Samuel Harker '22 Recruiting Profile

The most memorable experience of my athletic career so far was when I was invited to attend the 2019 Kicking World National Showcase. The Kicking World National Showcase is a two-day event in Austin, Texas, in early December. I earned my invitation in July at a Seattle camp where I finished as one of the top specialists in all four grade levels. Only four people out of around forty campers from Seattle were invited to go to Austin. As a sophomore, I was the youngest one invited, as the other three were seniors. The Kicking World National Showcase is a very exclusive and prestigious event where only roughly 110 students out of 1,300 campers are invited (8%). I was one of only 16 sophomores that attended the camp and finished second in my class for the field goal competition. I also finished 2nd overall (all 4 grades) in punting on the first day. It was an incredible experience to attend that camp because I could see the seniors next to me with the incredible talent that I wanted to match. 

By far, the biggest influencer in my life is my family. My parents have taught me from a young age to be kind to everyone but more importantly to respect everyone. This has helped me in my athletic career because I respect all of my teammates and coaches. Because I respect them, they respect me. This mutual respect is fantastic for a specialist like myself because I trust that they will do their jobs and score, and they trust that I will do my job and kick the extra point through. But at the same time, they know I have their backs when they don't score and need me to kick a field goal or punt the ball away.