Mike Farley's Kickers Camp is a series of high school football kicking and punting camps around Wisconsin run by, well, Mike Farley. If that name sounds familiar, it's most likely because you knew his father, Mike Farley Sr., an American Football Hall of Fame head coach from UW-River Falls. Back in 1971, to help get more high school recruits to the UWRF campus, Coach Farley "invented" the specialty sports camp... a kickers camp, that grew in popularity throughout the 1970's and 80's. 

 Mike Farley Jr. joked it looks like he took over his dad's business, just 35 years too late.

"When my dad brought in pros like Jan Stenered (Chiefs) and Fred Cox (Vikings), I don't think he realized how many other kicking gurus around the country would pick up on what he started,” Farley Jr. said.

Today when you Google "Kicker Camp" you'll see a whole list of kicker camps around the country, but only one Mike Farley Kickers Camp here in Cheeseland, where it all began. 

Specialty sports camps for kids are big business today, and it wasn't until last Spring 2022 when Farley Jr. was invited to the WFCA (Wisconsin Football Coaches Association) Clinic to speak on kicking that he got the impetus to revive his father's idea. Instead of bringing kids to one town to kick, Farley Jr. takes his show-on-the road in half-day camps set on high school turf fields across the state of Wisconsin. This 2023 summer, Farley Jr. has expanded his camp offerings to seven locations: Appleton, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Rhinelander, River Falls, Sparta and West Bend, to reach more high schoolers and help their teams win games and become the best kicker they can.

"There's a lot of interest, and I want to give kids the tools to really improve their kicking and punting skills. Few coaches know the drills and techniques, so I help them earn their coach's trust,” Farley Jr. said.

Farley's camps are for the kickers and punters, but he want the coaches and parents to learn from these camps as well.

Farley's camps typically reserve 20 spots per camp for a more personalized approach to instruction. Parents are encouraged to watch and listen in. His methodology is an upbeat mix of "the how and what to do" to kick further and more accurately, but Farley's sense of realism grounds players to focus on the process of simply getting better at a very specialized skill.

"There are a number of camps that really stress getting scholarships," said Farley. "It's not a good plan... it gets kids focused on an outcome that's unlikely to happen, instead of the process itself. The best thing they can do is to earn their coach's trust to actually get kicks in a game, and that's exactly what I try to teach." 

From his days of playing football at River Falls High School to playing as an all-conference performer for his dad's championship Falcon teams at UWRF, Farley Jr. is helping kids around the state become better kickers, punters and for that matter better individuals. He's really developing a program that is focused on the process and the individual and is having fun doing it. 

On July 16 Mike Farley's Kickers Camp is hosting a unique inaugural event for anyone 15 years and older, called the Midwest Kicking & Punting Championship. To more closely mimic the conditions and pressure a specialist faces on game day, this kicking and punting competition will be held "under-the-lights" on Ramer Field beginning at 6:30 p.m. The MKPC is open to the public with free admission to David Smith Stadium; fans will love the easy-to-follow format of the competition. With two divisions, one for high schoolers and one for college/free agents, there will be plenty of opportunities for each participant to get exposure and have fun.   

"Think you've still got it at 40, but your coach never put you in for the game winning kick? Here's your big chance,” Farley Jr. said.

For more information, visit kickerscamp.com.

Submitted by Mike Farley’s Kickers Camp