Golf has taught Andrean senior PJ Cusick that he can’t let a few bad swings ruin his day.
For Cusick, confidence is the key.
“You can have a bad warmup on the range before a match but still go out there and shoot under par,” he said. “It’s just believing in yourself that when the time comes, all of the things that I’m about to do are things I’ve done before — and I’ve done it well.”
That self-belief will be important when Cusick, one of the kickers selected for the 59th annual Murat Shrine North/South Football All-Star Classic, takes his biggest swing later this year. Long after golf season has ended, Cusick will try to earn a roster spot on the Purdue football team as a walk-on.
“I know I have the skills for it,” he said. “It’s not in a cocky way or anything like that. But I firmly believe in myself with all of the training that I’ve had. I just have to go down there, perform to the best of my ability, and I think I’ll have a good shot at it.”
Cusick’s next chance to kick in a game will be the North/South Football All-Star Classic at Decatur Central in Indianapolis on July 11. Recent selections from Andrean include linebacker Charlie Koeppen in 2023, running back Ryan Walsh in 2021, kicker JJ Wadas in 2020 and quarterback Zack Merrill in 2019.
Cusick recalled the moment when he learned from Andrean football coach Chris Skinner that he had been picked for the North roster.
“I was walking into the school when I got the text from coach Skinner that I’d made the team, and I was ecstatic for it,” Cusick said. “I’m really pumped to play in that game because there have been some big names that went to Andrean and played in those all-star games, so I look forward to being on that stage.”
Cusick said golf has helped prepare him for kicking on big stages. He’s one of the top returning players for the Andrean boys golf team this season.
“With golf, every shot isn’t perfect, and you get a lot of mental strength from that,” he said. “That’s something I can carry over to kicking because you’re getting minimal reps, so you have to make them count.”
Cusick handled the kicking duties for the 59ers last season. He converted 28 of 30 extra-point attempts and 7 of 14 field-goal attempts with a long of 38 yards. He also had 35 touchbacks on 58 kickoffs and averaged 34.3 yards per punt.
Cusick focused on kicking full time after having conversations with Skinner following his freshman season. Since then, Skinner has watched Cusick constantly work to improve his skills.
“It really comes down to his competitive nature as an individual,” Skinner said. “There’s never an end to golf. You can always get better. Kicking is the same way too. There’s no point where you should stop wanting to make progress, and that speaks to what he’s trying to do, to see how far he can take this.”
Cusick said he’s still kicking multiple times each week during golf season. For several years, he has been working with Chris Nendick, a Naperville, Illinois, native who kicked at Northern Illinois and then started training kickers. Nendick’s clients have included Jake Elliott, who kicked four field goals for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in February.
Nendick said Cusick has a chance to prolong his career.
“He’s matured, he’s gotten stronger and he’s decided to put in the work,” Nendick said. “You can have kids who kick a ball really far as a freshman or sophomore, but the kids who were working harder who weren’t, those are the kids that will ultimately propel forward toward the tail end of their high school careers. PJ’s on track for all of that at this point.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
