On Friday, Saturday and Sunday I hosted my July PRO Development Kicking Camp at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. I had 17 kicking specialists attend the event. The perfect number of participants would be 24. I ultimately wil strive to have 8 snappers, 8 kickers and 8 punters so everyone works together in three man groups. My original idea was to keep attendance at a manageable number of about 20 to 25 specialists. I wanted to make sure I could work with each individual or group and make sure they improve. I have noticed and heard that many specialists go to camp and I ask them what they learned and the reply is nothing, nobody really gave me any individual attention. In this camp everyone gets a lot of my time and individual attention. My idea for this camp was to have 3 specialists from one school come and work together or put 3 free agents specialists together and work to prepare for their fall training camps. The idea was to get better individually and as a team. In my first year of doing these camps I did not get the groups of three players from any one University. However, I did get a lot of excellent specialists and they worked extremely well together. 
Kicking Specialist Group - Nico Grasu (Washington State) Jake Webber (Portland State) and Nick Novak (Maryland & NFL Kicker). 
Punting Specialist Group - Blake Hauden (U. of Minnesota), Justin Kucek (U. of Minnesota), Troy Cates (North Texas State), Alex Groh (Occidental), Phil Azarik (Bucknell), Derrick Frost (Northern Iowa & NFL Punter), Daniel Eidson (Westminster), Chris Husby (St. Thomas). 
Long Snapping Specialist Group - Zack Abrams (Northeastern U.), Dave Peck (U. of Wisconsin), Justin Humphrey (Sam Houston State), Sam Scroggins (West Virginia State), Danny Dutmer (U. of Wyoming) and Kayl Anderson (U. of Kansas). 
During this camp I try to cover as many aspects about kicking, punting, snapping and holding. Attending participants get to view all my private training and technique video tapes that are not available on my website; http://www.coachzauner.com/ I try to make sure all the punters know how to hold for field goals. In the photo above I am working with all eight punters showing them my tripod method of holding and spinning the ball. It has been a very successful technique for several NFL punters. 
In the photo above Nick Novak is working a drill to refine his field goal technique. He is trying not to crunch as much on impact. In five practices Nick made a considerable amount of progress. On Saturday evening Nick won the individual field goal contest. Nick was 7 for 8 on field goals inside 50 yards and in the bonus round he made field goals from 51, 54, 57 and 61. He finally missed at 64 yards. In this camp all field goal competition is with a snap and hold. 
Phil Azarik a 6'3 and 215 pound free agent punter from Bucknell University had some very impressive punts during the PRO Development Kicking Camp. During competition Phil hit a 64 yard open field punt with a 4.89 hang time. 
Also, during competition Danny Dutmer from the University of Wyoming had a excellent day during the 'Perfect' Laces Drill and also in my Ball and Strikes snapping drill at 15 yards. Dave Peck (Wisconsin), Justin Humphrey (Sam Houston State), Kayl Anderson (U. of Kansas) Sam Scroggins (West Virginia State) and Zack Abrams (Northeastern) all had excellent camps and improved during each practice.
The game came down to the final field goal kick. Nico Grasu (Washington State) made a 50 plus field goal into the wind with a snap and hold to give the victory to the good guys. The bad guys were the other team.
Kicking Specialist Group - Nico Grasu (Washington State) Jake Webber (Portland State) and Nick Novak (Maryland & NFL Kicker). 
Punting Specialist Group - Blake Hauden (U. of Minnesota), Justin Kucek (U. of Minnesota), Troy Cates (North Texas State), Alex Groh (Occidental), Phil Azarik (Bucknell), Derrick Frost (Northern Iowa & NFL Punter), Daniel Eidson (Westminster), Chris Husby (St. Thomas). 
Long Snapping Specialist Group - Zack Abrams (Northeastern U.), Dave Peck (U. of Wisconsin), Justin Humphrey (Sam Houston State), Sam Scroggins (West Virginia State), Danny Dutmer (U. of Wyoming) and Kayl Anderson (U. of Kansas). 
During this camp I try to cover as many aspects about kicking, punting, snapping and holding. Attending participants get to view all my private training and technique video tapes that are not available on my website; http://www.coachzauner.com/ I try to make sure all the punters know how to hold for field goals. In the photo above I am working with all eight punters showing them my tripod method of holding and spinning the ball. It has been a very successful technique for several NFL punters. 
In the photo above Nick Novak is working a drill to refine his field goal technique. He is trying not to crunch as much on impact. In five practices Nick made a considerable amount of progress. On Saturday evening Nick won the individual field goal contest. Nick was 7 for 8 on field goals inside 50 yards and in the bonus round he made field goals from 51, 54, 57 and 61. He finally missed at 64 yards. In this camp all field goal competition is with a snap and hold. 
Phil Azarik a 6'3 and 215 pound free agent punter from Bucknell University had some very impressive punts during the PRO Development Kicking Camp. During competition Phil hit a 64 yard open field punt with a 4.89 hang time. 
Also, during competition Danny Dutmer from the University of Wyoming had a excellent day during the 'Perfect' Laces Drill and also in my Ball and Strikes snapping drill at 15 yards. Dave Peck (Wisconsin), Justin Humphrey (Sam Houston State), Kayl Anderson (U. of Kansas) Sam Scroggins (West Virginia State) and Zack Abrams (Northeastern) all had excellent camps and improved during each practice. I must say this was an excellent group of college and free agent specialists and I believe all the participant gained a lot out of attending this PRO Development Kicking Camp. During this Camp their was a presentation on the mental side of the kicking game. On Sunday morning we finished the individual punting competition and progressed into team competition. We select two teams and had a battle of kicking specialists. I organized a game that I have used for many years with my kicking specialists when I was a coach in high school and college. The guys loved it. Everyone was involved and everyone had to perform. Points were accumulated by doing their individual skill and bonus points were earned for an excellent kicking or punting performance.
The game came down to the final field goal kick. Nico Grasu (Washington State) made a 50 plus field goal into the wind with a snap and hold to give the victory to the good guys. The bad guys were the other team. Stay Tuned for More of Coach Zauner's Blog! Visit: www.coachzauner.com Follow Coach Zauner on www.twitter.com
