Taylor Mehlhaff Kicking

Brock Skow - Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, IA

Today I did a private kicking and punting lesson with Brock Skow of Cedar Rapids, IA. Brock will be a senior punter and kicker for Kennedy high school next season. Brock has attended multiple TMKicking Events and wanted to also get some one on one work in.
Brock and I started our workout with field goals. My philosophy with kicking is that there is no “correct” way to kick. Each kicker has their own unique style. I did suggest that Brock make a slight change in his field goal approach. After cleaning of a few things mechanically, Brock began hitting a great ball. The problem was, it was consistently being pushed slightly at the right upright. I made a small adjustment in his starting position and he began to slowly straighten his ball out. We ended our field goal session with game situation kicks, and Brock finished with a solid session going 8 of 10 on mid-range field goals.
After field goals, Brock and I worked on kickoffs. Brock displayed the ability to drive the ball into the end zone with a wind at his back. Right now, he’s doing so with pure leg strength. I encouraged him to stay up and continue exploding up and through the ball. I think he has the ability to hit even bigger kickoffs if he is able to do this.
We finished our session with punting. Punting has always been Brock’s strong suit. Again, he does a great job and shows the ability to hit some huge punts. The goal, like all of us, is to continue to develop his consistency with it. Mechanically he does a pretty good job. We talked about making one slight adjustment in his drop. If Brock continues to work hard over the summer, he will be a real asset to his team this fall!

Aaron Jamieson - University of Central Missouri

Yesterday I had a private kicking lesson in St. Louis, Missouri with Aaron Jamieson. Aaron will be a senior kicker at the University of Central Missouri this fall. Aaron and I have been trying to get together for a while now. It just so happened that I was swinging through on my way to the Minnesota Spring Kicking Event.
After seeing two of Aaron’s warm up field goals, I could tell in a hurry that he had a big time leg. Aaron is a very good kicker. He has a ton of natural kicking ability, but he’s also gotten there because of his work ethic. He is a perfectionist and strives to hit a perfect ball on every single kick. On kickoffs, Aaron consistently hits a ball with more than 4 seconds of hang time. He still has a couple of things to work on mechanically that will help him continue to develop his consistency. I believe he now has a better understanding of his kicking style and what he needs to do to better himself.
I really enjoyed working with Aaron because he was eager to learn and was able to take my coaching and implement it on the next kicks. I expect him to have a great senior season. With continued hard work, you never know what can happen after that! Good Luck!

Anthony Chiapetta - Pittsburgh, PA

This weekend I did a private kicking lesson with Anthony Chiapetta of Pittsburgh, PA. Anthony began his kicking career at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio and is currently in the process of deciding what to do with his kicking career after transferring. Anthony and I met up and were fortunate enough to use the facilities that the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh share.
Anthony is a good kicker that works extremely hard at his craft. He has a great understanding of his kicking style and takes the training side of it very seriously. Because Anthony is recovering from an injury on his kicking leg, we weren’t able to kick 100%. Although he was not kicking full, I could still see his potential. Anthony is a fundamentally sound kicker, and that’s why he makes kicks. At times, I think it is a little easy for him. I showed him a couple things that I really believe will take his kicking to the next level. As he continues to challenge himself by fighting to get up and through ball a little more on field goals, he will see the ball consistently travel higher and further.
Anthony and I watched his film following our session. After visually seeing himself, I think he now has a good understanding of what he needs to do in order to become a great kicker. I hope Anthony overcomes his injury soon, because he can be a real asset for a college team in the fall!