can be trying for kicking specialists and we all have had our moments where we have had to do some soul searching. However Tim was able to lean on his faith to get him through the situation.

"Instead of quitting I just decided to lean on God for strength and stick it out.,” said Tim. And man, am I glad that’s the path I wound up walking down.”

After his difficulties early in his college career, Tim started to blossom into an elite punter and kickoff specialist. This culminated in his being named 1st team All SEC in 2008.

Regardless the success Tim has had as a college punter, he is still trying move beyond being a punter with a lot of “potential”, to becoming a polished NFL punter. And he has explored many strategies to achieve this goal.



At the conclusion of his senior year in college, Tim came out to Scottsdale, Arizona to work with Coach Zauner. As Coach Zauner’s assistant at the time, I met Tim and formed an instant bond with him from our days in the SEC. I was very impressed with ability as a punter and especially his kickoffs. He could consistently kickoff into the end zone with hang times in the range of 4.2-4.3 seconds.

I always believed, and still believe, Tim is NFL material. And now Tim is proving that.
Tim got his first shot in the NFL in 2009 when he signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. However that opportunity was derailed when the Colts drafted Pat McAfee in the 7th round of the NFL Draft.

In early January 2010, Tim signed with the Packers and is now competing against Australian punter Chris Bryan for the starting job. It will be interesting to see how that competition unfolds.



But Tim isn’t just waiting around for the results as he always trying to improve his technique and believes that studying film is a valuable tool in his development.

“I still watch a lot of film in an effort to try get better,” he says. “And one of the things I love about being in the NFL is the access to film on all of the NFL kickers and punters. What a resource!”

As Tim watches film on other kickers in the NFL, he imagines that one day other young punters might be watching film on him. Something he only once dreamed might be a possibility.

Probably like most young athletes, the first time I kicked a football I thought of doing at the highest level in the NFL,” said Tim. “But did I seriously think that would become a possibility? I’m not sure.”

“I do remember, however, often dreaming, hoping, and believing I could play college football in a premier conference though,” he said. “And getting a scholarship to play college football was always one of my main motivations.”

Tim has not only reached his dream of playing college football, but he may soon achieve what most punters would consider the ‘ultimate dream’; being a starter in the NFL.

Achieving that, would just be one more step along Tim Masthay’s Specialists Path.

Jackson Redditt- College Prospect

On May 8-9 I gave kicking lessons with Jackson Redditt (Wilson Central High School). Jackson is entering his senior year of high school and is a very talented kicker and kickoff specialist.

I try to stay aware of all the top kickers in the state of Tennessee, as most of you probably know already because I have contacted your high school coach or through Facebook, and Jackson was someone I had heard a great deal about from high school coaches and even other kickers.

So when Jackson's mother, Lisa , contacted me about doing lessons I told them we needed to work together right away and as we checked our schedules it took a three hour trip to Knoxville for us to finally meet.

Jackson is different from most high school kickers because he has always kicked off the ground for his high school team. He hit a 52 yard field goal last season so I knew he had some serious talent.

As I watched him kick during the first day of lessons I saw that he kicked a good ball, but like most people I have worked with, he still needed to refine his technique in regards to kicking off the ground.

At one point I looked at Jackson and smiled at him and said "I can only imagine what you can do when you hit the ball correctly."

I showed him some of the smaller details to kicking off the ground and his eyes got big as saucer's and he told me "this just feels really different". I told him "that's good because you have been kicking wrong for so long it should feel weird."

We worked on a few drills to master the correct foot position and I even got out there in my New Balance tennis shoes and showed him the correct way to do it.

By the end of the second day he was finally starting to get it. I understand what it is like to go through some small changes in your technique as I was a student just a few year's ago when I worked with Coach Zauner, so I did what Coach Zauner told me to do during my kicking lessons and just told him to "clear your mind and just kick it".

Video of my workout with Coach Zauner

Jackson started to put everything together and was nailing his field goals. We backed up to 47 yards and he was hitting almost all of them with the proper height and rotation.

He started to make the kicks with ease so I backed him up to 52, 55 and ended with 57 yard field goals off the ground. I was seriously impressed with his ability by the end of the workout. College coaches need to seriously start looking at Jackson because he has the ability to be a Division 1 starting kicker next year.

By the end of the second day we were running low on time so I ask him to just show me a few kickoffs. He then proceeds to kick his kickoffs, with a one inch tee, 68 to 70 yards in the air.

He is one of the most college ready kickers I have seen in this year or last year's class of kickers in the State of Tennessee. I will be working with Jackson one more time at the end of May before he starts competing at all the kicking camps this summer.

I wish him the best of luck this Summer and during the season and for all the fans and coaches of colleges across the country I think you should be aware of a sleeper in the class of 2011.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Las Vegas & San Diego

I spent the majority of April in Tennessee doing kicking lessons and as I was preparing to fly back to Arizona for a kicking camp, a friend of mine reminded me that I had never really seen Las Vegas or San Diego.

He made a very valid point and so often when we are on our own path's as a coach or a player we rarely have the time to stop and enjoy things.

I know that over the next two months I will be busy traveling all over the state of Tennessee working with college and high school kicking specialists so I seized this opportunityto take my first trip to Las Vegas and San Diego.

It is funny though that when you are a consultant you are rarely on 'vacation' and surprisingly this weekend happened to be a big weekend for kicking in Las Vegas.

Here are just a few examples of what I mean...I got a call from Chris Sailer on the first day of my trip mentioning that he was in town for his big kicking camp this weekend. Then I found out that my friend Fabrizio Scaccia was coming in town for his tryout with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL. Finally, I got a message from Maryville punter Greg Colquitt as he was also in town for Chris Sailer's event!

Each day I answered emails on my blackberry, which rarely leaves my side, and then I went out to Las Vegas Blvd to see the sites of the town.

Since this was my first time in Vegas I strapped my camera around my neck, like the typical tourist, and began to walk the strip. As I went to each hotel I was mesmerized by the magnitude of the hotels (example below).

I did gamble a bit but I certainly wasn't coming home with much debt as I went to the one dollar blackjack tables at The Sahara. I was proud to say that I played for an hour and owed the casino two dollars! I feel like that is a victory.

After spending three days in Vegas, with my money and integrity in hand, I proceeded to La Jolla, California for the remaining three days of my trip.

I stayed within a four minute walk from the beach and during my time I also visited the San Diego Zoo.

Surprisingly the first time I had visited a zoo was in Australia with Coach Zauner just last December, which was really interesting, but here in San Diego I was able to go to one of the best zoos in the world.

Overall it was a wonderful trip that I will remember for the rest of my life. Now it is time to finish some of my obligations in Arizona, see a few more sites like the Grand Canyon, and make the 24 hour drive home to Tennessee to work with kicking specialists across the state of Tennessee.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Fabrizio Scaccia "Specialist's Path"

James Wilhoit's On 'A Specialist's Path'

When I started writing this column in April, I was thinking of the different paths people can take to become kicking specialists. Sometimes these paths are straight like when a kicker goes from high school to college and then to the NFL. Well, this is not one of those stories.

Fabrizio Scaccia's story is one of twists and turns and sometimes even dead ends. If it were not for his unbelievable talent, and the generous intervention of one man, he might just be a local hero that never left his hometown of Port St. Lucie, Florida.

I met Fabrizio a few months ago, and I have rarely heard of a specialist who has had to deal with so much adversity-in life and in football-upon his journey to make a professional football team.

This is Fabrizio Scaccia On 'A Specialist's Path'.

Fabrizio grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida and focused on playing soccer up until his freshman year at St. Lucie West Centennial High School. And as is the case in so many high schools, the football coaches were always on the lookout for a good soccer player they could recruit to be a kicking specialist.

"As a freshman, our head coach, Coach O'Neal, came over to the soccer field and ask all the players who might be interested to try and kick a field goal, "Fabrizio said, adding the teams was looking for a kicker for the team. "I kicked a 45 yard field goal off the ground for him and Coach O'Neal said "the spot is yours if you want it."

Fabrizio definitely wanted to be the kicker but his soccer teammates were a little reluctant for him to kick because he was so small in stature.

"My whole soccer team was really worried about me playing football because they thought I would get killed", Fabrizio said.

As it turned out, his teammates had little to worry about as he became second team All Area during 2001 & 2002. This led to a scholarship offer from the University of South Carolina directly after his junior season.

With this offer in his pocket, Fabrizio was riding high his senior year and set his school's record for longest field goal with a 51 yarder. However, the ride did not last long as all plans for college were put on hold when his mother was involved in a car accident.

Unfortunately, this was his mother's second car accident, and it compounded the injuries from the first.

The first accident happened when Fabrizio was 5 years old. This accident cause injuries to her neck. It was quite a scare to the family, but she was able to make a steady recovery until Fabrizio's senior year. Then, a second, and more serious accident.

"When my mom got in the second accident, I knew I needed to stay with her. My brother was in college in Missouri and my father lived in New York. My mother needed me." Fabrizio said.

Fabrizio passed on his opportunities to play College Football and focused on his schooling at a local community college while taking care of his mom.

As the weeks and months passed, his dreams of being a kicker started to fade. However, unexpectedly, a semi professional team called the Ft. Pierce Fire was created in a nearby city.

Fabrizio paid the $250 registration fee required to sign up and he continued his kicking career.

In a way, Fabrizio now had the best of both worlds. He was able to be a good son and take care of his mother, while at the same time he was able to continue doing the thing he loved most; playing football.

In the back of his mind, Fabrizio always believed he was destined for bigger things.

“During my time with the Ft. Pierce Fire, I always received the Florida Bowl MVP,” Fabrizio said. “People were always coming up to me and saying “you are too good to be here.”

He played for the Ft. Pierce Fire for four years, and then this past year he played for his newly formed hometown team, the St. Lucie Bobcats.

He started out the year with a bang when he hit a 62 yard field goal in a preseason scrimmage. He then continued his long range success with a 66 yard field goal in one of the first games of the season.

I believe the old phrase is ‘if a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears it, did it make a sound’? Well the same could be said for kicking as well. Because if a kicker makes 62 and 66 yard field goals and no one sees it, did it actually happen?

Fabrizio’s field goals were going unnoticed until he hit a 68 yard field goal. It was then Doug Bercu, a former USFL football star and real estate developer in Atlanta, GA, took an interest.

You Tube Video of Fabrizio's 68 yard field goal

Upon discovering Fabrizio’s kicking success –and learning about the difficulties he faced in his personal life- Doug decided to assist him on his path to playing professional football.

“Doug was instrumental in any success I have had,” said Fabrizio. “He got me the necessary exposure I could not get on my own. I don’t know where I would right now if it were not for Doug.”

Doug is a no nonsense type guy and one of his first phone calls was to Sports Illustrated. He let them know of Fabrizio’s kicking exploits and they decided to put him the magazine last April’s issue in the ‘Faces in the Crowd’ section.

Doug’s work for Fabrizio didn’t end there. He continued by contacting teams like Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State to inquire about him playing College Football.

Fabrizio caught the attention of Ohio State and they were looking to bring him to the ‘Horse Shoe’ and possibly offer him a scholarship. But, as seemed to always be the case, there was one hiccup in this whole process.

“I filed paperwork with the NCAA in regards to my eligibility and when I got the paperwork back they decided I was ineligible,” Fabrizio said. Something he was –and is still- upset about.

The NCAA ruling was for every year he played semi professional football, Fabrizo lost a year of eligibility. Fabrizio he played 5 years, which completely exhausted his college eligibility.

Fabrizio’s was quite upset at this ruling, as he felt it was totally unjustified, however, he and Doug were not giving up. They looked at other avenues for Fabrizio to pursue, including a visit to Division II North Alabama, but the NCAA ruling was the same as in Division 1 football.





As they exhausted one avenue after another, Doug –never one to give up on any task he had started, had one more rabbit up his sleeve; Coach Zauner.

Doug had met Coach Zauner –who is considered to be one of the best kicking coaches in the country- years ago at the River Falls Kicking Camp. He decided this was the next step for Fabrizio.

Fabrizio flew to Arizona earlier this year and worked out for Coach Zauner for three days. After getting out some of the nervousness out of the way on the first day, Fabrizio started to show him his potential.

“I believe that Coach Zauner was a little skeptical of me at first because I had never played College Football,” said Fabrizio. “But after watching me for three days of kicking, he told me he thought I had potential.”

Fabrizio knew of Coach Zauner’s reputation, so he was quite encouraged by this.

“Coach Zauner told me one of the biggest things he was impressed by, was my ability to adapt to his technique for kicking.” Fabrizio said.

Fabrizio was then invited to Coach Zauner’s Free Agent Specialists Combine. This was a chance to impress numerous NFL teams in attendance.

Knowing the importance of the workout, Fabrizio came back out to Arizona about a week prior to the combine to train and acclimate to his surroundings.

During this time Fabrizio stayed at my condo and I got to meet Fabrizio and talk with him about competing at Coach Zauner’s Combine.

I competed at the event last year and had seen most of his competition in person either through kicking against them last year or by meeting them while working with Coach Zauner over the past two years. So I was able to help Fabrizio mentally prepare for what he was about to face.

Fabrizio did very well at the combine, but he also recognized the level of talent that was at the event was very high.

“In the past, I always had the biggest leg wherever I kicked, but this was a reality check,” said Fabrizio. “There are a lot of good kickers out there.”

Now that he had his first taste of a professional workout, he said that the next workout was much easier.

“I got a workout with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL, and I was really happy with how I performed,” said Fabrizo. “It was the first time I really knew I had the chance to make it.”

His workout with the Las Vegas Locomotives was so successful they invited him back for a private workout this past weekend.

When you think about it, there is a bit of irony here. Las Vegas is known for it’s ‘luck’, which is something that has been missing in much of Fabrizio’s life. However, it now seems his luck might be changing!

Every kicker has a ‘path’ that they must travel. And the path to professional football requires both talent and opportunity.

With the help of Doug Bercu, combined with Fabrizio’s overwhelming talent, his path –once filled with so many twists and turns- may now become a much straighter journey to his dream of playing professional football.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Lessons w/ College & HS Specialists

Last weekend in Knoxville I did One on One Kicking and Punting Lessons with Dave Harrington (U. Tennessee), Bryce Berry (Carson Newman), and George Bullock & Michael Williams who are both from West High School in Knoxville.

Dave Harrington (pictured above) is a punter I watched boom punts in practice this past year as I was interning under Coach Eddie Gran over at the University of Tennessee. We have stayed in touch since my time as an intern ended and when he saw on my facebook account that I was going to be doing kicking lessons in Knoxville he ask me if he could get a punting lesson.

As I watched Dave hit some punts he reminded of how talented he is and what his potential could be. He hit quite a few punts over 5 second hang time! This is remarkable to be hitting punts like this on a consistent basis, but what I explained to Dave is that it is not always your best punt that is the most important, as it is imperative to eliminate the 'stray bullets' that come off the side of your foot.

I worked with Dave on his weight transfer through the ball and tightening up some of his fundamentals. Dave has a tough decision on his hand as he is a walk on at the University of Tennessee and is paying his own way over at Tennessee.

I wish him the best of luck as I believe he is too good a punter to be sitting on the sidelines and not playing in 2010. He is weighing his options of whether or not to transfer and pursue a scholarship offer at another school.

The next lesson I conducted was with Bryce Berry (South Doyle High School), who will be walking on at Carson Newman and providing depth at punter this season.

This past year I did kicking lessons with Bryce but he never told me he was a punter too. He had never been coached on the fundamentals of punting so I put him through the Drop Progression Drill to improve his technique.

Bryce really improved over the session and by the end of my time with him he looked like a different punter. I am proud of his ability to concentrate and improve and look forward to working with him again later this Summer.

Finally I did lessons with the kickers at West High School. Both George Bullock and Michael Williams make for some of the best depth at any school in the state.

George Bullock (picture above) has done an excellent job of improving since I started working with him two years ago. I have stressed to George to just let the game come to him and to not try and hit a home run on every kick. Sometimes just a solid hit on the ball is good enough rather than trying to kick every ball 60 yards.

As I got George to slow down on his approach and to reduce the 'crunching' he was able to hit 50 yard field goals with ease. The next step is to have the same approach to every kick!

Finally there is Michael Williams (pictured above). Michael has never been coached on kicking but is every bit of 6 ft 4 inches and has a very solid build. I taught him the basic fundamentals of kicking and just let him do his thing.

He has a very natural kicking motion and since he has not had any other kicking experience, I have not had to correct any bad habits.

I look for the kicking job at West High School to be a very competitive one as both George and Michael are two of the better kickers in the area.

It was great coming to Knoxville and working with specialists. I look forward to being back in Knoxville June 6-12 helping even more kicking specialists!

Visit:www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Working with Knoxville's Best

This past week I worked with two of the best punters in the state of Tennessee if not the entire country in Greg Colquitt (Maryville High School) and Spencer Roth (Knoxville Catholic High School).

I believe that both of these punters have the chance to earn Division 1 scholarships. One of goals of my trip to Knoxville was to conduct kicking lessons with both to make sure that they are ready for their busy schedule of university and scholarship camps this next month.

I worked with Greg Colquitt on Thursday over at Maryville High School. Greg was in the middle of Spring Practice and as you can see in the picture (above) the team was in full pads.

One of the exciting parts of his practice was the fact that the University of Clemson's Special Teams Coach, Andre Powell, came to practice to evaluate Greg.

Coach Powell proceeded to put Greg through a workout. I tossed the balls to Greg as he punted approximately 40 to 50 balls during the workout and he did an excellent job.

He punted almost rapid fire but still hit the majority of his punts with over 4 second hang time and hit a couple of punts that were very close to 5 seconds!

Coach Powell looked pleased with the workout and Greg will be attending Clemson's Kicking Camp in June where he will be competing with a few other punters for a scholarship offer.

On Saturday I worked with Spencer Roth over at Knoxville Catholic High School. Spencer is approximately 6'6 with good size and flexibility as you can see in the picture (above).

Right now he looks like a college or NFL punter and one of the first things I stressed to him is working on consistency. Spencer is very talented and my goal was to fine tune some things with his drop and footwork.

I suggested to Spencer that he put his drop a little higher and once he made the adjustment he really started to boom some punts. Footwork and the drop and so important for punters at all levels!

Spencer did a really nice job working on things and he has had a busy week as Coach Powell at Clemson also came by to see him and Coach James Cregg from Southern Cal was at the school on Tuesday to watch him punt.

It was great working with both Greg and Spencer last week. I look forward to assisting both guys this Summer and throughout the year as they look to impress colleges across the country.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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On 'A Specialist's Path' John Acosta

James Wilhoit's On "A Specialist's Path"

When kicking specialist Corey Acosta his signed scholarship papers to the University of Southern Mississippi this past February, there was no question the two proudest people in the room were his parents, Terri and John.

Their pride came from not only being his parents, that was a given. What they were extremely proud of was how Corey faced the challenges on his path to get that scholarship.

I have known the Acosta family for the past two years, and when I met Corey and did kicking lessons with him I thought he was an exceptional kicker with a strong leg. What I didn't know was how the relationship we would forge over the next two years would impact both of our lives.

When you think about it, a kicking specialists 'path' is not just the path he has traveled. It is also a path traveled by those closest to them.

So this article is about Corey's father, John (pictured above), and what it has been like for him to be the father of a kicking specialist.

As recruiting nears for high school seniors, I thought it would be appropriate to do a Q&A which might be of interest for all of the parents of kicking specialists.

This is John Acosta On 'A Specialist's Path'.

James: Let's face it, being a kicking specialist is not the most glamorous position on the football field, so the first question I would asked John was "what did you think when Corey told you he wanted to be a kicking specialist?"

John: "My wife and I both thought it was a perfect fit,"said John. "Corey played all the sports he could and has always been a very good athlete. Soccer has been one of his stronger sports and what we and others have noticed early on was that Corey's leg was extremely strong."

"Understanding that a strong leg doesn't equal a good kicker we asked a friend, Dr. Arthur Franklin-who punted at the U. of Memphis in the 80's-to evaluate him to see if he could be a kicker before his freshman year at CBHS."

"Arthur was gracious enough to take the time out of his busy schedule and met Corey at the St. Louis School. I left them there and let them do their thing. I came back after about an hour and asked how things went. Arthur was laughing and said "we had a kicker".

John continues, "Arthur was laughing because Arthur had the football set on the 1 inch block and holder and Corey looked at him and said "what do I do know?"

Arthur showed him the basic steps and Corey asked...do I kick now? Arthur told him to kick away and Corey hit his first 2o yard field goal. He proceeded to continue to go back and ended up hitting from 40 yards. Arthur was laughing because Corey didn't even know what he was doing. He just knew that he could be a good kicker if he worked at it. Needless to say Dr. Franklin gets all the credit for putting Corey on the right path."

James: As a kicking specialist myself, I know I have always leaned on my parents for encouragement during my career, so my next question to John was to talk about a situation that was really challenging for Corey, and how he encouraged him through it.

John: "Truthfully there was only one time we had to encourage him", said John. "His first kick he ever made was an extra point in the Jamboree against CBHS' biggest rival, MUS. He had never even kicked with a line in front of him. He went on to kick the extra point to tie the game. Snap, hold, and he kicked the ball right in the back of the head of an offensive lineman. CBHS lost 7-6."

"Needless to say he was devastated. He came off the field and fortunately Kevin Locastro the head coach at CBHS was there to greet him. He hugged him and basically just encouraged him. He got in the car to go home and was still very upset and said he didn't want to be a kicker. We don't tend to be quitters in our family and my wife told Corey that things can only go up from here; wise words from a great lady. That is the only time we had to encourage him. He has such a passion for it...its fun to watch and be a part of."

James: I knew that my parents spent a great deal of time and emotional energy on my career, so I asked John to explain some of the ways he had supported Corey in his pursuit of being a kicker.

John: "We just made sure that Corey had the training needed and the people that needed to see Corey saw him." said John. "In my humble opinion being a specialist is a more difficult path recruiting wise than your average football player. Fortunately we had been through the recruiting process two years earlier with Corey's brother, Hunter."

"Although Hunter was recruited for soccer the similarities are somewhat similar. In soccer unless you are a US National or Regional type player you must let the schools know you are interested so that they can take a look at you and see if they are interested back."

"Kicking is similar in that most schools want to see you in camp unless you are the number one or two best kickers or punters in the country." John continues. "We sat down together and decided we would only go to camps that had contacted Corey either in person or by phone. We did our homework to see who was really looking for kickers and we set our summer schedule accordingly."

"It changed through the process but in the end we went to 15 different schools from West coast to East coast that garnered Corey 5 full scholarship offers and numerous preferred walk on spots from some of the elite schools in the SEC." John continued. "support just doesn't begin and end with recruiting. Training and exposure go hand in hand and we were very fortunate that Corey was able to meet and work with James (Wilhoit)."

"It all happened when Corey was a freshman. Corey played for Coach David Ligon, whose son played at Tennessee. Corey would go to Coach Ligon and ask "how many steps does James take on kickoffs, how many steps does he take on field goals, and on and on."

"Finally, as Corey started to become annoying trying to get info, Coach Ligon said...here is James' email address why won't you contact him and he can answer all your questions. James had just finished his fantastic career at Tennessee and was in transition. He agreed to work with Corey and the rest is history."

John goes on, "James refined things for Corey. He did not change things to be like him, he tweaked things that fit Corey. That is what makes James a special coach. To me the mark of a great coach is taking what you have and making it better. That is exactly what James did."



James: The recruiting game has changed quite a bit since I was a high school senior. I had several offers in May of my junior year but things have changed quite a bit now for most specialists, which is why I asked John his thoughts on what were some ways to catch the college coaches attention in regards to recruiting.

John: "To get your name out there you have to go to some national type kicking combines. The three biggest out there are Chris Sailer, Jamie Kohl, and Ray Guy," says John. "Corey was noticed at Ray Guy and put on their exposure list and that was the start. We were fortunate that Chris Sailer liked what he saw in Corey to be invited to Chris "Top 12" camp in Los Angeles."

"Almost all the top kickers in the country were there and you really get to see where you stand. Because of that exposure Jamie Kohl called Corey and asked him to come to his National Scholarship Camp and he did."

"At all of these he performed well and his name began to get out in the recruiting world."

"Both Chris and Jamie are very good kicking coaches but not everyone can get out to California or Wisconsin for kicking lessons. That is why James was so important to Corey's development. All three James, Chris, and Jamie were all very instrumental in the recruiting success that Corey had. Lastly, I would remiss if I didn't say that it is a financial investment. Did we make mistakes along the way? The answer is yes. But working with James wasn't one of them."

James: The next question I asked was to recount his proudest moment being the parent of a kicking specialist.

John: "That is a very tough question," he responded. "I can pinpoint four things: The first is Corey being named captain of his football team. That is not a big deal to some but it is a big deal when you are a kicker. The fact that Corey is the first kicker in the history of Christian Brothers to be named captain speaks volumes to his character and leadership skills."

"The second is Corey winning the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholarship. Coach Locastro nominated him and we were so surprised when we heard he won."

"The third is him signing to play college football at the University of Southern Mississippi. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work."

"And last but not least would not be important to many but was important to us as parents, says John ." Explaining, "when Corey went to the University of Tennessee to kick, it was one of his first camps. Corey had worked for this day and performed great. It was a stressful time for all of us. After the day was done he had performed great and it was recognized by the Tennessee staff. That was great but that was not what we were proud of."

"Corey was in competition with some of the best kickers around, and besides Corey, there was another kicker that the staff was really targeting. Unfortunately the other kicker started to struggle a bit when they were kicking off the ground. When they moved to kickoffs the other kicker continued to struggle. On Corey's first kickoff he put it high and deep."

"The other kicker prepared for his first kickoff and on approach he slipped and fell on ground and his foot caught the ball and it went 20 yards and out of bounds. Instead of celebrating, Corey ran over to him, gave him his ball back to kick over and ran and got the kickers ball that he just kicked out of bounds."

"The two of them remain friends to this day."John adds proudly."That day was so important to both boys, and when you are competing you want to compete against someone at his best. Unfortunately you have those days and the other kicker had one of them. It may have sounded simple to some but we were so proud that Corey thought of someone else when he could of been thinking himself."

James: Finally I asked John, that having discussed his 'proudest' moment, what was one of toughest moments he witnessed of his son? And how did he respond to it?

John: "Corey was told he was number two on the board at Tennessee the entire year and was recruited very hard by the Vols."says John. "He would receive 10 to 15 hand written cards a week from the Tennessee coaches and each week he would talk to the special teams coach Eddie Gran. Things were going well and then all the coaching changes started at Tennessee."

"With the new staff coming in and them being behind in recruiting, Corey was an afterthought. The day before signing day that all changed. I received a call that morning from the Tennessee staff they wanted to speak with Corey and wanted to make sure they had his cell phone number. Corey of course was in school and let each one of his teachers know that he might be receiving phone calls from coaches that day."

"It was an all day affair that culminated with a call from Coach Dooley around 4 PM. By the time I got home Corey looked like a deer in headlights, dazed and confused. We sat down at the kitchen table and we all shut down our phones. The first thing we did was pray for an answer. We then sat there and talked it out. Sometimes we would sit there for 10 or so minutes and not say a word."

"This was a head and heart decision together."

"In the end Corey chose the school where he thought was where the Lord wanted him to be. When he said the words "I think I want to stay with Southern Miss" it was like he was revived. He looked like a new kid. We turned on our phones and the second he turned on his phone it rang. It was Coach Farrar, Southern Miss assistant recruiting him, just checking to see how things were going. Corey told him just great. If that wasn't the sign we were looking for I don't know what is."

James: Recruiting can be a very challenging process for the kicking specialists themselves, but I am positive Corey would not be where he is today if it were not for the support of his two parents.

I am confident that when Corey sat down on National Signing Day to sign his scholarship papers his parents-just like the parents of so many other kicking specialists are-were right behind him just like they have been his whole life.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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