By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg High’s Liam Henderson Among Best Football Kickers In Florida
Leesburg High’s Liam Henderson is not just a good kicker; he is a great kicker. While some high schools struggle to find kickers who can come through in clutch situations, Leesburg has no such issue. Henderson is possibly one of the best kickers in Central Florida.
His secret lies in his incredible accuracy and cannon of a leg. Henderson may just be a junior, but he kicks like an NCAA Division 1 veteran. He consistently hits field goals from 40 and 50 yards out. Having witnessed some amazing kicks from him last year and earlier this spring, it is clear that this kid is one of the top kickers in high school football.
We can expect Liam to be a weapon for us on both sides of the ball. Anytime we get inside the 30 yard line we should have a good opportunity to come away with points.” says head coach Frank Scott “Liam is one of the hardest working players we have. He has shown up all summer and worked extremely hard to get bigger and stronger. Liam brings that same work ethic to the classroom where he is a model student and leader around the Leesburg campus,” says coach Frank Scott.
Liam is ranked as a 4.5-star kicker. He is ranked 39th in the USA and has only played two years of high school football up until this point. His junior year will be very intriguing to watch as he stands at 6’3” and 180 lbs. I have also seen Liam drive the ball through the back of the endzone consistently, so he’s already there in terms of power and not allowing the opposing team to return many kickoffs.
What people may not know is that Henderson has a 4.71 weighted GPA. He’s a smart individual who’s not just a football player but also plays on the varsity soccer team. “Coming off summer workouts and practices I am hoping to see an increase in accuracy and range on kickoff’s and field goals. Off the field I try and be a leader for those around me needing guidance. The Leesburg football program is a big part of the community of Leesburg and as an upperclassmen I try to lead the younger guys to maintain a high standard on and off the field to reflect the lessons taught by our coaches,” says Liam.
If Liam Henderson continues the hard work, he’s the kind of athlete who could absolutely kick at the NCAA Division 1 level. Henderson is also a good punter. If he wasn’t on coaches’ radars last year, 2024 is going to open a lot of doors for this young man.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
