The Decision to Excel
Rex Robinson
Article posted on 3/14/2003

It was January 1978, and I was going through my first off-season workouts at the University of Georgia. It was by far the toughest thing I had ever been through physically or mentally. It was tougher than usual because we had just suffered through the only losing season Coach Vince Dooley would ever have while Head coach. We were 5-6 this my freshman year and while I started as a freshman it was anything but an auspicious start.

I was 10-20 on field goals and it was during these same winter workouts that I would watch kicking game film (this is pre-video), and I noticed something. It wasn't anything technical in my swing. It was the obvious letdown my teammates suffered when I missed perfectly make-able kicks. Now, I was not the reason we went 5-6 but the bottom line is, I was not doing my part for the team to succeed.

My resolve to change this was huge. I worked harder and harder as the winter workouts came to an end and spring football began. The problem was, just like a lot of you, I did not or could not do a lot of kicking during the winter. As spring began I was a little rusty. At the same time, a transfer named Dave Allison became eligible to compete for the job and compete he did.

There were times during that spring that more than a few people warned me about losing my job. It was a long spring but my goals had been set in February and they never changed. Not only will I keep my job but, I want to be the best in the SEC. I reached my goals. Dave Allison helped make that possible. Don't ever be afraid of competition. I have known kickers that would rather not go out or transfer than run the risk of not being THE MAN.

I have pretty strong feelings about that type of attitude. In fact, it is not printable. Just let me say this. If you ever shy away from competition, you don't deserve to be THE MAN. I just told one of my local guys a couple of weeks ago, just because you are going to be a 10th grader this fall, don't settle for being the JV kicker. Let the head coach make that decision, don't you make it for him. The good thing is, if you are on this site and reading this, you are probably not that kind of person.

If kicking is what you want to do, you have some tough choices to make. Becoming the best at something is not an accident. It has to be intentional. There will be some sacrifice. When you go to the beach, take your footballs. No field, no goal-posts, no problem. Go to a park and kick over the swings or better yet aim at a single object like a light pole and hit it. Yes you heard me, HIT THE POLE. We do this drill every day to warm up. See the Pole, be the pole, hear the ping. If all you ever do is kick between uprights, you're not going to be focused enough on accuracy. Work hard, be the best.

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