CHAMINADE KICKER MAKES IT LOOK EASY.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer WEST HILLS - Ben McEnroe likes to think of himself as an attentive, hands-on coach. But when it comes to kicker Kicker A right, warrant, or some other feature added to a debt instrument to make it more desirable to potential investors. Notes: The ability to trade a bond or other debt instrument in for stock may entice investors, if they feel the stock will appreciate. Ryan Jackson Ryan Jackson (born April 4, 1987) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. Jackson began his football career at the Greensborough Junior Football Club, before playing under-18s football with the Northern Knights, where he was club captain in 2005. , McEnroe does his best not to get in the way. ``He's got kicking down to a science,'' said the second-year Chaminade football coach. ``It's like a golf swing. There's so many little things that go into it. So I just try and stay out of the way and let him do his thing.'' McEnroe's hands-off philosophy seems to be a good one. As a sophomore last season, Jackson hit 33 extra points and 11 field goals, including four in one game against Lancaster and put about 70 percent of his kickoffs into the end zone. This summer, he's improved even more, increasing his range by 10 yards on kickoffs and 7-8 yards on field goals (from a range of 47-48 yards to 52-53). He was named the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. at prestigious kicking camps at Arizona State and UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and has received recruiting letters from over 40 colleges. That's not to say though, that Jackson just walks up to the ball and kicks it. He's been training with former UCLA and Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks standout Chris Sailer Sail´er n. 1. A sailor. 2. A ship or other vessel; - with qualifying words descriptive of speed or manner of sailing; as, a heavy sailer; a fast sailer s>. since the eighth grade. This summer he did agility and strength training with Chaminade assistant coach Matt Kerstetter to improve his flexibility and power. And over the past two seasons on varsity, has developed a Tony Gwynn-like routine of watching videotape videotape Magnetic tape used to record visual images and sound, or the recording itself. There are two types of videotape recorders, the transverse (or quad) and the helical. to detect flaws in his kicking to improve his technique. He works with Chaminade assistant Ed Garcia on all phases of kicking. Garcia times each part of Jackson's approach and the two constantly work to shave shave (shav) 1. to cut at or parallel to the surface of the skin. 2. to remove the beard or other body hair by such a process. 3. to cut thin slices from or to cut into thin slices. time off of it. Special teams coach Reggie Smith Victor Lara, who has been Jackson's holder since the ninth grade, said the intricacies of kicking amaze him. ``He's got this whole thing he has to go through when he kicks,'' Lara said. ``I watch him to make sure he keeps his head down and he's lined up right. It's very complicated.'' But in action, it looks effortless ef·fort·less adj. Calling for, requiring, or showing little or no effort. See Synonyms at easy. ef  fort·less·ly adv. . ``I guess it's kind of like pitching in baseball,'' Jackson said. ``I always watch the movie 'For Love of the Game' with Kevin Costner. And how he has to 'clear the mechanism' right before he pitches. That's kind of what I do in the game. ``I pick a target, like a house or a tree, way back behind the goal posts and just focus on that. It's a sort of soft focus.'' Three steps back, two steps to the side, line up square to the ball, then two taps with his right toe - his ``clear the mechanism'' move - and kick. It all sounds and looks pretty simple, even in the most pressure-packed situations. But Sailer, who has become somewhat of a kicking guru after retiring from his professional career, said Jackson only makes it look that way because of the amount of work he's put into it. ``I see over 400 kickers kickers See bells and whistles. nationwide every year and Ryan is definitely one of the top kickers out there,'' Sailer said. ``He's got the whole package: very good leg strength, he's a good student who picks up on what we're telling him very quickly, and he thrives in pressure situations. ``In high school football, to have a weapon like that, if all other things are equal in the game, it can definitely put you over the top.'' McEnroe certainly appreciates that. ``He's just got such a variety of kicks that he can do for us,'' McEnroe said. ``He can kick it long, short, fast, or high. Seems like he's got about 10 different types of kicks.'' One kick in particular that Jackson has worked at this summer is a one- step field goal attempt. Chaminade's blocking on field goal attempts last season could be shaky at times and three of Jackson's field goals and three extra points were blocked. He's also been working to improve his hang time on kickoffs, a statistic college recruiters weigh heavily. Jackson has improved his hang time almost a second, up to 4.0 seconds since last season. This work Jackson said, is the most fulfilling because it has the most impact on the team. ``If I can get it 10 yards deep in the end zone, the other team is more likely to start from the 20-yard line, and statistics show that they're far less likely to score when they start from the 20, than if they start outside it,'' Jackson said. ``I like that because it's something I can do to really help the team.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: JACKSON Box: Daily News TOP 10 KICKERS -Matthew Kredell |
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