OZPUNT NEWS

What a fantastic few months it has been for OzPunt and the extended OzPunt family.

E-mail Print

OzPunt will see 5 boys start their new College Football careers.  4 OzPunt Boys will be Punting and Kicking at new schools, and 1 will see them begin their College Football career as a Linebacker, yes that is right, a Linebacker.  4 of these schools will be having the experience of an OzPunt boy for the first time, and 1 will be continuing the tradition of having an OzPunt boy Punt for them.

No one has worked harder through the recruiting process then our WA boy.  Strongly supported by his family he has handled the ups and downs of recruiting and like all good long distance runners, has crossed the finish line.  Just the short flight from WA to America to go :) 

With still a number of good Punters and Kickers available for schools, and a number to be ready soon, I am sure we will see more Punters and Kickers join the College ranks in the near future.

The past few months has also uncovered a number of guys who have started their training towards a shot at the NFL.  Each session is seeing great improvement from the boys, and I am sure they will get an opportunity once they have fine tuned their skills.

The winter has been good to us, offering plenty of opportunities for training.  With camps available all around the country it is time to start thinking about when are you going to come along and take your first step towards your American adventure?

Finally I would like to congratulate all the boys who have either just left for the US or about to leave for the US shortly.  I would also like to pass on a special mention to those who have supported them through their training sessions and the recruiting process.

I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Cameron McGillivray

OzPunt Director

The Season so Far....

E-mail Print

Hi,

It has been a good season for the OzPunt boys in the US.  We have seen a number of boys start their first College season, and also some playing their last season.

Some great highlights so far have been that both Jay Karutz and Cayle Chapman were nominated for the Best Punter in the Nation at the College level in 2012. 

Jay Karutz, has been selected First Team All-Mid-American Conference for the 2012 college football season.  Cayle was also selected Second Team All-Western Athletic Conference (Coaches selection) for the 2012 college football season.

Matt Foster was also selected ?1st team all-conference due to his great Punting this season.  Matt’s team Sam Houston State is currently playing in the knockout competition which will determine who plays in the National Championship game.  Last year Matt’s team made the final, however they unfortunately lost, so Matt is super determined to win this year, as this is his last season of College Football.

The summer here in Australia has uncovered a great batch of new Punters and Kickers to follow in the steps of Jay, Cayle and Matt to name a few.  I look forward to seeing how they continue to improve over the coming months.

With still a lot of camps coming up over the next few months, it is a great time to come along and have a kick.  As we always say at OzPunt, it is never to late or too early to give it a go, and see whether this is something for you.

OzPunt - A Year in Review and Beyond

E-mail Print

Hello,

With one week until the start of a new NCAA Football season, I wanted to take a look back on last year’s guys and some of the rings the boys won.

Matt Foster had a great year, making a national final and also winning a conference ring with Sam Houston.  Matt is about to start his last year of College Football and I am sure Matt will want it to a big year, and sure to bring home another ring.

Chris Stockdale as a freshman was lucky enough for him and his team to win a Championship ring.

If you are new to American Football, winning championship rings is what it is all about.  What is even more exciting for the two boys above is that they had never kicked an American Football until they came to OzPunt.

There is a large number of OzPunt boys who will be playing their first game of the 2012 Season next week.  One of the bigger games will be played by Hamish Macinnes as his team Jacksonville State play Arkansas in Arkansas.  This will also be Hamish’s first game of American Football, and he will be playing in front of approximately 72,000 football fans, a sell out crowd for the Arkansas team.

Good luck to all the boys on the start of the season.

Kind regards,

Cameron McGillivray

OzPunt Director

Jonny Mullings & Iowa Hawkeyes

E-mail Print

Today we speak with OzPunt Punter Jonny Mullings who is about to run onto the big stage as the starting Putner for the IOWA Hawkeyes.

OzPunt: Jonny Mullings, what can we say, living your dreams in IOWA, it has been a long road with lots of ups and downs.  

Now there, is it your dream come true?

Yeah without doubt my dream has come true, and being back in Iowa makes it extra special. Going to high school here, and having watched the Hawkeyes play, to actually play for them is something I would have never expected and still hasn’t really sunk in. The recruiting journey was a long road, with a lot of ups and downs, but it feels great when you get what you have worked so hard for.

OzPunt: Have the guys on the team giving you a nickname yet?

There’s been a couple: Jonny Fosters, Aussie, but my favorite has to be ‘Slap shot’.

OzPunt: What was your first week like on the team, I see you get treated pretty well when on the football team?

The first week was pretty incredible, meeting all the players and coaching staff was a real thrill. We had all the introductions and had a day signing contracts and then got straight into camp. First day of camp was surreal, seeing all these superstar players for the first time who had recently won the orange bowl was something I’ll never forget. The first week was tough on the field, a lot of play systems to learn and adjustments to the way a college football team goes about its business on and off the field.

We get treated very well; we get everything we need, from food to clothing. I guess academics are pretty important to, so we get tutors whenever we need them, and contrary to popular belief they do not actually write our papers. The fan base in Iowa is huge, so support is always around, on and off the field, which is great when you’re a long way from home.

OzPunt: Does your team think you are Australian or English?

At first everyone thought I was Australian, but I’ve let people know that I’m English.

OzPunt: What is something that has made you say “Wow”?

Running out into Kinnick stadium is always incredible, we had a night game against Penn State, I remember just being blown away by the atmosphere. There is a big rivalry between us and Penn State and the fans were hyped up and made for an amazing evening. Running onto the field with your teammates in that kind of arena was one of those ‘Wow’ moments, it was made extra special when four F-16 jets flew over the stadium after the national anthem.

OzPunt: What is something that has made you say “Oh No”?

The biggest, ‘’Oh No’’ moment so far this year, was when our centre was knocked off his moped by a truck. Unbelievably a police car was right next to it, and caught it all on film. The clip is on YouTube (josh koeppel), and became national news. Amazingly Josh got straight up and was at practice the next day. 

OzPunt: Tell us about college life, do you get your own room?

College life is a great experience, but at times it is very hard to balance academics, Football and social activities. Throughout the week we have weight lifting at 6am, classes start at 8.30am, and run to around 1pm. We get lunch then head to the football complex for meetings at 2pm, practice for a few hours and have dinner together after practice at 7pm. It’s a long day, but enjoyable at the same time.

I’m living in a house with a few teammates; they are great guys and have helped me settle into Iowa City. One of them is a long snapper and the other is a wide receiver.

OzPunt: What about the food at College, can you eat whatever you want?  DO you get food as part of your scholarship?

We have diet plans; the strength and conditioning coaches try to monitor our diets as much as possible. You get food and given money for food as well, so we never go hungry. We also have unlimited supply of protein drinks and Gatorade so it makes putting on weight pretty easy. When we win, we get lobster and steak the day after the game, little things like that make all the hard work worthwhile.

OzPunt: When you play your first game, what positions do you see yourself playing?

When my first game comes around, I only see myself punting at this time.

OzPunt:  I had a young kid come to training and tell me that he wanted to play football so he can be the next Jonny Mullings and did I know him.  What would you say to this young guy and other future Jonny Mullings wannabes out there? 

The main advice I’d give is, just never give up. For me it was a long road to get where I am, lots of ups and downs, when it gets tough just sit back, refocus and go out and get the job done: Whether it be, sending out more film or fixing your technique. It’s also important to be sure that playing college football is something you really want to do, you have to be 100% focused and committed to making it, otherwise you won’t get there. 

 Big thanks to Cam and Ozpunt, without you guys I wouldn’t be living my dream.

Summer Update

E-mail Print

Hello,

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that OzPunt has recently updated our available camp dates.  This includes camps in the following places, Melbourne, Ballarat, Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane.

The link below will take you straight to the camp location and dates;

http://www.ozpunt.net/academy-information/training-camps

I would also like to let you know that OzPunt will be running another 2 day camp on February the 18th and 19th in Melbourne.

If you are unable to find a date which works for you, let us know when you can make it along as we may be able to organise a one on one lesson.

OzPunt has run a number of camps this summer, and it was great to see a lot of new faces at the camps.  It was even more exciting to see a number of Punters and Kickers who I believe have the raw ability to take their talents to the next level, be it NFL or College.

The majority of people who come to OzPunt camps want to know whether they have the ability to make a team in the US, by the end of the camps they have a very good idea of this.

Hats off to 7 new faces who have shown a heap of potential;

Punters: Bernard and Kelvin

Kickers: Will and Joel

Combo (Punts and Kicks): Pasi, Darcy and Nick

With a number of you registered for upcoming camps in the next few months, I look forward to adding some more people to the above list.

Speak soon,

Cameron McGillivray
OzPunt Director
www.ozpunt.com.au
Ph: 0438 522 144

Page 3 of 6