Becoming a kicker or punter on a college football team can seem overwhelming. Still, by utilizing the correct approach and support, you will have the ability to distinguish yourself from other prospects and catch the eye of college coaches at kicking prospect camps or elsewhere.
In this blog are seven pro tips to assist you in the college football recruiting process. Keep in mind that collaborating with a committed kicking coach and your high school football coach can significantly improve your abilities and boost your chances of getting recruited as a kicker or punter.
What are the Seven Tips?
Following are seven tips that will help you crack the college kicker or punter recruiting process:
Capture Attention with Your First Few Kicks
Your highlight video must capture the viewer’s attention right away. Display your top kicks initially, such as a 50-yard field goal or a game-winning 40-yarder. Coaches frequently decide to continue based on the first few kicks. Creating a quality highlight video can make a difference in getting noticed by a coach, so ensure you make a strong impression right from the start.
Keep Your Highlight Video Short
Keep your highlight video concise, ideally 2 to 3 minutes long. Showcase your best plays and treat them like a movie trailer – draw the viewer in quickly. Highlight videos that are too long may lose the coach’s interest. Save the longer, full-featured video for when a coach expresses interest in seeing more detailed footage of your performance throughout the season.
Ensure High-Quality Video
Ensure the quality of your video is high, capturing the flight of the ball. HUDL videos often lack quality due to filming techniques focused more on the line of scrimmage than on special teams’ play. Make sure your parents or a friend film each game with a quality camera, panning out enough to capture the ball’s trajectory. Also, displaying a variety of kicks in different weather conditions demonstrates your versatility and reliability.
Be Proactive in Your Recruiting Efforts
Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Actively reach out to schools and persist in your efforts. Email the Special Teams Coordinator, Recruiting Coordinator, and assistants at least four times a year to keep yourself on their radar. Persistence shows your commitment and determination, qualities that coaches look for in recruits.
Email the Right Coaches
Focus your emails on Special Teams and Recruiting Coordinators. Personalize your emails and avoid mass-emailing multiple coaches at once. Keep your communications targeted and professional. Include your highlight video link, key stats, and a brief introduction about yourself. Demonstrating respect and professionalism in your communications can leave a lasting impression.
Record and Share Your Season Stats
Maintain detailed records of your performance, including PAT attempts/makes, FG attempts/makes, and kickoff stats. Include these in your emails to coaches. Detailed and accurate stats provide coaches with a clear picture of your abilities and consistency, which is crucial in the recruitment process.
Publish Your Highlight Videos to YouTube
YouTube is a convenient platform for coaches to view your highlights. Always send your YouTube video link in your emails. Avoid sending raw video files as attachments due to potential quality degradation and file size limitations. YouTube’s ease of use and accessibility make it the preferred choice for sharing your highlight videos with coaches and recruiters.
Final Words
Getting recruited for a college football team as a kicker or punter is very cutthroat. But with determination and the correct strategy, you can leave a notable mark. Getting guidance from a professional kicking coach who cares about your future increases your chance of success. Coaches like ours at The Kicking Coach are experts in the recruiting process, are honest, and have helped many young people become top-tier college and NFL kickers. Our coaches and most college coaches agree that attending kicking prospect camps and making a personal impression is the most beneficial way to get noticed and become a top-tier kicker recruit. You can learn more about coach Filip Filipovic and our coaches by clicking here at https://thekickingcoach.com/coaches/.
If you liked this blog, check out our other blog, “4 Steps to Elevate Your Kicking Game and Attract College Recruiters.” It will give clarity on how, with the help of some simple steps, you can boost your kicking game and attract college recruiters.
