A former Waterloo High School football player is truly getting his kicks during his continued football career as a punter.

Ben Skaer, who graduated from WHS in 2009, is working on completing his master’s degree at University of New Mexico.

It is his fifth year at the university, and he has had an incredibly successful career playing for the Lobos football team.

The Lobos have had three games already this season, with Skaer averaging 44.7 yards on 12 punts.

According to the University of New Mexico’s Lobos bio page on Skaer, he “could be one of the nation’s best punters in 2013.”

Though his average went down after this past week’s loss against Pittsburgh, his mother, Lisa Skaer, knows the season will improve as it goes on.

“He got player of the game for the first game,” she said. “We’ll have to see what happens from there.”

Skaer was ranked the No. 9 punter in the nation before last week’s game and is at No. 17 after the Pittsburgh game.

Even in high school, Skaer was punting at incredible lengths.

He was on the Illinois Football Coaches Association all-state team as a junior and was a three-year starter for head coach Dan Rose.

His kicking coach was 10-year NFL veteran Louie Aguilar, and he finished at Waterloo with a career punting average of 39.6 yards, along with 10 field goals and 76 extra points.

Lisa said she is proud that her son has had such a successful career – both academically and in athletics.

“I’m most proud that he went so far away (to New Mexico) and has taken advantage of all the opportunities  there,” she said.

Skaer got his bachelor’s degree in business finance in May and made the decision to go for his master’s as well. He met his wife in New Mexico, and the two were married in May.

“He went to New Mexico and grew up,” Lisa said. “He doesn’t think he’s all that and a box of chocolates.”

Skaer’s next game is Sept. 28 versus the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

“He takes everything one day at a time and sees how it goes,” Lisa said. “He looks at everything so humbly.”