WATCH THIS ROUTINE (turn on the sound) Like you, I knew nothing about this little 8-year old cheerleader, but what she goes through with her dad is something to behold... and as a kicker, I know you've felt just like she did after messing up when the spotlight was on you (and you felt you let your team down). It would have been so easy to simply hug her, let her cry and walk her off the stage. Instead, dad (her coach) helped her reframe the moment, compose herself, and muster up true courage to try again. And what's interesting to me, is that she didn't exactly nail the first trick back (and man does he help)... but she held tight and then gained rapid fire confidence to finish the rest of her stunts — and after, the pride she must have felt to succeed in front of a cheering crowd — beaming. 🤗 FAILURE IS ONLY an outcome that you allow to stand. It only takes the next try to SUCCEED. Which do you choose? How quickly can you regain your composure when something goes bad? THE THREE B's: • Breathe (in through the nose, out through the mouth 3X) • Bounce (move, jump up and down, feel your athleticism return) • Break (clap your hands, say 3,2,1 go!) ....is a quick way to reset and reframe your situation. You can't fix the past. You can prep for what's next. You can "trick" your brain into believing that the stress you're feeling is NOT fear of failure, but the EXCITEMENT to try... so try, try again. 😇 *** One last thing — unlike Lil' Miss Soy Sauce — who had the entire crowd behind her, you will only half of the crowd behind you... which means MAKE or MISS, you will ALWAYS have someone cheering for you! 🤣 Besides, you said you wanted to be the kicker. So truly ENJOY each opportunity. 🏈 "Hey, hey, hey, hey! This is just for fun." 🤪

Many of you have heard of the "Puntrooskie", but have never seen it or had it diagrammed. Watch the YT video from when it was used to great effect by Florida State in 1988. Bobby Bowden seems to get the credit for originating the play... but that's not true. I know, because my father installed the play my senior year at UW-River Falls in 1984, and it worked like a charm. Except, he didn't invent it either... it was actually invented at the high school level by then Coach Bum Phillips back in the 50's... called the "Bummerooski". Bum would later go on to coach in the pros. Maybe your coaching career will follow the same path!!! 🏈 THE DYNAMIC DUO: At Cedarburg High School, we used it a bunch - didn't work EVERY time, just MOST every time.😅 We called these two companion plays, "Felix" and "Oscar". FELIX (top diagram) was a normal short snap punt fake to the personal protector with everyone blocking and running right (punter jumps up in the air like a bad snap to help hold backers for a second). We'd use it when it was 4th and short (3-5 yards). The short snap was enough to fake the other team out where we thought we could get at least 5 yards. Tell your back to run for the first down marker. Awesome to do early in the game somewhere near midfield. Doesn't even matter if you make it or not. (Most likely, you WILL make the first down).BUT, you're really setting up Oscar.* OSCAR (the Puntrooskie, the bottom diagram) looks just the same, except the personal protector catches the snap and immediately places the ball in the waiting hands of the upback (between his legs)! The upback stays put. "Oscar" because he needs to be a great actor by doing NOTHING. Just hold your ground for a 2 count. THEN GO!!! To the LEFT when everyone else is running right. The punter jumps up in the air (just like before) and then runs right. Your upback might get bumped. He needs to be strong and keep the ball protected — a nice wide base. No one will know he has it. It'll be crowded and scary, but green grass will open up and he should run like the devil 👹 to daylight — AWAY FROM EVERYONE!

You've seen NFL coaches with laminated sheets filled to the brim with color coded entries of plays, formations, options and more — so that they're ready for anything. That's too much for me. And especially for Specials... and especially for high school. Just getting your KO kids to stay in their lanes is hard enough. 🤣 For 17 years, I was a varsity high school special teams coach. To prep for the next game, here's what I would do: SUNDAY — HUDL film available to view. Go through our Friday night game and review what worked, what didn't with attention on what to fix and personnel that should be switched out. MONDAY AM — Go through next opponent's film, expressly watching each KO, KOR, P, PR, FG, FGBlock. Take a single piece of paper and basically divide it into 6 parts for each of these. Watch the film enough to see how they diagram their plays — offensively and defensively. Look for the areas where they were successful (so that you can counter or protect) and the places where they are vulnerable (so you can exploit). Mark your sheet with the key aspects of their play and the #'s of the players who are difference makers. MONDAY, TUESDAY PRACTICE— Take that paper from your back pocket and use it on-field in-practice to refresh yourself on what you're looking to do and to alert your players on how they can take advantage of a weakness, or know how to prevent a problem from occurring. Monday was typically kick and kick return. Tuesday punt and punt return. WEDNESDAY — No specials, other than a few FGs at the start of practice to continue giving the FG operation live snaps to work with (and some pressure from full team). THURSDAY — Situational. Map out about 20 plays in a game. Easiest way is to just treat it like a game. Have everyone on the sidelines and call out what's happening on the field. "OPENING KICK OFF". Team comes out against air (but two return guys to catch the ball), team does their assignments and reacts to the play. Immediately, "PUNT TEAM!" and run that. "Nope, he dropped the FC, we got the ball and now we have FG from the 30". And so on. Call out, "Need a right guard for Olson on PAT!" #2 better be running on to the field to do the job. Keeps everyone on their toes. Don't be afraid to replace key players. "Punter is down, Gunner is down, Snapper is down..." Are we ready? Which kids show the most enthusiasm to simply PLAY for your TEAM.

Kick-spot.com "Is the college I'm interested in holding a football camp this Spring or Summer?" This website has a pretty thorough listing of all the "specialist welcome" camps at their universities. You may want to check it out. I have nothing to do with it... but in case you're interested... Please, check their links out. I mean that as a bit of a warning. Kick-spot is fine.... it's just that many college football program camps are just money grabs. If it's legit, and if you already have some notoriety, they should want to invite you to come to their camp. However, if you're going to pay, figure out what you're paying for. Nothing wrong with asking staff more specifically about the camp. Don't ask, "Will I get seen by college coaches?" (There will be, but that doesn't mean they'll be looking at you — the key is you want to 'know' that you'll get a fair opportunity to impress.) Ask,... "Should specialists come to your camp?" "As a kicker, how many kicks am I going to get in front of recruiters?" "Is it an instructional camp, or a showcase camp?" "How many guys are likely to get offered at this camp?" "Will (name the coach) be there on the field?" If you get a shaky feeling about it, don't waste your money. If it seems legit and that you'll get a shot at showing your stuff (and you get to visit a university), then why not? Most aren't expensive, but anything is expensive if it's a waste of time.

Punters and special teams (and head) coaches, learn from this play. < WATCH PLAY > Often it's done with your punter when you expect a big rush to force a blocked punt by a desperate defense. When the clock, and not the score is your biggest enemy, having your punter catch the snap and run to the corner of the end zone to take as much time off the clock as possible. The punter in normally in the end zone - it's a very safe play. NOTE: unlike this video, the player should never allow himself to be touched. When pressure comes, just step out the back of the end zone. Take the 2 point safety and if there is any time left on the clock, you punt or kick off from your own 20 and give your opponent the ball with time for one play from long distance. OF NOTE: This play, was done by the QB — 45 yards away from the end zone — there's a very real danger of him tripping or falling on the way to the end zone, which would be disastrous (notice how close he comes to his tailback's foot). Get that guy away from him! And, his teammates can "effectively" hold the defense to buy more time. If they call a penalty, you back up and do it again. 😮 Understand the rules, prepare your team for curious opportunities and smartly win the game!