High school football games swing on fractions of a second and inches of distance. Everyone notices the five-star quarterback throwing deep balls or the shutdown corner intercepting passes in the flat. Fans cheer loudest for the running back breaking tackles down the sideline. But when the clock hits triple zeros in a tight playoff matchup, the entire season usually rests on the right foot of a teenager standing alone on the sideline.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has quietly built a reputation as a factory for elite specialists. While major programs drool over their offensive and defensive talent, their ability to recruit and develop high-level kickers remains unmatched. Enter junior Charles Szares. He isn't just another guy filling a jersey. He's the latest high school kicker to turn heads across Southern California with game-changing range, consistency, and ice in his veins. Building on this idea, you can find more in: Why Kimi Antonelli is Strolling to the 2026 Title Even When He Gets Lucky.
Football culture loves to ignore kickers until they miss. Then everyone becomes an expert on biomechanics and mental toughness. But if you spend enough time around elite high school programs like Notre Dame, you realize that finding and developing a reliable specialist takes deliberate work. It isn't an accident. It's a system.
The Special Teams Culture at Notre Dame High
Most high schools treat the kicker as an afterthought. Coaches spend ninety percent of practice on spread formations and blitz pickups, leaving the kicker to boot balls into a portable net by themselves for two hours. That approach destroys confidence. Observers at FOX Sports have shared their thoughts on this situation.
Notre Dame approaches things differently. Head coaches and special teams coordinators in programs of this caliber treat kickers like legitimate athletes rather than necessary evils. They put them under pressure during practice. They simulate late-game pressure scenarios with the entire team watching and screaming.
Charles Szares walked into an environment where excellence was already the standard. When you share a practice field with players bound for Division I powerhouses, complacency disappears fast. You either match the intensity or you get exposed. Szares didn't just match it. He thrived under the microscope.
What Makes Charles Szares Stand Out on Film
If you pull up the tape on Szares, you won't see a kid who just squeaks kicks over the crossbar with a ugly, wobbling trajectory. You see modern mechanics.
First, his ball flight is flat-out explosive. The rotation is tight, and the height he gets on field goals from beyond forty yards clears the line rush with room to spare. Blocked kicks usually happen because a kicker takes too long to get the ball airborne. Szares shortens his operation time without sacrificing power.
Second, his kickoff consistency completely changes the math for opposing coaches. Pushing kickoffs deep into the end zone for touchbacks forces high-powered offenses to drive eighty yards every single possession. That neutralizes explosive returners before they even touch the ball.
Let's look at the numbers that matter for modern specialists:
- Range: Consistent accuracy from fifty yards out during pregame warmups, translating to reliable in-game attempts inside forty-five yards.
- Hang time: Regularly pushing kickoffs past the goal line while maintaining over four seconds of hang time when targeting specific directional zones.
- Clutch factor: Converting high-pressure attempts when games hang in the balance.
The Mental Rigor of High School Field Goals
Physical talent gets you on the varsity roster. Mental toughness keeps you there.
Ask any former college kicker about the hardest part of the position, and they won't talk about leg strength. They will talk about the silence. You sit on a cold bench for three quarters, thinking about nothing, and then you trot onto the field while twenty thousand people scream your name. If you make it, you get a pat on the back. If you miss, you carry the loss home.
Junior year is where good players usually hit a wall of self-doubt. The varsity game moves faster. The hits hurt more. The media starts asking questions. Szares handles this transition by sticking to a strict routine. Every step matters. Every practice swing mirrors a game-winning kick.
High school sports are full of prodigies who burn out by junior year because the pressure gets too heavy. Szares plays with a quiet confidence that rubs off on the rest of the unit. The snap and hold have to be clean, but the kicker has to trust his own swing even when the protection breaks down.
Why Special Teams Recruiting Is Changing
College recruiters used to ignore kickers until signing day was right around the corner. They figured they could just slap a scholarship on any soccer player with a strong leg. That lazy strategy backfired repeatedly.
Today, programs evaluate specialists with the same obsessive detail they use for quarterbacks. Kohl's Kicking camps, Chris Sailer rankings, and national showcases have turned specialist evaluation into a science. Kickers need verified metrics, camp MVPs, and proven film against top-tier competition.
Playing in the Mission League gives Szares a massive advantage. You aren't kicking against small-school defenses that fold under pressure. You are playing against elite competition week in and week out. College scouts notice that. When a junior proves he can drill a game-winner in a hostile environment against a powerhouse opponent, his stock skyrockets overnight.
What Comes Next for the Notre Dame Standout
Charles Szares still has plenty of football left in his high school career. Junior year builds the foundation, but senior year is when college offers materialize into actual commitments.
The bar is high at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Past kickers have set a fierce standard, and fans expect greatness every single Friday night. Szares has the leg, the mentality, and the coaching to meet those expectations head-on.
Keep an eye on the box scores this fall. When Notre Dame stalls out near the red zone, watch the sideline. When the kicking unit trots out, you are watching one of the sharpest young specialists in the state go to work.
