With his strong kicks, Fingersh is a top scorer for the Capo Valley HS football team
LADERA RANCH, Calif. — Dylan Fingersh (15), born and raised in Ladera Ranch, is leading Capo Valley football’s scoring attack…with his foot. Just six games into the season he had 46 points to his name, was number one in the state, and number eight in the nation for kicking points. Against Newport Harbor, Fingersh led Capo, making impressive 33-, 37-, and 40-yard field goals to add to his 3 PATs (extra points) in a 30-19 win. Only a sophomore, he is already performing at an extremely high level and has much more ahead of him.
A soccer player his whole life, Dylan is still on Ladera’s 2005 AYSO Extra team. But like many kids his age, he always wanted to play football. His parents, though, like many parents, were worried about the risks of concussions. After a cousin of his had a great experience playing freshman football, Fingersh’s parents agreed to let Dylan play.
“I went into it just not really knowing what I wanted to get out of it,” Fingersh explains, “I was doing pretty well at receiver and safety, and I hadn’t really taken kicking seriously. It was still just for fun.” But late in the season, Capo’s varsity kicker suffered an injury and Fingersh was forced to step up. He has never looked back. “After that, I was like, maybe, just maybe, this can take me somewhere.”
While the base of soccer gave him an advantage, Fingersh still had to work to retrain his mechanics for football. “You can’t just go from soccer and just walk in and expect to be able to hit really far field goals.” Fingersh continues, “Your form has to change almost entirely, but you definitely do have a head start over someone that hasn’t kicked before.”
Dylan is working with a local kicking trainer, Brad Bohn, and is ready to attend kicking camps and showcases this off-season to help get his name out to colleges. Some of his football experience can be credited to Ladera’s family-oriented environment.
“Ladera is a really cool place to grow up,” Fingersh says, “I feel like there are so many kids and families around here that you kind of just walk outside and you’ll find some kids to play with. I remember there were kids all around my neighborhood and we used to play football at Founders’ Park and down the street.”
Capo Valley’s Engineering and International Baccalaureate programs stood out to Fingersh when he was making the decision on where to attend high school. While he is certainly elite on the field, his performance academically might be even more impressive. He sported a 4.83 GPA throughout his freshman year.
For Fingersh, “Academics will always be number one. I think that, especially in something as competitive as kicking, even if you were going to try to pursue it after college, you still have to have a backup option. You still have to get a good degree, so you can conceivably get a job. Football will always take the backseat to academics.”
Watch for the name Dylan Fingersh: We’re going to see more of it with accomplishments both on and off the field.
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