Putting his best foot forward

Not only can Mike Beckman kick field goals, but he's also skilled at producing successful onside kicks. On this play he (No. 32) recovered his own short boot during a playoff win over Chicago Senn.
(News-Sun file)

Lakes High kicker sets county record for field goals in season

November 9, 2009BY DAVE MASTERSON dmasterson@scn1.com

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Every time the Lakes Eagles went to war on the gridiron this season, they had a weapon in their arsenal no other area team possessed.

Junior Mike Beckman, who shattered a single-season Lake County record by kicking 13 field goals this year, gave coach Luke Mertens and his charges a leg up on the competition with his ability to put the ball through the uprights.

The previous record for Lake County was seven by Lake Zurich's Kevin Johnson, set in 2007.

Truth be told, neither Beckman nor Mertens was aware that the record had been broken.

Beckman, who also plays tight end and kicks off, smiled broadly when he heard the news. Only four prep players in Illinois history have kicked more field goals than Beckman in any one season.

"He's been a huge advantage for us," Mertens acknowledged prior to Saturday's second-round Class 5A playoff loss to Woodstock. Beckman kicked his final field goal of the team's 6-5 season in that contest, a 27-yarder.

"He takes a lot of stress off of us as an offense, knowing we have someone like him to get us points. I use the 30-yard line as a mark to start thinking about putting him in the game."

Mertens admits that the luxury of having Beckman made risky play-calling less likely.

"If it's third-and-six at the 20, for example, we might not be as aggressive, knowing he can come in for a field goal."

Mertens has great confidence in summoning what the Eagles call "The Money Team" to put three on the board.

"I can't praise the other two guys (long-snapper John Pfeiffer and holder Jack Schneider ) enough," said Beckman. "I don't even give it a thought if the snap is going to be there. I can count on it every single time."

Beckman made everyone look good with his remarkably smooth consistency this season, missing just twice, once from 42 yards out in horrible weather conditions against Antioch.

Fact of the matter is, Beckman established the record during a season that has been plagued by consistently rainy, mucky weather, which is always tough on those who boot.

"But weather shouldn't matter," he said. "You should make it every time. That's kind of why I'm out there."

Beckman's longest made field goal this year was from 39 yards out, and he feels he should be perfect from 40 yards or closer. He's 5 for 5 from 35-39 yards away.

In ideal conditions, Beckman can really put foot to ball.

Last summer at a national kicking showcase at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, he beat out 300 competitors to win the field- goal contest, his winning kick coming from 55 yards out.

"Of course," said the low-key, but engaging Beckman, downplaying the achievement, "I had no pads on and there was no one rushing. And the weather was warm and sunny."

What the self-taught kicker didn't emphasize was that this it his very first showcase event.

Beckman says that he learned how to kick, primarily, from his nine years of playing youth soccer, and began refining his field-goal technique on his own once he was promoted to the sophomore football team his freshman year.

The fact that Beckman has been his own kicking teacher to this point is not all that surprising to those who know him well.

"This is a great kid who is off the charts intellectually," said Mertens. "He has a 4.6 grade-point average and is like third in his class. He's really driven, no matter what he does. He's charismatic and modest at the right times."

"My leg is not all that strong," said Beckman, mirroring his coach's last statement. "Knowing how to kick the ball ... technique ... is more important than actual strength."

He said he does special exercises during the off-season, but not during the grid campaign.

And this coming summer, he'll learn under the private tutelage of St. Rita High kicking guru J.J. Standring, who enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career at Northwestern. It's the same instructor used by former Lakes player David Tomis, now kicking for Saint Xavier University in Chicago.

In addition to private lessons, Beckman plans on attending as many showcase events as possible during the off-season in order to get his name out there for college recruiters.

Right now, Texas A&M and North Carolina State are among the schools showing early interest in him, according to Mertens.

In a best-case scenario, he'd go "far away" to college.

"Like the West Coast," said Beckman, smiling.

Where the weather is kicker-friendly.

THE BECKMAN FILE

2009 STATISTICS

• Field goals attempted -- 15

• Field goals made -- 13

• Field goals 20-35 yards -- 8

• Field goals 35+ yards -- 5

• Longest field goal -- 39 yards

IHSA FIELD-GOAL RECORDS