Tomas Silva (McGill University) came to Nashville from Canada to improve his punting and kicking fundamentals. This is Tomas' second trip to Nashville and after working with me last year he finished as one of the top university punters in Canada.
Tomas is a bright and articulate guy and he is very dedicated to his craft. We spent four days working on his punting, field goals, and kickoffs. Even though the trip was mainly for working on kicking fundamentals it doesn't mean that he didn't enjoy some of our Southern hospitality!
He arrived last Thursday afternoon from the airport and when I picked him up I ask him if he was interested in going to the Nashville Predators vs. Vancouver Canucks Playoff Game. We went down to Bridgestone Arena and were able to get some great seats for the game. He told me that it would have been near impossible to get seats to a Montreal Canadians game. I convinced him to put on a Predators t-shirt for the game but he still stuck out like a sore thumb when he celebrated each Vancouver goal!
Punting is Tomas' bread and butter so we went over his punting fundamentals on Day 1. I saw that Tomas had certainly improved his technique from last year's visit but there were some things I could tighten up for him.
After finishing with lessons Tomas mentioned that he was craving some BBQ. I explained to him that Memphis has the best BBQ but that Jack's Bar-B-Que on Broadway is the next best thing. He ordered the combo platter, which consisted of barbecue, ribs, and chicken. Lets just say he didn't go home hungry!
Tomas wanted to work some field goals and kickoffs but they are not quite the same necessity as punting because McGill has Gary Anderson's son, Austin, as their kicker. It is difficult to beat out the son of one of the best kickers in NFL history!
I showed him some kicking drills to refine his technique and he could see right away that he felt much more on balance and had better contact on the ball. As his field goal technique improves so will his kickoffs.
(Pictured: Gary Anderson in Arizona)
Tomas has lots of ability and is getting much closer to reaching his potential. He is a legit CFL prospect and he deserves the opportunity to be in a CFL Training Camp. It was great working with Tomas and I look forward to his next trip to get kicking lessons in Tennessee.
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