All American Kicking Students Kick Off Season Tonight

Lots of great high school games tonight! Good luck to all the #AAK guys playing tonight:

• Apopka's Tyler L'Heureux against Oak Ridge High School
• Armwood High School's Sterling Hofrichter taking on Durant
• Bishop Moore's Jake McIntyre facing The First Academy
• Boone's Tommy Townsend against West Orange
• Dr. Phillips Angelo Alexander and Ethan Shafer vs. Christian Morris at Timber Creek
• Evans High School's Alberto Escoobedo against Edgewater
• Lake Highland's MJ Butler facing Trinity Christian
• Lake Mary's Dalton Dechristopher against Winter Springs
• Terre Haute North's Zach Potter vs. THS (Indiana)
• Wekiva's Brandon Field's against Jones High School

Be sure to tag #AAK in your posts and photos about tonight's games and email us to be included in our Tuesday newsletter: amy@allamericankicking.com.

Football Season Officially Kicks Off

Football season is finally here! Follow All American Kicking all season long for the latest news on how all AAK's students are playing throughout the season. Be sure to sign up for our Game Stats Newsletter on Tuesday's for game results and performance stats for all our guys in both high school and College. 

Here's a look at the games we'll be following August 28 - August 30, 2014. 

August 28, 2014

Freedom vs. Osceola

St. Cloud vs. Centennial Colorado Eaglecrest

August 29, 2014

Apopka vs. Oak Ridge

Armwood vs. Durant

Bishop Moore vs. The First Academy

Dr. Phillips vs. Timber Creek

Edgewater vs. Evans

Lake Highland vs. Trinity Christian

Lake Mary vs. Winter Springs

Terre Haute North vs. THS

Wekiva vs. Jones

August 30, 2014

Orangewood Christian vs. Warner Christian

August 28, 2014
Eastern Illinois vs. Minnesota
Temple vs. Vanderbilt

August 29, 2014
Colorado State vs. Colorado

August 30, 2014

Air Force vs. Nicholls

Colgate vs. Ball State

FAU vs. Nebraska

Florida vs. Idaho

Penn St. vs. UCF

Note: If you're going to be playing and don't see your game listed. Email us: amy@allamericankicking.com

Ready to Snap: Meet AAK Coach Brock Oliver

His college football career began like something out of a dream.

19-year-old Brock Oliver was a true freshman at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the team's long snapper when he was called in during the first half of their season opener against Oklahoma. With no other experience than a few weeks during camp, Oliver kicked off his college football career in front of 85,000 people.

"Playing college football was a dream of mine since I was eight years old," Oliver says. "Watching games on TV and going to games with my Dad, I remember being in awe of the crowd, the players, the traditions, just everything about it. It was something I always wanted to do and I was determined to make that happen." 

Following that first game in 2008, No. 42 was the team's snapper for the next four seasons and named to the Academic All-Southern Conference 2009-2011. Oliver majored in Business Management, graduated and married, but says he was missing his time on the field.

"I was grateful to have been able to live out my dream, but it felt like a piece of me was missing." Oliver adds, "After all those years of preparation and hours of training, it was very difficult to accept the fact that it was all over. There was a huge void in my life to fill."

Oliver began to consider the idea of coaching, something he had enjoyed with his brother, Brynn, in training him to fill his position on the UTC roster after graduating. Brynn successfully made the team and won the starting job, starting all 12 games as long snapper without a single bad snap. "Along with my brother, I have worked with some other high school kids and the snappers at UTC," Oliver says. "After seeing those guys' success, I figured that I must be doing something right."

All American Kicking's Nick Fleming thought he was doing something right, too, inviting Oliver to join the staff as Snapping Director. While snapping instruction has been offered through AAK, it was infrequent and something that Fleming wanted to make a more consistent part of the instructional sessions. Fleming says, "The addition of Coach Brock will allow our snappers to get the same quality instruction as their specialist counterparts." He adds, "I am extremely excited to see the new heights our snappers will reach under Coach Brock's guidance. He brings a great deal of knowledge in snapping technique, along with great experience to share with students about recruiting and college football." 

Oliver will be working with snappers during All American Kicking's weekend sessions, sharing two of his biggest areas of focus: flexibility and having consistent ball placement. Oliver says flexibility is something that is often overlooked and recommends stretching once or twice a day. "It takes all the muscles in your body, working in unison, to execute a perfect snap. It's really hard to be a good snapper, if you're able to bend over, grab the ball, and fire your arms back to the punter, with your legs locking out for full power, without flexible muscles."

The snapping coach says it is important to practice hitting the same target, the punter's hip, every single time. He adds, "Alot of guys out there who specialize in coaching long snappers, coach that speed is everything. While speed is important, college coaches want a guy who they can rely on in a game."

But, there is much more beyond the field that Oliver hopes he can help his students understand, showing them how they can take lessons in football and apply them to other areas of their life. "The game teaches team work, discipline, mental toughness, and other positive character traits that will make you a better man, long after your playing days are over." 

While No. 42's playing days are behind him, he sees how football has opened doors to other opportunities he would not have have enjoyed otherwise. "I really don't think I would be where I am today without having played this game. But now, I am lucky to have the opportunity to work with AAK and get back into the game that I love."

Your Typical New Years Blog...Ok, Maybe Not.

Well another New Year is upon us. I know it sounds so cliché, but really...where has the time gone?? It's crazy.
While many are writing down their New Year resolutions (even more cliché), let's talk about some things to think about in the New Year. So I now present you with: a blog for the New Year touching upon all of the usual cliché suspects! - FITNESS, MONEY, FASHION/STYLE, NUTRITION, MEMORIES OF 2013, ENTERTAINMENT and clearly, your LOVE LIFE...the ultimate New Years cliché blog...ok...maybe not...maybe just AAK's version of it.


Fitness

Leg snap speed is an essential factor because it determines power and distance in your kick.
So it's always a good thing to increase your leg speed and you do that by increasing your fast twitch muscles in your thighs. Doing lots of exercises that move your legs quickly - stadium stairs, sprints, going fast on an elliptical or stationary bike - that will help with that.

Stretching increases your range of motion, which means you'll have more follow-through on your kick, and you can put more push into your kicks without tearing anything because you kicked too high. On the long shots, you see a golfer swinging all the way through, you don't see him stopping right after he hits the ball. Think of it that way.

Strengthen your lower body and core. This'll help improve balance, leg speed, and kicking power. Stability ball exercises are great for core strength and throw those single-leg squats in as well. Make sure you're strengthening those quads and hip flexors for that distance.



Fashion/Style

What do you have on your feet? Make sure those cleats/shoes fit snugly. Many kickers wear a kicking shoe that is one-half size smaller than their normal shoe size.



Love Life

Time for a solid bro-mance with your snapper. Get him out on that practice field with you as often as you can. Buy him lunch. Let him win on Madden. Whatever it takes to get him out there with you.



Nutrition

Lay off the sugar. That's all I've got.



Money

If you believe in yourself as a product, and you want schools to believe in that product as well, then invest in yourself. Equipment, camps, lessons etc...the new FIFA just came out? What's that priority list lookin' like?



Entertainment

Fantasy Football...what's more entertaining than that? An interesting look at how it affects your finances...maybe not so entertaining after all.
Check this out.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-fantasy-football-affects-your-finances-2013-11



Memories of 2013

Avoid dwelling on past misses this season. Try to get over any failures as quickly as possible. Being preoccupied with a past miss won't help you. This thought process also applies to the huge successes you might have had this season. Remember that those big kicks you nailed right between the goal posts aren't winning any games for you in 2014. It's a clean slate. Check that ego at the door and focus on the work ahead. So as far as the "memories" go...for a kicker, it's super helpful to have a short memory. Just remember what worked, what didn't work...and for 2014, work on being better.

Here's to a fantastic one!




TEAM AAK
Train With The Best...To Be The Best.

The Iron Bowl, Monterey Jack And How To Silence The Haters

I was sitting watching college football and going through a list of potential blog topics I could write about...and then this year's 'Bama/Auburn Iron Bowl happened...

And coaches everywhere made a note to practice special teams more.

At the end of the game, everybody turned and looked at who? The kicker. I should say kicker(s), plural. Because the 'Bama starting kicker had missed 3 important field goals, so when the big moment came at the end of the game, Saban benched him and put in the red shirt freshman kicker for the 57 yard attempt. Well, the rest is history. Two sacrificial lambs sacrificed to the kicking Gods. And now, Twitter and Facebook are flooded with death threats (what the?!) and horrendous "statuses" aimed at the starting kicker. And I read them all. Pretty horrible.

The cheese stands alone.

I know that kid is hurtin' something crazy. We've all been there. But maybe not on such a huge national platform with America watching and an entire fan base blaming you for ruining their shot at another National Championship to brag about. People forget that that lonely cheese is a human being. He's someone's kid...someone's brother...someone who doesn't deserve friggin' death threats or verbal attacks via social media. So think about that before dishing it out if you're guilty of it.

But, more importantly, how does he get through this? What kind of damage control can be done in that brain of his swirling with all kinds of crappy thoughts? How do all of the lonely cheeses left on the field, gazing at their wide left, failed game winning attempts get through it?

I have a friend who's an actress and I asked her once if she read the reviews after her shows. She said, "No. If you believe the good ones, you've gotta believe the bad ones." I thought that was interesting. And I thought, "Huh. Now that's some good advice for football players everywhere." It's one thing to read the newspaper the day after your game. But do yourself a favor, and don't rush to Twitter to read what every single stranger who's been watching the game from the couch, or the stands, has to say about your performance.

For example, check out some of these gems I found on the Twitter after the Iron Bowl. (The Twitter handle below is not the real one, I didn't feel right using the actual handle).

Soooo...you've got the guys who think they're really clever: "Breaking news: Alabama's kicker attempts to shoot himself. Misses wide left"


The guys who couldn't wait to use one of their "go to" lines that always gets them laughs in the office: "Time for this line again.....Kickers are like lawyers; no one appreciates them until they need a good one." See what he did there...


The guys who read what they think is hysterical and then tweet it themselves, trying to make it seem like it was their brilliant mind that came up with it: "@Kickerguy just tried to commit suicide but he couldn't kick the chair out from under him!"

The guys who think that snark makes them smarter than everyone and also like to reference movies: "Saban's post-game meal will consist of his kicker's liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Probably."


And the ever so classy... : "Your life is pointless. I truly hope you are defiled and murdered @Kickerguy. You don't deserve to live f@@"
Wow. So ugly right? That one really blows my mind...social media has made everyone a little too accessible...which has some really great pro's that go along with it, BUT it also gives stupid people access to people they never before had access to.


SO, the first step in damage control - Set. Your. Boundaries. And that begins with adjusting the settings on your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Keep the vampires out. Protect yourself. Preserve your mental toughness. If you've had a bad game and you feel you MUST, because curiosity is getting the best of you, and you need a "pick-me-up", have someone you know and trust filter through the crap and read you the positive supportive ones. And then let it go. Don't believe the crap, and on the other end of the spectrum, don't believe the hype either. Trust me on this one.

And when all is said and done, the ONLY status I want you lonely cheeses to believe and know is this:

It's always about the next kick.


TEAM AAK
Train With The Best...To Be The Best.


PS. This guy also has a solid handle on damage control...I recommend doing what he does here... http://www.beatsbydre.com/hearwhatyouwant

Divide and Conquer

I went back and looked at some of the tips we post on Facebook and Twitter and I stopped on this one: "50 focused reps are 10 times better than 150 kicks without thinking about what you're trying to improve."

Let's take a look at this.

Throwing *BEEP* at a fan and seeing where it lands...what does this accomplish? OR is calculating the precise steps needed to achieve a specific goal the smarter path? There's a difference between doing something and doing it completely. Achievement doesn't come by how much activity is done, but by task completed.

If you're shanking the ball consistently, something obviously needs to be corrected in your swing. So, do you just go out and kick 100 balls and hope that it magically corrects itself so you can say, "I practiced"? Or do you break it down and take fewer but much more strategic swings?
Do you go into the gym and just lift a lot of weights randomly and think it will definitely change and reshape your body the way you want it to? No. Because it won't.

Ask any expert and they'll tell you, to increase your productivity, focus on one thing at a time. That being said, a certain discipline is required to say yes only to the most important thing at the moment.
And I know you can sit on your PS3 or XBOX for hours practicing your kicks on FIFA, so you've got no excuse.

You're called specialists for a reason. Because you specialize in something.

So, before you head out to practice, be prepared.

1. Select your one point of focus, the task you want to accomplish.
2. Put all your attention to that one task.
3. Stay with this task uninterrupted, until it is finished.

Dividing your tasks into milestones helps tremendously. It keeps everything from getting muddy. Clears out the clutter. And honestly, this can go way beyond football. Applying this same philosophy to your life can also be a cool thing. Am I right? Uh, does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?

So yeah, milestones. Set those milestones for yourself. That shank that keeps happening. Apply the tools to fix it. And let that be it. Now let's focus on the height. Distance not looking good? Make those swings all about that. Just always focus on something, whether it's the little things or just on being better. You can ALWAYS get better. You're never "done" with practicing. You will never be perfect. Not as a human, and not as a ball player. But the smart move is having a game plan, each and every time. A team isn't going to run out onto the field without a strategy and game plan...and it doesn't make any sense to practice without one.


Upon sitting down to write this, I did some research and I read a ton of quotes...all very philosophical. But then I thought I'd just keep it real with my own super professional and philosophical quote, which answers our initial question...

Throwing *BEEP* at a fan and seeing where it lands... just leaves you with a bigger mess. And the need for a nose plug.



TEAM AAK
Train With The Best...To Be The Best.

Journeys, Consistency, and a Cup of Coffee

Consistency. People are generally more comfortable knowing what they're gonna get. Makes sense. I mean, look at how Starbucks has done with this theory. People like knowing they can walk into a Starbucks in Oregon and get the same Pumpkin Spice Latte they're gonna get in Orlando, Florida. Consistency brings comfort.

This is also true in football...particularly in a specialist's world. Coaches, players, and fans are that much more comfortable when a specialist heads onto the field and they know they're good for the 40 yard field goal. They're good knowing their 3 point lead with 45 seconds left is safe because their punter is gonna deliver horrendous field positioning to their opponent. And they're good knowing their snapper is going to contribute in making the previous two possible.

Consistency is key. Consistency is also "clutch". And EVERYONE wants those "clutch" guys on THEIR side. Because when push comes to shove, and the game is on the line, you sure don't wanna see those "clutch" guys march onto the field in the wrong uniform.

There's no easy path on the "journey of clutch". That's what we'll call it. The "journey of clutch". It's hard work on top of more hard work. It's practice in 400 degree heat. It's running and swinging til your legs feel like they're gonna fall off. It's drills til it gets dark. It's working on your mental game as much as the physical one. It's being consistent in the training, so that THAT consistency is as much a part of you, as the number on your back when you take the field. And it doesn't happen over night. Oh and here's the thing, the "journey of clutch" never ends. Go ask a hobbit the average time allotment for a sensible journey. They take a while. You never get to rest. The grind doesn't end. Ask the guys playing on the college and pro levels. But you love it, so it's worth it. And anything worth having, takes work getting.

Yeah, the "journey of clutch" is a long one. Those hobbits got nothin' on a specialist. Bilbo Baggins? Wimp. So, pack snacks. Maybe you could even stop at Starbucks, they've got some great ones. Hipsters aren't the only ones who can appreciate a good latte and a croissant, you know.

And YOU thought you had nothing in common with hobbits and Starbucks.

TEAM AAK
Train With The Best...To Be The Best.