By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com
FAIRFAX, Va. – There was a prize waiting for the winner of the Longest Field Goal competition at Saturday’s Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Washington, D.C., area.
The Big Red Tee put a little extra adrenalin in the legs of the kickers, as if they needed it.
The Big Red Tee was supplied by Jay Spiegel, who founded Premium Products, Inc., that includes patents on kicking tees, including the Ground Zero tee that is used by every team in the National Football League and in the Super Bowl.
Spiegel spoke to the campers before Saturday’s activities and he offered the bounty of The Big Red Tee to the winner of the competition.
“It was a big deal for everybody,” said Juan Luna, who won the prize with a 55-yard field goal.
Luna, attending his first Prokicker.com camp, said the day was about learning for him.
“I’ve been to four different camps this summer and this is my favorite,” he said. “They teach us really good stuff.”
Luna (class of 2012) has been kicking for Stonewall Jackson High School in Vicksburg, Va., for the last three years. He began kicking and punting as an eighth-grader.
Last year, Luna was a second-team All-State punter in one poll and first team All-State punter in another despite breaking a collarbone during the season.
Luna said the Prokicker.com staff helped him improve immediately on his placekicking.
“My plant foot was a little behind,” he said. “They changed that and it made a big difference.”
Big enough to win the Big Red Tee, which meant a lot to Luna.
“Everybody wanted it,” he said.
Luna said he attempted a field goal from 60 yards out and it barely missed, going under the goalpost. In high school games, his longest field goal has been 45 yards, he said.
The competition in camp was something Luna liked about the experience.
“I was so excited (to win),” he said. “We were supposed to do a competition in the Penn State camp but a thunderstorm came up just as we were starting so we didn’t get to do it. This kind of made up for it.”
Luna is also a star soccer player at Stonewall. He was first-team All-Shenandoah District last spring.
