Taylor Tidaback, Answering The Call To Kick

When I asked Taylor Tidaback what the one piece of advice the first time senior kicker for Villa Rica High School would give to younger kickers just starting out, there was an immediate response.

*Photo by Greg Smith

“It’s normal to be nervous” the senior kicker says to me.  Fair enough, as a former kicker myself, I’d say that being nervous is definitely part of the kicker’s world.

However, she was probably more nervous before nailing three extra points, and a pair of field goals (34 and 39 yards) in her first ever varsity game last Friday night.

Yes, I said ‘she’ because Taylor Tidaback is female.

There were four bullet points in the initial email to me from her father explaining Taylor’s age, her coach’s request and a long time soccer career.

The fourth and most surprising bullet point in that email simply read, “Taylor is my daughter.”

However, this is not a story of a girl trying to make a name for herself as a female in a male dominated sport. This is a story of a varsity football coach in need of a kicker who asked a girl (with a lifelong competitive soccer background) to kick for his program.

At the time we met for a crash course kicking lesson, Taylor ended up kicking a 35 yard field goal (the longest I had asked her to attempt that day).

In fact, she made most every kick inside that range that I threw her way.

I told her father at the time that I thought she had more than 35 yards, and she certainly did in her debut Friday night.

When I spoke with Taylor this week after her first varsity game, she sounded exactly like the confident kicker any high school coach would want to send into a game for a three point attempt.

She’s a kicker who admits that she was initially nervous, yet growing more confident and excited about each new opportunity to kick in a live situation.

Was she worried about the snap or the hold? “Not at all” she said.

She’s confident in her snapper and holder, focused only on her role in the process, the way it should be.

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to worry about kickoffs and the number of potentially dangerous scenarios a long return might bring any kicker’s way.

She will stick with kicking for points, a much safer option physically speaking. Her parents agree it appears.

She’s off to a great start and who knows? If the 39 yard field goal she kicked in her very first game is any indication, I think she should be able to achieve her goal of breaking the Georgia state record for a female kicker (which is 43 yards in case you are curious).

I’m excited to keep up with Taylor’s progress this season and we wish her the best.  Who knows, by the end of the season the Georgia state long field goal record might just belong to….TAYLOR TIDABACK?  We hope so!