"The Michigan Daily" Newspaper Article

This is a short article on twitter kicking tips, college specialists competition, etc.

"With Tweets and coaching tips, Filipovic helps Mesko, 7 other Big Ten Kickers"

BIG 10 Visits

One of my favorite things to do is to visit BIG 10 campuses, watch games and kick with my guys. Week 1 - Michigan State, Week 2 - Wisconsin, Week 3 - Michigan...


WISCONSIN

MICHIGAN STATE

PURDUE
IOWA
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Signs that a college coach is interested in you

This is a great article written by Kris Crause, founder of NCSA and a former D1 scholarship athlete.

_________
The answer to this question will always vary based on the age of the prospect, the sport, the division level and the individual program, amongst other factors in the process. However, here are the top indicators of a coach’s level of interest, in declining order:

1. Full scholarship offer in writing
2. Full scholarship offer made verbally
3. Partial scholarship offer in writing
4. Partial scholarship offer made verbally
5. Offer of an official visit
6. Phone calls from the head coach on the first day of the contact period, which varies by sport
7. Hand-written weekly letter from the head coach or assistant coach (the former indicates higher interest)
8. Athletic application with fee waiver
9. Letter from the head coach or assistant coach with an invitation to call or email (the former indicates higher interest)
10. Offer of an unofficial visit or game day visit
11. Request for game, highlight, or skills video
12. Invitation for pro-rated one-day summer camp visit
13. Questionnaire and letter inviting the student-athlete to correspond or call

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Great College Season Coming Up !

I was looking through the college football schedule today and marking all the games that I cannot miss. There are too many because...

1. I LOVE BIG 10 FOOTBALL.
2. There is a game every Saturday in which 2 or more The Kicking Coach alumni/staff will face each other on the field.

If you attended one or more of our kicking camps this year, you probably met many of them and had a chance to kick with them.

Here are just a few games you should try to watch:

9/5 Illinois vs. Missouri (D. Dimke K Illinois, A. Lalich P Missouri)
9/12 Northwestern vs. Eastern Mich. (S. Demos KP NW, Z. Johnson P EMU)
9/19 Michigan vs. Eastern Mich. (Z. Mesko P MI, Z. Johnson P EMU)
9/26 Michigan vs. Indiana (C. Hagerup P IN, Z. Mesko P MI)
10/3 Michigan State vs. Michigan (A.Bates & Swenson MSU, Mesko MI)
10/10 Iowa vs. Michigan, Illinois vs. Michigan State
10/24 Illinois vs. Purdue (Dimke K IL, C. Wiggs K Purdue)

etc...

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Zoltan Mesko named to Playboy PreSeason All America Team

Zoltan Mesko, University of Michigan's punter, was named to his first of many preseason All-America teams. Zoltan is a TKC student and a staff members. He assisted with coaching of the punters at every camp of 2009 and will be present at both Chicago and Michigan Preseason camps at the end of July.

Read the press release on Michigan's site

http://www.mgoblue.com/football/article.aspx?id=181338

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Still Got It - It is 99% mechanics

This post is somewhat personal in nature.

As a 31-year old retired NFL punter/kicker, I still love to get out there and kick few times a week. I have noticed that some of the power is gone. I attributed that to losing some muscle mass over the years. Especially since I have done almost no lifting in last 2 years.

This past Sunday, I was punting with Zoltan Mesko, University of Michigan's punter. It was a respectable day for me - pretty consistent with most punts with hang times in 4.6. to 4.8 second range. And then I hit a punt that hung in the air for 5.4 seconds. To say that I surprised myself would be an understatement. Zoltan was pretty shocked as well. For some of you who are not familiar with what that means, at least 1/2 of current NFL punters have never hit a 5.4 second hang time.

Somehow, it all came together for that one kick.

Everyone has that one kick that they will always remember. It is that one kick that gives us a glimpse of what is possible; what is within us if we trained more and expected more. It is what hooks you in. It is what makes you say, "I can kick in college" or , "I can kick in the NFL" or "I will be an All American".

I have nothing to train for any more. I am done with competitive sports. But I am so excited to get out to the field and into the weight room this week. Maybe if I trained more, I can get the 5.4 second hang times more often.

Yeah, I am still totally hooked.

Filip Filipovic
TheKickingCoach.com

College Kicking Camps

If you are a class of 2010 kicker or a punter, you should be hitting the road with a GPS and a pair of cleats.

College kicking camps are the best way to showcase your abilities and start a relationship with the coaching staff. Kicking well in person makes a stronger impression than any DVD.

Look on the schools' football pages for the dates of their summer camps. Find out if they will have camp for specialists. Then show up and kick the lights out. They may just offer you a scholarship on the spot if you are impressive enough.

Filip Filipovic
TheKickingCoach.com

The Kicking Coach to host Northwestern University Specialist Camp

Coach Filipovic and a few members of his staff will host Northwestern University Specialist Camp that will take place on Saturday June 6th at their football practice facility. Camp will be attended by the Northwestern Universities' coaching staff who will be evaluating talent. Cost is $85.

For more information CLICK HERE FOR CAMP PAGE.

Improving Your Punt Drop

When it comes to improving your punting ability, investing time in doing drop drills will yield the greatest returns. I can honestly predict that if a young punter is disciplined enough to perform about 100 drops per day from now until the start of the season, he will easily increase his season punting average 3 to 5 yards.

I always have a football sitting around on the counter that separates my kitchen from my living room. Every time I walk by it, I will pick it up and do 10 to 15 drops with good focus. By the end of the day, I already put in 100+ drops.

It is that easy to increase your punting average. Having self-discipline to work on details of a skill is a must for every good kicker/punter.

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

COLLEGE / PRO Videos Page Added

You might have noticed that I have been making some changes to my website recently. The latest addition to the website is the page with close up videos of some of the top college kickers and punters in the country who I had the opportunity to work with.

Compare their kicking mechanics to yours.

Find out why everyone is already saying that 19-year old University of Illinois freshman Derek Dimke is NFL-bound.

Check out the perfect mechanics of former Green Bay Packer and University of Wisconsin punter Kenny Debauche.

and more...

http://thekickingcoach.com/nfl_college_kicking_clips/

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Dynamic Stretching Program

If you attended one of my camps, you were probably exposed to some form of dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretches are a good way to warm up before kicking.

2 ways to prevent kicking related injuries:
1) kick all year. (don't take few months off because you are playing a different sport)
2) perform dynamic stretches at the beginning of the workout and static stretches at the end.

This dynamic stretching program is excellent

www.princeton.edu/~uhs/pdfs/Dynamic%20Flexibility.pdf

Filip Filipovic
THEKICKINGCOACH.COM

Todd Carter - Grand Valley State U. - Class of 09

Todd Carter is one of the best kickers in the nation from the college class of '09.

Check out his unedited video which contains 6 consecutive kickoffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRpo0XSN0Zo

He is using new (not broken in) NFL footballs - which reduce distance and hang time of kicks. Even with the new footballs, Todd's kicks are between 66 and 76 yards with 4.1 to 4.3 hang times.

Expect to see Todd as a counselor at several "The Kicking Coach" camps this spring and summer.

Rob Bironas gets paid !!!

Rob Bironas spent 2 years kicking in Arena League and 1 year kicking for Arena 2 league before getting a shot with Tennessee Titans in 2005. He just signed a 4 year contract worth 12 million dollars. He is another one of those great stories where a guy refuses to give up.

I remember when he kicked for Tampa Bay in 2003 preseason. He tripped on his kickoff steps and hit the ball with his knee.

He came a long way since. Read the full article here.

KICKING AT THE NEXT LEVEL

I had the opportunity to work with Bill Ruehlmann last week. He is a high school junior K/P from Chicago. He has the leg strength to punt in college. He is also pretty consistent for a high school punter. But he takes 3 steps to punt the ball. College coaches will look at that and quickly eliminate him as a recruit. 3 step punters are slow and they cover too much ground with their steps. The kicker is that the 3rd step does not add power and it will not make a punter more consistent. It is simply something guys get used to and that can be easily eliminated.

I asked Billy if he wants to kick/punt in college. He said, " That is the goal". In that case we need to eliminate the 3rd step and make few more adjustments. If Billy would have said that his goal was to be the best high school punter he can be, I would not have asked him to make many changes because he is pretty good already.

If you are an athlete who aspires to play at the next level, you have to know what coaches at the next level are looking for. Call someone and find out right away.

March 20th Chicago Clinic Scheduled

March 28th Chicago Kicking Clinic sold out 45 days before the event.

For those of you still interested, we scheduled another clinic with the same format at the same location (Schaumburg Sports Center) on Friday March 20th 2009 from 6:30pm to 10pm. We expect this clinic to sell out by the end of February.

For more information CLICK HERE

Training Advice for Punters - Hands

Every good punter has good hands. Every great punter has great hands.

There are no shortcuts when you talk about improvement in ball handling. More time you spend practicing catching the ball and "molding it" better your hands will become. Molding the ball means catching the snap and quickly getting the ball to your drop table with football laces up and ball parallel to the ground with the correct inward tilt.

It is absolutely pointless to train hard in the weight room for the entire off season if you don't also work on your ball handling.

Have someone toss you a football underhand 25 to 50 times a day. Who? It can be your dad, teammate, brother, girlfriend, etc.

In high school, you will have about 1.1 seconds to catch the ball and kick it. Does it matter how good your mechanics are and how strong your leg is if you can't efficiently catch the ball and get it to your foot?

Tip: Catch the ball with your arms extended (elbows extended but not locked). Squeeze with fingertips.

Will Hagerup is The First Punter from 2010 Class to be offered a scholarship

Will Hagerup, high school punter from 2010 class, was offered scholarships from a Big 12 and a Big 10 school already. You might have seen Will at Michigan Off Season Kickoff Camp at Grand Valley State University. He is the first junior punter in the nation to be offered. Fielding scholarship offers this early is not very common for specialists. Will is a 6'4" athletic punter who has already hit punts with 5.0+ second hang times. He will wait until August to make his verbal commitment. Big 10 schools with strong academics are on the top of his list.

Facebook

I have been using facebook to stay in touch with many of my campers and counselors. If you have a kicking question, shoot me a quick note. I will get back to you quickly. I also post camp photos and videos. Tag yourselves in the photos. It helps me learn everyone's name. Look me up. Search Filip Filipovic. Network: Chicago.

Kick Tomorrow !

It is going to be 52 degrees in Chicago and pretty warm throughout the Midwest tomorrow. Cancel whatever plans you have and kick. These days are few and far between. Take advantage of them when you can.

Awesome Article on Kicker Recruiting

This is an article about 3 really good, class of '09 high school kickers from Northwest Indiana. They are all D1 material but had difficulties receiving division 1 offers.

Some of you might have seen Mitchell Voss (one of the three kickers mentioned) kick two 55 yard field goals and a 57 yard field goal off the ground during the College Showcase at the Illinois Off-Season Camp in Pekin. He received preferred walk on offers from Kansas State and University of Michigan.

From the article:
"It's always been the case -- kickers (and punters) are the last to get offered. They'll get teased with walk-on offers, they'll get strung along while waiting for a scholarship to open up, they'll get taunted with "grayshirt" proposals, which call for the player to enroll in January."

http://www.post-trib.com/sports/lazerus/1414893,laze.article

Filip Filipovic
(773) 480 - 5425
TheKickingCoach.com

Kicking at Purdue University

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Purdue University and kick with Carson Wiggs. Carson was a starting kicker as a freshman. He had a great year and will kick for Purdue in '09, '10, '11.

I was just happy to have access to an indoor facility in the Midwest.





Carson
Not a bad pool table in the player lounge.

Welcome! Blog Information

Hello Everyone,

Most of you who met me know that I love kicking and talking about kicking. I try to keep in touch with many of my campers, and I try to provide them with as much support as possible with issues like off season training, recruiting, etc. Preferred methods of communication in the past have been facebook messages, emails and newsletters. The problem with emails and messages is that I often have to answer same questions over and over again. Newsletters allow me to get the information to many of you at once. But I have to keep it short since you probably do not want to read a 10 page newsletter. And I don't want to write it.

Thus, this BLOG.

I will post frequently.

In this blog, you will find:

- Training tips
- Recruiting information
- Analysis of NFL/College kickers and punters
- Update on former campers
- Upcoming kicking events
- Pictures/Videos of campers and counselors

Hope you enjoy!

Filip Filipovic
Head Coach of The Kicking Coach LLC
Phone: (773) 480 - 5425
Website: TheKickingCoach.com