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Western suburbs, IL —
Dan Conroy played soccer for seven years with youth clubs like the Wheaton Wings and Chicago Fire Juniors. Then in the seventh grade, Conroy and a few friends made the transition to the sport of football.
The Wheaton Rams youth football program needed a kicker, and Conroy volunteered for the position. He would go on to earn a second team all-state selection as a senior at Wheaton Warrenville South.
Now a junior at Michigan State, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors a year ago and was named as one of the 20 finalists for the Lou Groza Place-Kicker Award. He converted 14-of-15 field goal attempts and 45-of-46 extra points in 2010 and is currently 5-of-7 on field goals and 16-of-16 on extra points through three games this fall.
Did you play other positions besides kicker when you first got your start with football?
I played nose guard in seventh grade and actually freshman year, I was the offensive lineman of the year at center. Sophomore year I played linebacker and junior and senior years, I just stuck to kicking.
Did you go to camps to further your kicking craft?
Before high school, I believe in eighth grade, I started with Piero Setta, whose brother Nick was a great kicker at Notre Dame, and he played college ball as well. Every Sunday, my dad and I drove down (Interstate) 355 to meet up with him for an hour and a half. As I got older and more serious, my dad would take me to Jamie Kohl and John Kohl (Jamie’s father), who ran a series of camps around the country. I also went to the Ray Guy camps.
Is there a most memorable individual and team highlight from your high school career?
Individually, we were such big competitors with Naperville North, we had a three-overtime game against them my senior year. I had a 41-yarder in that game to put us up seven and I can remember running on the field in a pressure situation and loving it. It was pretty cool to beat those guys in triple-OT. Team-wise, I didn’t play a whole lot except in the state championship game against Mount Carmel (in 2006) but getting a state championship in high school was pretty cool.
What is your longest kick in a game and your longest in a practice?
I have made two from 50 yards in a game. One was three weeks ago against Florida Atlantic and the other was last year against Florida Atlantic. In practice, we’ve messed around and backed up a bit and gone from 60 or 65 yards.
Dan Conroy played soccer for seven years with youth clubs like the Wheaton Wings and Chicago Fire Juniors. Then in the seventh grade, Conroy and a few friends made the transition to the sport of football.
The Wheaton Rams youth football program needed a kicker, and Conroy volunteered for the position. He would go on to earn a second team all-state selection as a senior at Wheaton Warrenville South.
Now a junior at Michigan State, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors a year ago and was named as one of the 20 finalists for the Lou Groza Place-Kicker Award. He converted 14-of-15 field goal attempts and 45-of-46 extra points in 2010 and is currently 5-of-7 on field goals and 16-of-16 on extra points through three games this fall.
Did you play other positions besides kicker when you first got your start with football?
I played nose guard in seventh grade and actually freshman year, I was the offensive lineman of the year at center. Sophomore year I played linebacker and junior and senior years, I just stuck to kicking.
Did you go to camps to further your kicking craft?
Before high school, I believe in eighth grade, I started with Piero Setta, whose brother Nick was a great kicker at Notre Dame, and he played college ball as well. Every Sunday, my dad and I drove down (Interstate) 355 to meet up with him for an hour and a half. As I got older and more serious, my dad would take me to Jamie Kohl and John Kohl (Jamie’s father), who ran a series of camps around the country. I also went to the Ray Guy camps.
Is there a most memorable individual and team highlight from your high school career?
Individually, we were such big competitors with Naperville North, we had a three-overtime game against them my senior year. I had a 41-yarder in that game to put us up seven and I can remember running on the field in a pressure situation and loving it. It was pretty cool to beat those guys in triple-OT. Team-wise, I didn’t play a whole lot except in the state championship game against Mount Carmel (in 2006) but getting a state championship in high school was pretty cool.
What is your longest kick in a game and your longest in a practice?
I have made two from 50 yards in a game. One was three weeks ago against Florida Atlantic and the other was last year against Florida Atlantic. In practice, we’ve messed around and backed up a bit and gone from 60 or 65 yards.
What is the most important mechanic in kicking?
The most essential is the ball-foot contact. A lot of kickers have different styles approaching the ball but it comes down to how your foot makes contact with the ball. That determines the trajectory and distance and height.
Is kicking more mental or physical?
I would say it is 60-40 mental. I think there are a good amount of people who can wind up at the ball and hit it 40 or 50 yards. But to do that time and time again in a pressure situation with the game on the line, that is where the 60-percent mental comes in. Don’t get me wrong, we workout a lot and do the same weight room training other positions do. But to do it year after year and get motivated for each game, I think the biggest part is mental.
What is a typical practice like for you?
A lot of self-imposed drill work and organization on your part. You can’t kick all day and our practice is two, two and a half hours. At the start, we stretch and warm-up and then start hitting some field goals. Coach has the field goal period at the beginning of practice when we are loose. Typically after that, I’m walking on the sidelines or lifting weights or doing drill work until later in practice when we do the kickoff period.
What is your college highlight so far?
Probably the biggest kick that I never made, the “Little Giants” play against Notre Dame (fake field-goal play to beat Notre Dame in overtime last year). I also had a strong performance against Illinois. Other than that, nothing really stands out; it is kind of going out and doing the same thing every time.
How special was last season and the success both you and your team had?
It was a very humbling moment. To have a great year and also be a part of a Big Ten championship, that was pretty cool.
What do you think about this year’s team as the Big Ten portion of the schedule approaches?
We do have a great team. We have so much leadership and talent and then you try to combine those two into good chemistry for the team. We’ve been doing that since winter conditioning to spring practices to fall camp. It is cool from a kicker’s perspective, being on the sidelines more, to see it all come together on the field.
What is your thought process as you come onto the field for a kick?
Like I said, with the mental part, when I go out there, I try to make myself as confident as possible. I tell myself it doesn’t matter what the wind is doing or what the guy in the third row is saying. I can only control what I can control. Then I focus on a few keys, I look for the holder’s signal and also the snap coming right from the center. When I see the ball coming, it is almost like I forget everything and just go. There are numerous kicks I don’t remember because it has become second nature. It is almost like I blackout, it happens so fast and the repetition and muscle memory just takes over.
What has been the toughest stadium to kick in?
I would say two weeks ago (Sept. 17) against Notre Dame. That was one of the toughest for me personally to play but I relied on my instincts and training. Especially in a rivalry game, there is a lot of pressure because each point seems to be worth more. Also playing in The Big House (at Michigan) was kind of intimidating. It was surreal.
