Once again, our camp flirted with rain and came out mostly “high and dry”. With a temperature near 72 and a light breeze, camp conditions remained largely overcast, instead of the heavy downpour predicted. Thank goodness for inaccurate weathermen!

With 16 campers in attendance, we were able to get some great work in.  Our camps typically get started with the basics on kicking, both soccer style and straight on (yep, we had three toe-kickers in our ranks)… and perhaps, Coach Farley is the last coach to teach the proper mechanics to kick that way.

“When I was a kid, the NFL had about the same number of stright on guys as soccer style kickers,” Farley commented, “and my brothers and I would emulate any and all of them.  My oldest brother kicked straight on in high school, while I kept messing around with soccer style… and evenutally it really paid off for me.”

Our campers learned about the “Kicking Zone”, a distance on the field where they KNOW they are 3-out-of-4 accurate to let their coach know where he can truly count on them to make the kick.  It’s a lot closer than most kickers think. We also got in some training on how to find the perfect kickoff steps to avoid the dreaded “chicken steps” that often steal energy and momentum from your kickoff.

From there, we did some punting drills and ended the day competing in a field goal competition — in teams. Everything about Mike Farley’s Kickers Camp is aimed at making you a better kicker… and a more trustworthy kicker for your high school team.  If you don’t have your coach’s confidence, you won’t get the chances to kick. And no matter what those opportunities are in a game, our campers learned that they should become great teammates first, and worry about their accolades second.