Date	Journal Entry
Week 2 New Orleans	After a great game against Miami, we were faced with a tremendous challenge in trying to follow up with a good performance against the Saints. One of the areas we need to improve this season is being able re-focus after a win so we can give ourselves a chance to perform well enough to win on Sunday. Heading into the game against the Saints, we felt like we had a great opportunity if we could play like we did against the Dolphins. After starting the game a little slow, we played well enough to have a 10-7 lead at halftime. Unfortunately, we had a few mistakes that were hard to overcome in the 2nd half. Although it was a frustrating loss, we realize that we have the potential to be competitive in this league as long as we take care of the things we control. In order to be successful in this league, you have to be consistent in everything you do. As of today, the Kick Club has raised a total of $28,500 and feel we are going to be able to reach our goal by the end of the season. Not only did we make a great start by scoring points, but we also had our first donation to the Kick Club via the Texans Children’s Hospital’s website. A very special thank you to a good friend Jeff Beaton for his donation. Amy and I appreciate your support very much! Make sure you spread the word about our program by telling family and friends about our website. We need all the support we can get that will enable us to reach our goal!
Week 1 Miami	After two weeks in the NFL, it is apparent that parity is alive and kicking. Any team can win on any given day, regardless of what the “experts” think. Our game against the Dolphins was a great example of life in the league. Our preparation during the week determines how well we play on Sunday and it was evident against Miami. We had a great week of practice and it showed, as the entire team contributed in the win. It was especially gratifying being able to kick 5 field-goals with the last one the game winner. Not only was it nice to win the game, but a great start for the Kick Club. We were able to raise $22,500 towards reaching our goal of $100,000! People always ask me what it feels like to kick a game winning kick and my answer is always vague. I love being able to walk out onto the field and change the outcome of the game with one kick. I enjoy the moment and react to what is happening.
Sept 3	Well, the regular season is finally here! As you can see with the lack of journal entries, training camp/pre-season gets to be a little hectic and I have neglected to get my journals onto the site. Fortunately, the regular season schedule is a lot more condusive to addressing off the field responsibilities. In essence, my journal will begin to fill out every week! Our first game is definitely going to be a challenge. The Miami Dolphins are a very good football team, especially at home. Not only do we have to play very well, but we have to be able to overcome playing in the Miami heat. With all of the rain we have had lately, practicing outside has been impossible. Fortunately, we practiced exclusively outside during training camp and the weather here is not the coolest during July and August. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about the start of the season. There is an excitement in the air about the start of football season, for both college and the NFL. Although this is my fifth year playing in the NFL, kickoff weekend gets more exciting every year. The past two seasons the first game has been played on Thursday night and only gives the weekend more excitement. The beauty of the kickoff weekend is that every team starts 0-0 and has hopes of playing well enough to make it o the post-season, and eventually to the Super Bowl. How well are we going to do this year? I am not going to make any predictions on our record, but we will be a better football team this year. That is part of the reason for the excitement about this season, knowing we have the talent and ability to be a better football team. We just have to take it one week at a time and to a great job of preparing for our opponents, taking that preparation to the field on Sundays. We are also excited about having points I score go to the Kick Club. It will be fun to see how much we can raise for Texans Children's Hospital, hopefully reaching our goal of $100,000. Visit our website weekly to see how much progress we are making! Until next week... Kris
July 29	Well training camp has definitely gotten underway. We have had a total of 6 practices and my legs sure are feeling it. The conditioning test on Friday was a challenge, but I was able to get through it. All of the guys ran it very well, an indication of the type of players we have on this football team. I really feel like we are going to be a much improved team from last year, and some of last year's lessons will give us the experience we need. Later this week we will head to San Antonio to practice and scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys. It will be nice to get away from camp and have some new scenery. I am sure the guys are ready to hit someone in a different color jersey, as practicing against the same guys every day can get a little monotonous. Overall, our schedule, hotel, food, etc. have made this camp as enjoyable as possible. The football part of camp is definitely a challenge, but can become more of a challenge if the food, rooming, etc. are not good. Until next week.... Kris
July 18	This is my first of weekly journal entries and I cannot believe the football season is just around the corner! It seems like just yesterday we were cleaning out our lockers and headed home for the off-season. My how time flies! I am excited about this upcoming season, in part because of our program, but also because I think we are going to be a better football team this year. Training Camp starts next Friday and by next week I will be ready to get started. Since high school, I have always looked forward to the start of the football season. There is an excitement in the air that is almost electric, although that excitement will wear off about the third day of two-a-day practices. We will run a conditioning test on Friday afternoon and have our first practice Saturday morning. While all of the other guys are hitting, tackling, and blocking, I am by myself working on drills and fundamentals that will help me be consistent every time I step on the field. It becomes difficult during two-a-day's to determine at what point I have gotten enough work in. Kicking a football is very much like a pitcher throwing a baseball. Sometimes during camp, the worst thing you can do is over kick to the point where you can injure yourself. I try to get my leg and mental preparation conditioned to endure a 16 game season without sustaining any major injuries that will prevent me from being on the practice field. Once we get going, training camp tends to move pretty quickly. Before you know it, we are in the first week of the regular season. That is when the real excitement begins. There is nothing like NFL football on Sunday and I have one of the best seats in the house! I hope you enjoy our website and find it easy to use with a lot of helpful information explaining our program. I will be writing a journal about the previous week as well as the upcoming week. Hopefully you can visit us throughout the season and see how much progress we are making in reaching our goal of raising $100,000 for Texas Children's Hospital. I know it is a lofty goal, but with your support can reach it. Until next week.... Kris