Meet Our New Snapping Coach: Former UCF Snapper Scott Teal

Scott Teal was a snapper for the University of Central Florida from 2012 - 2014.

How did you get involved in football and become a snapper?

In high school, my head coach proposed that I learn how to long snap because the senior long snapper, Chris Guido, was near graduation. I spent an off season learning from Chris and attending camps nearby in Orlando and across the southeast United States. My senior year of high school was my only playing experience as a long snapper prior to college.


What is the best advice you received as a snapper?

The best advice I have received as a long snapper is to have a short memory. As a long snapper, you are probably going to make a mistake at some point in your career. Mistakes should be used as a learning experiencem to understand why it happened and how you can correct it. You should never dwell on a bad play. Instead, look forward to the opportunity of the next play.


Why did you want to start coaching?

I started coaching because I want to help out younger kids learn how to long snap. I wish I had a coach to teach me how to long snap at an earlier age and I want to be able to do that for the kids seeking help.


What did you learn from your experience playing for University of Central Florida?

While at UCF, I learned how to take pride in my work. When I committed to investing physically and mentally into my work, or in this case long snapping, the results were very rewarding. Instead of only working and hoping for benefits, I learned to enjoy working and pushing my own limits.


What do you hope to teach All American Kicking students?

Every snapper’s technique is unique, and some things work for some that may not work for another. I want to teach All American Kicking students techniques that worked for me and that I still work to perfect, but more importantly I want to teach them the mentality and work ethic it takes to be a successful long snapper and student-athlete.

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Body Lean

Not sure whether to bend at the waist or how much lean you should put into the ball? Coach Nick Fleming's all new Tips with Nick addresses body lean and what you need to know when making a proper kick. Watch now!

Tips with Nick: The Basics - Angle of Contact

Coach Nick Fleming outlines the basics of angle of attack and what it takes to achieve a successful kick. Watch him explain angle of attack and his other basic tips to help you improve. Click here for more Tips with Nick.

5 Questions with Former University of Central Florida Kicker Shawn Moffitt

All American Kicking Coach Shawn Moffitt works with students on Sunday afternoon.

All American Kicking is excited to welcome a student of our program and former University of Central Florida kicker, Shawn Moffitt, to our coaching staff. Moffitt is the all-time leader in points scored at UCF with 314, in addition to field goals made with 53. Moffitt holds several other school records, including the single season record for field goals made at 21 in 23 attempts. His 91.3% field goal percentage is also a school record. Moffitt brings four years of college experience as well as years of training with Coach Nick Fleming to the field, a unique combination he hopes will help the students he will be instructing in our Sunday afternoon sessions. 

What made you want to join All American Kicking as a coach after being a former student of the program?

All American Kicking gave me the tools to succeed at the high school level as well as the process to be looked at by almost every single college. I think All American Kicking is the best way for specialists to be looked at by trained former specialists. I want to be able to help kickers win the varsity spot and head to a great college to play football.

What have you learned by working with Coach Nick Fleming over the years?
Coach Nick has stressed consistency with my training over the years. We tweaked little things here and there when we needed to, but the consistent kicking two to three times a week helped me maintain a peak level. Coach Nick has also helped me with the mental aspect of kicking, including pressure, height, and operation time to give yourself the best chance at making it through those uprights.

What key tips will you hope you convey to students?

I want to convey not only the key tips that Coach Nick has taught me but also different tips I have learned during my four year campaign at the University of Central Florida. Key tips such as effort, enthusiasm, consistency, and a good work ethic.

What did you learn from playing at UCF that you want to share with your new students?
Being a specialist is the constant pursuit of the perfect rep. You can have a bad kick/play but you can never have a bad day, look towards the next rep and make it your best one yet.

With your time playing for UCF behind you now, what are your future plans?
I plan on being coached by Nick until pro day where I will hopefully get looked at by NFL teams; I will also try my hardest to coach the younger AAK guys.

To register to work with Coach Moffitt during our 8 to 1 player to coach ratio Sunday afternoon session, click here.

Five Questions with Olympic Gold Medalist and AAK Strength Coach Dwight Thomas

Strength Coach Dwight Thomas working with students at All American Kicking Session.
Photo Courtesy: Dwight Thomas

Dwight Thomas is an Olymic gold medalist in track and is now All American Kicking's strength coach. A natural born athlete and instructor, Dwight shares not only how he found his way into teaching students but also what he considers the most important advice he shares with athletes.


How did you get into track and what do you enjoy most about it?

I got into athletics at an early age. I started organized sports at age 8 when I was in the third grade. I remember my first competition against a really good friend of mine. We were teammates and he won the race we were both in. I could tell how happy he was and the joy that was on his face. That day motivated me to practice harder and continue my pursue to become the best. Over the next few years I was the fastest student in my middle school and high school. What I love most about track is the adrenaline and the rush from competing knowing its an individual sport and you have only yourself to depend on.

Coach Dwight Thomas instructing students. Photo Courtesy: Dwight Thomas

Why did you want to start coaching and working with students on strength training?

After being a professional athlete for 10 years I started assisting and coaching my high school track team in Burtonsville, Maryland and discovered, hey this coaching thing is fun after all. I could talk all day about the joy of coaching youth sports and working with kids. The most important element is teaching and imparting athletic wisdom upon the next generation of college athletes and professional athletes. With my experience with strength training over the pass years competing in Olympic sport, I know how hard and how important it is to become faster and stronger, not only by talent but with wisdom and work ethic. I have been coaching about two and a half year at this point. I first started with my high school then my personal coach told me to pursue it further. He knew I had the personality and the patience that a lot of individuals lack at coaching kids.

What do you enjoy about working with the students?

Being an Olympic athlete I enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge that will stick with these kids and help them with the pursuit of their goals. Coaches like myself enjoy seeing the end results of the hard work they have put into every session and finally the results show.

What are your key areas of advice or tips that you give to students?

This might sound so cliche, but I always emphasize how important school is and the correlation it has with sports. Without the grades, you won't get into college and you won’t be eligible to participate in college sports. Therefore, at some point, each athlete will figure out that sports and education are best friends.

How did you get involved with All American Kicking?

I got introduced to Nick through a mutual friend of mine that went to University of Florida that ran track. Nick and I went to Florida around the same time but we never met. But it is a blessing working together today. I have learned so much from Nick, seeing how he interacts with his students and how well he teaches them. I'm very happy to be working with All American Kicking.

Week 13: AAK Student Scores, Stats and Social Media, November 6 - 8, 2014

November 7:
Colonial 26, Bishop Moore 55

• Bishop Moore's Jake McIntyre with 5 extra points to help his team remain undfeated on the season!

Orangewood Christian 16, Deltona Trinity Christian 6
Oviedo 20, Lake Mary 30

• Congratulations to Lake Mary snapper Jacob Rubenstein on an undefeated season!
• Oviedo's Connor O'Toole with 2 extra points in Friday's game.

Jones 51, Olympia 7

• Olympia's Phillip Shure with the extra point.

Freedom 13, Timber Creek 42

• Christian Morris of Timber Creek with 6 extra points.

Boone 24, Edgewater 14

• Boone's Tommy Townsend wih 2 picks and 2 punts of 48 and 46 yards.

West Orange 50, Ocoee 18

• Congratulations to West Orange's Andrew Brickweg on an undefeated regular season!

Wekiva 38, University 20

• Congratulations to Wekiva snapper Brandon Fields on Friday's win!

Dr. Phillips 37, Winter Park 24

• Ethan Shafer of Dr. Phillips with 4 extra points and a field goal for 24 yards in Friday's win.
• Dr. Phillips goes undefeated in the regular season for the third straight year.

Armwood 42, Strawberry Crest 0 (Tampa)

• Armwood's Sterling Hofrichter with 5 extra points and a 30 yard field goal to help his team go unbeaten in the regular season.

A. Crawford Mosley 26, Walton 13 (Panhandle)

• Mosley's Ben Raybon was 3 for 3 on extra points and had 38 yard field goal to help his team to victory Friday.

Terre Haute North 24, TBD - Sectional Playoffs 34 (Indiana)

• Zach Potter of THN with 3 extra points and a field goal for 29 yards in Friday's game

November 6:

Tusculum 49, Brevard 10

November 7: 

Temple 13, Memphis 16

• Austin Jones of Temple with one extra point and two field goals for 43 and 46 yards.

November 8:

Geneva 34, St. Vincent 30
Colgate 16, Lafayette 19
Wagner 20, Robert Morris 0
FAU 10, North Texas 31
Duke 27, Syracuse 10
Florida 34, Vanderbilt 10

• Florida's Frankie Velez with 4 extra points and field goals for 25 and 40 yards.

Colorado State 49, Hawaii 22
E. Illinois 48, Murray State 26
Benedictine 17,MidAmerica Nazarene University 23
Lenoir Rhyne 42, Alderson Broaddus 7

• Hunter Haire with 7 kickoffs for Lenoir Rhyne on Saturday.

Greensboro 6, N.C. Wesleyan 31

• N.C. Wesleyan's Codan Breckenridge adds 4 extra points and a 21 yard field goal in Saturday's win.

University of South Alabama 10, Arkansas State 45

• Aleem Sunanon of South Alabama with one extra point and a field goal for 41 yards.

Brown 42, Yale 45

• Brown's Grant Senne with 3 extra points and 3 field goals for 33 and 38 yards.

Augustana 7, Concordia St. Paul 17

• Augustana's Lucas Wainman with the extra point.

St. Francis 7, St. Ambrose 10

• Ryan Giachetti of St. Francis with 9 punts for an average of 34.3 yards.
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Tips with Nick - The Basics - Approaching the Ball

For More Video Tips with Nick, subscribe to our You Tube Channel.

AAK Student Stats, Scores and Social Media - Week of October 8 - 11, 2014

October 8:
Lake Mary Freshman 21, Hagerty 14

• Congrats to Lake Mary's Dalton DeChristopher on the win over Hagerty!

October 9: 
Oviedo 7, Mainland 41

• Oviedo's Connor O'Toole with the extra point for his team.

Olympia 33, Lake Mary 55

• Congratulations to Lake Mary snapper Jacob Rubenstein on the big win!
• Olympia's Phillip Shure added three extra points in Thursday's game

October 10:
Orangewood Christian 6, Melbourne Holy Trinity 47
South Lake 56, St. Cloud 24

• St. Cloud's Andrew Bogaenko with a 27 yard field goal and an extra point Friday.

Jones 26, Freedom 40
Bishop Moore 23, Hagerty 20

• Jake McIntyre of Bishop Moore with 42 and 31 yard field goals in the second half before making the game winning 31 yard field goal at the end of the fourth to clinch the win Friday! McIntyre also had two extra points.

Cypress Creek 63, West Orange 6
Oak Ridge 22, Ocoee 10
Edgewater 21, Timber Creek 17

• Christian Morris of Timber Creek added an extra point in the third quarter.

Apopka 43, Evans 0

• Tyler L'Heureux of Apopka with three extra points in Friday's huge win over Evans.

East River 19, Wekiva 20

• Congrats to Wekiva snapper Brandon Fields on the win over East River!

Armwood 62, Leto 3 (Tampa)

• Sterling Hofrichter of Armwood was 8 for 9 in extra points in Friday's huge win over Leto.

A. Crawford Mosley 35, Gulf Breeze 28 (Pensacola)

• Mosley's Ben Raybon was 5 for 5 on extra points in this huge comeback win over Gulf Breeze. Here's a look at the crazy last 30 seconds of the game where Mosley scored 2 touchdows in 12.5 seconds!

Terre Haute North 47, Perry Meridian 26 (Indiana)

• THN's Zach Potter with four extra points in Friday's win

October 9:
UCF 31, BYU 24 OT

• UCF's Shawn Moffitt with a 42 yard field goal and four extra points in the Knight's overtime win

October 11:
Duke 31, Georgia Tech 25
Florida 27, LSU 30

• Florida's Frankie Velez with34 and 18 yard field goals as well as 3 extra points for the Gators.

Temple 35, Tulsa 24

• Temple's Austin Jones with 5 extra points in Saturday's win.

Colorado State 31, Nevada 24
Geneva 3, Thomas More 42
N.C. Wesleyan 48, LaGrange College 21

• N.C. Wesleyan's Codan Breckenridge with six extra points in Saturday's win.

Tusculum 16, Newberry 14
Eastern Illinois 33, Eastern Kentucky 36

• Cody Edwards of Eastern Illinois with 2 punts averaging 32 1/2 yards.

Benedictine 21, Baker University 27
Wagner 46, St. Francis University 39
Lenoir Rhyne 32, North Greenville 21
Greensboro 35, Methodist 63
Brown 27, Holy Cross 24

• Brown's Grant Senne makes the game winning field goal from 23 yards for the win in double overtime! Senne also had a 40 yard field goal in the fourth, as well as 3 extra points.

Colgate 31, Princeton 30
Augustana 12, University of Sioux Falls 23

• Lucas Wainman of Augustana with a 36 yard field goal and an extra point during the third quarter Saturday.

St. Francis 7,  Robert Morris University 12

AAK Week 7 High School and College Schedule - October 8 - 11, 2014

October 8:

Lake Mary Freshman vs. Hagerty

October 9: 

Oviedo at Mainland

Olympia at Lake Mary

October 10:

Orangewood Christian at Melbourne Holy Trinity

South Lake at St. Cloud

Jones at Freedom

Bishop Moore at Hagerty

Cypress Creek at West Orange

Oak Ridge at Ocoee

Edgewater at Timber Creek

Apopka at Evans

East River at Wekiva

Armwood vs. Leto (Tampa)

A. Crawford Mosley vs. Gulf Breeze (Pensacola)

Terre Haute North vs. Perry Meridian (Indiana)

October 9 on ESPN

UCF vs. BYU

October 11

Duke vs. Georgia Tech

Florida vs. LSU

Temple vs. Tulsa

Colorado State vs. Nevada

Geneva vs. Thomas More

Atlanta Sports Academy vs. Gattaca JC

Webber vs. Edward Waters

Tusculum vs. Newberry

Eastern Illinois vs. Eastern Kentucky

Benedictine vs. Baker University

Wagner vs. St. Francis University

Lenoir Rhyne vs. North Greenville

Greensboro vs. Methodist

Brown vs. Holy Cross

Colgate vs. Princeton

Augustana vs. University of Sioux Falls

St. Francis vs. Robert Morris University

AAK Student Scores, Stats and Social Media - Week of September 18 - 20, 2014

Week of September 18 - 20, 2014

Orangewood Christian 7, Delray Beach Village Academy 24

Lake Highland 3, Eustis 31

Bishop Moore 28, Mount Dora 13

• Bishop Moore's Jake McIntyre with four extra points 

DeLand 6, Lake Mary 35

• Snapper Jacob Rubenstein gets another win with Lake Mary!

Celebration 8, St. Cloud 52

Winter Haven 34, Evans 0

Leesburg 14, West Orange 47

Cypress Creek 0, Freedom 48

Edgewater 45, Olympia 6

• Phillip Shure makes a 21 yard field goal in the first, followed up with a 35 yard field goal in the second to score the only points for Olympia on Friday

Oviedo 55, Hagerty 20

• Connor O'Toole has 7 of 8 PATS Friday to help his team rally back from 13 - 0 at the half to come back to win 55 - 20. What a game!

Colonial 0, Dr. Phillips 35

• Dr. Phillips' Ethan Shafer adds four extra points in his team's win over Colonial

Boone 21, Apopka 43

• Apopka's Tyler L'Heureux adds five extra points Friday for his team's win

Wekiva 12, Oak Ridge 18

A. Crawford Mosley 15, West Florida 39 (Panhandle)

Armwood 28, Robinson 28 (Tampa)

• Armwood's Sterling Hofrichter helps his team to a rain-soaked victory to remain undefeated

Terre Haute North 7, Bloomington North 28 (Indiana)

Duke 47, Tulane 13

Florida 21, Alabama 42

• Frankie Velez adds three extra points for the Gators on Saturday

FAU 19, Wyoming 20

Temple 59, Delaware State 0

• Temple's Austin Jones adds seven extra points for his team's win

UCF 41, Bethune Cookman 7

• Shawn Moffitt adds three extra points for UCF

Geneva College 38, Waynesburg 44

Tusculum 35,  North Greenville 38

Eastern Illinois 63,  Austin Peay 7

• Eastern Illinois' Cody Edwards had four punts for the Panthers, averaging 32.5 yards

Benedictine 23, Central Methodist University 17

Augustana 48, Northern State 17

• Lucas Wainman with a big game for Augustana, making a 36 yard field goal in the first, followed by a 35 yard field goal in the fourth, as well as adding six extra points for the Vikings!

Lenoir Rhyne 51, Wingate 14

Greensboro 37, LaGrange 35

University of South Alabama 6, Georgia Southern 28

University of St. Francis 44, Trinity International University 30

• Ryan Giachetti of St. Francis has 2 Punts averaging 40.5 yards in Saturday's victory

Brown 3, Georgetown 17

• Grant Senne scores Brown's only points of the game with a 22 yard field goal in the second quarter. He also had 6 punts net 43 yard average. Made 23 yard fg and two kickoffs to the goal line with good height. 

Colgate 27, Cornell 12

Don't see your game stats listed here? Email us: amy@allamericankicking.com.

The Basics: Choosing a Kicking Tee

By Coach Nick Fleming

At the very beginning of kicking, even before you actually swing your leg, there are a few things you need to think about before lacing up your cleats to give kicking a try for the first time.  When you choosing your equipment, a few things are obvious; you need a ball, you need some cleats, but what about those kicking tees that are different sizes? Here are some important things to consider when choosing the correct tee for you.

When thinking about kicking tees, it’s important to remember one really solid piece of advice, and that is “higher tees and blocks do not automatically mean more distance.” In fact, distance is more directly related to a kicker’s mechanics and natural power of their swing.  The main thing a kicker should consider when choosing a tee is “how easily can I get the ball up over the line of scrimmage so the defense cannot block the kick?”

Kicking tees and blocks are made to give the kicker an easier time to get underneath the ball and get it up in the air.  Beyond the high school level, if all kickers were forced to kick off the ground, you would see a lot of blocked kicks because getting the ball up 10 feet in the air in 7 yards or less is quite difficult to achieve with pure mechanics.  Using a tee leaves a little room for error when trying to hit the sweet spot.  The mechanics related to kicking with a tee or block are relatively simple, the higher the ball is off the ground, the more your foot should make contact with the ball when your leg is on the upswing.  When a kicker makes contact with the ball when their leg is on the upswing, it is much easier to get the ball up in the air because the leg is at a better angle when contact occurs and popping it up in the air is easier to do.  For those who are already deep into the mechanics of kicking, remember that your plant spot should move back (away from the uprights) as the tee gets higher so that it is easier to achieve contact on the upward portion of the swing.

So, how does a first time kicker know if they want to use a 1/2”, 1”, or 2” tee or block?  The best way to find an answer is through trial and error.  Each beginner has different form, so they should find the tee or block that gives them the most success right away and then work from there.  My general rule of thumb is if you haven't played soccer or are one of your team’s better athletes, start with the 2” tee as that is usually easier for the “non-soccer” athletes to be successful (esp. toe kickers).  However, if you have played soccer your whole life and the soccer swing is already refined, try the 1/2” or 1” as that might be an easier transition with the swing you already have.

One question I always seem to get is regarding when to kick field goals off the ground.  I tell all of my students that if you are dead set on kicking in college, you should be practicing off the ground during the offseason from freshman year on.  For some students, the transition from a block to the ground is a long and hard road, so get a head start on making sure you’re ready when it’s time to impress a college coach. However, I would recommend for high school kickers to use a block during the season. Even if you’re more comfortable kicking off the ground, chances are good that your high school holder is not skilled enough to place the ball perfectly every time, so give yourself the extra breathing room that comes with using a block whenever you have the option.

For kickoff tees, use the same height tee that you are comfortably with using for field goals. By using the same tee, you don’t need to become comfortable having two different swings (an inch higher or lower than the other).  Kicking is all about making your swings as consistent as possible and each inch and degree of angle matters, so don’t make it harder on yourself by needing to create a kickoff swing an inch higher than your field goal swing.

Make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube, like us on Facebook at All AmericanKicking, follow us on Twitter @allamericankick and Instagram at allamericankicking.  Also feel free to reach out to me directly with your questions on kicking at nick@AllAmericanKicking.comnick@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."