Kickin it with NCS Associate Anthony Cantele of Cantele Kicking

 NCS: Tell us about your kicking business.

Cantele Kicking, LLC is a kicking, punting, and long snapping business based out of Wichita, Ks that provides individual lessons, group instruction, and camps for specialists of all ages. Our coaching staff consists of athletes who have competed at both the Division 1 and NFL levels. We put a great deal of emphasis on providing our athletes with high quality individual attention, while creating a fun and safe learning environment.

NCS: Why did you join the National Camp Series and why do you feel it is valuable?

I joined the NCS for two main reasons. The first is that I wanted to give my athletes a better opportunity to become visible to college coaches. The second is that I feel the NCS has the most objective rating system for exposing players to colleges.

NCS: What are your thoughts on the KIX System? What is your feeling about objective rankings versus subjective rankings?

I always had a problem with how high school specialists were ranked by the big name kicking camps. First of all, they were all forced to pay a great deal of money to attend these camps, only to kick a few balls. Along with this, such a large number of kids participate that it is nearly impossible to give any kid a fair ranking. The KIX System is the best know way to create objectivity for these rankings.

NCS: What was your high school kicking experience like?

Overall I would say that my high school experience in football was a good one. Despite soccer being my number 1 sport throughout high school (and thru my first year of college), I still greatly enjoyed the atmosphere on Friday nights. As a four year starting kicking, I was fortunate enough to play on some very good teams and more importantly, create life long friendships.

NCS: What was your college kicking experience like?

My college experience was nothing short of spectacular. I was able to play for a legendary coach in Bill Snyder as we completed the “greatest turnaround in college football history” when we reached the schools 1^st ever #1 ranking in the BCS poll in 2o12. If you do not know the story, Kansas State was literally the worst team in the country when coach Snyder took over. I was fortunate enough to play for him and finish my senior year off by winning the schools 2^nd Big 12 Championship and tying the school record for most wins.

NCS: Did you pursue kicking at the Pro Level? If so, how was that experience?

I did pursue kicking at the next level and had a very different experience than I did in college. As the #3 ranked kicker in the 2013 NFL draft, I was invited to camps with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. The following year, I was also invited to camp with the New York Jets. I learned very quickly that it is much more difficult to make it at this level. Despite this, I cannot complain about my experience because I was able to do what so many can only dream of, even if I never played in a regular season game.

NCS: When and why did you become a kicking coach?

I became a kicking coach because I wanted to give kids in my area a chance to have something that I never had. Growing up, there were not many options in Kansas to learn the proper fundamentals. When I came back to Wichita, I developed an overwhelming desire to share the knowledge that I had learned in college and in the NFL with aspiring specialists.

NCS: What is the most rewarding aspect of being a kicking coach?

Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of being a kicking coach is seeing the excitement on an athletes face after everything begins to click for him. It also adds to the reward when they express their appreciation for my help.

NCS: What is the most frustrating aspect of being a kicking coach?

The most frustrating aspect of being a kicking coach is seeing kids give up very easily. Living in an “I want it now” generation, they often do not have the desire to continue to try if they are not adding 20 yards to their kick by the 3^rd session. As hard as I try to help them see improvement each session, many times they have to go backwards a bit before they go forwards and they do not want to stick it out.

NCS: If there is one thing that you could tell aspiring kickers, punters and long snappers out there, what would it be?

This is a tough one because there is “one thing” that I would tell specialists who are just beginning their journey, specialists who are very young, specialists who are pursuing football at the college or professional level, and specialists who are at many other stages of their careers. However, the best advice that I give to my athletes, whether they are 8 years old and just beginning to kick or closing in on their senior year of college, is to find out what works best for you. What I mean by this is that they can always learn vital components of the kicking game that everyone must apply in order to improve, but at the same time everyone is different and what works for you might not work for someone else (and vice versa). The more time you spend figuring out what is the best way for you to do something, the more it will pay off.