Making kicks will mean more for Justin Willis this season.
The junior Willis High punter/kicker is raising money for “Count the Kicks,” a stillbirth prevention campaign associated with the nonprofit organization, “Healthy Birth Day, Inc.” The campaign raises awareness to expecting parents about the importance of tracking their baby’s movements.
According to the charity’s website, “Count the Kicks” has saved babies in 40 states and four counties.
For Willis, the cause is personal. His aunt had a stillborn child, a tragedy Willis said hit his family hard.
“I was looking for things I could help out and do,” said Willis, 16. “Texas 6A high school football is a big platform, and I found this. I felt like it was a calling. Being able to help and contribute and to spread knowledge and resources about this, why wouldn’t you help?”
Willis has set a goal of 65 points this season. Every kick made for the Wildkats will go toward raising money.
“I guess you could say there’s a little added pressure, but at the end of the day, kicking is all just mental anyway,” Willis said. “You’ve just got to trust you’re good enough. I know I am, and I know I can show up when it matters.”
Donors can choose a flat-out amount to contribute or $1 per kick. Willis publicly announced his cause late Wednesday night. As of late Thursday afternoon, he had raised $205.
The campaign first crossed Willis’ mind a few months ago when he was working out with Will Safris in Orlando. Safris, a senior from Iowa’s Johnston High and a University of Missouri commit, is rated as a 5-star punter. Willis is ranked as a 4.5-star.
Safris also had a family member affected by a stillbirth and recommended to Willis that he join the cause.
“It moved me,” Willis said. “I have every right to help as much as anyone else, so I should be helping other people.”
Willis High head football coach Trent Miller said his kicker’s initiative is admirable.
The second-year Wildkats coach understands what it’s like to lose a child. Miller and his wife, Lindsay, lost their 2-year-old daughter Sadie to a tragic accident in 2017.
“Something like that is near and dear to me, obviously with what my family’s gone through,” Miller said of Willis’ cause. “Anytime an athlete has an opportunity to do something like that or give back like that, it speaks volumes for who they are as a person.
“For a 16-year-old kid to want to take on something like that and run with it, he’s beyond his years. With that mindset, he’ll do special things in life in whatever he chooses to do.”
On the field, Willis is gifted. He stands 6-feet, 180 pounds. He has an in-game field goal range of 50 yards. He averages 46 yards per punt with a hang time of 4.6 seconds.
“The kid’s got an unbelievable leg, man,” Miller said. “Great kid. Real quiet. He puts the work in. He’s been training with kicking coaches at every camp in the country this summer. We’re really excited about him.”
Willis is ranked No. 10 and No. 13, respectively, by the top two kicking organizations, Chris Sailer Kicking, which is based in the western part of the country, and Kohl’s Kicking, which is based in the south and east.
His family moved to Montgomery County from Nebraska prior to his freshman year. Willis was at The Woodlands the last two years.
Willis was on the varsity for the Highlanders last year but missed most of the season with a torn groin. He transferred to Willis High in the spring, wrapping up his sophomore year, and said he is fully healthy with the start of fall practices beginning Monday.
“I think we have a chance to go to state and win it all,” said Willis, who wants to kick for a Power 5 or Group 5 college football program. “(Quarterback) D.J. Lagway … crazy. Both sides of the ball, we have so many weapons. I have a feeling we’re going to go all the way.”
To assist in Willis’ cause: https://charity.pledgeit.org/f/E6clpXtY1L.
