OzPunt Interviews Josh Armstrong, an Australian High School student in America heading off to College

Josh for those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, age, height, right or left footer?
From Horsham Victoria, 18 years old and about 6 foot 1, Right Footer

How did you get into punting?
I was just kicking a footy around at school one day and the coach saw me and asked to do a couple punts, which were good so it went from there.

How has life been studying and playing football at High School?
It wasn’t much of a change cause I played footy at home, the only difference is I went from practice 2 days a week to every night of the week.

Did your coach want you to play or try you at other positions?
We didn’t have many players so I had to fill in on the offensive line, which wasn’t too great me being 180 pounds and there linemen being 280-300 pounds, but mostly I just punted.

What was your biggest punt through the season?
My longest was against our rival Wentworth Military Academy and it was a booming 72 yarder.

What was your biggest hang time recorded?
We never timed my punts so I am not sure exactly what my hang time was.

Was your goal to make it onto a college team?
At the start it wasn’t really a goal but after a couple of games I was starting to stand out and then pursued a college scholarship.

What has been the biggest challenge during your year in America?
The biggest challenge was getting use to the rules of the game.

What has been the highlight?
The highlight was my first game because the whole school had heard that I could kick a ball and they were all waiting to see it, and I came through with my first punt being about 55 yards.

When last we spoke you sounded like you had picked up an American accent, do any of your friends from home pick on you for that?
Haha, yeah it didn’t take them long to notice it, and they never let me forget that im now “An American”.

So Josh, which University did you sign onto?
I signed with South West Oklahoma State they are a Division 2 school.

One last question, what advice would you gives to a young guy in high school wanting to make a college team?
Go for it, cause not many kids are brought up kicking a ball over here so being brought up doing it gives you a much better advantage than other US kids.