High school fg kickers

[JCHILLTOPPERS]

So, as life begins to settle back in for me...

I'm back to wondering about high school football...and damn that feels good.

Is having a very good high school kicker the most under appreciated aspect of the game? I have to think so.When you have one, by game three, everyone is like - YES. But going into the season, it's rarely thought about. But man, when you get to 4th and 6 from the 35...good lord that makes things easier. And boy, does that shorten the field!

For a long long time, i've thought these three factors a major major part of football that goes grossly under appreciated: FG kicker, penalty yards, return yards. There is no difference between penalty, return, rushing, passing, receiving yards...they are all the same! Then, with a kicker's ability to shorten the field and add points...

JCA teams with good kickers greatly reduce my stress level.

 

[pjjp]

I think the HS rule that you cannot return kickoffs out of the end zone elevate the importance of a kicker with a good leg on kickoffs, as well. That can make a huge difference in field position on the HS level.

 

[Bwm57]

I think the HS rule that you cannot return kickoffs out of the end zone elevate the importance of a kicker with a good leg on kickoffs, as well. That can make a huge difference in field position on the HS level.

I was thinking the same thing.
Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

 

[JCHILLTOPPERS]

I was thinking the same thing.
Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

Should.

It's a major advantage...major.

Plus, google around and look at winning percentage when you win both penalty yards and special teams yards. It's crazy.

 

[KickersArePeopleToo]

I was thinking the same thing.
Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

Montini has had one with Chris Nendick, who also works with several other kickers, ranging from middle school to the NFL. He's probably the best kicking coach you'll find. He's worked with kickers at Montini for a little while I believe, and they've had quite a few d1 kickers, including two more this year. Judt goes to show you how much a knowledgeable kicking coach can help you a kicker, as well as a team.

 

[i011763]

I think the HS rule that you cannot return kickoffs out of the end zone elevate the importance of a kicker with a good leg on kickoffs, as well. That can make a huge difference in field position on the HS level.

Correct - In HS, once it crosses the plane, it can not be returned. Ball is put into play on the 20. If ball passes the line of scrimmage and does not make it to the end zone, it can be returned by the defense

 

[crusader_of_90]

I was thinking the same thing.
Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

Althoff's soccer coach ... we just poach a kid to do double duty during the fall. With 350 kids in the school, gotta make due!

 

[Quags22]

Here's my favorite kicker story...

I was working for the Sun Times and a girl kicker from Conant kicks and extra point, becoming the first girl to score a point in a football game in IHSA history. Taylor Bell send me out to cover Conant the next week.

The kicker's name is Jenny Grubb. She will go on to be an all-american soccer player at Notre Dame and member of the US World cup team, to name a couple.

Grubb kicks off to open the game. She booms the ball to the Palatine 1 yard line where Bubba Mariani receives it. He promptly takes the ball 99 yards, right through the spot that Grubb had vacated. You see, Grubb kicked off, but there was an unwritten rule between coaches hat no player would block Grubb, provided she run off the field as soon as she kicked.

 

[tomloner reborn]

I was thinking the same thing.
Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

J.J. Strandring is the kicking coach at St. Rita. Former St. Rita player he was a four year starting punter at Northwestern 305 punts with career 41.4 average. Senior year averaged 43.1.
Has coached at St. Rita since college. Has been very successful as a coach. Tim Zaleski is the starting punter at Wyoming. Also coached Ryan Donahue (Ray Guy finalist) who played for the Detroit Lions. Son of Jay Strandring former Notre Dame Player.

 

[Bwm57]

J.J. Strandring is the kicking coach at St. Rita. Former St. Rita player he was a four year starting punter at Northwestern 305 punts with career 41.4 average. Senior year averaged 43.1.
Has coached at St. Rita since college. Has been very successful as a coach. Tim Zaleski is the starting punter at Wyoming. Also coached Ryan Donahue (Ray Guy finalist) who played for the Detroit Lions. Son of Jay Strandring former Notre Dame Player.

Good to hear.
It seems like a lot of teams treat the kickers as an afterthought, but they can win or lose a lot of games for a team.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

Around Kankakee it is normal for the kicker to be recruited off the soccer roster...Manteno has a long history of a stud soccer player being the kicker, and for a couple of years that soccer kicker took football seriously - even went to some kicking camps in hopes of getting a scholarship. Nothing is as entertaining as watching a soccer playing kicker left unblocked on the kickoff and having to make a tackle...

I've seen lots of poor kickers on kickoffs who can't get the ball to the 20 on the fly regularly...those teams might as well squib kick, as the possession usually starts about the 30. Deep kickers who are short of the endzone, on the other hand, can be a liability because they usually outkick their coverage...good returners can set up their blockers and go a long way...

And come playoff fime you can have some real interesting return teams...The Wilmington 2014 state champions didn't update the roster until the state championship game...Teams kept kicking short to #22, who was a backup QB according to the roster who actually quit about week 2. #22 was actually Owen Weaver, the sophomore's leading rusher who was all-state as a senior scoring 38 touchdowns and now at NIU...Conference foes figured it out when he quit playing full time in soph games in week 5.

 

[Chowbuster1]

My son was a kicker last year. ~75% of his kickoffs were touchbacks. 73/73 on PATs. 9/11 for FGs...longest in a game was 48 yards. What is he going to remember the most? Missing a 35 yarder in the state championship game, score tied, 1:35 left on the clock.
I think I died a little for him that day!! He got over it quickly with the assistance of his teammates and coaches. He is playing Div III next year. Had one Div 1 school interested for a minute. But, he's happy and at a school with 70% women!!

 

[superac777]

Joe Mendez from Reavis one of the best kickers.One year in semis DLS D stopped Bolingbrook but The Brook kicked 4 Field Goals and won

 

[voice of meteor football]

Joe Mendez from Reavis one of the best kickers.One year in semis DLS D stopped Bolingbrook but The Brook kicked 4 Field Goals and won

That'd be 1993. The Brook had Danny Durkin, who went to U of I. Kicked four field goals and beat the Meteors 12-6. Still hurts thinking about that damn game 25 years later

As others have mentioned, we've had some success with using kids from the soccer team as the kicker. One year in the state playoffs, we beat Crystal Lake Central 38-35 in OT as one of our best kids from the soccer team drilled a field goal to win it.

 

[crusader_of_90]

To show how scoring has increased, my junior year in 1989, kicker Keith Schwartz booted a season record during our state title game only to have the ESL kicker break the record the next day. I have no idea how many either had, but of the leading PATs made in a season - and the IHSA shows the top 18 - none came before 1999.

 

[RetiredReferee]

Do many teams have some kind of dedicated kicking coach?

How many dedicated kicking coaches do you think there are in this state?

 

[crusader_of_90]

They are all dedicated.