Nationally recognized Kohl's Kicking Camps have UW-Whitewater as its home base

The UW-Whitewater football team doesn’t open its 2011 preseason practice until August 13th but over the weekend over 400 kickers, punters, and long-snappers from around the country descended on the Whitewater campus.

The athletes were attending the three-day Kohl’s National Elite Kicking Camp.

Known as one of the premier kicking camps in the country, UW-Whitewater and Perkins Stadium has served as the home base since its inception back in 1996.

Former UW-Whitewater student-athletes, Jeff Schebler, Nick Croak and Kevin Garvoille excelled on the field and now are teaching their respective skills as part of the Kohl Kicking Camps.

Jeff Schebler (2006-09) ended his college career as the all-time kick scoring leader for all divisions of the NCAA. The Davenport, Iowa native finished his career with 470 points, surpassing the NCAA record of 433, set by Art Carmody at the University of Louisville in 2004-07.

Schebler earned All-American honors in each of his four seasons at UW-Whitewater. He is the first UWW football player to accomplish the feat.

Schebler, who is currently employed as a Credit Analyst First Citizens State Bank, continues to serve as a camp counselor and mentor for Kohl’s Kicking Camps.

Nick Croak (2004-07) was the Warhawks’ punter when Schebler arrived at Whitewater in 2006. Croak also made quite a name for himself as a Warhawk. The one-time Kohl’s Camper was a three-time All-WIAC punter and owns the conference career punting record by nearly 3000 yards.

Nick’s attention to detail and expert coaching makes him one of the best young coaches in the nation. Croak is employed by Kohl’s Kicking Camp as a Team Leader.

Kevin Garvoille has coached at Kohl's for 7 years and has led multiple Kohl's snapping events around the country. The former UW-Whitewater “long-snapper” is Kohl's Lead Snapping Coach and continues to train multiple BCS level snappers each year. Kevin is considered one of the most highly respected snapping coaches in the United States.

UW-Whitewater’s special teams play, highlighted by its kicking and punting, is a major reason why UW-Whitewater has captured the WIAC title for the past six seasons, advanced to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for six straight years, and captured the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2007, 2009 and 2010.