Preparing Kickers and Punters for the College Game
Lance Ortega
Article posted on 2/15/2007

When these students were home from college over the winter break, I surveyed them on their high school careers to better prepare the next class of our college-bound student-athlete.

Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

Q: What do you wish you would have known in high school, that you could tell a current high school student?

Bryan Cortney, Punter [TCU]

"Be prepared to understand the business side of college, how it's pretty impersonal, even cruel. You will underestimate the work you need to put in off the field. The competition is incredible and the best 5 or 6 guys that you came across at a competition or combine are very likely to have the same ability of your competition on a college roster. Get as much coaching early on as you can possibly get because you will need the background knowledge and understanding of your craft at the next level. You are, essentially, your own coach to be relied upon to coach yourself out of a rut."

*Bryan walked on at UNLV out of high school and was exposed to the politics of college game. He was a walk-on and felt he was better than the punter on scholarship. Bryan transferred to Mesa Community College and two years after that received a scholarship to TCU. He played in two bowl games, has a very nice bowl ring, and most importantly will have a degree from a very, very fine University.

Briton Forester, Kicker [Hawaii]

"Get as many live reps whenever possible. You aren't going to get them from your high school program, so you have to get them on your own. You have to get live reps in the off-season and it is critical to use new balls. You can't expect to just walk into a college program and be able to hit new balls right away. If you have been kicking old, beat up balls, then you are really cheating yourself. No matter what, even if you think you are ready for the next level, there is always more you can do to prepare."

Jake Harry, Punter- Missouri/Oregon State

"Have fun! It's supposed to be fun. Forget about the pressure, your parents, the coaches, just clear your head and have fun. Go out and compete. Just make sure you have put yourself in a position to be ready to compete. Get yourself some coaching and do all of the other things that tend to get overlooked like PRACTICING YOUR DROP and STRETCHING DAILY."

*Jake walked on to Oregon State out of high school. He was, in retrospect, admittedly unprepared. He then came back home to Palomar Community College, and dedicated himself to improving in every facet of the punting game. In 2007, Jake was the National Combine Series Champion Punter at the college level and recently signed with Missouri.

Q: How did your high school coach help you get recruited?

(With respect to the high school coaches, these answers will remain anonymous)

- "He did not help me one bit."

- "No help at all."

- "He not only did nothing to get me recruited, he didn't do anything to prepare me either. We never kicked live. We never got pre-game. I was totally on my own."

- "He called a college and told them NOT to take me."

- "He didn't. If anything, he hurt me more than helped."

I have always felt that there is so much that goes into developing a college-caliber specialist that goes unseen. The biggest factor is the preparation. We do the best we can to get our kids the most up-to-date criteria being used on the college level then prepare the athletes accordingly. For example, this past year the NCAA went to a one-inch kickoff tee. We called our former students and asked what was expected of them. While each college's philosophy varied slightly, the criteria remained: "We want a kickoff that our team can cover." They ideally want everything over 3.8 (with a new ball) and directional. If you aren't directional, then they expect 4.0 hang, 2-3 yards deep. Kick one off out-of-bounds and you likely may not see the field for a while.

For field goals, the criteria varies slightly from school to school but overall, they want the kids to practice live over the summer and make 10 out 12 minimum with the balls spread out between the 30 and 38 (40 to 48 yd. field goals). Again new balls are the standard.

The punting scheme at the next level varies from school to school as well but the single biggest factor is consistency. A punt of 30 and one of 50 is not a 40 yard average. They will demand two punts of 40. Also hand-to-foot times are critical and that you need to practice catching snaps and molding the ball as early in your high school career as possible.

This is meant to serve as an informative article to help you understand what goes on at the next level, and not directly intended as a solicitation for private lessons. However, kids do come in from all over the country (and from Canada and Mexico) to train with us. San Diego is a beautiful place to visit any time of year and you can train side-by-side with many, many D-I athletes home for the summer.

Hopefully you will have read this with the understanding that getting better, getting to the next level requires hard work, proper training, you can always work on SOMETHING to improve, and you can never give up.

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