By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
As a recent graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Trey Gronotte of Crestview Hills will be reporting to Fort Sill in Oklahoma later this month to begin training as an Army field artillery officer.
A few days before he begins active duty, Gronotte will conduct a summer camp for place kickers on Saturday, July 19 at Covington Catholic High School, where he scored 95 points with his leg for the Colonels 2019 undefeated Class 5A state championship team.
Gronotte was recruited by West Point and converted all 54 of his point-after kicks during his senior season last fall to set an Army team record.
Now he wants to share his expertise with younger athletes.
The 22-year-old second lieutenant had six place-kicking training sessions during the month of June. The camp on July 19 that’s open to all ages will complete his inaugural Gronotte Kicking Academy summer schedule.
“The past six lessons have really been rewarding,” he said. “These young kids want to learn and come in with such a happy mindset. Watching them increase their range through an hour and just the joy on their faces is really what makes me excited to do this.”
During the first six sessions, Gronotte said he worked with 9-year-old beginners as well as kickers on high school and college teams. He even had a couple of high school soccer players who are interested in applying their skills in football.
Many of them have signed up for the $200 camp on July 19 that’s limited to 20 participants. Each of the campers will receive a videotape of their training sessions with Gronotte, who will point out what they need to work on.
“If I can get these kids to be better kickers than I ever was, that’s my goal,” he said.
Gronotte said a neighborhood friend, Shane Popham, helped him develop his place-kicking skills when he was younger. Popham was a record-setting kicker at CovCath who continued his football career at Wake Forest University.
“I went and watched Shane a couple times when he played at Wake Forest,” Gronotte said. “The summer before my freshman year (at CovCath), Shane encouraged me to try kicking, so we went to Thomas More (football field) and that’s how I learned.”
Popham now lives in Connecticut and came to several Army football home games at West Point last season when Gronotte became the team’s place kicker.
In addition to converting all 54 of his point-after attempts, Gronotte kicked 10 field goals, including a 39-yarder in the Army-Navy game. He also had 16 touchbacks on kickoffs in the last 11 games for the Black Knights, who won the American Athletic Conference championship and the Independence Bowl to finish with a 12-2 record.
“Once I got to college, just sharpening my skills and learning from special teams coaches and other kickers on our team, I was blessed enough to start this past year on a good Army team,” Gronotte said. “It was a fun season and now with what I have done my resume is out there and hopefully people trust that I know what I’m talking about.”
One of the kickers Gronotte worked with during his sessions in June was Popham’s 10-year-old nephew, Gregor, who lives in Northern Kentucky. He’s a bit younger than the teen-agers who are considered the target audience for the camp on July 19.
“Most kickers on high school teams are stranded, trying to teach themselves by watching YouTube videos,” Gronotte said. “One thing that high school kickers are going for is some individual teaching by somebody who knows about it and has done it before. That’s something I’m trying to help with.”
The deadline to register for Gronotte’s camp is July 10. To reserve a spot, send a text to 859-240-9469.