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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Specialists Path-Year End Review

This year has been a very productive year in my life. At this time last year I was just traveling back from a three week trip in Melbourne, Australia and then brought in the New Year’s at the Chick Fi La Bowl in Atlanta.

I am very blessed for the opportunity to help kicking specialists and I am proud of all the accomplishments that they have made this year.

This is On A Specialists Path- Year End Review.

Last year’s trip to Australia gave me the opportunity to see the world but also to see how people across the world find enjoyment in kicking a ball.

Australians have a deep passion for Aussie Rules Football and surprisingly this game has influenced the punters in the NFL. Punters like Matt McBriar, Sav Rocca, and Ben Graham have come from Australia to be NFL punters, but the Australians have also inspired the Aussie Drop Punt. This punt has been lethal for quite a few NFL punters and the ones who are not using the punt are quickly trying to learn it.

After arriving home from Australia I finished my 6 month internship with Coach Gran at the University of Tennessee.

I got the privilege of seeing how a big time university operates and how coaches view kicking specialists. This gave me some great insight into my own coaching and I now have a much broader knowledge of the kicking game by being able to learn the returns and coverage schemes that go into special teams.

The next step after finishing at Tennessee was to go out to Arizona for the second year and assist Coach Zauner with his business. I got to assist with his College Senior Combine, Free Agent Combine, and Pro Development Camps.

After all these experiences I was now excited about getting started with my own lessons.

My punting and kicking lessons were a huge success this year as I got to work with approximately 120 kicking specialists throughout the Summer.

I traveled 7,200 miles in two months and worked with college specialists from not only Tennessee but also had kicking specialists who traveled to Tennessee from the surrounding states and even from Canada to work with me .

Working ten hours a day can really take a toll and I wouldn't have gotten through it if I didn't love what I do!

I am continuing to try new things to help improve kicking specialists. Stay tuned over the next few months to see how I look to take kicking specialists to a whole new level!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialists Path- Coach Zauner

It is always great when you see people you have worked with recognized for the excellent work they are doing. This recently happened with my previous mentor Coach Zauner.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post published a great article on Kicking by Michael Leahy.

The article is entitled “Kicked around: Inside football’s loneliest position.” And in this article my former mentor -Coach Gary Zauner- was prominently mentioned.

Washington Post Article featuring Coach Zauner

I spent two years in Arizona working as Coach Zauner's assistant. I was very fortunate to start working with him just as he was starting his consulting business. For my first six months in Arizona, I was completely focused on assisting Coach Zauner and watching punters and kickers improve.

And I didn’t only watch. I also assisted him with all aspect of his video production and I worked the video camera while Coach Zauner coached future NFL and UFL players like current Green Bay Packers punter Tim Masthay (pictured above).

I’ve always had a natural ability to kick a football, but I have also always wanted to be a coach. And one of the things I have learned by working with Coach Zauner is there is a real difference between being a great kicker and being a great coach.

And even the great kickers seem to know that.

I found it fascinating to see NFL kicking greats Gary Anderson (pictured with Coach Zauner below) and Kevin Butler bring their sons to Coach Zauner for instructions. These were some of the biggest names in kicking history, and yet they were bringing their sons to him for lessons.

I was fortunate enough to be there to watch Coach Zauner teach, but I was also learning from him directly as well. And one of the many things Coach Zauner taught me was how to express my ideas in a systematic way through video and drills.

These video skills have really helped me in my own coaching.

It was also pretty cool to be in the same room with a coach who was constantly speaking with NFL Special Teams coaches and NFL personnel people. It helped me see what kind of talent is in the NFL, and what it takes to make it in the NFL.

I now have no illusions to what it takes to be an NFL kicking specialist. I now know what the standards are. And I have working with Coach Zauner to thank for that.

The Washington Post article (above) makes some great points about kickers. Especially about how difficult it is to get ‘in’ to the NFL, and how easy it is to get ‘out’.

As far as a specialist getting ‘in’ to the NFL, I was fortunate enough to be on the ground floor for Coach Zauner’s first Free Agent Combine where 17 of the 42 guys that participated were signed to professional teams. That’s pretty impressive.

This past January I was on the ‘ground floor’ again when I came out assisted Coach Zauner in his first annual College Senior Combine. Over 60 college senior kicking specialists attended the event and many went on to sign with NFL teams.

The Washington Post article also caused me to reminisce about my earlier efforts to be an NFL kicker. I recall when I was with the Baltimore Ravens and their long snapper, Matt Katula, told me every week he feared getting cut.

I knew that Matt had been in the league for around 5 years at that time and I thought his fears were unfounded but his thoughts were confirmed this year.

Earlier this season Matt Katula was cut by the Ravens and replaced by one of my former teammates at Tennessee, Morgan Cox. Ironically it was Coach Zauner who helped Morgan get into the league and he just recently helped Matt get back in the NFL!

Matt just signed with the Patriots a few weeks ago.

Like the Washington Post article says: Coach Zauner is truly in the game when it comes to getting players to a professional team. Or as he says on his website "A specialists path to PRO football".

Coach Zauner has lived up to that line, and I am glad to have been part of his organization. Few people get the opportunity to work with one of the best in their profession and fortunately I was able to be mentored by Coach Zauner.

He deserves all the credit the article gives him, and I wish him continued success.
However, now that I have moved on from Coach Zauner’s world, I will –over the next few weeks- be introducing you to another great kicking coach who I will have the fortunate opportunity to be working with; Bill Renner.

Bill has coached Shayne Graham, Josh Brown, Neil Rackers, Kyle Larsen, and numerous other great NFL punters and kickers.

Soon, it will be my turn to work with, and benefit from him.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Specialists Path- Randy Bullock

Coming out of high school Randy Bullock was one of the most sought after kickers in the entire country from Klein, Texas. After garnering a slew of offers he was able to play football for his home state school Texas A&M.

I was fortunate to meet and work with Randy this May at Coach Zauner’s Pro Development Camp (pictured below). He is a really sharp kid and certainly has a bright future in whatever he does in his life.

In this story you will hear about how Randy ended up at Texas A&M and what his aspirations are on and off the field.

This is Randy Bullock On A Specialists Path.

Randy’s path was very similar to my own as we both started in competitive soccer at a very young age and eventually transitioned into becoming a placekicker.

“I started playing soccer when I was 4 years old and developed a very strong leg”, Randy said.

“When I was in the eighth grade, I started place kicking for our Intermediate school and experienced success. I had an unbelievable time and developed some special friendships with my teammates.”

“When I entered High School, I was encouraged to play with the freshman team. I was determined to place kick for our freshman team even if it meant that I did not play soccer any longer. At that point, select teams were requiring a great deal of traveling and honestly, I was extremely burned out on soccer. I had a very successful freshman year as the starting place kicker. At the end of the season, I was invited to play as a sophomore on the Varsity team and the next three years were very rewarding for me.”

While Randy could see that he had some talent kicking a football, he never would have envisioned that he would be playing at a major college and kicking at such a high level.

“At that time, I never would have guessed that I would be the leading scorer of the 2010 Texas A&M team with 92 points, 47/47 PATs, 15/19 FGs, and headed to the Cotton Bowl”, Randy said.

While he might not have imagined that he would be a star college kicker, it probably became a bit more of a reality once recruiting started to heat up.

“My High School stats were impressive so I started receiving recruiting letters in the mail at the end of my sophomore year” Randy said.

“My junior year in high school, I kicked a 54 yard field goal that attracted National attention. The recruiting process was memorable as well as educational for me. I enjoyed visiting the campuses, the locker rooms and having the opportunity to meet legendary Coaches in top football programs.”

“In a position that is typically difficult to receive scholarship offers in I was fortunate enough to receive 6 offers. I received an offer from Rice University, San Diego State, TCU, Texas Tech, Tulsa and Texas A&M.”

I agree completely with Randy that receiving a full scholarship out of high school for a kicker is quite a feat and he certainly had an impressive list of offers.

Fortunately for Aggie Nation he signed with Texas A&M. He earned the starting job half way through his freshman season and is finishing up his junior campaign as Big XII Honorable Mention, trailing only Alex Henery (Nebraska) and Quinn Sharp (Oklahoma St.).

By playing as a freshman, Randy learned quite a bit about kicking and gained the confidence to kick in front of large crowds including road games at Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State.

“I have learned to be confident in myself and my abilities when I step on the field. You must have confidence to be successful when playing in front of crowds as large as 90,000 people” Randy said.

Texas A&M is widely known for its rich football tradition and for the “12th Man” and Randy has really enjoyed being a part of the excitement and tradition on Texas A&M football.
“It is truly an honor to play at Texas A&M” Randy said.

“A&M has an intense heritage of traditions that develops and instills character as well as leadership. After spending time on campus you learn what the real Spirit of Aggieland means.”
“One of my favorite and most visible traditions, is the Aggie Ring (pictured above).”

“The Aggie Ring is a true treasure. It represents a milestone in your career as an Aggie student. The Gold ring has symbols that represent values that every Aggie holds and respects. I also love the tradition of the 12th Man. The Twelfth Man is arguably the best student section in college football.”

While Randy is enjoying his time as an Aggie, his goals and dreams don’t end upon graduation next year. He might strike oil as an NFL kicker or he might literally strike oil in his future profession.

“Yes, I have aspirations to play in the NFL”, Randy said.

“It would be an honor and a privilege to play in the National Football League with the most elite athletic competition. However, I was selected to the All-Big 12 Academic 2nd Team for my accomplishments in the classroom studying Petroleum Engineering.

“If I’m not kicking at the next level, I would like to work in the Oil & Gas industry as a drilling or reservoir engineer.”

Randy is very proud of the breakthrough season that he and his team have had this year. They beat Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska this year and are headed to the Cotton Bowl on January 7th at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. While Randy is happy with his success, he is certainly not resting on his laurels and is looking to improve in all areas in the offseason.

“I had a successful season this year with field goals and kickoffs helping me earn All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, but there’s always room for improvement” Randy said.

“There’s not one particular area of my game that I really plan on concentrating on to improve, as I will spend my time in the offseason trying to improve in all aspects of my game to help me be successful next season.

“I worked hard during the offseason last year to improve my leg strength, but was set back during two-a-days and for the first several weeks of the season fighting the strength and fatigue effects of mononucleosis.”

“When my health finally got back to 100% later in the season, things went much smoother for me. I matched my career high with three field goals against Nebraska and was named the National Placekicker of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards. I was also named Honorable Mention Kickoff Specialist of the Week by the CFPA, and the following week against Texas was named National Kickoff Specialist of the Week.”

“I’d like to build on that momentum and continue to improve my leg strength and accuracy to get ready for the Cotton Bowl and the 2011 season.”

Randy Bullock will go into next season as one of the top kickers in the Big XII and even the entire country, but even more important he is a prime example of a well rounded student-athlete.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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