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.

The Basics: Steps Back

              

By Coach Nick Fleming

Kicking is all about inches and angles.  As a beginning kicker, understanding the importance of proper steps can be difficult because the kicker’s mechanics are not developed enough to be able to figure out what caused the bad kick.  Being off by a few inches or a couple degrees can make a huge impact on how you contact the ball, the trajectory of the kick, or the power of the swing.  Here are seven tips to remember to maintain the consistency of the steps and create the best contact.

1. Starting Point

·         The starting point for our steps will be our plant spot, with your left foot on the plant spot and your right foot next to it heels together.

2. Find your Target

·         Pick out a target beyond the uprights to aim for.  I use the expression “aim small, miss small.” If you aim for the wide uprights, you can miss the wide uprights.  If you aim for the top of the light pole behind the uprights and miss the top of the light pole, you still have a chance to make it through the uprights.

3. Take Your Steps Back

·         While keeping your eyes on your spot behind the uprights, take 3 easy steps back.  Keeping your eyes on your target will help you stay straight as you walk.  When taking your steps, think about your spacing.  You want your spacing to be as natural as possible.  I like to think “how would I walk 100 yards backwards?” and try to replicate that form while I take my three steps back.  Don't over stride, don't start and stop 3 times, just take easy and consistent steps.

4. Stop and Regroup

·         Make sure what you have done so far is exactly what your want.  Try to draw an imaginary straight line from your left toe, through your plant spot, ending at your target behind the uprights.  If you can draw a perfectly straight line, you know you walked straight back.  If you cannot, start the process over.

5. Get Into Focus Mode

·         Now it’s time to turn into a robot.  It’s time to forget about what the kick means in the game, what the other team may be doing, or what the fans are screaming from the seats.  You only have a handful of opportunities during a game to do your job well, so you do not want lack of focus to be a reason for a missed kick. 

·         After I have regrouped and am comfortable with my steps back, I focus on the block or spot if off the ground, and my eyes won’t leave that spot until after the kick.  This helps block out unnecessary distractions.  A lot of kickers will look up two or three more times later in the progression, but then you may see something you were not expecting to, like defensive overload, player substitution, insufficient gap coverage on the line, and you could lose focus.  You know where you are trying to kick it, so you don't need to pick you head up again.  Focus and get ready to do your job

6. Side Steps

·         With the same mental approach as your backwards steps, take two easy side steps over, 90 degrees from your plant spot.  Again, if you had to walk 100 yards sideways, how would you walk?  If you feel your shoulder dipping to get more ground, or if your steps are drastically short of shoulder width apart, you might need to make a change.  Remember, what comes consistently is what comes naturally, and what comes naturally is what you can do without thinking about it.  Take easy, natural steps.

7. Get Ready to Attack the Football

·         When you’re getting set-up there are only a few things to keep in mind.

·         First, keep your weight on your lead foot, which hopefully is your plant foot.  This will cut down on your reaction time as you approach the ball and create better consistency in your steps. This will also prevent you from taking a third step or a “jab” which can easily get out of control.  “Jab” steps are not a bad thing, but you have to control the distance of them which can be hard to do as situations get more exciting and your blood gets pumping.

·         Secondly, make sure your hip and lead toe are pointing at the plant to keep the hips from unnecessarily rotating and remain as accurate as possible. 

·         Finally, do what comes naturally.  Think about how you would start a race on the playground when you were young as you will usually find a lot of similarities in your stance for the race and your stance for the beginning the kick.


For more instruction, tips and information about All American Kicking, visit our website or follow us on social media:

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AAK Week 5 Student Schedule: High School and College Games - September 24 - 27, 2014

September 24, 2014
Lake Mary Freshman vs. Winter Springs

September 26, 2014
Orangewood Christian at Foundation
Lake Highland at Warner Christian
Evans at Davenport Ridge Comm.
East Ridge and Oak Ridge
St. Cloud at Gateway
Lake Mary at Seminole
Jones at West Orange
Merritt Island at Oviedo
University at Dr. Phillips
Timber Creek at Olympia
Apopka at Freedom
Winter Park at Boone
Wekiva at Lake Howell
A. Crawford Mosley at Arnold (Pensacola)
Armwood Vs. Jefferson (Tampa)
Terre Haute North vs. Columbus North (Indiana)

September 27, 2014

Augustana vs. U-Mary
University of St. Francis vs. St. Xavier
Duke vs. Miami
FAU vs. Texas San Antonio
Temple vs. UConn
Colorado State vs. Boston College
Geneva vs. Carnegie Mellon
Tusculum vs. Lenoir Rhyne
E. Illinois vs. Ohio University
Benedictine vs. Missouri valley
Wagner vs. Lafayette
College of Dupage vs. Georgia Military CC
University of Southern Alabama vs. Idaho
Brown vs. harvard
Colgate vs. Georgetown

AAK Ready for Week 2 of Football!

Here's a look at some of All American Kicking's students who will be hitting the field this week in both high school and college games. Follow our blog and social media for updates on their performance this week and all season long!

Students, be sure to send us an email and let us know about your game.

Week of September 5 and 6, 2014

Apopka's Tyler L'Heureux vs. Lake Brantley, 7

Bishop Moore's's Jake McIntyre vs. Harmony, 7:30

Dr. Phillips' Ethan Shafer and Angelo Alexander vs. Olympia's Justin Ford, Phillip Shure and Jonathan Messina, 7:30

Edgewater at Wekiva's Brandon Fields, 7:30

Evans' Alberto Escobedo at Lyman, 7:30

Freedom's Michael Castaneda at West Orange's Andrew Brickweg, 7:30

Gateway at Oak Ridge's Dylan Hartwell, 7

Orangewood Christian's Armel Lee at Master's Academy, 7

Oviedo's Connor O'Toole and Zac Bastien at Winter Springs 7:30

St. Cloud's Andrew Bogaenko vs. Astronaut, 7:30

Terra Haute North's Zach Potter vs. Northview (Indiana)

Armwood's Sterling Hofrichter at Blake (Tampa)

Geneva's Ed Schuster vs. Frostburg
Atlanta Sports Academy's Sam Wallace vs. Fort Benning
Augustana's Lucas Wainman vs. Mount St. Joseph
Tusculum's Ian O'Grady vs. College of Faith
Lenoir Rhyne's Hunter Haire vs. Point
Eastern Illinois's Cory Edwards vs. Southern Illinois
Greensboro's Mark Bush vs.Guilford
University of Southern Alabama's Aleem Sunanon vs. Kent State
Florida's Frankie Velez and Johnny Townsend vs. Eastern Michigan
FAU's Landon Scheer vs. Alabama
Temple's Austin Jones vs. Navy
Air Force's Garrett Powers at Wyoming
North Carolina Wesleyan College's Codan Breckenridge vs. Stevenson