By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor
WOODLANDS, Tex. – Not bad for starters.
The first camp of the summer season for the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy proved to be a booming success.
Literally.
Thundering kicks from top college prospects Patrick Sohrt and Christian Madrigal caught the attention of everyone at camp at The Woodlands High School.
Ken Olson, a senior staff instructor, said Sohrt and Madrigal were good combination kids, meaning they can place-kick and punt.
“For colleges, kickoff is what going’s to separate the kids,” Olson said. “That’s the reason I gave Rick (Sang, the camp director) their names. Both of them have strong legs and are great kickoff kids. About 5 percent of the kids we see the whole summer can do the things they did.”
Sohrt, who will be a senior this fall, is from Victoria, Tex. And Madrigal, who will also be a senior, is from Luskin, Tex.
Sohrt had one kickoff that traveled 78 yards in the air with a 3.8 hang time, Olson said. “That’s pretty remarkable. He’s tall and has great leverage advantage. He climbs up through the ball. There aren’t many kids you see do that.”
Sohrt, who is 6-foot-2, is long and lanky while Madrigal (5-11, 195 pounds) is more stocky and more powerfully built.
Madrigal had the same kind of kickoff distance as Sohrt.
“Both have fast feet, which is the key to kicking,” Olson said. “They both have that good leverage advantage.”
Sohrt had kickoff distances of 65 (twice), 62 and 78. He also had four punts with better than 4.6 hang time and good distance.
“He had eight balls in the four-second range,” Olson said. “He can be a punter-kickoff guy. He’s tall and lanky. He’s a punter that can kick off. You see a lot of those guys on Saturday and Sunday who can do that. Madrigal is a field goal specialist and a kickoff guy.”
The kickers both used a 1-inch tee but Olson said the adjustment to grass wouldn’t be a problem for either of them.
“Being the first one (camp), the talent is going to be good because everybody is trying to prove themselves,” Olson said. “Those two stand out. These guys can kick on Saturday.”
While Olson and Madrigal were the top prospects, there were many others who participated in the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy’s inaugural camp of the summer season. The camp was a sellout and kickers enjoyed ideal weather.
“The camps are definitely a showcase,” Olson said. “They want to come here and do the best they can. It’s all about competition. You’re seeing people performing before you perform. The camps are also about the coachability side of it. You see the coachability of the kids and their character.”
Olson said players are shown different and often better ways of doing little things at the camp that will make them improved kickers and a better prospect for college.
“We’re all trying to make them better and grow,” he said. “We want to promote them and get them out in the open. There are plenty of colleges out there, regardless of sizes. You don’t have to be the very best one in the camp.”
Olson said the Prokicker.com camps are the best instructional camps in the business. The staff includes many former college and professional kickers.
Olson has been with Prokicker.com camps for the past seven years. He was a place-kicker at Salisbury State in Maryland who went on to play for the USFL with Washington. Olson also kicked for the Buffalo Bills during the 1986 strike season and was in camp with the 49ers and Bills. He kicked two years for Los Angeles in the Arena League. Olson was the kicking coach for the Chicago Bears for seven years.
He is currently a high school football coach in the Phoenix area and a regular instructor at the prokicker.com camps. The next camp is May 7-8 in the Tampa/Bradenton, Fla., area. Go to prokicker.com for registration information.
