No little feat: Town native boots odds, illness
Jack Karlis
TOWN OF TONAWANDA — The story is eerily similar to many others who have followed the same route.
A kid is a soccer star — but at the urging of his peers, he takes a shot at kicking duties on a football team. The kid’s leg strength gets noticed by area colleges, and soon the player’s kicking prowess gets him noticed by the pros.
Nick Little wishes his story was as easy as the route most professional kickers take.
The St. Lawrence University senior and Kenmore West grad played soccer his whole life and three years of high school soccer (one on varsity and two on JV). Little even knocked in an eye-popping 15 goals during his second year of JV ball. It was his team’s lack of success during his junior year that had Little thinking about dropping the shin guards and donning the shoulder pads.
“I only had one goal in my junior year,” Little said. “We had good talent and we wasted it all.”
So with just one season to pick up another sport, Little walked on to coach Rich Harris’ Kenmore West football squad in the summer of 2001.
“The day he put the foot on the ball — it was unbelievable the power he could generate,” Harris said.
“My stats at kicking weren’t too hot,” Little admitted. “I only had made one field goal.”
Little’s talent, however, landed him a job as an all-league punter and a spot in the annual Lions Club games in front of a host of colleges coaches.
“He really dedicated himself. He came in all winter long and kicked in the gym in the nets. He came in 6:30 a.m. every morning of the winter of his junior year,” Harris said. “Then we took him out to stadium and have him practice kicking out at stadium. He hit the coffin corner kicks.”
Little decided to ply his kicking trade at St. Lawrence, a liberal arts school in Canton. The decision couldn’t have worked out better for Little, since the football team didn’t have a kicker entering his freshman year in 2002.
His start was inauspicious.
“When people ask me what’s harder — football or soccer, I definitely say football. I didn’t get hit too often in high school,” Little said. “My first punt in college I got blocked in scrimmage. The second one, I got run over.”
But Little made the most of his chance, dropping from 215 pounds of baby fat on his 5-foot, 10-inch frame to a sculpted 195 in his first season by doing an inordinate number of squats and bench presses.
“They joke around the weight room that I’m built like a linebacker,” Little said.
Little’s improved strength has scouts turning their heads after his performance with the Saints. In his junior season and his most successful fall to date, he was named All-Liberty League placekicker, a First Team All-East Region (Regional All-American) for Don Hasen’s Football Gazette, a three-time Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Week while having 30 percent of his kicks go back for touchbacks, a 34.1 yards-per-punt average and nailed 4-of-6 field goal attempts from over 40 yards.
But his breakout campaign almost never got off as Little had to fight the toughest battle of his life to date before his junior year.
That April, Little became seriously ill. Lymph nodes in his neck were inflamed and doctors were concerned that Little had contracted Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a type of cancer that develops in the lymph system, part of the body's immune system. Because lymph tissue is found throughout the body, Hodgkin's lymphoma can begin in almost any part of the body and spread to almost any tissue or organ in the body.
“People that hadn’t seen me in a while called and said they were concerned,” Little said. “I had two (lymph nodes) removed from my neck at Sister’s (Hospital) and the doctor said, ‘Don’t worry about football ... you might not play again.’ I was scared.”
“His neck was swelling up real bad. An infection was causing them to swell up,” said Scott Little, Nick’s father. “It was quite a scare because he was at school. The neck doctor basically told us he had cancer. Thank God it wasn’t.”
Luckily for Little, it wasn’t Hodgkin’s. Little, who is checked regularly for the disease, hit the weights and track in a effort to regain his strength after surgery. He spent time with Sam Watts, a renowned kicking guru in the area, and other collegiate kickers in the area and when training camp rolled around, he felt healthy. In season, Tuesday through Thursday, he spend one hour exclusively on just kicking with technique and drills.
“It’s all technique, I’d say. It’s not just kicking a ball. It’s the right timing and right footwork,” Little said. “It’s a big impact getting ready for college. High school (kicking) is off the block and college is off the ground.”
In June, Little traveled with Watts to the 4th Down Sports Pro Training Camps at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. to train with other collegiate athletes get ready for the pros.
“It’s all D-1 kickers. They put on a great camp and they might take over NFL Europe tryouts,” Little said.
All of his work has paid off as Little has garnered interest from the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. Little has belted a 70-yard field goal in practice with wind at his back and no rush and a 57-yarder with a rush in practice. His longest kick in a game came as a sophomore when his 48-yarder split the uprights.
His 48-yarder is a bit ironic since his hero’s 47-yard attempt veered off its course and kept Buffalo from capturing its first Super Bowl title.
“I’ve liked (Scott) Norwood always. He’s always remembered for that kick, but he was a great kicker. I can’t imagine the difficulty. It was do or die,” Little said of Norwood’s “Wide Right” in Super Bowl XXV.
Even if Little doesn’t make the Super Bowl or NFL, he said he would be happy to kick anywhere.
“If I made it that far, it’s be great career. It all depends on how I finish my senior season,” Little said. “I’ve always liked to kick field goals. I’d kick in Albuquerque or back in Buffalo ... anywhere.”
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Reader Comments
Mike W (7/19/2005)
You truely are amazing. A hero to us all. BUT..its crazy how a 165 lb kid (me)can shut such a "powerful and sculpted" kid (you) down in water-basketball. Get back in the weight room.
Greg Franklin (7/18/2005)
The story hardly mentions the young man's illness - that may be more interesting than Scott Norwide. Not than the Snews would know a great story.
Ernie (7/18/2005)
Leave it to the idiots of the Tonawanda's to downplay a story like this. It takes 11 people to make a football play work, but only one to bring himself from near-death to realize his dream you morons!!! Great story Jack.
TOWN OF TONAWANDA — The story is eerily similar to many others who have followed the same route.
A kid is a soccer star — but at the urging of his peers, he takes a shot at kicking duties on a football team. The kid’s leg strength gets noticed by area colleges, and soon the player’s kicking prowess gets him noticed by the pros.
Nick Little wishes his story was as easy as the route most professional kickers take.
The St. Lawrence University senior and Kenmore West grad played soccer his whole life and three years of high school soccer (one on varsity and two on JV). Little even knocked in an eye-popping 15 goals during his second year of JV ball. It was his team’s lack of success during his junior year that had Little thinking about dropping the shin guards and donning the shoulder pads.
“I only had one goal in my junior year,” Little said. “We had good talent and we wasted it all.”
So with just one season to pick up another sport, Little walked on to coach Rich Harris’ Kenmore West football squad in the summer of 2001.
“The day he put the foot on the ball — it was unbelievable the power he could generate,” Harris said.
“My stats at kicking weren’t too hot,” Little admitted. “I only had made one field goal.”
Little’s talent, however, landed him a job as an all-league punter and a spot in the annual Lions Club games in front of a host of colleges coaches.
“He really dedicated himself. He came in all winter long and kicked in the gym in the nets. He came in 6:30 a.m. every morning of the winter of his junior year,” Harris said. “Then we took him out to stadium and have him practice kicking out at stadium. He hit the coffin corner kicks.”
Little decided to ply his kicking trade at St. Lawrence, a liberal arts school in Canton. The decision couldn’t have worked out better for Little, since the football team didn’t have a kicker entering his freshman year in 2002.
His start was inauspicious.
“When people ask me what’s harder — football or soccer, I definitely say football. I didn’t get hit too often in high school,” Little said. “My first punt in college I got blocked in scrimmage. The second one, I got run over.”
But Little made the most of his chance, dropping from 215 pounds of baby fat on his 5-foot, 10-inch frame to a sculpted 195 in his first season by doing an inordinate number of squats and bench presses.
“They joke around the weight room that I’m built like a linebacker,” Little said.
Little’s improved strength has scouts turning their heads after his performance with the Saints. In his junior season and his most successful fall to date, he was named All-Liberty League placekicker, a First Team All-East Region (Regional All-American) for Don Hasen’s Football Gazette, a three-time Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Week while having 30 percent of his kicks go back for touchbacks, a 34.1 yards-per-punt average and nailed 4-of-6 field goal attempts from over 40 yards.
But his breakout campaign almost never got off as Little had to fight the toughest battle of his life to date before his junior year.
That April, Little became seriously ill. Lymph nodes in his neck were inflamed and doctors were concerned that Little had contracted Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a type of cancer that develops in the lymph system, part of the body's immune system. Because lymph tissue is found throughout the body, Hodgkin's lymphoma can begin in almost any part of the body and spread to almost any tissue or organ in the body.
“People that hadn’t seen me in a while called and said they were concerned,” Little said. “I had two (lymph nodes) removed from my neck at Sister’s (Hospital) and the doctor said, ‘Don’t worry about football ... you might not play again.’ I was scared.”
“His neck was swelling up real bad. An infection was causing them to swell up,” said Scott Little, Nick’s father. “It was quite a scare because he was at school. The neck doctor basically told us he had cancer. Thank God it wasn’t.”
Luckily for Little, it wasn’t Hodgkin’s. Little, who is checked regularly for the disease, hit the weights and track in a effort to regain his strength after surgery. He spent time with Sam Watts, a renowned kicking guru in the area, and other collegiate kickers in the area and when training camp rolled around, he felt healthy. In season, Tuesday through Thursday, he spend one hour exclusively on just kicking with technique and drills.
“It’s all technique, I’d say. It’s not just kicking a ball. It’s the right timing and right footwork,” Little said. “It’s a big impact getting ready for college. High school (kicking) is off the block and college is off the ground.”
In June, Little traveled with Watts to the 4th Down Sports Pro Training Camps at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. to train with other collegiate athletes get ready for the pros.
“It’s all D-1 kickers. They put on a great camp and they might take over NFL Europe tryouts,” Little said.
All of his work has paid off as Little has garnered interest from the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. Little has belted a 70-yard field goal in practice with wind at his back and no rush and a 57-yarder with a rush in practice. His longest kick in a game came as a sophomore when his 48-yarder split the uprights.
His 48-yarder is a bit ironic since his hero’s 47-yard attempt veered off its course and kept Buffalo from capturing its first Super Bowl title.
“I’ve liked (Scott) Norwood always. He’s always remembered for that kick, but he was a great kicker. I can’t imagine the difficulty. It was do or die,” Little said of Norwood’s “Wide Right” in Super Bowl XXV.
Even if Little doesn’t make the Super Bowl or NFL, he said he would be happy to kick anywhere.
“If I made it that far, it’s be great career. It all depends on how I finish my senior season,” Little said. “I’ve always liked to kick field goals. I’d kick in Albuquerque or back in Buffalo ... anywhere.”
View Printable Story
Reader Comments
Mike W (7/19/2005)
You truely are amazing. A hero to us all. BUT..its crazy how a 165 lb kid (me)can shut such a "powerful and sculpted" kid (you) down in water-basketball. Get back in the weight room.
Greg Franklin (7/18/2005)
The story hardly mentions the young man's illness - that may be more interesting than Scott Norwide. Not than the Snews would know a great story.
Ernie (7/18/2005)
Leave it to the idiots of the Tonawanda's to downplay a story like this. It takes 11 people to make a football play work, but only one to bring himself from near-death to realize his dream you morons!!! Great story Jack.
posted by Scott Fish at 3:20 PM
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