Memphis Kicking Lessons in June

This past weekend was a busy time for kicking lessons in Memphis. I have worked with a lot of talented kicking specialists in Tennessee and doing kicking lessons in Memphis is no exception!

I worked with Logan Cooke from Kokimo, Mississippi, who will be a rising sophomore this year. He plays quarterback on the football team and is also a very talented basketball player.

Logan and I have worked together for the past year and I have seen dramatic progress in his technique. He showed up and performed very well at the Mississippi State and Alabama kicking camps.

I am excited to see where Logan ends up playing in a few years!

The next kicking specialists I worked with was University of Memphis kicker Paulo Henriques. Paulo is entering his junior year at Memphis after having an impressive sophomore year going 14 of 18 on field goals.

He came to me because he was looking to get some additional technique work before the season. I was very impressed with the "pop" he had in his leg. He is a naturally gifted kicker and he was a good listener, which makes for a winning combination.

Paulo and I worked extensively on his technique and he agreed that the ball was going farther and more accurate than ever before. These new adjustments will take a 6 to 8 weeks to become permanent but I know this will really help Paulo stay healthy and become an even better kicker.

Corey Acosta is graduate of Christian Brothers High School and is on scholarship at Southern Miss as a field goal kicker. I have worked with Corey for the past three years and he was my first kicking client.

I have given Corey a few things to fine tune this offseason and he has really improved. He was always an exceptional kicker but my goal for Corey is to be competing for All Conference honors and possibly an NFL Training Camp over the next few years.

Corey kicked with me the other day in Memphis and I was extremely impressed. His range has increased by at least 5 yards since last year and I am excited to see how he fares against the starting kicker Danny Hrapmann, who is a preseason All American.

I had a great time working with kickers in Memphis. I enjoy helping kicking specialists improve, seeing old friends, and I can't forget the barbecue!

I look forward to coming back to Memphis on July 19-20 to work with kicking specialists again...

Nashville Kicking Lessons

On Friday and Saturday I did kicking lessons in Nashville and I was certainly impressed with the results. I worked with one of the top junior kickers in the state of Tennessee and quite possibly the best sophomore kicker in the state.

Overall it was a great weekend of lessons despite the fact that temperatures rose to the high 90's. And even though the temperatures were rising, it was the kickers and punters that were heating up.

Ryan Jenkins (Mt. Juliet High School) is a rising junior and had a very successful season last year. He went 8 for 8 on field goals as a sophomore and shared Region Special Teams Player of the Year honors with UT-Martin signee Jackson Redditt.

Ryan just started kicking last year and he is just now hitting his stride. I am excited to see how he does this year after a full year of following my training program. He definitely has a chance to earn All State honors this year and with some hard work he could be in line for a kicking scholarship.

Next up is Aaron Medley (Marshall Co.). Aaron is entering his sophomore year and is quite a talent. He is tall and slender (approx. 6'3 170 lbs) right now but has an unbelievable ability to strike the ball.

We went through a kicking workout during the lesson where he made all his field goals from 30-50 yards. After a field goal workout we went over kickoffs. He was hitting the ball 62-67 yards consistently with anywhere from 3.8-3.9 hang time.

Remember Aaron's name because you will be hearing it on Saturday's in the Fall in a few years!

Andrew Hays of Sycamore High School has been in my training program since this past January and certainly impressed me this past weekend.

We had been working mainly on his kicking but just recently I have noticed that his true talent is as a punter. I worked with him on the basic fundamentals of punting and I saw a huge difference in his performance.

He was hitting spirals consistently on his punts and hitting them high and long. I am really excited for Andrew and look forward to seeing his progress!

Last but not least was John Ingrum of Oakland High School. John is entering his freshman year at Murfreesboro Oakland and was great size and athleticism.

The kicking talent in "The Boro" has been lacking over the past few years at Riverdale and Oakland High School and I believe that John has a chance to change that trend.

I worked with him on his ball contact and I believe that he has a lot of upside!

Tomorrow I do more Nashville kicking lessons and stay tuned for another update on more kicking lessons...

www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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Knoxville Kicking Lessons

This past weekend I was at Carter High School doing kicking lessons in Knoxville. Throughout the year most of my kickers and punters in Knoxville have traveled to Nashville for kicking lessons and it was now time for me to return the favor.

There is a lot of talent in the Knoxville area with kickers and punters and it was a great weekend for kicking! One of my longest running clients in Knoxville is Carlos Lopez, who is the kicker at Carson Newman. Carlos is an extremely talented kicker who missed the 2010 season because of an injury. It was great to see Carlos this weekend in top form and back to 100%!

I work with kickers of all ages and all skill levels and some of my favorite guys to work with are younger kickers. Alex Rinella is entering his freshman year at Science Hill in Johnson City, Tennessee. He worked with me this winter and I have seen major improvement.

Alex, like most freshman, is constantly growing and with a size 12 1/2 shoe I certainly think he is going to be a big boy! I expect big things from Alex in the future.

A couple other top freshman to watch this year in Knoxville are Roberto Veljkovic (Karns) and JJ Jerman (Seymour).

Another kicker I worked with this past weekend was Lincoln Taylor from Greeneville High School. Lincoln is entering his junior year at Greeneville and has a nice frame for kicking. He is the backup to Ben Ogle and was able to kick some in blowout victories last year.

Lincoln has quite a bit of upside and showed nice progress during the two days. I look forward to seeing how hard he works and am I think that Greeneville has a nice stable of kickers over there!

Last but not least is Evan Toby (Maryville High School). Evan is entering his senior year at Maryville and is the best kept secret in the state of Tennessee. He backed up Mr. Football kicker Zach Sharp last year and unfortunately for Evan, he would have started for almost anyone else in the Knoxville area!

I was very impressed with Evan's ability and more importantly his willingness to learn. He will continue to improve over the Summer and will be a force to reckon with this season as Maryville looks to win another State Championship!

Overall it was a great weekend for Knoxville kicking lessons and I look forward to coming back from June 20-22 to work with more kickers from the area!

www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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