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Post by Chris Clement on Oct 12, 2012 20:37:35 GMT -6
We have a kicker this year (Brazilian immigrant) with a legit 50-yd FG range (practice PB is 54). He may be back next year, which would really help him put a little meat on his bones, and would give us a chance to help promote him.
I have a cursory knowledge of how to promote most positions and get them recruited, but kickers are a strange bird to me. We really don't kick enough field goals to get good game film, and our snapper is mediocre at best, so it's not really fair to him. I also don't know what's expected of a kicker in the recruiting process. I know most are invited as preferred walk-ons, some as scholarship players, but I don't know what schools are looking for in a kicker.
My current thought is just to take film of him kicking on his own from various spots and distances and put it into a tidy DVD. Should I include a video of him running a 40? Bench press? We don't have any combines or camps around here and even if he had good game reps, our game film is awful (field-level sideline or field-level end zone, poor quality camera).
Is there a better way to do this? I know there's a market for his services, at some level or another, and I want to help him realize his potential.
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Post by fantom on Oct 12, 2012 21:00:19 GMT -6
The best thing would be for him to get to same camps. Have you put his video on YouTube? Once you do that you can just send college coaches the URL. Make sure that you have some kickoffs. If he punts, too, that'll help.
Keep this in mind, though. Very few kickers get full rides early on. Colleges really want them to walk on so they can see what he can do.
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Post by Chris Clement on Oct 12, 2012 21:37:22 GMT -6
There is no video currently, but I could make one in an afternoon. He does kickoffs, but for some reason his range is no better with 10 yards of approach than with 4 steps. He punts well enough for HS, and a college could use him in a pinch, but FG's are really his thing. He is money on onside kickoffs and he can drop it into a hole in the return, but there isn't a ton of range.
We have pretty much zero budget, so any camps have to basically be in Detroit or in Buffalo. YouTube might not be so bad.
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Post by fantom on Oct 12, 2012 22:05:48 GMT -6
There is no video currently, but I could make one in an afternoon. He does kickoffs, but for some reason his range is no better with 10 yards of approach than with 4 steps. He punts well enough for HS, and a college could use him in a pinch, but FG's are really his thing. He is money on onside kickoffs and he can drop it into a hole in the return, but there isn't a ton of range. We have pretty much zero budget, so any camps have to basically be in Detroit or in Buffalo. YouTube might not be so bad. "We"? No, his family pays for that. It's an investment. |
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Post by Chris Clement on Oct 12, 2012 22:41:12 GMT -6
Ahh. We're new to this, as you can tell. Even then, I don't think anything beyond Detroit or Buffalo is really feasible.
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Post by jlenwood on Oct 16, 2012 10:16:34 GMT -6
A couple of things you can do.
Have him do a workout on a filed kicking from various places on the field and from distances as far as he can go. For example, right hash 30 yards, left hash 30 yards, RH 40 yards, MOF 50 yards and so on. Video this and create either a website of his own (or a youtube page) with his personal info and the video and then get that link emailed to as many coaches as you can find.
Have him kick from the turf with out a kicking block if he doesn't already do that. Don't worry about 40 times and all that, nobody cares. They will just want to see if he can kick.
Also, and this is important, check the rosters of schools he may be interested in or in schools that are geographically where he wants to go. Check to see how many kickers, and what grade they are in. For example a team with 2 freshman and 2 sophomore kickers is probably not in the market for a kicker.
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Post by coachk72 on Nov 7, 2012 18:17:19 GMT -6
We had a great kicker a few years ago who went on to set a lot of DII kicking records and received a partial scolly. We created a recruiting film of him kicking in the summer without a tee using a kicking stand from different hashes/middle and different distances. We filmed these kicks from behind. We included all his PATs and FG attempts from his junior year game film and all his kick-offs. He was a two way starter for us (RB/LB) and was still able to impress on kick-offs late in games which impressed the recruiters. We included some game film of him playing positional ball as well. He only attempted two FGs in his career but that didn't deter the recruiters who were far more interested on his kick-off height. distance and placement.
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Post by newhope on Nov 9, 2012 8:17:35 GMT -6
Film is good, as with any other position, but with kickers my experience has been that the ones who get recruited are the ones who attend the national camps. There are 2-3 of these that do a good job. They rank and promote the kickers and the kids get the exposure they need. They even have them after they have finished their senior year, so a kid still has a chance to get noticed.
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Post by CoachHess on Nov 11, 2012 22:08:29 GMT -6
As a former college kicker, getting recruited is tough. All of the coaches on here have good advice. Colleges don't care how fast he can run or how much he can bench. Lift on FGs/PATs is crucial. More than anything, can he put the ball in/near the endzone each and every time with good hang. Any kicks you can get with him off the ground is a plus. The national camps are by far the best way to get his name out to the masses. If he can't afford a big camp, get him to some smaller camps at local colleges if that is possible. Even if he gets seen by mostly DIII, NAIA, DII guys, word will spread among coaches. And if he can "only" play DII and gets his education paid for kicking a football, mission accomplished.
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Post by Chris Clement on Nov 12, 2012 11:30:11 GMT -6
That's basically the hope. He isn't likely to be trotting out for LSU, but just getting him somewhere would be great for him and great for the program. He can definitely put on a ton of weight if he commits to lifting.
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