By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Los Angeles Rams kicker Joshua Karty surveyed the scene at his youth clinic Saturday and figured it had reached the appropriate level of enthusiasm.
He called it a case of “healthy chaos” at Western Alamance’s football field.
“I think it took them a while to warm up and get excited. By the end, I think they had a good time and were really excited,” said Karty, a Western alum who went through his first NFL season in 2024. “The line for the autographs was way longer than I thought. It went over (the scheduled time) by 20 or 30 minutes, so it was a good sign.”
The Karty Party, as it had been dubbed, was deemed a success with more than 200 pre-registered participants on a cloudy but comfortable afternoon.
There was even pressure on Karty during a session with the younger age group. He put on a show with booming kicks through the uprights.
“I woke up this morning kind of nervous,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m going to kick very well today because it’s peak offseason. I kicked the last two days, so I was probably a little bit sore.”
The distance for his kicks kept increasing at the encouragement of the youngsters, who weren’t exactly precise at marking off yardage.
“They kept moving it back,” Karty said. “They were like, ‘This is 67 yards’ and I’m like, ‘Not quite, that looks like 77.’ ”
Nonetheless, he knocked in a 63-yard kick, with the ball bouncing off the crossbar and through the uprights.
Karty said it wasn’t ideal kicking conditions, but he rarely missed a beat.
“It’s a little bit chilly,” he said. “The hotter it is, the more the ball flies.”
Western football staff, past players and current players helped oversee drills at various stations around the field. Karty said it was best for him to focus on kicking.
“I don’t really know how to run any of the other drills,” he said. “I could do them for elementary school kids. I’ll stick to my expertise.”
This was Karty’s first such clinic with his name attached. Western coach Jeff Snuffer said he liked how his former kicker embraced the situation and interacted with the youngsters.
“Kids were signing up left and right,” Snuffer said of the response. “It brings energy here and that’s what you like to see.”
For Karty, it was a chance to reconnect with classmates and families that he has known for years.
“It was a great opportunity for that,” he said. “The kids seemed to have a lot of fun. The parents had some good feedback.”
Following the first on-field session, Karty chatted with the youngsters as they lined up for autographs. One boy was so eager that he returned to the line with one of the posters that were handed out.
“It’s already signed,” Karty said in a light-hearted moment.
The Rams kicker also showed that he has stayed in tune with his alma mater. As he chatted with a family from a rival school, it was clear he knew the outcome of the 2024 game between Cummings and Western.
It was all part of a day of fun.
“Coach Snuffer has really done a great job putting this all together,” Karty said. “I came out and did some stuff behind the scenes, but he put together a really impressive day.”
There might even be a couple of kicking prospects from the group.
“There was one or two kids who were really good at kicking, so hope to see them in like 10 years,” Karty said.
After the NFL playoffs, Karty returned to Stanford for a couple of months to work toward a master’s degree at the university where he spent four seasons with the Cardinal football team.
This marked his second trip back to North Carolina this year. Like an earlier visit, he coupled it with time in Charlotte with kicking guru Dan Orner. He said he’ll likely return in the summer for another get-together with Orner before training camp with the Rams.
