Best Kicker in Tennessee-Henrique Ribeiro

Over the past few years I have been all over the state doing kicking lessons in Tennessee and during that time I have not seen a more talented kicker than Chattanooga Baylor's Henrique Ribeiro.

Moving here from Brazil, Henrique has exploded on the kicking scene this season. He showed incredible leg strength and accuracy this year and won the Tennessee Mr. Football Kicker of the Year Award.

I had heard about Henrique from quite a few people across the state and about two months ago I decided to drive to Chattanooga and see what all the fuss was about.

During my visit to Baylor, I spoke with Henrique for about 20 minutes before practice and was very impressed with his demeanor. Having a Masters in Sport Psychology, I was very impressed with how he handled himself and the way he went about his kicking.  He had just been named a finalist for the Mr. Football Award but he was still very humble and appreciative of the honor.

After our conversation I attended practice and watched him go through warm ups and practice. He started his warm ups from the extra point area and preceded to go all the way back to 55 yard field goals. He had plenty of room to spare on his kicks and he definitely had that "pop" that I look for when evaluating a kicker's college potential.

Henrique and I stayed in touch over the next two months and just this week I conducted private kicking lessons with Henrique and his talented sophomore teammated Rafael Gaglianone.

During the lessons I challenged both kickers to try a few new techniques and they learned them very quickly. Both kickers are natural athletes and had a willingness to learn. These are two of my favorite traits in kickers!

Henrique is a big kid with a natural gift to strike a ball. In my opinion he has the most pure "talent" of any kicker in the entire state including a few other kickers that have committed to other top universities.

Even with the incredible year that Henrique has had he is still a little behind in the recruiting scene. Most top football kickers in the state of Tennessee went to numerous kicking camps this Summer to gain exposure, but unfortunately Henrique was not aware of these camps.

It is important to be prepared for the recruiting process, but I believe because of his unique talent, he still has an excellent chance to get a scholarship offer. A major university would be lucky to have him!

This is a kicker that certainly has high Division I potential and some day (with some hard work) we might even be watching him play on Sundays!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com