"Throughout my kicking career through high school, college, and NFL camp I always wondered why there was never a coach who worked with the specialists. I went to camps in the summer and found them to be strictly for competition rather than for instruction.

My goal is to take all the information I have learned over the years and improve the quality of specialist over the state of Tennessee whether it is a beginner or a college level specialist.

Last year I trained over 130 kicking specialists ranging from junior high, high school, and college/free agent specialists. Kicking lessons don’t end after one meeting. I like to maintain a relationship with all my kicking clients. I suggest follow up lessons and a program for each kicker or punters training.

The most important thing for a coach is to train a kicking specialist to train himself. So much of the time a kicking specialist will be on their own training. This is where a kicker truly improves and it is my job to give them the right drills and proper number of repetitions to succeed.

My passion is to improve kicking specialists across the state of Tennessee. I have already seen great results over the past two years with many of my kicking students gaining college scholarships and post season honors.

2011:

Greg Colquitt: Clemson University
Phillip Houston: Harding University
Jackson Redditt: U. of Tennessee-Martin
Nathan Renfro: U. of Maryland
Spencer Roth: Baylor University
Payne Shanafelt:  West Liberty University

2010:

Corey Acosta: Southern Miss
Brian Davis: Arkansas St. University
Tyler Emmetts: Cumberland University
Andrew Fletcher: Louisville

The first initial kicking lessons consist of 3 total hours distributed over two days. Taking two days for lessons is the best way to implement the proper technique without doing too many kicks and risking injury.

After finishing the initial lessons I suggest for kickers and punters to go home and work the drills for a few weeks before receiving any further instruction. It is important to get follow up lessons so that I can follow a client’s progress to make sure they are on the right path.

The true progress of a specialist comes from his desire to learn and his willingness to put in the time and effort. The final step after learning the technique is to have the mental side of the game.

My final suggestion is to have one session on the field where I go over a pre kick routine and show the specialist how to handle the pressure of playing in front of crowds. It is important to be poised during a performance so that you can reach your full potential

JAMES WILHOIT
KICKING COACH