A shaky start has led to a strong finish for UCLA kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn

The first miss of Ka’imi Fairbairn’s college career was not a kick but a flight.

In 2011, from the relative obscurity of Hawaii, Fairbairn had been invited to Los Angeles for the Chris Sailer Kicking elite camp, run by the former UCLA kicker. Sailer’s camps often determine who receives a scholarship. Looking back, Fairbairn says, a poor performance probably meant going to a small school, perhaps without a scholarship.

The day before the event, Fairbairn sat with his father, Chris, on a plane. They waited. The plane didn’t take off.

They were told it was a mechanical malfunction and a replacement part needed to be flown in from the mainland.

“Kind of a sleepless night, a scramble to get two seats,” Fairbairn’s father said. “Rolling into L.A., you get off of the plane and you get into traffic. And then we had to get to the camp. That was pretty crazy because he literally got out of the car and put his shoes on and went into competition and was just, you know, booming ‘em.”

Fairbairn, now a senior at UCLA, is familiar with pressure kicks. Even though he has made 20 of 23 field-goal attempts this season, including every one from within 46 yards, he is also familiar with missing.

His first extra-point attempt, three minutes into his freshman season, was blocked.

No worries — a redemption opportunity came in two minutes, after another quick UCLA touchdown. Again, the extra point was blocked.

Another kick was blocked at the end of the half, making it five extra-point attempts, three blocked, in 30 minutes.

“He kicked them right into the back of the heads of our offensive linemen,” Coach Jim Mora recalled, laughing.

Actually, all three attempts were blocked by Rice linebacker Cameron Nwosu, who set an NCAA record by becoming the first player to block three extra-point kicks in a game.

Fairbairn recovered, and even kicked a game-winning field goal on the road. But in the Pac-12 championship game against Stanford, Fairbairn had a chance to tie the score with a season-long 51-yard field goal in the rain. He pulled the attempt left, and UCLA lost.

Most kickers are judged by one of two things: their misses, or what comes after.

For Fairbairn, the misses came early. Three years later, Fairbairn is the Pac-12’s all-time scoring leader and winner of the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker.

Last week, after accepting the award, Fairbairn and the other finalists gathered with their families for a meal. The parents commiserated over the stress of watching their sons kick.

“It’s brutal to see your child kind of — it’s a lot of weight,” Chris Fairbairn said of his son’s freshman season. “It’s a lot of weight for any 18-year-old kid to carry. And he owned it.”

Fairbairn credits Eric Hannum, his kicking coach at Punahou School on Oahu, with teaching him everything he knows. Hannum said Fairbairn’s demeanor was not something he could coach. Fairbairn’s stoic confidence, Hannum believes, is what allowed him to absorb his freshman season, and a shaky sophomore season, and still blossom.

Hannum says Hawaiian football players are typically quiet but confident, “kind of like Marcus Mariota.” Fairbairn also seems especially humble with understated celebrations after making big kicks.

After the Lou Groza ceremony, Hannum called to congratulate Fairbairn, who spoke as if he had spent the day running errands.

“It was like I had to pull it out of him,” Hannum said. “‘Tell me about it!’”

Hannum, who kicked in college at Hawaii, says a steady demeanor is what separates kickers with similar talent. This season, for example, Hannum’s newest kicking prospect, Jet Toner, committed to Stanford. Afterward, the Cardinal’s recruiter told Hannum what sold him: Toner’s makeup reminded him of Fairbairn.

Throughout college, Fairbairn and Hannum talked weekly about their craft, and Fairbairn steadily improved.

As a junior, he made 18 of 22 attempts, and led the nation in kickoff distance. This season, Fairbairn was automatic from short and medium distance. His only three misses came from 47, 49 and 50 yards. Again, he led the nation in kickoff distance and was a consensus All-American.

In October, he made his first 50-yard kick, a 53-yarder against Arizona. Then, against California, he drilled a 55-yard attempt at the end of the first half.

But UCLA was whistled for a false start. Mora said he considered kneeling the ball before Fairbairn motioned to indicate that he wanted to try again.

“I gave coach a thumbs up,” Fairbairn said. “‘Let’s kick it.’”

He lined up, took a short, certain first step and stared down the ball. The kick made it easily. The 60-yarder was a UCLA record.

Mora said kickers can develop a reputation for being “flaky.” Not Fairbairn.

“Oh he’s the man,” center Jake Brendel said. “No seriously, like, everyone loves him.”

After the field goal against California, they even egged him into a celebration.

“The whole team starts chasing him” Hannum said, “so I think he kind of had to run into the locker room.”

This is why Mora stuck with Fairbairn even after his disastrous debut. After Fairbairn’s freshman season, Mora told Hannum he knew growing pains would come with a freshman kicker. The misses, he said, were to be expected.

What came after was what mattered.

zach.helfand@latimes.com