Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Football Kicking Testimonial From Parent

I'm proud of this testimonial I recently received.  From a parent of a kid that was one of my first students ever.  It's really fun to be able to train a specialist year after year and see them get better, see the different opportunities they get and see them eventually move on to college.


Here is a great photo of the two of us at an interview last year with MinnesotaPreps.com about his kicking game, and upcoming season.

"If you are looking for an excellent trainer in both kicking and punting, I highly recommend Coach Chris Husby.  Chris has given both my sons private and group training lessons over the last 3 years. Chris has the ability to analyze and improve their skills and technique to bring them to next level and through his camps they have proven to be 5 star athletes. Coach Chris Husby has joined up with some of the top football training programs in the country, and through the charting of these Kicking camps it has given them the opportunity for D1 & D2 College coaches to review their talent for kicking and punting and attended College Camps with some of the nations top athletes. To name a few Colleges that expressed interest and invited them for Show Case camps were the University of Alabama, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota (Duluth), Minnesota State Mankato, Santa Barbara City College, CA. and Iowa State. Coach Husby has been a leader, a role model and a positive influential on and off the field, his passion toward the game shows in all aspects of his teaching & training. Thank you Coach Husby."

- Tom Brengman (Parent of Hopkins Kicker & Punter)

Thank you.

Chris Husby
Professional Kicking Coach and Owner
Special Teams Football Academy
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CoachHusby@gmail.com
651-353-2660   



Monday, July 16, 2012

4 Things the NCAA Eligibility Center Needs from Every Athlete

I found a great article written by JC Kibbey of NCSA about the "4 Things the NCAA Eligibility Center Needs from Every Athlete" that I thought was worth reposting for you to learn from.  
Here is the link to the article: http://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2012/06/20/4-things-the-ncaa-eligibility-center-needs-every-athlete/
NCAA Hall of Champions 
The NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly called the NCAA Clearinghouse) checks every athlete who want to play sports in college to make sure they’re eligible (except at the NAIA and junior college levels). If they don’t pass you, you don’t play. So making sure you’re set with them is a key first step for anybody who wants to get recruited.

What do they look at? What can you do to comply?

Relax – it’s all here. NCSA is one of the first recruiting education and scouting groups ever to be certified by the NCAA, so we have a lot of experience with this day-to-day. We’re spilling everything we know to you, so read on to find out the four things the NCAA Eligibility Center needs from you.

1. Good grades (in the right classes) and good test scores
Maybe you’ve heard this one before – you need good grades and test scores to play in college. Like your coach telling you to hustle, you can’t say it enough. But don’t take our word for it, or your coach’s word, or your parents’ – the NCAA Eligibility Center will check .They have a specific sliding scale of what makes the grade and what doesn’t, and a list of classes that every student athlete must have taken in order to compete. Click here for more details about the academic requirements for the NCAA Eligibility Center.

2. Amateurism status
What’s amateurism? Basically, it means you’ve never gotten paid to play sports, so you’re qualified to play in college. You can see why the NCAA might not want Dwayne Wade, Tom Brady, or Serena Williams playing at the college level. It wouldn’t really be fair.

You have to prove you really are a “student-athlete.” Here’s the list of things that can potentially disqualify you from competing in the NCAA:
1. Contracts with a professional team
2. Salary for participating in athletics
3. Prize money
4. Playing with professionals
5. Trying out, practicing or competing with a professional team
6. Receiving benefits from an agent or prospective agent
7. Agreeing to be represented by an agent
8. Delaying initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition
9. Getting financial assistance based on athletics skills or participation (athletes at Ohio State and USC have gotten in trouble for this in the last few years)
If you want to be a college athlete, don’t do any of this, is the bottom line.

3. Following the rules
Besides grades and amateurism, there’s a whole list of rules the NCAA Eligibility Center has for student-athletes. And all the rules need to be explained to the smallest detail so there’s no confusion.
Lucky for you, they put all this stuff in one place: The Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete. You can see or download the latest (2011-2012) version of this guide by clicking here. It’s a must-read if you want to play sports in college.

4. Register
This is the easy part. You actually have to contact the NCAA Eligibility Center and register so they can verify your eligibility. Registration costs $65 if you live in the U.S., and $95 for international student-athletes – but considering the amazing benefits of college sports, this is next to nothing.

UPDATE: Effective September 1, 2012, the registration fee will increase to $70 for U.S. student-athletes and $120 for international student-athletes.
There are several ways to reach the eligibility center:

Online:
www.eligibilitycenter.org

By phone:
877-262-1492 (if you live in the U.S.)
317-223-0700 (if you don’t live in the U.S.)


By mail:
NCAA Eligibility Center
Certifications Processing
P.O. Box 7136
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7136

More questions about the eligibility center? Call NCSA’s NCAA-verified scouting team at 866-495-7727 or click here to create a free recruiting profile.


I hope you enjoy these articles on Recruiting. 


Thank you.

Chris Husby
Professional Kicking Coach and Owner
Special Teams Football Academy
Join our Facebook Fan Page!
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Subscribe to our YouTube Videos.
CoachHusby@gmail.com
651-353-2660   


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Preseason Prep Instructional Kicking Camp- July 28

Chris Husby, of Special Teams Football Academy & Taylor Mehlhaff, of TM Kicking are pleased to announce their Preseason Prep Instructional Kicking Camp held in St Paul, MN.  They joined forces to offer you a ONE OF A KIND kicking camp in the Midwest.

The Preseason Prep Instructional Kicking Camp was designed to prepare kickers, punters, and snappers for their upcoming football season.  All Instruction, Drills and Training have been designed to get YOU prepared and in rhythm for your upcoming football season.

Our goal is to have your kicking unit (Snapper, Kicker/Punter, and Holder) attend and work together in a professional instructional environment.

The Camp will be held at St Thomas Academy:
July 28 from 10 AM-4 PM
949 Mendota Heights Rd
Mendota Heights, MN 55120

 
Specialists will be able to fine tune their mechanics and technique, learn 'practice ready' drills, run through game scenarios, improve the mental side of their game, and work as a Kicking & Punting Unit a few weeks leading up to your season.  Nothing makes a football coach more confident in his kicking game, than having his special teams unit in sync when the preseason starts up.

This camp is available for High School, College & Youth Specialists looking to enter their Two-A-Days and Season ready to compete and win a starting spot.


Coach Chris Husby & Coach Taylor Mehlhaff bring years of kicking & punting experience from training and completing at the NFL and collegiate level.  Both have learned and trained under some of the top Special Teams Instructors in the Nation.


Also on hand, are some of the Midwest's best Snapping Instructors!

 If this camp is for you, and you are ready to show up to your football program bringing your A game, register at:

Special Teams Football Academy:  Register Here
TM Kicking:  Register Here


We look forward to working with you at our camp!

For more information contact Coach Husby at 651-353-2660 and Coach Mehlhaff at 855-TMKICKING.


Visit our website: Here  & Blog
Follow us: Facebook & Twitter
Subcribe to our YouTube Page

-Coach Husby

Kicking Net For Sale

Coach Husby of Special Teams Football Academy has a Kicking Net for Sale.



Kicking Net that can be used on your side lines at football games, at practices, home, back yard or garage.


New was purchased 5-6 years ago and used about 2 dozen times. It’s in excellent condition. It’s similar to this kicking net shown below. The only difference is the base of the kicking net is a metal base vs the
legs that you see in the photos on this site. It has a carrying case that comes with it. It
weighs about 20 pounds, and is easy to set up in about 1-2 minutes.

Wizard Pro Kicking & Punting Cage With Small Travel Case for $429.00
http://www.wizardkicking.com/kicking-nets.html

Here is a video of my kicking net and what it looks like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrS7JxfiySY

You can take a look at it first (in person) if you want.

It was purchased at around $450, and I'd like to sell it for $300.00, or best offer. It would come with a black carrying case with a shoulder strap, which makes it easy to carry… even with shoulder pads on.

Interested buyers should contact Coach Husby at 651-353-2660 or email CoachHusby@gmail.com.

-Coach Husby


Monday, July 9, 2012

"6 Signs You’re Behind in the Recruiting Process" by NCSA

Here is a great article that I found on the NCSA website written by JC Kibbey, that talks about the "6 Signs You’re Behind in the Recruiting Process." 

I think it's a great article that is worthy of your time to read. There is a lot of valuable advice here.  A 7th point that I would like to note is that YOU and your Parents need to be active in the recruiting process.  YOU need to reach out to college coaches to express interested in their program too.  YOU need to take the initiative too.  Don't just expect that since you "kicked the game winning field goal" that colleges will be knocking on your door.  Yes that might still happen, but you need to be proactive in the process as well.  

Also from a Specialists perspective it is important to attend evaluation camps, and even 'College Kicking Camps.'   At evaluation camps, you are being evaluated by kicking experts, which many college coaches reach out to for leads on top kickers, punters and snappers; and at 'College Kicking Camps' you'll kick in front of the college coaching staff members themselves that have some control over recruiting you.  In June, I posted about the upcoming "2012 College Specialist Camps" to find out when some of the bigger camps will be going on.  Hopefully you were able to attend a few of them.



I've reposted JC Kibbey's article below and the link to it online so you can read more about other recruiting tips with NCSA.


 http://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2012/06/27/6-signs-recruiting-process/

"6 Signs You’re Behind in the Recruiting Process." 
 by JC Kibbey

You’re naturally confident.

Right?

As an athlete, you have to be. When you’re sitting down at halftime, warming up in the bullpen, or on the blocks, you can’t afford to ask yourself: what if I’m doing this wrong? You just go.
Here’s the problem: that same kind of thinking that works great when you’re competing – no doubting yourself, no matter what – can kill you in recruiting.
You’ve got to admit to yourself when you make a mistake. Here are six of the most common ones.:

1. You get recruiting advice from people you know
Friends and family are great. None of us – especially those of us who eat, sleep and breathe sports 24/7 – could do what we do without them. Why are they great? Partly because they’re nice to us.
And that’s exactly why they should not be giving you recruiting advice.
People who are close to us, especially parents and even sometimes our coaches, can look at us with “love goggles” on – see the pair on the left? They are rose-colored. “You’re fantastic! You’re Division I material! The coaches will come running!” Truth is, probably 90% of athletes hear this from their friends and family, but only 2% of high school athletes go on to college. See the problem?
When it comes to recruiting, you need somebody who’s going to give you the honest truth. If you happen to know a college coach (who’s not in your family), maybe ask them. If not, talk to an NCAA-certified recruiting expert. Feel-good talk about where you can go won’t get you ahead – real talk will.

2. You don’t have a highlight video
This is pretty basic. Athletes get recruited because coaches want them. Coaches want those athletes because they think they will make the team better. Coaches find out that you can make a team better by seeing your highlight video. If they don’t know what you can do, how can they know they want you on their team?
To be fair – runners and swimmers, this is a little less important for you, because your times are so important. But not much – you’ll still need skills tapes, and meet footage won’t hurt. Think of it this way: you’re not the fastest runner in the country, which means there’s someone else with the same times as you. If a coach is looking at both of you, do you think they’ll pick the one with a video (whose form the coach can see), or the one without it?

3. You make athletics an excuse for bad grades
Think you can skate by with weak grades because you’re an athlete?
Everybody knows (or knew) one star athlete in their high school that thought so. Any parents reading, take a second and ask yourself: where’s that athlete now, who didn’t care about grades?
Did they go to college? Are they successful now? Do you even know where they are?
Even if you want to go pro – you have to have the grades, get into a good college and get exposure. If you were the next LeBron James, you’d know already.

4. You don’t have any letters
If you aren’t getting some kind of letters and you are in high school, this is not a good sign. Athletes who are in demand get letters from coaches, period. Maybe you need to step up your game. Maybe the coaches don’t know about you. But if there aren’t letters, there isn’t interest.

5. You only have letters
At the same time, letters don’t mean much without the follow-up, the coach communications, and the attention. NCSA’s founder, Chris Krause, had a boatload of letters as a high school student, but he almost missed being recruited altogether because he didn’t follow up. Letters are a step in the process, and they’re only as good as the coach communications, visits, and ultimately, the offer that you get out of them.

6. You think everything is going well
That last point – that letters are only as good as the offer that they get you – is true about everything in recruiting. It doesn’t matter if you’re All-State, getting letters from the top colleges in the country, taking visits, or appearing on SportsCenter and the cover of Sports Illustrated. Recruiting is over and done once you sign on the dotted line at your dream school. Until that point, everything is just an opportunity. And after you sign that letter – well, that’s when it really gets hard.
Avoid these mistakes and get elite recruiting advice from an NCAA-certified recruiting expert – click here or call 866-495-7727 to join the network.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Russian Football Kicker's Amazing Demo Reel


Here is a pretty Hilarious Russian Football Kicker's Highlight Video.  I'm not sure what's better, his kicking abilities or the background music!

Courtesy of FunnyorDie.com  


Do you think he's got a chance to make it?   What's his BEST "one liner"?  Post below.



For more information:
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Get $10 off your next lesson.  Become a "Fan" of our Facebook Page or Follow/Tweet us on Twitter, post on the page that you "just read our blog" and we'll give you $10 off your next lesson! (limit 1 per person).

 
Thank you

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Snapping Coach Testimonial

This is why I love what I do.  Today I received a great testimonial from one of the parents of the kids we've been training.

"Alex has learned so much from Coach Husby and his staff. We can not thank Chris and his staff enough for the impact they have had on Alex. Alex wishes the actual sport of Football was all year round. Thank you again for working with Alex during the off season."
Ken and Chris (Parents of St Francis Long Snapper)



For more information:
See our Website.
Like us on Facebook... Get $10 off your next lesson.  Become a "Fan" of our Facebook Page, post on it that you "just read the blog" and we'll give you $10 off your next lesson! (limit 1 per person)
Follow us on Twitter.... Tweet at us and say hi

 
Thank you
-Coach Husby

Rebel with a Cause: Tucker Lorentzen (High School Kicker)

Rebel with a Cause: Tucker Lorentzen

Here is the 3rd Special Teams Articles of 4 installments by MinnesotaPreps.com featuring one of our student kickers, Tucker Lorentzen of Champlin Park HS.  Lorentzen took some time after attending our recent kicking clinic to visit with MinnesotaPreps. Tune in and learn more about this talented young player.

Tucker has an excellent leg and was the 2nd leading Junior Kicker in 2011.  He's one of the kickers to watch next season.  We are excited to be working with him and tracking his progress.




You can read the article and watch the video Here.


If you are having trouble viewing the article. Check out the article titled "Danny Laudet- Kicking it!" on our "In The News" link on SpecialTeamsFootballAcademy.com.



For more information:
See our Website.
Like us on Facebook... Get $10 off your next lesson.  Become a "Fan" of our Facebook Page, post on it that you "just read the blog"
and we'll give you $10 off your next lesson! (limit 1 per person)
Follow us on Twitter.... Tweet at us and say hi, and we'll give you $10 off your next lesson!  It's that easy!
(limit 1 per person)
 
Thank you
-Coach Husby

Monday, July 2, 2012

NCSA Recruiting Tip- "Unofficial Visits"

NCSA Recruiting Tip of the day:

Just because the visit is “unofficial” doesn’t mean you should come unprepared; think of it as a preliminary job interview. If you’re hoping for a scholarship offer from a school, why not take the time to prepare some thoughtful questions about the direction of the program, or about the school’s academic reputation, so that a coach understands you’re responsible and concerned about your future.
Website: www.recruitedtoday.com