Sav Rocca facts for kids
Rocca as an assistant coach for Carlton in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Saverio Giovanni Rocca | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 November 1973 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 263 lb (119 kg; 18 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Football career |
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| Position: | Punter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saverio Giovanni Rocca, known as Sav Rocca, is a famous Australian athlete. He played two different sports professionally! First, he was a star in Australian rules football for teams like Collingwood and the Kangaroos. Later, he switched to American football, playing as a punter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins in the National Football League (NFL).
Rocca was born in Melbourne, Australia. From 1992 to 2006, he played 257 AFL games. He was a forward, scoring an amazing 748 goals! This puts him among the top goal scorers in the history of the sport. Rocca was his team's top goal scorer ten times. In 1995, he won the Copeland Trophy as Collingwood's best player.
Sav Rocca was known for his powerful, long kicks. He retired from Australian football at age 32 to try American football. When he joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, he became the oldest rookie in NFL history! After four seasons with the Eagles, Rocca played three seasons with the Washington Redskins. After his NFL career, he returned to Australia. He worked as a kicking and ruck coach for the Carlton Football Club from 2015 to 2020.
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Early Life and Sports Beginnings
Sav Rocca was born in Melbourne, Australia. His parents were from Italy. When he was 12, Rocca made a record for the longest kick by someone his age at a local football oval.
He first started in athletics. He was a junior champion in shot put and discus. Later, Rocca decided to focus on Australian rules football. He played for the Reservoir-Lakeside Football Club. His amazing goal-kicking skills quickly became clear.
Sav's brother, Anthony Rocca, also played professional football. For a short time, both brothers played for Collingwood. They played together as forwards.
AFL Career Highlights
Playing for Collingwood
Rocca joined Collingwood in 1991. He was a strong full-forward with a huge kick. He quickly became a key player for the team. In 1993, he scored 73 goals, including two games where he kicked ten goals each! In 1994, he kicked 49 goals.
He could kick the ball perfectly straight for over 60 meters. In 1995, he had his best season, scoring 93 goals in 21 games. He played what he called his best game in the first ever Anzac Day match between Collingwood and Essendon. He kicked nine goals in that game, which ended in a draw. He won Collingwood's best player award that year.
Rocca continued to be a strong full-forward. He scored 66, 76, and 68 goals in the next three seasons. In 1997, he was the second-highest goal scorer in the league. His performance then slowed down. After playing over 150 games and scoring more than 500 goals for Collingwood, he left the club.
Time with the Kangaroos
After leaving Collingwood, Rocca joined the North Melbourne Football Club (then called the Kangaroos). He was picked in the 2000 AFL draft. He kicked 98 goals in his first two seasons with the Kangaroos. This made him the team's top goal scorer in both years.
His form changed over the years, but he was still an important player. He kicked his 700th career goal in 2005. In 2006, he played his 250th game. During the 2006 season, Rocca played some games in the Victorian Football League with North Ballarat. This was the Kangaroos' reserve team.
At 32, Rocca started training as an American football punter. He even made a video showing his powerful kicking to talent scouts. Rocca played his last AFL game in Round 22 against his old club, Collingwood. He kicked three goals in that game.
NFL Career Journey
Joining the Philadelphia Eagles
Rocca had tried out for the Buffalo Bills in 2006 but didn't get a spot. The Philadelphia Eagles were looking for a new punter. They signed Rocca for their 2007 training camp. In the Eagles' preseason games, Rocca had several punts over 50 yards. One punt went over 65 yards!
Rocca became the Eagles' punter. He also held the ball for placekicker David Akers during field goals. In his first NFL season in 2007, Rocca had 73 punts. He was 33 years old, making him the oldest rookie in NFL history!
Eagles Seasons: 2008-2010
Rocca was named the NFL Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2008. He had a great average of 44.1 yards per punt. Seven of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line, which is excellent. In the 2008 season, he played in all 16 regular season games. He had 77 punts with an average of 43.3 yards.
In the 2009 season, Rocca played in all 16 games again. He recorded 76 punts with an average of 42.39 yards. On April 22, 2010, Rocca signed a new contract with the Eagles. In the 2010 season, he played in all 16 regular season games. He had 73 punts with an average of 43.77 yards.
Playing for the Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins signed Rocca on July 29, 2011. He was seen as one of their best new players for the 2011 season. He greatly improved the team's punting. In a game against the Arizona Cardinals, Rocca made an impressive tackle on a punt returner. He played in all 16 regular season games that year. He had 66 punts with an average of 43.06 yards.
Redskins Seasons: 2012-2013
In October 2012, it was reported that Rocca had been playing with a torn meniscus (a knee injury) in his kicking leg. Despite this, the Redskins planned to keep using him. He played in all 16 regular season games. He had 68 punts with an average of 43.88 yards.
Rocca signed a new two-year contract with the Redskins in March 2013. He played in all 16 regular season games that year. He recorded 84 punts with an average of 41.98 yards. Rocca was released by the Redskins on March 4, 2014.
Return to Australian Football
In April 2015, news came out that Rocca was working part-time for the Carlton Football Club. He was a mentor for their forward players, helping them improve their skills.
In December 2016, it was announced that Rocca would join Carlton as their kicking coach for the 2017 AFL season. Carlton's head of football, Andrew McKay, said they were happy to have Rocca. He noted that Rocca had a lot of knowledge about kicking and could teach it well to players.
Rocca left Carlton in March 2020. This happened as AFL clubs reduced their staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
Images for kids
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Rocca playing for the Kangaroos in 2004
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