The greatest gestures in life are the ones that catch you completely off guard, and for the most part, it’s only with hindsight when we can truly appreciate the moments that changed everything.
Each player has his introduction story, but not many can recall it as vividly as Michael Bobak, who was nothing more than a curious kid just looking for somebody to hang out with. His curiosity soon led him to a boy named Peter and a house full of football equipment, which marked the beginning of a long journey that still continues to this day.
“The summer when I was seven years old a new family moved onto my street and I soon became good friends with the youngest child. As the summer went on I realized my new friend’s brother played football and had all different types of equipment from footballs to shoulder pads to helmets.”
As an impressionable youngster, Bobak was intrigued by the foreign equipment and often wondered what it may be used for, until one day he finally gained the courage to ask. His seven year old brain didn’t expect what was coming next, but to his shock, Peter embraced his question with open arms and spilled all the knowledge he had about the game.
“The moment I realized I wanted to play football was when Peter took his helmet off the desk, looked at me, then put the helmet on my head and said ‘this looks perfect on you’.”
“When he said those words, I knew I wanted to play football.”
Flash forward a decade full of meticulous training and counting steps, now Bobak is considered one of the top 40 kicking prospects across the United States, and his stock is only going to rise with every attempt he gets at Mercyhurst Prep in Pennsylvania this season. He’s spent his entire life preparing for moments like this, but all the prep work in the world wasn’t able to prepare him for that initial jolt of adrenaline he got when he teed up a ball for the first time south of the border for The Kiski School.
“I can still remember the game like it was yesterday. It was a cold Autumn night. It was gameday and kick off was at 8pm. It was only 30 minutes till kick off. All my body’s senses were going off like crazy. My heart rate was through the roof, I could feel my blood flowing, all my senses were heightened.”
That’s what you call anxiety, which can be a kicker’s worst enemy – but not for Bobak. Despite all the alarm bells going off inside his head, he proved to himself and everybody watching that he belonged on the field that night.
“When I stepped onto the field I felt a feeling that I’ve never had before. It was a rush of pure adrenaline mixed with my own fear. I got in my stance and was ready to kick off to start the game. The feeling of my first kick off going for a touchback is a memory I’ll never forget.”
That cool demeanor in the face of fear is what makes any good kicker into a great one, and this trait hasn’t fallen on deaf ears across various scouting camps around the country. The offers haven’t come yet, but Bobak has left his mark by winning kicking competitions at Penn State, Ball State, Bowling Green, and UAB, plus he’s also made appearances at camps for Old Dominion, UNLV and SMU. He says that as the weeks go by the recruiting process only continues to intensify with more coaches getting in contact, but at the end of the day the only part he can control is what happens between the hash marks.
Bobak trains tirelessly on the smallest of details to ensure he is a cut above the rest, and when you do that, you gain a certain type of self-confidence that can ice the pressure in any big situation.
“I would have to say what gives me an edge over the thousands of other high school students in the United States is my training, mentality, and the ability to travel and compete. I use my training to my fullest every day. If I’m not out on the football field physically kicking, I’ll be at home or wherever practicing my steps for field goals, my drops for punting or even my hurdles for kickoffs. My mentality is if I don’t get better through training myself, who will do it for me?”
The answer of course is nobody, and that mentality is the reason why Bobak now finds himself on the sidelines alongside CFC100s Jesse Luketa and Michael Allain at Mercyhurst Prep. The team can be considered a powerhouse in the Division 10 3A scene, and it’s Bobak’s plan to leave his mark on the record book before he heads off to a top ten business school where he can earn a degree. That’ll be nice to have in his back pocket for the future, but if you haven’t realized yet, Bobak isn’t a guy who likes to settle for mediocrity, so there’s only three letters on his mind when he talks about his goals after college.
“I would love to work in the field of government regulations with businesses after my career in the NFL.” he casually states.
“On the other hand, my football plans are quite simple. I plan to go as far as football can take me and I know I could get pretty far. After college, I am going to go and try out for the NFL and have a very successful career there.”
You read it here first, and it may sound cocky, but Bobak isn’t the first guy to call his shot then make it a reality. This self assurance comes from the years of training with coaches like Jeff Mandelker and Jamie Kohl who’ve given him the tools to succeed, but more importantly it’s been his parents that have set him on the right path. Bobak says that the life experiences his parents have provided him are the ultimate blessing, and without them the story above would’ve never have come to fruition.
“The most influential people in my life and football are the same two people. My parents have been here with me every step of the way and are really the ones who allow me to perform at 100% of what I can. Without my parents, I wouldn’t be doing any of the things I am today. They’ve helped me get into a great US high school, they’ve taken me to multitudes of US camps, let me compete at showcase ranking camps. I will always be thankful for all they’ve done for me.”
Michael Bobak (#6)
Kicker
5’11”, 200lbs
Teams: Jr. Argos, Brampton Bulldogs, MIFA Indoor , Sefa Bears, Spalding Cup, Robert F. Hall Wolf Pack , International Bowl/Team Ontario, Guelph Jr. Gryphons, The Kiski School, Mercyhurst Prep
Official visits: none
Unofficial visits: Rice University, Bowling Green, Indiana University, Western Kentucky, Ball State, Penn State, Dickenson, White Water Wisconsin, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Old Dominion, UNLV, SMU
Considerations: open
Class: 2018
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