There are two important keys to becoming a successful kicker or punter, talent and exposure. At Kicking.com, we can help with both.

1. Let your performance speak for itself, and gain exposure through stats, honors and word of mouth
   This is the traditional approach, and it works well for the elite (who determines this?) players across the country. If you don't get enough opportunities in a game, or have the right connections, or have a good publicist (parent or coach), forget about getting on this list.
    
2. Write letters/send videos to all coaches you are interested in playing for
   This method can also be effective, but it is very time consuming and can be very costly. You should consider that coaches receive hundreds of highlight tapes a year, and must decide which ones to go through, and how much time to spend on each one. If your tape does not give the coach a good idea of your talent, then you have ruined your chances with them.
    
3. Sign up for the National Combine Series
   You will compete against kickers, punters and snappers in your region. Top performers will be invited to compete in Semifinal events, and those elite get invited to the National Finals to see who the best kickers and punters are across the country. Your stats and video from the camp will be posted online for coaches and recruiters to view. The best exposure out there!
    
4. Sign up for a Free membership with Kicking.com
   Create a personal webpage on Kicking.com, where you can post your stats, contact information and other vitals so that college coaches can view your profile and contact you. This is also a great way to see how you compare to other kickers and punters in your area, or around the country. When you contact college coaches, you can add your webpage link so they can see your updated stats throughout the season.
    
5. Sign up for a Premium membership with Kicking.com for only $3.99 per month
   To expand upon your personal webpage, we have developed numerous ways to improve your kicking and punting. Punting expert Tommy Barnhardt and Kicking expert Doug Brien have put together an entire workout program that will optimize your training, along with specific kicking and punting drills, a lifting program, diet recommendations and stretching routines. Just follow along, and you'll know you're on the right track with how the pros train. Premium memberships also give you access to video training clips from Doug and Tommy, Recipes for Success from other pro kickers and punters, guest articles from other kicking and punting experts, and much more!
    
6. Attend an Approved Kicking/Punting Camp and receive instruction, validated stats and compete against others
   Most of our approved Kicking/Punting Camps get calls from coaches asking about their top performers every year. If you do not attend a camp, it is unlikely you will be noticed or recommended. By attending a camp and competing against the best in your area, you can determine exactly how good you are, or where you need to improve. The competitions at camps are great mental preparation for game situations. Many of the online profiles and official stats that get sent to coaches can often seem "too good to be true". If you get your stats validated using our forms, from an approved camp, you have stronger support for your abilities, as someone who is unbiased has signed their name stating that you can indeed kick a 50-yard FG in practice with no wind, or hit a punt with 5-seconds of hang time. These results will be posted on your webpage for the coaches to view.
    
7. Add a highlight video or short clip to your profile
   Kicking.com is now partnered with iPlayers.net to provide highlight video service. iPlayers offers interactive video portfolios to assist you in the recruiting process. Some advantages of using iPlayers includes: interactive portfolio and archive for all of your videos, Multi-Position function that allows you to showcase your athleticism, Recruiter's Watch List feature allows coaches and recruiters to track your progress, direct link to you profile provides a unique URL for which you can forward to coaches, Virtual Film Room is a recruiting and study tool all-in-one where you can view video frame-by-frame, visible contact information makes all of your personal information visible for college coaches only, and a User Upload feature puts new footage online keeping you current with coaches and maximizing your exposure. Kicking.com will even connect a link from your Kicking.com webpage to your iPlayers video page, just let us know! Find out more about iPlayers.net >>>
   
   If you have a highlight video already in an electronic format, let us know and we will connect it to your webpage for free! (Premium members only). Contact us for more information
    
8. List an expert in your profile, and have their honest critique of your abilities added to your webpage
   The best recommendations come from those who are experienced kickers and punters. If you have been trained by someone who has had success at the college or pro level, provide their email address in your profile, and we will post their honest assessment of your abilities for the coaches to read. You cannot read these comments, as they must be kept private from you, so that your expert can be completely honest. This also gives the coaches a good feeling that they are getting a true assessment of your skills, not a biased response from someone who wants you to get into college.
    
9. Send an email to over 200+ college coaches with your stats and honors!
   Send a personal email with your Kicking.com webpage link and important contact and stat information to the college coaches in our system. This will help you stand out from the rest of the players in our database, and let you explain to them why they should be interested in you! Most of the Division 1 and Division 1-AA schools will receive your personalized email. Don't waste money on sending a highlight tape, unless you know they are interested in you.
    
10. Have your own website built, to display all your highlight clips, photos and information available for coaches
    Our personal profiles can hold a lot of information, but there may be some things that don't get posted. Maybe you'd like to link to add more photos. Maybe you'd like to have a site to keep your family updated on all your activities. Either way, Kicking.com can help. Get started with your own domain name (i.e. http://www.brianlowry.net, a website built by Kicking.com), webspace to store your webpage files, and a professionally designed site for as low as $200. Contact Brion at brion@kicking.com for more information.
     
11. Get your highlight tape reviewed by Kicking.com
    Doug Brien and Tommy Barnhardt get asked all the time to recommend the top kickers and punters they know. Since they cannot attend many camps or provide private lessons to everyone, the next best thing is to send your highlight tape to them for their expert review. Tommy and Doug will analyze your technique and give you honest assessments of your strengths and weaknesses, and post these on your webpage for coaches to view. You will receive a signed copy of the form, so you have some areas to improve upon. We will also make suggestions on what needs to be included on your highlight tape to get college and professional coaches attention, based on feedback we have received from them over the years. Doug and Tommy will then be able to talk honestly with coaches about your skills and your chances of being successful at the next level.
     

12. Private Lesson from Doug Brien or Tommy Barnhardt, and have them provide your expert comments on your webpage
    In private lessons, Tommy and Doug will spend time on whatever you want. However, it is most beneficial to take a holistic approach. In a full-day session, a typical session would cover the following:
    
    * Evaluate your kicking/punting and make the necessary technical changes. They don't want to change anyone's style. They will simply make sure that your fundamentals are solid and make suggestions that you can incorporate into your style.
    * Work on specific drills that will help you improve your weaknesses.
    * Teach you a number of drills that you should incorporate into your normal training routine.
    * Teach you our normal warm-up (stretch out strap routine) as well as the Power Kicker routine. (I will give you both packages)
    * We will go over mental drills and techniques (you will get a complimentary copy of Doug's CD, Click to Kick, or Tommy's Punt-N-It as a reference).
    
    Importance of Private Lessons, from Doug Brien...
    "When I was in college, I flew down to San Diego to have a private lesson with Gary Zauner (now NFL special teams coach). I did this after my sophomore year in college. I went from kicking 71% to 89% in my junior year and 86% in my senior year. Although it was expensive to fly to Gary for a private lesson, it was the best investment my dad ever made, I learned more during those lessons than any camp could teach me. The time I spent with him helped me to take my performance to the next level. In fact, I got so much out of the lessons I went down a total of four times - once after every season so I could have some new things to work on for the upcoming off-season. Gary even helped me by talking to NFL teams. His recommendation ultimately helped me become drafted by the 49ers in the third round. This is why I am offering the same service that helped me so much. I personally would much rather spend time coaching highly motivated kickers one-on-one or in small groups than holding a camp and coaching twenty kids at the same time."
    
    Upon completion of the private lesson, add us as your "Expert" on your webpage, and our comments will get high exposure on the search results and high credibility from the coaches when they are searching the database. Contact Doug or Tommy for more information on pricing and locations.
     
13. Small Group Lessons with Doug or Tommy
    Private lessons can be fairly expensive. If you are highly motivated and have potential to play in college or the pros, these lessons can be the best investment you ever make. So, in that sense they are cheap. However, if the lessons are too expensive, I have an alternative: small-group lessons. I will give a one-day lesson to a group of five kickers with similar skill levels. We will spend time on all of the things I would do in a private lesson except you are sharing the lesson with a few other kickers. In a way this format can work out even better because you can learn from and compete with the other kickers.

    The small-group lessons will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. I hope to host both kickers from the Bay Area as well as kickers from out of town. Southwest Airlines usually has very reasonable rates to Oakland, CA. Kickers from out of town can catch a commuter flight and stay at a hotel near the airport. I can pick you up the morning of the lesson and take you back when we are done.

    Furthermore, I will hold sessions for high school kickers at UC-Berkeley. In the afternoon I will hold a kicking contest and either the special teams coach and/or recruiting personnel will come out to evaluate the kickers in my session. These sessions will be used as a recruiting tool for Cal. (As a Cal alumni, I want Cal to be stocked with great kickers). If you are interested in small-group lessons, let me know what month you would like to come out and what your skill level is.
     

14. Talk to Doug or Tommy
    Ask them anything related to kicking or punting to learn from their experiences. These guys have been through it all, and they can help provide you with valuable advice.
     
15. Personal call from Doug Brien or Tommy Barnhardt to five schools of your choice
    Instead of waiting for the coaches at your top schools to find you and contact you, why not have Doug or Tommy do this for you? If you have received private lessons from Doug or Tommy, you are eligible to have one of them call 5 schools or teams of your choice on your behalf. A recommendation from an NFL veteran is one of the best ways to get your name at the top of your favorite school's wish list.