Specialists Path- Brian Davis

Playing as a true freshman in Division 1 football is an adjustment for any player but there is added pressure for a placekicker. Imagine if your first game of your career was against Auburn in front of 87,000 people.

This is the story of freshman Brian Davis, who is the starting kicker at Arkansas State University, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference. Brian has always had the talent to play Division 1 football but he had a wild ride in the process of signing a full scholarship on National Signing Day.

Learn how Brian ended up with a scholarship and his trials and tribulations as a starting kicker in major college football.

This is Brian Davis “On A Specialists Path”.

Brian became interested in kicking his 8th grade year and after a little instruction he really started to develop a passion for it.

“My 8th grade year I was kicking footballs off a tee in my backyard and noticed I had a big leg for my size”, Brian said. “My freshman year I worked with Charlie West and he truly showed me how to love kicking.”

Brian was a goalkeeper in soccer and was also the kicker/punter at Brentwood High School. Brentwood has always had a very good soccer program, which has helped them produce some very good kickers. By the end of Brian’s junior year at Brentwood he had really developed an interest in being a college kicker.

I contacted Brian after his junior season about getting kicking lessons and by the time I worked with him that next July I could see he was a bit behind in the recruiting process. He had attended a limited number of camps that Summer and was getting very little recognition by schools.

After two days of kicking lessons I was really impressed with Brian’s talent and thought he had the talent to get a major Division 1 scholarship. I suggested he go to some of the major scholarship camps to get noticed and I am glad he took my advice.

“The recruiting process is really hectic”, Brian said.

“It’s all politics. It’s who you know. I know I would not have gotten any interest from TCU if it would not have been for my uncle being close with Coach Patterson. Also, I believe I would not have gotten the scholarship to Arkansas State if it weren’t for winning the Kohl’s Competition that last December and Jamie Kohl recommending me.

“It’s all about winning camps and charting well in those camps. If you do well in the kicking camps you have yourself a scholarship.”

Like Brian said recruiting can certainly be hectic and it is important to be patient when you are searching for a school. Kicking specialists are the last position that college coaches focus on and that means that a lot can change before National Signing Day.

I talked with Brian in January after I finished my internship over at the University of Tennessee with Coach Eddie Gran. He and his father were very concerned about the recruiting process and I told them to be patient. Pretty soon after that conversation he got the attention he was waiting on.
A wild group of events led to Brian getting an opportunity at Arkansas State. The kicker that was committed to the University of Arkansas decommitted and went to Texas. Next the kicker who was committed to Arkansas State decommitted and went to Arkansas, and that left a scholarship available for a kicker at Arkansas State.

Brian was offered a scholarship soon after the previous kicker decommitted. He and his family then made a last second trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas to see the campus and he decided to sign his Letter of Intent the next day.

After Brian took a deep breath he then had time to ponder that he would be competing for the starting job as a true freshman. It was certainly a big step for him.

“Playing College Football as a freshman has been a little overwhelming considering how different college kicking is to high school kicking”, Brian said.

“Now it’s more of a business, and people’s careers are at jeopardy every time you miss a kick. It’s just a lot more pressure to excel at your highest level possible with a lot more people following you and hoping that you will make a field goal every time you step on the field. It’s just a lot more demanding as high school football. It’s such a huge jump.”

Speaking of it being a business, Brian’s coach at Arkansas State, Steve Roberts, just resigned today after nine seasons as head coach. This is an important lesson for guys to not go to a school for just a coach. For example, my recruiting coach at Tennessee, Doug Marrone, left for the New York Jets about a week after Signing Day. He is now the head coach at Syracuse University.

Brian’s opening game of his college career was on the road against the number one ranked Auburn Tigers. This was quite an experience for him and he certainly rose to the occasion.

“The most memorable moment of my career would definitely be the Auburn game”, Brian said.
“As a freshman, my first game of my career being against one of the top teams in the country, it was absolutely insane. My first extra point was blocked, and that was certainly a wakeup call for me and my team. I hit my first two field goals of my career at that game, from 26 and 41, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life.”

While he will never forget his opening game success against Auburn, he would like to forget the next few weeks after that though.

As he was competing for the starting job in training camp, he was a little tense and was kicking way too much. Like most true freshman you are getting use to being away from home plus dealing with an increase in competition. This can be a lot to handle for an 18 year old.

“I was not very patient at all during fall camp this year, and due to my over kicking, I tore my quad after the Auburn game”, Brian said.

“I was just so anxious and so excited I kicked way too much and over worked my leg to the point where I initially only strained it, but shrugged it off and kept on kicking and eventually just tore it."

“What made me overcome it though in the end was really coming to the realization that God did this to me so that I would learn the importance of patience. As the season went on a grew more and more patient with the whole process and listened to my trainers on how to get better and actually got back a week before they thought I would be.”

Once he was healthy he reclaimed his starting spot in the MTSU game and he hasn’t looked back since. He finished the season making 6 of 8 field goals and is poised for a successful 2011 campaign.

“My goal this offseason is getting bigger and working on my perfecting my form”, Brian said. “I think once I get bigger and stronger though the rest will soon fall into place. That is my main focus is just getting bigger and stronger and just having more fun.”

Brian has accomplished quite a bit so far in his career and if he continues to improve I believe Arkansas State fans will enjoy having a fantastic kicker for the next three years!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialists Path-Offseason Preparation

Kicking specialists of all ages and levels are in the process of winding down from the 2010 football season. Whether you had an All American season or you were the backup it doesn’t change the fact that 2011 is a new year.

As Bobby Knight once said “Everyone wants to win, but not everyone is willing to prepare to win.” This quote is certainly fitting when it comes to becoming the best kicking specialist you can be.

I am a firm believer in having a well rounded life and I enjoyed all different types of sports growing up like baseball, basketball, and soccer. By 7th grade though I had discovered that I had a unique gift of kicking a football and I did whatever I could to develop that skill.

The question I pose to kicking specialists is: do you have a plan for this offseason?

This is On A Specialists Path- Offseason Preparation.

Kickers and punters from all different levels of football have different goals to accomplish this offseason.

Graduating college seniors will use this offseason to prepare for the NFL, while high school juniors and seniors are hoping for a chance at a college kicking scholarship. You could also be a younger kicker who is looking to learn the proper fundamentals to set a solid foundation for training in the future. Specialists of all levels can benefit from a productive offseason.

The ability to achieve your goals is done through preparation. It is important to set a plan for your offseason training. I suggest taking a few weeks off after the season and letting your body and mind rest. After a few weeks it is time to get back to training.

I understand that it is difficult to kick in some parts of the United States during January and February, but if you can benefit from kicking indoors in a net or even just working on your steps in your garage or high school gym.

This summer I had quite a few clients that came to me in late June and July and wanted me to fix their kicking within a matter of two days. While I have been able to make some minor adjustments on kicking specialists at the highest skill level, it is often very difficult to make such changes so close to the season.

I can certainly give you the tools to be successful but you also need the time to develop those skills. You have to replace one habit with another habit. This sometimes takes time depending on how strong your bad habits might be.

Getting training earlier in the year will help specialists to obtain muscle memory and provide them with the confidence they need to be successful during the season.

My suggestion to kickers and punters is to get the proper instruction earlier in the offseason and get lessons every few months to keep refining your skills.

I will leave you with a Vince Lombardi quote: “Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

My suggestion is for you to learn the proper techniques as soon as possible so that you train your body with the right type of habits!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialists Path- Alonso Rojas

University of Kansas punter Alonso Rojas is one of the top senior punters in the entire country ,but his path did not go directly from point A to point B.

He has seen about everything in his career after transferring, going through the recruiting process for a second time, and going through a coaching change his senior year.

Alonso is finishing up a very successful career at Kansas and despite all the adversity in his career, the one constant has been his success on the football field.

This is Alonso Rojas On’ A Specialists Path.

Alonso had a soccer background but became a kicker out of necessity.

“Growing up I always wanted to play football, but my parents never let me”, Alonso said.

“I was fast and physical, but I was never big enough to play. My freshman year of high school and my parents finally allowed me to play. My parents made me choose between soccer which had been a lifelong passion and football, which I loved but never got to play growing up. It was a hard decision but I decided to go with football."

When he made the decision to play football he thought his days of kicking a ball were over, but little did he know that he would just be kicking a different shaped ball.

“I was playing receiver and linebacker in high school and was demoted to the Junior Varsity team” Alonso said.

“So one practice leading up to the season our head coach brought us all up and said we were two weeks away from the season and we don’t have a kicker. Can anybody kick?”

“I told him that I played soccer and that since I wasn’t getting much playing time at the other positions that I would kick for the team, and from then on out everything started to click.”

He couldn’t kick his habit of kicking a ball and by the end of his high school career he was offered the ability to punt for Bowling Green State University.

Alonso was able to become a starter as a freshman but he eventually decided to transfer after the season. So he had to start the recruiting process all over again.

“Well when I decided to transfer out of Bowling Green, I was talking to Florida, Ole Miss Auburn, Georgia, as well as Miami, to walk on and earn a scholarship” Alonso said.”

“I continued to train and work hard and just stay focus on getting back on the playing field. A friend of mine who at the time was kicking at the University of Miami, Daren Daly continued to fine tune my skills and help me get better kicking wise as well as staying in shape with lifting and running.”

“He introduced me to coach Chris Sailer. I went to one of his national events out in Las Vegas and an abundant amount of scouts there watching me punt.”

“A week or two later after the event I started receiving calls from several schools. There was something about Kansas that stood out most and it just felt right at the time. I took an official visit and it went great, as soon as they offered I immediately committed and became a Kansas Jayhawk.”

Alonso became the starting punter at Kansas in 2008 after sitting out the 2007 season following his transfer. For the past three years he has been a key cog in the resurgence of Kansas football. His best memory was in his first year with the Jayhawks.

“I would say my best memory so far in my career is beating Missouri in 2008” Alonso said.”

“Everything fell into place perfectly I had a great game (three punts inside the 15 yard line), and we beat the 12th ranked team in the country.”

While Alonso is happy to be working towards his degree, he is also anxious to compete for a spot on an NFL team.

This past Summer I met Alonso and his teammate, kicker Jacob Branstetter, at Coach Zauner’s Pro Development Camp in Arizona.

I got to know both Kansas kicking specialists and really enjoyed meeting them. What you could see about Alonso is that he had a great desire to succeed and was very meticulous about this craft.

He is certainly not your average punter and he believes that the rest of his teammates have taken notice.

“I think that kicking specialists have come a long way in the eyes of their fellow teammates”, Alonso said.

“We definitely aren’t seen as the rest of the guys on the team, but when the game is on the line and we need a kick or a good punt they sure love us.”

“I think as far as the public is concerned they are showing specialist a lot more respect and attention then they have in the past.”

I believe that teammates and fans alike are taking notice of the punting talents of Alonso Rojas!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialist Path' Nick Campbell

Tennessee Tech punter Nick Campbell was just recently named Ohio Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, but his path as a successful college punter has not always been a straight one.

Nick, who is nicknamed “Soup” by his teammates, has cooked up a great season for the Golden Eagles through hard work and perseverance. See how Nick went from a walk on punter to an All Conference type player.

This is Nick Campbell ‘On A Specialists Path’.

Nick played at Lawrence County High School in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He was a multi-sport athlete who lettered in 3 sports; baseball, basketball, and football. He was introduced to punting during his freshman year and really took a liking to it.

“The summer before my freshman year in high school, a friend of my dad’s, John Lotspiech, who punted at MTSU, knew I had played soccer my entire life and was going out for the football team”, Nick said.

“And he wanted to show me the fundamentals of punting, and it took me a few weeks to get the right technique but I finally got it.”

Almost all good kicking specialists have someone who helps guide them along the way and that support system helped Nick to thrive in high school.

“John taught me how to punt”, Nick said. “He has always been there for me, no matter what I needed. My family has also had a big influence on me. They have always been there to support me during the hard times and the good times. I really do not know what I would do without them!”

After finishing a successful high school career Nick was unsure of what his future would hold as he was a successful baseball player along with being a talented punter. He had to make a tough life decision and he left that choice to a higher power.

“Tech called a coach in Nashville, the head coach at Hillsboro asking if he had a punter or knew of anyone in the area that could play at the next level”, Nick said.

“He told them about me and the next day they were down at my school to watch a game. However, the summer that I was going to report for camp I had an offer to play college baseball, which was a really tough decision for me because I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old. And they were offering me a full ride and Tech wanted me to walk on.”

“But I turned the situation over to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and soon after I did those things everything began to fall into place. Without him I would have probably made the wrong decision.”

Making the decision to walk on at a college can be a tough one because the road of a walk on can be challenging. Nick decided to go to Tennessee Tech and test his skill as a punter.
Over the past few years at Tech he has had his ups and downs. His freshman year he went into the season as a backup, but an injury to the starter led to him getting his first punt and it was in a hostile environment.

“One of my proudest moments here at Tech would have to be my first career punt” Nick said.”
“I was at the University of Louisville and in front of 35,000 people and for a guy that is from a town that does not even have that many people, (Lawrenceburg approx. population is 14,000 people), it made me a little nervous. I was able to block it out when I ran out onto the field though and kicked a 40 yarder out of bounds at the five yard line.”

Nick had a banner freshman year and Tech was ranked third in the conference in Net Punting, but like a lot of players, he went into a sophomore slump. He was replaced during mid season after some subpar performances. This was probably the low point in his career.

“Last year I was struggling and was replaced over halfway through the season and that was tough on me”, Nick said. “However, I used that as fuel to push me to work even harder in the off season. And I beat the same guy out in the spring that replaced me during the season.”

Nick and I have forged a solid relationship over the past few years and whenever I went to Cookeville High School to train their kickers I would also conduct a lesson with Nick.

This Summer we worked exclusively on some mechanical issues that had been making him become inconsistent. Getting back to basics and working on fundamentals are the keys to a good punter. You don’t always have to hit the “big ball” all the time. Punters aren’t just measured on their best punts, it is important to eliminate the bad punts.

“I really feel like the drills, that Coach Wilhoit has shown me and the muscle memory he helped me create has made me more consistent this season and made me a better punter.

“I do the No-step and One-step drill every day before practice to warm up. The biggest things that I have struggled with are having a long first step which causes me to be off balance and causes me to short arm my drop. With these drills I have developed a shorter first step, which helps me extend my arm and get the full extension out of my leg and foot.”

Taking from a quote by Charles Swindoll “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.” Well Nick’s attention to detail has caught the attention of The Tennessee Tech coaches, players, and fans this season!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialist Path' Support of Family/Friends

Usually my On A Specialists Path Blog is about something directly related to kicking specialists on the football field; but this week is a little different. This week’s On A Specialists Path is about the support and love one receives from family and friends.

It’s also about how important it is to appreciate family and friends while we have them.

And because it has to do with a recent loss of a friend (very recent), I am not even sure I will tell this story well. But I do want to tell it because I want to honor my friend while she is so fresh in my mind.

I have learned quite a few things over the years being a kicker; and one of those things is that to achieve success in life it takes help from others.

This week I was in Arizona for the funeral of someone who had helped me on my path. Her name was Christine Anderson, who was a wife and mother of three children.

Christine was that special kind of person who was always helping others, and in the process, was always leaving part of herself with whomever she helped.

It was just about this time two years ago when I was searching for what my path was in life. I got a bartenders license, insurance license, and was even thinking about law school. But none of these things materialized even though I put my best effort into all of them.

Of course one always wonders why things don’t work out when you think they should. However I believe Marcus Aurelius described it best when he said “everything that happens, happens as it should. And if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.”

As I look in hindsight I know that I was meant to go to Arizona and I was meant to have met the Anderson family, and to have Christine Anderson become such a special part of my life.

It was in December of 2008 when I was offered the opportunity to intern with Coach Gary Zauner in Scottsdale, Arizona. Here I was, a sheltered kid who had never lived outside the state of Tennessee, who decided he was going 1,600 miles away from home. And now I was going to spread my wings and see if I could make my way in the world.

After I arrived in Arizona I worked long hours, slept on an air mattress, and was without cable television. And I would have to say, being without cable television was certainly the toughest part!

It was just a few weeks into my stay in Arizona, and through a mutual friend, I was introduced to Eric and Christine Anderson and their 12 year old son Joey. And over the next few months I would be invited to their home (with no coaxing on my part of course) to eat dinner, sleep in a bed, and especially enjoy their big TV!

Their home became my home away from home at a time when I really needed to be surrounded in a family atmosphere.

My relationship with the Andersons continued to grow over the next two years, with trips to their house in Colorado to go skiing, and there was even a trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in Glendale, AZ.

It was my home away from home and my family away from my family.

I assumed, as one naturally would, that I was going to have the pleasure of enjoying my relationship with the Andersons for many years to come. More ski trips, more basketball games, more home cooked meals and many more hours in front of their big screen TV.

In fact, I was recently thinking about all the time I was going to spend with them when I went to Arizona this winter.

However, this was not to be.

Last Friday, while I was on a cruise with my Dad, I was informed Christine had died in a car accident. It was that simple; she was gone.

In shock, I got off the boat and hopped on a plane to Phoenix when we got to the nearest port.

I spent all day Sunday traveling to Arizona for her services, and on the way I couldn’t help but think of how brief life can be. I was in shock that this could happen and especially with her being so young (49 years old).

Christine was a wonderful wife and mother and she uplifted every person she met. And in a world that focuses on, and so highly values, materialistic things, she was one of those rare people who rose above that and always put people’s feelings first.

She was as genuine a person as you will ever meet. She was certainly one of the most genuine people I have ever met.

Her funeral and reception were a testament to this point as hundreds of people showed up to say goodbye to her and filled the church to capacity with even an overflow of people waiting outside the service.

I know I haven’t done Christine justice here, and that’s probably because her loss is still so recent. But I had to write about her because I couldn’t think of any better way for me to honor her and pay her tribute.

People come into your life for a reason and Christine Anderson will always have a special place in my heart. There is no question she was, and will always be, a part of my Specialist’s Path.

Thank you Christine for being there for me when I needed you. And goodbye.

I will miss you.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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