Ricky Krautman: Exploring the Art of Football Kicking and the Thrills of Recruiting
62 min readRicky Krautman: Exploring the Art of Football Kicking and the Thrills of Recruiting
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Hey there, football fans! Ricky Krautman here, ready to dive into the exciting world of kicking the darn football and all things recruiting. Whether we’re talking about nailing that perfect field goal under pressure or uncovering the hottest recruits for your favorite team, there’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
Kicking the darn football is an art that requires precision, technique, and nerves of steel. Whether it’s a game-winning field goal or a crucial extra point, kickers play a pivotal role in the outcome of a game. From mastering the right approach and foot placement to handling different weather conditions, kickers have to be adaptable and consistent. And let’s not forget the mental game – staying focused amidst the pressure is key to success.
Now, when it comes to recruiting, it’s a whole different ball game. College football teams are constantly on the lookout for the next big talent to bolster their roster. Coaches and scouts evaluate high school players based on their skills, athleticism, and potential. The recruiting process can be intense, with schools vying for the best athletes and offering scholarships to entice them to join their program.
Recruits themselves have to navigate a maze of offers, official visits, and decisions about which school to commit to. Factors like playing time, coaching staff, team culture, and academic opportunities all come into play. It’s a life-changing decision that can set the course for a player’s entire career.
So, whether we’re dissecting the perfect kicking form or analyzing the top recruits in the nation, it’s an exciting journey filled with ups, downs, and plenty of surprises. As we move forward, I’ll be here to break down the latest news, share insights, and chat about everything related to kicking and recruiting. So stay tuned, football enthusiasts – there’s a lot more to explore and discuss!
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All right we're back let's do this Excited today we got a great guest uh Ricky kman Ricky kman kicking and uh uh Quick background uh with to Syracuse on Scholarship as a kicker um was I think The all-time like scorer in New Jersey History from a kicking standpoint I Broke all the records there when he was In high school Pretty for like most uh most touchbacks I think we'll have to ask specifics I He's got some crazy kicking records that Are still today absolutely I think you Have a little bit of uh feedback but all Right that's all right okay just just so You know um and then Um Uh yeah so at Syracuse I think I think He I can't remember which school he Ended up finishing at but kicked in the In in um I think indoor leagues kicked a Bunch of different places prowise um and Then and then started you know training Kickers and we'll talk a lot more about It but believe it or not he when he First started I think he was maybe a Year or two in he trained my young Kickers at Pal Park Leonia and he took Our guy I had him come down and I have I Don't remember how often he probably Remember and he turned these young kids Into like they would we never missed Like we would never miss an extra point Dude never and uh he helped these these
Young kids that we had and um uh but Yeah that was quite a long time ago and Obviously fast forward he also has one Of the best Tik Tock channels on kicking I mean hands down if you're on Tik Tok Like and I'll bust his chops a little Bit with it here but yes he he his I Mean really just I'm sure it's built his Business you know being able to Showcase Everything he's had a lot of success so Many kickers go on and um uh become Successful and go on and kick at the College level he's he in New Jersey is The the kicking Guru without further Ado Let's uh let's bring on Ricky kman Ricky What's up man hey guys how you doing What's going on How we doing Ricky crowman railo High School from 45 let's go oh yeah glad to be here guys Thank you for having me no thanks buddy Appreciate you coming on I was saying I Was saying how I love your Tik Tok Channel I appreciate you man yeah I Appreciate everything you guys do uh you Know coach Su you have you have a hell Of a Tik Tok Channel Though talked about this I said listen Yours Rivals a lot I said but you know Ricky's I mean listen he brings the Juice every time he works with whoever He works with you know and uh and that's What stuff right now is what these kids Want to see so if they see you kind of
Embracing their world they're GNA have a You know more of a comfort level to come Work with you 100% the connection is Super important to have professional Rapport connection you know with student Coach coach student you know they have To feel comfortable working with you and As soon as they start seeing progress And Improvement they just want to come Back you know um it's all about Consistency and staying positive Mentally tough and I bring I bring the Mentally tough situations every every Time I go out there you know I I really Sling it to my guys because uh they're Going to get harder harder than me in College one day even in high school you Know coaches coaches will get after him So I want to prepare him for set him up For Success not failure so I try to you Know in incorporate Implement all those You know those mental toughness aspects That I I mean even at Syracuse when I Was throwing pencils at spit at when I Was kicking I mean doesn't matter you Got to learn how to you know take deep Breaths ignore those distractions and Just trust trust the process you know It's um there's worst things that can Happen you know so it's that's not the End of the world but yeah Syracuse Football was great you know playing D1 Football but um you know I I would think Like I played at pretty much every level
You know I went from Syracuse to Richmond for a little bit with Coach Clausen who's at Wake Forest now played Played under him for like a a few Semesters and then uh finished up at William Patterson coach suan I know you Were asking like you know where I Finished so ended up with uh a Fizz at Health and Driver resette teacher K Through2 teacher SE so that was back in 2009 and now I just coach full-time you Know I've had my stints at certain School districts and stuff did great but Once 2018 2019 hit I'm like I just want To focus on building my business that's When I started the Tik Tok Channel That's how everything exploded you know Pretty much from there so I remember When you started uh the channel doing Pretty much similar videos to what you Do today right I was like wow I was like Could that work I was I I didn't know You know what I mean like you were doing Something that was totally like as far As you know like I've seen people do you Know stuff football and videos and Different things and like but for Kicking like that was totally different And especially with the narration that You put to it like you you say their Name which I think the kid if I was a Kid I'd love it right like you're saying My name I'm you're putting a little Pressure on me because obviously the
Camera's on me and and then I got a k it Right and um um it's just it was so Unique and I was like I'm curious if This will work right because because you Come in my feet I followed you and Obviously I know you and um and then Over time like you were so consistent With it and more and more players got on Board with it and um I I mean I'm sure It's it's developed your your business Side but it's probably also enabled you To like look at because you have those Videos of each one one of them you know What I mean so you could actually see Like things that are working well at Each time like when you put pressure on A kid like who's starting to handle it Well who still doesn't handle it that Well right yeah each kid is different Different personalities different Learning styles but uh having that Teaching background you know having that Kid through teller definitely helps you Know people are like wait you do that Full-time coach football full time I'm Like yeah but te teaching and coaching Go hand inand so when I got my teaching Shirt you know everything I learned from My professors at Syracuse William Patterson even Richmond you know it Stuck with me and um I ended up actually At one point I actually talked to University of Richmond sports Psychologist who was in charge of the
Psychology programs and sports at Richmond and he taught that guy Literally like sat down with me for an Hour and just went over like breathing Mechanisms and visual visualization Techniques um and you know more kids Should should go see like you know sport Because honestly like I can teach the Kids everything I know oneon-one but how Are we going to translate that the game Situation you know so kids do great with Me one-onone there's sometimes it's hard For them you know to deal with those Pressure situations that's when I come In though and that's when I try to Introduce you know all those different Game plans you know running out from the Sidelines Sprint you know yelling at you Know yelling at the kids you know I Guess I'm known for that uh for yelling But that's that's how it should be done Man because college football high school Football I mean the coaches are really Going to be on top of you you know and I Don't treat my Kickers differently than Any other position you know it's all About um you know treating everyone Equally and full as football players not Just kickers and I tell them to be Working out in the gym you know at least Uh you know three four times a week you Know with your team on your own Stretching every day so I have like a Whole plan I have a PowerPoint for them
You know I come up with like workout Routines and uh and all that stuff helps You know all it help helps and academics As you know is the most important so I Constant constantly constantly repeat After to the parents the kids if you Don't have good grades as a kicker like No coach is going to recruit you I had a 49 GPA in high school which is kind of Not unheard of for a but definitely I Worked my butt off and um I wasn't the Best standardized test taker but Definitely try to have a high GPA so This way colleges when they recruited me Were like all right we're gonna get We're gonna get that guy in like Syracuse said okay you're you're good Ivy League schools Harvard J Princeton They said I am not good unless I get a 12200 out of a 1600 and that was back in 2001 so things were a lot different at That time now ivv League schools to Actually play there as a kicker you you It's not 1,200 now it's I think it's Like 1350 50400 they're very selective Who they bring in and they should be Because when people say standardized Testing is a good um it's a good like Signal not how you're going to do in College like specific schools like Richmond that's one of those schools Very high Academic Program you have to Do well on your standardized tests like There's some schools that if you do well
On your standardized test in high school It's going to be easier for you to Adjust Harvard yeah all the IV League Schools you know and I know those type Of kids do really well on standardized Testing so um Syracuse is a great fit For me but um unfortunately there was a Coaching change Greg Rob coach Robinson Rest in peace he came in and changed the Whole program and uh you know I ended up Bouncing you know after 2005 I just Wasn't uh I wasn't I guess a good fit There anymore but it is what it is man I Tell the kids I made a huge mistake and They always ask like do you regret Leaving Syracuse and yes I do because That's a full ride that's a full Scholarship for academics not just Football it's about academics no one Could take education academics away from You and I try to really repeat that day Day and I tell my kids that story and Even the parents you know whe whatever They think or not it's it's it's a Meaningful story and it definitely Changes kids' lives because whatever School it is man if and ain't kids lucky To get a full scholarship anywhere I Mean there's people fighting for there People fighting for this country man it Can't be that bad like I was starting in 2005 right I just wanted to go to the League so I had different I had a Different attitude when I was 20 years
Old I'm like I'm gonna go to this school Grass is GRE the side it ain't but I am Happy where my life is right now and Without those experiences I wouldn't be Who I am today so that's why I'm very Like energized and very like into what I'm doing because I've been through like The ups and downs I'm sure you guys have Too as football coaches you just got Kind of like just shake it off and move You know move on so well the ups and Downs are part of a part of the the game There's no doubt about it um and I think That you know this is what this is what You were meant to do and and um you're Able to impact a lot of kids I mean like Hundreds and hundreds of kids which is Really I think unique from a kicking Standpoint Right because there's only one kicker on The field right so so many kids coming In to see you and work with you is a Unique thing and you being able to Relate that experience to them you could Say Hey you know I learn from what I did You know well you know learn from what I Did well obviously as well you were the Alltime leading scorer in New Jersey History you know you know it's so I mean Obviously there's tons of things that That you've done but be able to learn From those experiences you could help Guide them and so I think that that's Really really cool and I was telling so
I was telling Derek I began to tell the Story um so now it clears up a little Bit more so 2009 was when when you came out so you Work with my Ki like I I had to be one Of the first guys to to to have You with Pal Park right you remember That coach Alexander coach Brooks Alexander and you were the first two Guys to uh to reach out and say hey can You you know can you coach a pascot Hills and now I'm still at pascot Hills Which is awesome now with Coach Alexander but he's at Parker we're Scrimmaging them on Thursday so it Should be an interesting scrimmage but Yeah you and uh and then uh you know I Had my stints with you know coach tal Osow and right and that's where I met You was you were working with I mean we Literally had we did not have kickers And then you know Leo rest in peace as Well God you know God bless that kid uh Turned out to be one hell of a guy who You worked with consistently to like Watch him go from where I saw him start And then to end up to the University of Rhode Island to be the kicker and punter Right like so he double dipped and this Was a kid who when he came in I could Just remember coach told being like are You kidding me this is the guy we got And you know Ricky like stay the course With Leo and hell of a story you know
Like what a kid but to see you yeah Amazing but to see you progress and kind Of you know push these guys along to and Like you said you incorporate the other Things that you know a lot of guys don't Think are even part of it right Everybody thinks you know you just line Up and kick a ball and you know there's Certain mechanics to it but the mental As is huge and you touch on that where a Lot of other guys Don't yeah no I I this is this is my Passion and I've been through the ups And downs so mostly UPS though like you Said like I'm just modest you know they Can Google me you can look up all my Accolades you know 249 career kicking Points I believe angrew Gano had beaten That I know Catholic schools they play a Few more games but I I I I respect Angelo stop it don't start That he's uh he's a great no Angel's a Great guy you know he's at Stony Brook Right now and um I know I've been Following his career a little bit too so He's uh we both got trained by Pat the You know the old school Pat sierre Greatest of the Greats bro yeah we're always saying rest In peace as we get older but it is what It is right right right I know it's a Lot of it listen a lot of guys learned From coach San Pierre and you know I Think you've taken you know certain
Aspects from him in terms of you know How do you approach the kids in certain Ways and you know he was an old school Kind of this is how you do it and you Kind of just went with it but I mean Also you were very fortunate you know You went to Ramapo high school so you've Been around you know highlevel talent And and just good programs and I think You've taken that with you oh yeah 100 Perc you know I started with Coach Mike Neelo at roundo and uh I remember him Coming down on his golf cart when I was In eighth grade and I was K literally Just kicking on the like no train I Think Justin reamer trained me once from Wayne Valley remember Justin reamer Big Time 90 in the 90s he went to go to California for the uh replacement movie He was gonna be a stunt double in Replacements so he trained me for a Little bit he moved out to Cali for a Little bit and then um you know I had Met Pat and you know coach Mike Meo Wasn't a big fan of that to be honest Wasn't a big fan of me working with Pat You know he didn't like Co you know any Kickers going in there working with These coaches and stuff because coach Mill is old school man old school Italian coach you know he's no he means He means well he was my coach at Wayne Patterson for a few years as well which Was crazy how it ended up yes so you got
Full circle Yeah yeah remember Dropped I remember he he was our Athletic director for a little while oh Yeah he was in Wayne he was in Wayne too A little bit too yeah he uh he had us he Was an interim guy when we were at rbr Our second year so he took he took an Interim job down down here so we have Experience with him let's just we'll Leave it at that no real quick though I Uh I dropped the first first drop I ever Had for as a punter I dropped the snap In um against Hobart this was back in Like 2007 at William Patterson it was my First I never dropped a snap ever in my Life right I just not that I got nervous I just you know I was looking out to Kind of see the formation it was fourth It was fourth and six s remember and I Literally dropped the slippery new GST Wilson ball and I literally like kind of Almost like a surreal situ almost like When I miss Ma extra point against Boston College my first game I almost Like brought back these bad memories and All of a sudden like I really did want To pull like a Reggie Bush and run Around the field to score a touchdown But I didn't I picked up the ball I ran Like two yards and and then I saw this Guy from Hobart it's D3 football but There's some big dudes you know this guy From hogart was coming at me like six5 I
I reversed lateral the ball to my Teammate this was on Coach M was Coaching at William Patterson and my guy Danny Nunes sure he loved That I come the sideline he goes are you Effing kidding me takes his hand like Puts it on puts it on my neck takes my Face mask the guy you know I love coach Mike m though he he worked he worked he Wor he worked me into something else man Um But I was I I I I Believe my first year at Montclair State Which would have been the 2005 season I believe was his either Last season or one those years where he Was like on his way out and uh you know Mon Clair Willie P is always whatever And um so I can remember him there and Then you know when we were at rbr he was There for a little while um you know and That's kind of Where I Leave It coach Gibbs came in out again I saw rest in Peace again I love That but coach Gibbs came in he changed My life around too I mean talking about Coaches making phone calls for kids you Know to colleges I mean coach Gibbs Doesn't have to pick up the phone and Call Syracuse and these schools he knew How good of a kicker I was but when he Got coach Steve Bush to come in the Quarterback coach from Syracuse to come All the way to uh to rampo and watch me
Kick in person that was like the guys on My team were like you know obviously a Little envious they're like wait how are You getting all these schools coming to Watch you I'm like well look what I'm Doing for kickoffs they're going through The uprights of course schools are going To go after me so I was pretty modest But also I had that Cockiness you know You have to I mean if you're an All-American kicker you're going to be Cocky Mason and I are the same year Believe It or Not Mas Crosby looks a lot Older than me but he's like my age and We went on recruiting visits together And um I remember still man I brought Pat senier with me on two recruiting Visits and he was helping out other kids At the camp that's how good of a coach Good guy Pat was he was actually helping Kids at Michigan and Georgia I'm like What I I I get this guy to come with me To camps he's helping out other guys but He's helping out everybody else you're Like coach I brought you with here for Me that's just the type of person he Was well is that that's Bush who's at Mid North now right I think he is yeah Yeah it is the bush yeah coach Bush he's He's one listen we he's awesome down Here great guy we've had a good Relationship with him because we came Down here to the shore conference not Many people Chuck it around like we
Wanted to he was one of the few that That kind of did that so we took a Liking to him right away oh yeah coach Brush was awesome man um what he did you Know as a as a leadership role as a Coach as well like he had a great Professional Report with the college ath You know at Syracuse and Coach dilon Again rest oh yeah dilon coach dilon the Best George dilon man everyone knows That guy you know um the best bro the Best great family great family he always Invited me over for like dinner with the Linan I mean he have to do that you know Um right he wanted to keep you included As a specialist because a lot of our Viewers I don't think they really Understand Rick and you can kind of go Into it just a little bit like a Kicker's lifestyle is way different than A pure football player's lifestyle right Like I mean I know you're expected to be A part of the team but but your routine As a college specialist is very Different could you talk on that a Little bit yeah yeah so you know we Still have to go to meetings especially The Special Teams meetings as kickers so We always have to work on like being on Time responsibility is very important You know we're treated equally like Everyone else so if we're late to a Meeting even by like a second I'm Talking even roundo high school like
You're in trouble you're going to be Running Sprints this and that so when it Comes down to like keeping everyone Equal on the football team and doing the Exercise and the weight room and and Everything like that we're we're pretty Much on the same page the only Difference is when we're at practice we Have some ample time to like you know do Some core stretch it you know core core And strength exercise a lot of body Weight exercise keep you're over there Kicking balls into garbage cans you're Freaking like you know how how can I do This I know a specialist lifestyle bro But now but now since I've been coaching For over 17 years I have a regiment that I tell my Kickers and punters because a Lot of coaches actually I have to email Uh the immacula one of the immacula Coaches uh one of my one of my workout Plans because he asked for it so that's Actually I just reminded myself on that Um but yeah a lot of kids are asking me Now like and coaches like what are the Reps are we taking like every day like I'm not gonna have my Kicker kick a 100 Balls a day so I so I have like a Routine you know with my guys staying Consistent every kid's a little bit Different but most of the guys I tell You're going to be kicking and puning Every day I practice long snapping That's just the way it is with the reps
With the football team you know with the Live reps live Ops snap hold kick snap Hunt all that stuff but on your own You're going to have to work on your dry Runs your air kicks uh all all the line Drills that I talked about with all my Guys I mean they have to stay consistent With with the routine and if they get That consistent routine down it's only Going to help them on the field Obviously in those game situations so um We are very different than other Positions in regards to like you know Obviously we're we're kicking punting on The sidelines where lineman and Quarterbacks are not kicking right They're they're working on the X's and O's and the running backs are involved The Lineback everyone's involved you Know kickers and punters were involved To an extent but when when the rest of The team is doing their you know their Offensive defensive plans you know I'm Working with my guys on the sideline Like a pass Hills I'm making sure the Guy the guys are staying active because You'll lose respect from your teammates If you're not doing anything if you're a Kicker and just chilling on the sideline Yeah absolutely you're not going to Respect you so I started doing push-ups At Syracuse right away to to earn that Respect some of the guys from like Jacks Florida are like who the hell is this
Kicker man he's because I honestly I Failed my 110s when I first got to Syracuse and Coach D Leon you know what He said to me he goes You mean we recruited you to come here And you fail your 110s he's like [ __ ] I Wish we could take that scholarship back Once he said that I literally lit a fire Of my ass I mean I just wasn't prepared The transition from high school to College like ate me alive man I just Wasn't ready and I wasn't mentally ready To go I remember eighth game of the Season coach pascone longtime Syracuse Coach put his arm around me right before The Boston College homecoming game 50,000 people he goes hey Rick are you Ready to kick today I said I'm supposed To be regur to coach it's eighth game of The season you know it's not like what It is now with four Gam games the [ __ ] I mean they they play you one one down You're done so I said to coach what am I Going to say no so I'm like why is this Though he goes call barber got hurt Before the game started the starting Kicker and I said are you kidding me and He goes no I'm not kidding he goes we Need you today I'm like how about the Other kickers on scholarship and he goes No they're not they're not available One's torn ACL I'm like you got to be Kidding me so what am I supposed to say No so I went in for pregame and I was
Kicking like the living [ __ ] out of the Ball you know exc's my language knocking Him through the uprights everything so Coach pascone and D Leon go all right we Got you here for for reason you're going To be starting today against Boston College guess who was playing against me In that game at Boston College Greg tol Coach tol's son and my sister was Married to him for a while so um it was Like at the time there was there were Girlfriend and boyfriend you know he Didn't even know I was kicking like we Were literally we were literally like Staring at each other probably from the Sidelines and I get the call to start And Syracuse we run down and score a Touchdown pretty quickly against BC the Whole place goes nuts all I hear is like Crowman you're in and again I was out The night before hanging out with my Boys I'm like who the hell thought I Was Was oh my God this is crazy you know Surreal situation six nothing the place Is loud housee loud housee I go in there And I Clank the red upright on my extra Point you can't make it up coach you Can't make it up and I go into the Sidelines literally saw a ghost you know I look like a like I'm fair skinned to Begin with I look like literally just a Ghost ghost and Coach pulls me to the Side coach um coach pascone goes Rick
You're gonna get he's like you're gonna Get you're going to get another Opportunity to kick this and I said okay We you know we ended up beating Boston College by a lot of points but I got one More opportunity to that game it was a 36 from the right hash and I hit it wide Right so after that 0 and2 debut they Benched me and they they just left Brenon Carney in there to you know the Malin prep kid just to punt he was a 64 Skinny guy you know um and he would he Would do the kickoffs he would do the Field goals and the punting so they Didn't want to like ruin my freshman Year so I was retured my sophomore year But and then played all junior year Debut oh wow so um anyways yeah just Yeah no it's great that's a great story It's a great story uh I mean it's Unfortunate story but it's a great story It's a great learning learning U Absolutely well I was gonna say um I you Know with respect to recruiting and I'm I'm curious of this because you have so Many kids you work with what do you what Do you tell your kids like with respect From a recruiting standpoint do you help Them with that like what what like kind Of what is your role and all that kind Of part for them well let me tell you Coach um you know I'm old I'm old school When it comes to even even though I do Post a lot on social media sometimes I
Wish honestly I can just like the old School back in the day Word of Mouth you Know that's how a lot of coaches know Who I am now obviously Twitter and Tik Tok and all that stuff but you know the North these coaches we you know we stick Together you know especially New Jersey So I have a lot of you know different You know okay Coach Hoffman coach nuns You know I know all the camping so I Have a lot of ties with you know college Football especially in New Jersey and The Northeast coacho so that helps you Know coach EJ barell is a good friend of Mine you know he's at Nebraska um don't Know too much about M coach rule you Know but obviously now I do since my guy Nico got you know got a preferred Walk-on spot there I think yeah yeah Yeah I think it's Like it dep like I'm very picky and Selective like even though I work with a Lot of guys you know if they're looking At D1 schools I'm not just going to Refer a kid to a D1 school you know but Twitter Twitter Twitter is the best Resource right now like for colleges to Like go on Twitter and see perspect Respective guys the only problem is They're getting thousands and thousands Of of messages and stuff and that's why They take off their I understand why Notre Dame in these schools like you go On the staff directory and you go they
Have twitters but you can't even message Them unless they follow you a lot of Those coaches so I'm just trying to Network for these guys man you know once Co hit in 2019 the seaword I was like I'm gonna do something different like Coach Schuman brought up like I changed My whole like my whole thing because I Was old school when I first started Coaching like with Leo I mean you know a L I I mean I referred guys you know I I Talked to colleges for the kid but Nowadays like there's other coaches and Other kids that are trying to get their Guys to spe if I don't help out my guys They're going to go to other coaches That's how it is nowadays in 2023 it's a It's a eat you know you got to um but For me it's like I just focus on what I Got to do with my guys I'm not worried About what this coach is doing because They're all helping out I'm I would Never um badmouth any other coach Because they're all helping kids out you Know they all have a great professional Relationship with the students I know For me um a lot of that a lot of those Coaches that I hit up maybe even new Ones um I know I I tweeted I think the Duke special teams coach I don't even Know who the honestly I never heard of The guy but I tweet tweeted him because One of my guys was interested and and uh You know but again I'm not going to just
Tweet him and waste my time if the kid Doesn't have D1 potential that's the Thing how do you how do you determine It's kicking is so tough right from like Um so for example and Here I see I see where you're going with It great question because like it's we Talk about it all the time like how do We determine right like is there a Certain hey is he hitting from this Yardage like you know there's a lot of Questions especially when it comes to High school guys absolutely and there's A lot of video like right so there's a Lot of video of kids making long kicks But how do we know if that kids were Like so what are some of the things that Like you look for that makes this a kid Or a recruitable kicker or and I know You do punters and all everything But ERS yeah but what makes them Recruitable well the consistency is the The big term right there right I mean Consistency on kickoffs the distance the Hang time the get off times the snap Punt all that stuff extra point fueld Goal because again you could train a kid Oneon-one but what how are they going to Perform in the games you know and like Going back to before like I set them up For for for Success not failure you know But it depends really on the kid and Their academic um their goals and Objectives as well because I have a kid
Right now at middleberry from northern Highlands High School played under coach Russo for for for a while and uh his Name's Andrew hos great kid man he has D1 he had D1 potential too but he's that Type of kid that academics he's a great Fit for middleberry and there's certain Kids that just want to go ivy league or D2 or D3 because they already know kind Of that's where their parents went like Bucknell Bucknell is a great school you Know is it a strong Powerhouse D1 Football school no but it's a great Academic School and and I think parents And their kids who may have went through That route you know a lot of parents may Have graduated Buck now it's easy for The kid to kind of maybe you know know Get into that school now because their Parents went there uh for me though I Think it's not really and I hate to say That because I don't really like the Stigma like stereotype kickers he's a D1 Kid I mean listen there's a lot of D3 Kickers that could play on the D1 level 100% And it could be anywhere from like Maybe students at for D3 schools want to Stay more local to their towns you know To the state they don't want to travel They don't want to travel across country Or you know they just don't see Themselves sitting on the bench for four Years D1 football as you know is a very Competitive I didn't see really my first
Starting year till like two and a half Years when I first got into Syracuse I Had to earn that spot you know and a guy Like you know my brother Ross who also Played football at Syracuse you know he Came in there as a freshman and beat out A senior and a sophomore and it doesn't Matter who's in front of you that's the Thing like and you don't have to be Listen you don't have to be a five star There's I'm not a big fan I do my Tik Tok ratings on kickers like he's a five Star whatever but honestly I don't I Don't you know if a kid's kicking off a Stick at a camp with a 100 kids and Kicking a 55 60 yard field goal that's Great it shows their leg strength but How are how do they how are they in Games though I want to see how they're In games like with pressure on a 33 yard Field goal I'm not worried about 55s I'm Worried about extra points and and and And kicks field goals inside 40 yards so I think if the kid gets like that Consistency inside 45 50 yards and it's Knocking touchbacks in the touchbacks is Really what's going to Signal those D1 Coaches because a lot of kids can kick Field goals coach but if you can put That thing through the back of the end Zone and eliminate an entire play on a I Mean listen you had the record for most Touchbacks in a season I believe it with Some kind of crazy number but I mean
Listen if that's something like I know And especially as a special teams guy if You can now put that thing consistently Through the back of the end zone and Eliminate a play like that's on a whole Level that's what these guys are looking For so that yeah that was the big Difference I was going to say like There's a lot of D3 kickers I'm not Saying every single one but most of them All right they might not be getting 70 Yard kickoffs okay like in high school So D1 to be a D1 kicker like you're Going to have to consistently kick 65 to 70 yard kickoffs in high school average You know at least Junior and Senior year Sophomore year I mean I was kicking him To the five but then I worked with Joe DeFranco you know world renowned Strength coach you know Brian Cushing All those guys and then I you know coach Schuman I mean listen we we grew up Basically in the same area you grew up In Jersey right coach Schuman yeah I Grew up in buron County yeah so you know The whole Park Ridge you know coaching Stuff I mean coach Coach Joe the Frank Joe def used to work in walwick at the Odyssey that's and se's obviously I Worked with him all throughout my career And that's how I got like stronger Though that a lot of kickers think it's It is technique but you got to get your Ass in the weight room to to really hit
Touchbacks you know that's super Important but yeah I think like all Divisions like they all provide Different things for kids and parents I Don't think like oh he's he has D1 Potential I mean there's D3 guys that Have D1 potential but maybe they're just Not kicking off like as far or maybe Academically they're just they're not Ready for that big big level here Because I I work with a few kidss from Like Mississippi and some of those like The virtual sessions that I do and some Of those schools down there not the even The Old Miss Mississippi State like Eastern Mississippi State some of like The Joo Schools they're really good and That's how you can get like into some of Those D1 schools by starting at that Level because now you're playing college Level football the guys that you're Playing against are are the speed and Everything is different so I think like Nassau Community even Sussex County Community College I think a lot of kids Like kind of like don't even look they They kind of look past that they're like Oh I want to go to Syracuse I want to go To this school but that might be the Easiest way to maybe get to a Syracuse You know because that those type of Schools you know you I always say you Got to know somebody but yes to get Yourself kind of in the door and like
Try out and walk on I mean Nebraska Obviously I know you know coach Foley And I know you know um and Coach Bartell And that obviously helps a little bit With Nico going out there and at least Competing but he was number one at their Camp so and plus he hit that 46 in the State championship game that really that Really Sol Huge kick you know but the game film is Super important absolutely I was I was Lucky enough to be there to see it in Person um he so someone like Nico who Really is a a fantastic kicker gets a Walk- on spot at Nebraska what are there and and and you Know it's funny because I'm in I'm the Game but like how much money is being Thrown at kickers from a scholarship Standpoint now I remember you know when We played um Summit in the champ in the State Championship in 2012 their quarterback and kicker was Mike Badgley who's now you know Detroit Lions kicker right and I mean his leg Was out of this world um and Mike Badgley I I always wondered was he Actually there on a full ride he may Have been on a full ride he was that Good Mike so but are there a lot of full Rides or do a lot of Vision one schools Look to bring them on as a preferred Walk on how does how does that work more For for kickers yeah so there's a
Regular walk- on spot where literally You get into the school academically and You go you head down to the football Office and you maybe show them your Highlights in high school and I guess You're considered you know a walk-on Meaning you're at the school already and They want you as a walk-on a preferred Walk- on basically you're getting Recruited like Nico is um and Coach Foley and Coach Bartell um you know I I I'll let you know this they said if they Had the money and the has money Obviously but they said if he had the Scholarship kicker punter money they Would obviously they would give it but They had given Sam katas son the punting Scholarship for his year so that was one Scholarship and NCO punts but cotch is Like a punter punter you know right and Then they have this kid from Nebraska Listen to this five field goals in one Game to win the state championship for His high school team in Nebraska he gets A full scholarship from the old staff in Nebraska not from coach rule um I mean Five field goals in one game to win a State championship Nebraska that's great Now Nico who has another year at ultap Pan right and then you know obviously Going to be enrolling into Nebraska he's Got a lot of competition obviously not Just this kid 2023 kid Nebraska football There's like four or five probably other
Kickers there that he's gonna have to Contend with that there could be some Walk-Ons that are as good as preferred Walk-Ons like I don't that's thing Scholarship or no scholarship you have To be real good to get on that D1 team Like there's no there's no ifans are Butts about it right you got to be ready Nico has all the potential of the world We still have a lot of work to do in Regards to some of his his technique and Stuff but he has the leg speed he has The leg strength and that's what they Look at projection and Nico is one of Those guys they project to maybe earn a Full scholarship one day but even coach Foley said Rick we will give him a full Ride right now but we already gave this Nebraska kid and I was talking to my dad Who was a big role Ro model for me and I Was kind of explaining the Situation don't laugh too hard guys he Goes wait let me let me get this Straight at he goes a kid from Nebraska Is gonna beat out a kid from New Jersey For the starting spot and I said why do You say that because I mean listen There's guys throughout the country that Are very talented He go no it's not about that it's about The mental toughness of a kid from New Jersey the way they grow up and the way They handle these adverse situations and That's exactly when you look at my
Brother and I like we didn't back down To any competition that's when New Jersey teaches you how to be mentally Tough you know I don't nio is gonna come In there and focus on what he's got to Do not worried about this kid this kid Because once you focus on your Competition it's over man you know you Got to focus on what you got to do to Help the team win games and again you Only have one body one mind so you got To take advantage of every situation Going back to the scholarship thing Coach not many kickers do get four I Mean I'm telling you right now I mean The best of the best do and they don't Have to be five star Kohl's guys or five Star s guys you know um it's all about Academics what you do in games and what You do at the kicking camps right I have A guy Nick Reed from Harrison New York He's at Buffalo now you know I worked With Nick for a few years you know I Haven't seen the kid in a little bit but He's a great kid and um he he deserves To be at Buffalo the only problem is Coach white who recruited him he's at Memphis now so it's like that's the Thing coaches leave like you can get ATT To a coach and then they leave it's like But he loves the school of Buffalo he's A New York guy Nick Reed and um I know He's he's going in there as a preferred Walk- on too I mean Nick Nick was
Pounding kickoffs for Harrison that's The thing like getting a full ride I Mean a lot of schools like University of Missouri they're not going to give you a Full scholarship until you earn that Spot on the team and start soling Yourself right and that's solidifying Yourself and that's that's 100% cool man I'm cool with that because why would you Full scholarship a kid out of high School if literally he gets there and he Shits the bed b basically you know kind Of like I honestly I was an all American But I didn't do well at all freshman at Syracuse I I I was thinking to myself I Wouldn't be surprised if they they don't You know ask me back for next year Because I just didn't have a good Freshman year at all um physically wise Focus wise I just wasn't I was just Wasn't there I I think I was like a Homesick thing too you know even though Syracuse only three and a half hours I Just like you know I miss family it just Was a different thing you know I grew up In B woff it's it's a different Community Syracuse you know so I was Like trying to get used to things and The environment and um but yeah man I Mean Syracuse is a great school you know If I had to do over again I wouldn't Have transferred dude at Syracuse you're Getting a free education there you know Um but going back coach yeah just to
Solidifi like to repeat the whole Scholarship thing um I mean my brother Got a full scholarship I mean I have Pat Ryan at Georgetown Georgetown doesn't Give like full rides like that I don't Believe I think he might have gotten a Lot of a lot of money going there but um It's just very it's very tough to even Even school like uh University of Northern Colorado they give they get Full scholarships but to get to go to a School like that too you got to be de You got to have that 65 70 yard kickoff Status I mean no one you're not going to Go to um even like the smaller D1 Schools like the smaller you know I Guess uh like uh what is that uh Texas State like some of those schools right You still Gotta Be You got to be one of The best kickers in the country to play At these schools man um William Patterson all right now we're talking D3 Where I went where I graduated I know You can't compare Willie P to Nebraska Football but film is film and kicking is Kicking right I had a kid nick d'angeles Uh who played at Ramsey High School for One year it goes to Will for two years James coach Franklin asked him to walk On because he came in there and he uh he Made the team as a walk on that's that's That was like a walk I'm not really Preferred per se even though he was Getting recruited and he was on the team
I mean Penn State that's crazy you know He doesn't he doesn't have to play on Like literally in the games to make Himself the happiest he's on the team Already it's h Happy Valley right I mean He's already he's already in a great Mood he's he's doing he's doing great With uh you know all The it is what it is Anyway so yeah we could I could talk Forever coach you know man man I I I got A qu I got a question for you so the Explosion of like obviously what you do Um on the camp tour like Kohl's and and Um sailor and then you know I'm good I'm Good friends with I don't know if you Know Mike mccab but Mike yeah of course Yeah uh Mike mccab who who like really Works with he's in Florida I think Primarily Alabama maybe or florid well He's from Alabama right right right he Alabama Alabama that's right that's Right he used to coach a Prattville so Um uh so Mike mccab you know and so the Explosion of all this stuff right There's a lot more kickers like really Pursuing the POS the position right is Uh I I know it's a good thing from a Business standpoint but is there it have You found the kickers like the Expectations like is there like do Parents and kickers expectations align With what is the opportunity like how do You coach them on that because I kickers
Pro to me like I I can't believe I'm Saying this but like quarterback parents Kicker parents uh usually are the two Groups of parents that have unrealistic Expectations of what can actually happen From a college standpoint at that Position and and the main reason why is There's only so many spots right like One kicker comes out on the field one One punter comes out on the field one Quarterback comes out on the field it's Not like there's five you got five wide Receivers out at one time right know so So um It's that kind of a thing H how do You temper that how do you discuss that What what do you see when people come to You right well and that's the thing like Right now in 2023 the biggest recruit I have right Now of mine is niik Adam Manelli going To Nebraska and there are other kickers That I train that are his year Juniors Right now that are feeling some typ away They're like wait a second how is this Guy who I'm as good you know as good at In practice whatever there's always Going to be those guys because they're Competitive and they want the same Opportunity so at the end of the day it Goes down a game film right Nico Adam Manelli 46 yard field goal I think Coach B was at that I mean the whole Rucker Staff was at that game you know Co was On the sidelines that was the biggest
Kick he could make so I tell parents That game film just to like calm him Down uh the consistency the charting That we do every every practice you know We we chart the kids you know making Sure they're at passive kills you know For instance um and again the college Process is not easy at all I just tell The kids to look at and and the parents Are really good with this with me too That because when I mentioned the Academics which is the most important Thing besides family um they really look At that they're like all right let's Let's try to really work on my kid going To a a specific college for a specific Major and then maybe football will help You know help my kid get into school That is true listen I got five full Scholarships out of high school you know For for literally Lally having a 49 GPA Obviously helps a lot but you know my my Kickoffs my field goals everything was Was pretty Dar good and I'd even punt in High school can you imagine getting five Full Scholarships in high school Nowadays and not punting you have to be Like God basically of kicking so that's One thing nowadays too like the more Versatile the kid is he punts he kicks Field goals he does kickoffs uh I think A lot of parents think that their kid is Just going to go out there and kick an Extra point and get recruited no
Nowadays you have to do all three and You have to make sure that you're taking You know the right amount of credits for Your for your high school you're you're Involved with the community service That's the thing like some of these Parents are a little bit diluted because They feel like football is the only way Their their kids are going to get into School but it's not that they look at Everything your transcripts your resumee Your community even Syracuse they wanted To me to write essays and stuff for them Like the reason why I want to go there You know what you know why are we you Know they they you always ask the wise Right um and you want to be able to be a Good fit for that school you know so I Try to temper like everything just Talking to the parents about let's let's Find a good fit for your kid whether It's God forbid your kid gets hurt let's Say he goes to Ruckers right he wants to Play football but he gets hurt one year Right and that's it does he want does he Or she want to stay at that school okay Or they're going to be miserable that Miserable at that school that's the Thing like I transfer to a few schools Man I wish I could have just stayed at One school because I'm all about I'm all About stability right even though I'm Like literally over the place in general Right I'm all about stability though
That's my person personality you know I Want to make sure it's organized Structured and that's how I present to The parents how everything is run so Like a guy like Nico going to Nebraska I Know it's early in the game there's some Kids saying why did he commit so early I Mean why wouldn't he he's been out there A few times already he loves he loves The facility they're building it up and That's the thing kids and parents they Have to start doing their research and They have to start visiting these Campuses you know a lot of these kids Dream schools uccla USC Miami Florida State okay I get it but are you looking At the majors are you cuz Again God forbid football doesn't work Out can you see yourself at that school So I think I open up a lot of parents Minds and the kids mind like he he does Have a point you know because I don't Want kids transferring like I did right Tate Martell another guy qb1 guy you Know that dude transferred how many Times Tate Martel what three or four I Mean now he's nowhere to be found so and The high school kids too coach nowadays They're transfer from this school to This school you know I can't keep track Even some of my kickers are transferring You know from their public schools to Pro I get it you know a lot of kids Think that going we we have a mut we
Have a mutual one of your Mutual Students in mind and we've actually Referenced him on here you know you got A guy going from a a big time public School right where you know probably Some of the best facilities right like And you could be a part of that and then No I'm gonna go to a place where you Know hey it's a private school and maybe I'll get more looks here well as you Know kickers punters long Snappers all Specialists social media Tik Tok Twitter Instagram I mean whether coaches want to Admit it every coach is on twit every Football most every football coach is on Twitter they're looking at kids films um And that's the biggest thing I tell Parents now your kid I don't care if They're a freshman I have a rising Freshman going to play for Coach bear And Coach uh Preston lawyer at Ramsey he Was gonna go to the poll Ramsey yeah now He's going to Ramsey because coach bear Knows how to talk to parents and he Knows how to talk to kids because again He he's a deciple of Coach tol at bosow And he has that that he was there with Years he was there for years with Anthony campel he was right-hand man and Then spent a bunch of years at Hasbro Heights and has taken this Ramsey Program and used all of those tools man You know to turn fir up that guy I Thought I was energetic oh no he great
Man coach bear is good guy so he's in a Good spot again the same thing with kle Like the recruiting for you know when I'm talking to parents and their kids Meet the coaches see if your kid has a Good professional connection with the Coaches you know yeah you can go you can Want to go to Notre Dame right but if You don't have a good connection with The coaches or you don't see eye to eye With objectives and goals coach barell And Coach Foley coach rule they're all On the same page with what Nico is Projected to do right um is he projected To start right away no one knows man It's all about what can you do for what Have you done for me lately you know a Lot of the kids I work with are always Like oh but coach the other day I was Kicking better I don't care I don't care If you're kicking the other day better It's what have you done for me now and Life goes on you know you miss a kick You move on that's his part of life but It's easier said than done you know what I'm saying you really don't understand Understand that until it happens to you Like the Syracuse game when I missed That extra point I thought the world was Over basically I was on I was on ESPN When I missed that extra point first Game ever and that that felt like crap But you know what what am I gonna do uh Cry cry a river I mean you got to bounce
Back and I didn't and I wanted to say One more thing about that story the Starting tight end Joe Donnell is from Rochester he was a big- time tight end For Syracuse at that time he came up to Me after that game and he goes if you Ever miss another extra point on National TV again I'm going to take your Head and really stick in the toilet you Won't be able to breathe ever ever again Ever again and he he said this so like Strong to me and it like resident I Still remember I still tell the story It's like you get respect kickers you Know they say kickers don't speak unless Spoken to but you gota you got to make Your kicks man and especially on the Next level right because even though Nico is being heavily recruited right Now obviously has Preferred walkon go to Nebraska he's got to bring now his aame Not only to ult the panis year because They're gonna pay attention on how he's Doing for a senior season they could Easily absolutely take that away they're Like oh we're good um obviously got Forbid any type of injury but in general Though right you always got to Understand keep yourself healthy and That's another thing I want to say coach Real quick I prevent the way the ways I I prevent injuries from happening with Kids is developing that that warm-up Stretching routine that they have to do
An hour and a half before the game some Of these kickers will go an hour before The game they don't even go at a Halftime coach I tell these kids open Your mouth and talk to your coach about Going at a halftime they're they're Afraid they're like my coach won't let The most Overlooked aspects I think of the game I Mean obviously paying a little bit more Attention being a special teams coach Myself right and all that like always Been an important part but like some of These things that these guys don't do or You know really it's like man like what Are you doing like you have to now Really Embrace this if you want to do it At a high Level oh go out after right like make Sure you have a routine pregame coach I Need a bit of this you know how many Guys like it's still it's still Astonishing how many guys don't even Have a kicking net on the side a lot I Work for the net returns a great net Company yeah just those are expensive Nets though coach you need to save some Budget budget money to get those are $900 man yeah trying to win games dude Somebody in this somebody's dad in the Stands can make it figure out how to Create a freaking kicking net you don't Need any money somebody's dad went to School PVC piping right Derek some PVC
Listen I'm sorry this ain't Ram okay why Like you know Us right you were in North Warr wait you Were in North Warren I was Butler oh but You never you never coached in North Warren have you no I we we played them I Mean there's nothing like going to play Them in a game scrimmage and the you Know you turn around on the visitor Stands and the the the smog is coming up From the Cornfield you want to talk about an Atmosphere dude atmosphere Sussex Tech In Sparta okay watching I was watching You know was a stud um the running back For Sussex Tech and he's the kicker he's Just a stud he plays lacrosse for high Point he doesn't play lacrosse at Sussex Tech he plays for high point and this Kid Brian grber his name is Brian grber I went to watch this kid last year was Kenan versus Sussex Tech because I had a Kid God God bless you for that barn Burner of a juggernaut bar burner there Were spoted Lantern flies on every Person that was there literally flying On everyone's everyone's shirt I was Scared it was like a horror movie with The spider Lantern Flies there was too many of them but I Get scared of those things every Timeing I know you lived in West Milford For a little while too so like you know You're you're in a totally different
Area yeah man my parents Liv in Hometown My Bro your Paris lived in hell for a while Yeah they liveed right by the um the new Town homes that Bell's Tower yeah the Bell's Tower There gorgeous I I live I live like five Minutes from there lives like on that Other side right there and on linkt in Linkt yes so they sold and now they're Back in Franken Lakes but um anyways so Yeah I mean listen with what I do and my Coaching and my recruiting stuff I I Don't promise kid scholar like I can't Promise aid repair in a full scholarship You know gotta work hard yeah I you Never know what listen you never know What's gonna happen Nico can get to Nebraska and win the job and he gets a Full Scout that's how it's done you Gotta beat you you're gonna have to beat Those other kids out the best kid plays And I know when coach pascone got fired You know when we got our asses kicked Against Georgia Tech in the bowl game When Calvin Johnson scored like six Touchdowns against us M uh Megatron all Right all our coaches got fired uh you Know after 15 years Coach P was there For 15 16 years he goes to the locker Room after after the game and he goes Like this you guys are going to remember This game for a long long time and That's that's the last last words I
Heard of that guy I was on a cruise ship My P my dad goes Ricky the whole staff Got fired I said are you kidding me and He goes yeah they brought in Co Daryl Gross you know from California they Brought in major APPA Greg Robinson and I said you know I'm gonna I'm on full Scholar I'm gonna stick there obviously And then I'm like you know why am I here They didn't recruit me I had that Attitude but the attitude should have Been wait I don't care who's coming to This to this school and coaching I'm on Full scholarship I'm just going to work My ass off and still be on full Scholarship you know what I'm saying I Don't really have to play every even if I'm not playing every game but I'm 39 Years old talking like that right now I Wish I could talk to myself a 20 years Old I know and it is what it is you know I could talk about it forever you know I I left Syracuse on a full ride but these Are the experiences that I tell my kids And right that's why I feel like I'm the Mo you know I'm not to sound cocky I Just just feel like I have all those Those those positives and those you know Sometimes negative experi well rounded Which is what makes a good coach I mean Exactly You' experienced real things That that these guys can like you know Really relate to like hey we all made it I mean look same thing for me you
Know Yeah exactly if you were Juan Sten out You wouldn't be kick you wouldn't be Coaching right Because what what would be your Motivation to coach you you know watch That around or or who's the one Dustin Tucker you know or that's one guy I Haven't I haven't connected with on like Twitter I've connected with uh you know Other positions obviously some NFL Athletes some rappers that like hit me Up for my videos are like wow you're Rapping Eminem and [ __ ] like that's he's Like that's pretty impressive man you're Trying to get in these kids head like Z The Propet some Jersey rapper you Know everyone's like who the hell is z The prophet I'm like well he's some guy He follows me on Tik Tok and Instagram Like I'm going to shout him out you know Um but no it's just cool like that's What I mean the connection that you make With these kids based on the generation That we live in the rap game you know Even rock music like I try to tag like Certain people I was tagging Taylor Swift on a video the other day I mean I'm listen you're gonna have to start Tagging the sorority dances I know They're coming in your feed Rick I know They are I know they are the sority dances oh my God no but this is this is life dude
It's fun this is what 2023 is about um Even though I want to live armor Sometimes you know I kind of want to Live Like away from everything but then again You know this is this is what makes me Drive like living in Jersey like it Keeps you living you know it keeps you Keeps you wanting to get better and the Mental toughness that we get you know Whether you're I know you're a father Coach SCH and Coach DEA squal how many Kids do you have now coach DEA squal Just the one just the first started he Just started well you beat me on that Because you know I I just got engaged You know and I just one thing at a time Here congratulations yeah one thing at a Time there as long asy listen you're the Uh you're one of those guys that I Continue to have your passionate so I Think it'll all work out no I'm I'm Chilling but uh so no so this is this is Where this is where life is for me right Now you know helping these kids out it's Not so much the following man listen F You know how it is like self-confidence Of course raises your self-esteem a Little bit when people are following you And like you know making your day by Their messages you know how many you Know how many videos I've gotten when That Tik Tok rating stuff blew I I still Have probably over a hundred kids I
Haven't even ranked on Tik Tok and they Go Rick can we use it in our profile on Twitter I'm like of course I'm a Professional coach you can use anything I say however however rankings they're Gonna they're gonna look at the video And say oh it's just one kick obviously Okay but at least it gets you noticed Somehow because that's what the kids on Social media want now these kids from Mississippi and Missouri and some of These schools in Kentucky they're not Getting looks these kids so social media Is the easiest way for them to to get Out there you know and that's why I love Doing what I'm doing because I'm helping These kids you know and I don't charge Kids for that man and people think I Charge kids for like the ra the rankings Only time I ever charge a kid if they're Coming to my session and we're getting That two full hour session or it's like Virtual but if a kid sends me a video I'm not going to be like oh it's it's a Hundred bucks just to watch your film You know it's like I love doing what I Do even if a kid sends me a few Clips I Mean that's a connection how you that's How you start working with kids by um Just being not being their friend but You know talking to them and getting to Know them first versus like oh this is What the money it's all about B no dude If I if I had to do it for free I would
You know I love doing what I do but at The end of the day that I have my degree In teaching and parents I I tell parents That right away and they're like wow Okay I trust you with my kid because you Know you have you know you have that That knowledge of fizet health and Driver like you know how to connect with My kid because of that you know and I Help him out with school to tutoring I Do tutoring whatever man That's it don't don't ever undervalue What you do you know what I mean you Never never never this is from one Business person the next do you have an Expertise that other people don't have Don't ever undervalue that don't ever Think that um you don't deserve to get What you get you know because you think Uh doing people a favor listen you Working with them is making a difference That they could not get anywhere else so They'll never undervalue that that's Important that's great advice and in our In our industry you know Nick Sabin Doesn't undervalue himself right so and His kicking coach who may or may not Even know as much as you is getting paid A lot more than you are right so that's Right that's right so don't ever Undervalue what you do you know what I Mean so it's I want to tell you coach Saving story real Quick great I want to hear it I was the
Only kicker ever in the state of New Jersey to get recruited by LSU right Greg Montgomery friend of mine passed Away you know a few years ago um and uh You know I had met with him with Matt Stover Matt Stover was a former kicker For the raid you know for several years So we had met one year uh D in Maryland And he saw me kick before he sent any Type of recommendation to LSU and code Saving when when he was at LSU he said I Want to see you in person so what Happened was he sold me in person he's Like Rick you got great technique this Is what Greg Montgomery and Matt St he Goes we we can make that call to LSU but I we're just letting you know we can get You down there but to get a full Scholarship there or at least get on That team you would have to be at Another kid from New Orleans who's like A top ASO player like the kids an Athlete Chris Jackson and they won the National Championship in 2003 in LSU Right that was the year I was going to Go there I went to Syracuse obviously They just won the basketball national Championship so either way it was it was Both schools are awesome you know so I Get down at LSU with my father right we Go to Tain first I was recruited by Tain We had to visit New or New Orleans nin Whatever they call it and then we took The um you know little little car
Service we we we drove down to uh to Baton Rouge you know and we got on Campus and these three cheerleaders from LSU escorted my father and I around uh The campus which was awesome and finally They go uh hey Ricky and their southern They had their Southern bell accents you Know they're like hey Ricky uh we just Want to introduce you to coach Nick sa This is the this is Nick Sabin here I Went right past him I didn't even know Who he was like literally he was so Short like short of you know it's like 56 55 i p the guy and I'm like this that Can't be coach Sav and and Coach sa said He goes excuse me Jersey guy he goes Come over here I want to see he goes I Want to see you kick I heard a lot about You I'm like coach oh my God like you're The god of I'm so I'm so sorry I I Didn't know who you you know he goes no Don't worry about it just kicked the Kick the damn ball today so I actually Did very well it's Just you don't have to know as you Make and I kicked very well that day but At the end of the day they brought the Kid I had to be that much better than That kiss And and we were about even and what are They going to do send the New Jersey kid Down LSU no the money just like Arena Football just like n the kids the Hometown kids if those kids are pretty
Good I'm not that much better than them Whatever they're going to get the and The baseball I mean the kid plays LSU Baseball I mean why not are you gonna Take that kid you know so it is what it Is but those are all life experiences I Had Coach Rick at Georgia you know I Brought p with me down there we messed Up on the yard line stuff he goes we Want we want the next janakowski Coach Rick said because he worked with Janakowski at Florida State and I was Like Jenna Kowski he goes he goes what Was your kicking coach doing Pat you Know he goes why was he lining up for 60 Yard field goals I was only asking for 50 and they were going short and that's Why again he was kind of like he didn't Say anything he wanted to see my Distance on my kicks and they were my 60s were going like you know a yard Short and he goes we're looking for the Next janakowski it's it's George's Georgia man you know H coach Rick is a Great guy he said it right to me he goes You know we're looking for 75 yard Kickoffs and I just wasn't getting him At that cam I let I was going to I went To seven camps in like literally a month You know back to back like Nico Adam Manelli he went to a lot of camps but he Preserved his leg he knows how to ice And preserve his leg after you know not To overdo it because you know these
Coaches you know even at these kicking Camps they over kick their kids man it's A lot sure so that's another thing I Tell parents you know it's like they Work with me they do their thing on Their own but let's be very specific and Picky what schools that these kids are Going to why why CH why choose 10 Colleges if the kids's not going to go To this school even though it's it's Florida State you know it's Florida State it's Miami I get it but do you Realistically see your kid at that at That school you know academically Athletically um and that's why I ended Up at Wayne Patterson that was the best Chance for me to to get my two years of F because remember and what happens with The NCA eligibility it keeps going man It doesn't stop and I only only had that I wish I had a few more years that'd be Awesome but no not anymore I'm I'm Focusing on coaching I don't yeah I Think you're gonna have to coach now I Think you're a few few years past it 39 Is uh 39's not Old Coach uh definitely Definitely got to stay Positive wow yeah so you were in your 20s when that's okay yeah makes sense Well listen it's been great C can you Just before we uh have you go tell where People could find you the best way to Get a hold of you if they want if they Want you know uh to work with you yeah
Well the the easiest way right so people Are like copying down email addresses And stuff you go to Google you type in You type in Ricky on Google and all of a Sudden you're going to see a list of Like contact information everything my Website crowman king.com Instagram Tik Tok all you got to do is put in kman you Know it's pretty much uh pretty much Right there but um no I'm just I could Tell you every you know at this at that But just you go to Google type in my Name and literally you can find all my Information coach Ricky kman Ricky kman Kicking learn from the best but also the Most important thing is learn about life At the same time and I truly believe That I'm a mentor And a role model to these kids and also The families you know like you mentioned Like how do you sit down with the Families talk about recruiting well I do You know and I love what I do and I'm Passionate so I appreciate you guys for Allowing me to come on here and explain To me because I'm a different breed a Different type of kicking Coach man I'm Not your your normal you know day-to-day Coach you know this and that no it's It's getting to know the kids on the Next level and bringing that aame and Energy every time you step on that field Man make a difference absolutely it's Been F this has been a fantastic FC hour
It flew it absolutely FW I I looked up We 102 we got to do it again coach we Got to do it again for sure absolutely No it was a ton of fun and and we we I Look forward to seeing you real soon um And listen keep keep doing what you're Doing what you're doing is great it's It's Unique like it comes into my feed I Must like it in my algorithm Or whatever so it's great and and I get To see what you're doing and and it's It's awesome Um and it's helping the kids and that's The most important thing so we got to All keep it going as coaches man got to Keep making a difference in these guys Lives you know let's do it together as a Team and uh I hope to run some camps With you in the near future as well so Let's let's uh absolutely we definitely Should connect on that absolutely thank You guys Abut see you Later by guys Bye that was great That's the people juice bro he brought The juice dude he brought the juice and Uh that's that's what we Want that's uh uh the energy was awesome I now know everything to do first of all I I didn't realize all these people Passed Away I I I didn't know I mean obviously I know some of them but like I didn't
Know what's that Was like oh rest in peace this guy rest In peace that guy like oh Okay I realiz so many we lost so many That it just shows us where we're going Right it's like but he's a I started Googling each guy as you say like oh wow That guy passed away oh wow oh my God Yes Oh my God yeah right like I said very a Unique perspective in terms of you know Like the like how he approaches it how He approaches his guys on an individual Basis also just a whole different world For for you know anybody who's watching Who kind of is in that Specialists you Know like you know he talks about like That even the best guy he trains isn't Getting a full ride you know what I mean So if that's you know looking at it from That Perspective and Like I Said view point for a lot of you know Guys that listen to what we do Absolutely and and look he talked about The you know it's it's funny because he H on the things that I talk about all The time with respect to Twitter and how Important social media is and recruiting It's like right and I I talk to all These parents all the time about it Obviously with what we do with the D1 Promo and and so many like I I feel bad
That I'm convincing them them I'm like No listen like no one knows what you're Post like you don't have a following Like people like you have to be able to Reach out you be have to be able and Leverage someone you can post post Little Jimmy's video Twitter and you Know that's great that your 45 family Members are gonna be able to see it you Know right but when Ricky posted on Kicking like that's a big deal So he he's validating right and that's What we talk about with what what we do With1 me and Mike farell so it it it Kind of was like it was interesting and And he was saying how he didn't really Understand that at first and then now he He does um but it's a big thing so Anyway that was a great great podcast We'll we'll let it run it's been a long Long P we'll end it right right there um I think we'll be back on Thursday we'll be back on Thursday with Another one that should be good so I'm looking forward to that
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