hey everyone,

just signing in to let you know how im going and what college in memphis is like.

I’l start of by saying i had a bit of a culture shock when i first arrived, the weather was around 35 degrees celsius with very high humidity. it made it tough for the first couple of weeks as i was losing so much fluid. once i got on top of that it made life a bit easier. only a little bit though because training is so intense. our first ever session was one to remember, an hour and a half of straight burpees, squats, push ups, jumping jacks and split jumps. we werent allowed to stop at all, i counted into the double figures of guys who spewed….it was funny but gross that they werent allowed to stop either, just picture guys doing the exercises throwing up…other than that one session the workouts have been semi sane, very professional and intense. We workout constantly at the moment, 4 times a week we lift and 4 times a week we run…so once you put that with class and studying it doesnt leave much energy for anything else….supposedly this is the holiday as well….once camp starts it gets heaps harder….instead of a 545am start to around 5pm finish its going to be a 445 am start with a 7-8pm finish….(keeping in mind that the temperature rises to around 40-45 degrees celsius each day) im going to knackered

On the kicking side of things we aren’t allowed to be with any coaches so its a matter of getting out there and doing it yourself. i kicked ok for the first couple of sessions and had a really good session with the kicker from the patriots (graduated from memphis and is on break at the moment) so i was happy with that. My legs are tired though from all the workouts so there has been the occasional session i’ve tried to forget.

i’ve done a little bit of traveling and sight seeing, mostly with the starting kicker Paulo, he has family in Arkansas that he ‘s invited me back too a couple of times to have dinner and spend the weekend with. which was good because i got to see a different state and get to know a really good family. the other day i also got to go down Beale st which is the blues capital of the world….they were having a festival on called country on Beale were theres heaps of music food and drinks. it was a good time had. other than that i have been eating out with mates at some good restaurants and pretty much just relaxing having a good time enjoying college life. Its started off exceeding all expectations so hopefully it can continue.

talk soon, Tom

Hi all. Sorry have not talked for so long. Been crazy times. So you all know by now that i have signed with the Green Bay Packers. My workout went ok. I didn’t feel that i kicked as well as i know i can, but they saw enough to please them. Since signing it was straight to work the next day. Trying to work out all the exercises is interesting. Firstly they call them workouts, we would call it a weights session. The weights are mainly the same as back home they call things a little different.
Had a couple of kicking sessions with coach Slocum. First one went well, hit the roof alot. We are doing some of the same drills we were doing at the soccer centre. Nathan not a bad coach after all. (just ask him) The second kicking session was on one of their outdoors fields. (its actually heated). The Green Bay wind really got me that day. Didn’t kick well at all. Although my last kick was a 5.07. Good way to finish. Everything is going really awesome. Loving being around the guys, Coach Chapman told me not to expect anyone to speak to me but they have been pretty good. Even Arron Rodgers has been good. Its amazing to be here and be in this world, this crazy world which is the NFL.
Hope all you guys are training hard back home. Cause all the hard work is worth it.
Take it easy
Chris

Just a short note to show you a link to comments made by the Heac Coach Macarthy about Chris.

http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/includes/blog/index.php?action=blog&blog_id=20&post_id=1584

It will be a quiet week in GB as the speacial teams coach is away, but it will be a good chance for chris to get settled into his off season program and fire up for when the coach gets back.

Temperatures should start getting warmer too,  i bet he is glad for that.

Well, what a week for Chris and Lauren, They spent a week in LA and on the sunday flew to Green Bay for his first official workout.

Always good to make short work of it, Chris was signed by lunchtime on the Monday after going thru a medical and kicking for the coaches on the Monday morning. It was a whirlwind day and Chris found himself very tired by the end of it.

What happens next, well he signed on Monday and he starts training Tueday morning at 7am so there was not much time to wollow in the excitement.

We will keep you posted on what Chris and Lauren are doing and what happens during training for the coming weeks as it is quiet this tme of year and not all players are at the club yet so they do whats called IPW (individual player Workouts) and they work on getting their body in shape for the pre season camps in May and June. This will be the first time Chris has to perform under the pressure of supporters and the Media.

As to the Media online stating chrisn was mediocre at camp etc, well after some research we understand the comment to not be about chris at all and the reporter was confused about another Australian who had performed at a group workout last year hence the statement about other special teams coaches seeing him. Chris to this day had only had one private workout in front of any coach and that was the day he signed at the Packers so it was unfortunate that he was labled with a tag of being Mediocre,    I am sure they will eat their words by camp time and Chris can prove to a number of people he is definately where he belongs.

We will keep you posted and hopefully add some pics for you to see how he is going,  well done chris.

Before getting a cab to UCLA I decided to make Nathan proud and put on my full uniform. My excitement was building as we approached the front of the school.

After getting out of the cab I had to ask for directions on how to find the field as the place is massive. I am definitely getting an idea of the way Americans do things. Really, really BIG. Be it food, schools, nightlife, supermarkets etc.

Once I found the field I put my boots on and felt really good to be on the real deal. A marked out field with proper width, although the length was only 80 yards.

I had 50 or 60 kicks. There was a slight breeze and the temp was approx 20 degrees. I did some directional kicking into the corners, some drop punts from half way down the field and then finished on some big bombs.

My legs felt great and I’m really looking forward to kicking again tomorrow with ESPN and being interviewed by Jason Bennett before heading off to my workouts.

Chris, Lauren, CJ and Terry have finally landed in LA after a cruisy little flight from Melbourne.

Staying in Beverly Hills for a few days, chris will try to get over his jet lag and find his feet before heading off to his scheduled workouts with NFL teams.

Before that we have lined him up with a few practice sessions at UCLA University,  and Lauren will have a few days to stroll around hollywood blvd.

We will keep you posted on his trip to UCLA and hopefully put up some pictures and then about what happens on his trip.

We wish them all the best.

Rick and Ray at prokicker send us a little didi for xmass.

Thanks guys for your support and friendship.

Visit this link for our card.

http://animoto.com/play/gyIhK3qU8mwNocPzu641ZQ?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email

Take a look at our photo page of the open day, we had a dozen young men turn up to try the punting for the first time.

There were a number of good solid punters there with plenty of potential,  they now just need to turn that into training and hard work to make it to the College level.

check the photo page on the dashboard.

Both Punters Peter Fardon and Jordan Berry will be staying in the US over the xmass break and seeing how they celebrate at this time of year.

Jordan will be heading down to a friends place for a while and pete is looking for some snow somewhwere (doesnt need to leave buffalo  really)

So far Team Jordan has put on a little weight and is hitting the books and the gym pretty hard and will look to get his Masters Degree in the next 4 yrs, so study study study, oh and yes Jordo will have a cracker of a year next yr as the starting punter. Whatever you do Jordo, stay away from BBQ ribs and Taco bell you animal.

Thomas Duyndum has now had his HC position filled at Portland.

After finishing the season a few weeks ago, Thomas has put his head into the books and will be looking forward to a short break back in Australia.

When he returns back home he will be looking forward to catching up with his family and UBER COOL mates again. Then its back to study and start preparing his body for the 2010 season. A new coach, a new program brings renewed excitement from a number of players and staff as they look to improve on last seasons results.