Football is still a kick for Albini

Now that Kyle Albini’s days of double-duty imitating Paul Hourning are finished – similar to the Hall-of-Famer, he played running back and handled the kicking duties for San Pasqual High – the tough part begins.

How does an aggressive running back give up his days carrying to the ball to stand on the sidelines until it’s time to enter as a kicker? Albini isn’t sure, but he’ll find out soon.

“It’s going to be horrible standing around and watching,” Albini said. “I haven’t played a game without playing running back.”

He plans to continue his kicking career Palomar College, but first he will play for the North in the 17th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic, California's oldest continuous all-star football game. The North vs. South all-star game for graduated seniors sponsored by the Chargers is at 7:30 p.m. on July 13 at Mesa College.

Yes, Albini's reputation as an aggressive running back is well known. At the All-Valley League voting last fall, a Valley Center coach said if Albini wasn't playing offense or defense, he imagined having to lock Albini in a cage until it was time to kick.

But Albini, an All-Valley League first-team pick and All-CIF second-team choice as a kicker, also is level-headed. He knows that to continue in college playing a sport he loves, the kicking game is his best opportunity.

“Sometimes it was pretty difficult marching down the field on a drive and then having to kick after we scored,” Albini said. “You went from lining up with all that adrenaline pumping to having to do something that takes finesse. But I didn’t think about it too much. I considered both running back and kicker my positions.”

Albini received letters from four-year schools about making the team as a walk-on candidate, but he opted to play for Palomar first. Colleges rarely offer scholarships to kickers out of high school.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to show (four-year school) coaches what I can do,” Albini said.

He credits his soccer background for his kicking ability, which is common for high school football players. But usually they’re recruited off the soccer field; Albini's story is different.

He was "discovered" on the sidelines of a game. In the second quarter of the 2004 season opener at Mt. Carmel, Albini was a sophomore backup running back on the varsity. San Pasqual’s kicker had booted two kickoffs out of bounds when head coach Mike Dolan – the long-time Eagles coach that retired after the 2006 season – turned desperate.

“He asked if anybody knew how to kick,” Albini said. “I raised my hand. I figured, ‘What the heck? I had a big leg in soccer.”

Albini had never practiced kicking a football before that night, but at that point all that mattered was getting the ball downfield in play. Dolan soon had Albini working in practice as the Eagles’ new kicker. He eventually began handling place-kicking and punting duties.

“I picked it up pretty quickly, and the other kicker didn’t mind letting me do the kicking,” Albini said.

Before his junior year, Albini began working with Brad Bohn, a former Utah State and NFL kicker based in Laguna Beach. He learned fundamentals and stretching routines. That was when he began to understand a college future was realistic if workedo on his kicking game.

“I realized I wasn’t big enough for fast enough to keep playing running back at the next level,” Alibini said. “I started thinking that being a kicker is a nice gig. In the long run, learning to be a kicker will be a lot better for me.”

The long run at San Pasqual included helping keep Mike Dolan around at least a couple more years before he decided to retire.

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.