Sailer More Than a Footnote for Bruins

Everyone enjoys taking credit when a young athlete starts achieving extraordinary things.

Now that UCLA kicker Chris Sailer has made 18 of 22 field-goal attempts this season and is contending for All-American honors, his former coaches at Notre Dame High are proudly staking their claims.

“I remember I went with him the first time he kicked, so I think I’m responsible,” Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney said.

“I’m the one who took him out of P.E. class,” defensive coordinator Joe McNab said. “I’m taking full credit.”

Said special teams coach Jeff Kraemer: “I gave him the most important advice you can get: ‘You see those two goal posts. Kick between them.’ ”

Perhaps Sailer’s parents, Elisabeth and Hans, deserve a little credit. They knew nothing about football when they moved to Burbank from West Germany in 1969.

But they loved soccer, and from the moment Chris was born, balls became as important to him as baby bottles.

“He always, always played with a ball,” Elisabeth said.

Sailer became an elite youth soccer player. Not until his sophomore year at Notre Dame did he go out for football.

McNab recruited him from his P.E. class when he saw Sailer booming kicks in flag football.

“He was better than anyone we had,” McNab said.

By his senior year, Sailer was a prep All-American kicker and soccer player. The question was which sport would win out in college.

He chose UCLA in the spring of 1995 with the intention of playing both sports. Then reality struck. He couldn’t make every soccer match while playing football, too. He made the decision he had kept putting off--he dropped soccer.

“It could have been a good decision going the other way, but I’m happy,” Sailer said.

He admits to missing soccer, but he hasn’t seen a game or kicked a soccer ball in two years. During the summer, when he put on 25 pounds in a strength and conditioning program to reach 195 pounds, he said he felt for the first time he was a football player.

“I don’t think I could play soccer anymore if I tried,” he said.

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo would probably kidnap Sailer if he ever changed his mind.

The influence Sailer has in a game is enormous. Forty-four of his 72 kickoffs this season have resulted in touchbacks. At one point, he made 15 consecutive field goals. The junior is also averaging 43.4 yards per punt.

“I think he’s had a great impact,” Toledo said.

Not that Sailer is perfect. Last week against Washington, he missed a 20-yard field goal. It was one of those lonely, awkward moments experienced by kickers.

“I’ve never had a coach,” he said. “I’ve become my own coach. I can tell the second I kick a ball if I’m going to make it or miss it by my mechanics.”

Sailer’s success in football has rubbed off on his parents. When he comes home on Sundays, he usually finds them watching NFL games and paying special attention to the kickers.

They even drove their BMW from Burbank to Eugene, Ore., this year to watch Chris kick a school-record 56-yard field goal against Oregon.

“It’s really amazing,” Sailer said. “When I first started kicking, they wouldn’t drive from Burbank to Notre Dame to watch football.”

Said Elisabeth: “I don’t believe it myself. I tell my husband I don’t believe we’re sitting here watching football games.”

The pressure is building as UCLA tries to earn a Rose Bowl berth. Next up is Saturday’s game with USC at the Coliseum.

If USC coaches think of applying pressure to Sailer on a big kick by calling a timeout, they might want to reconsider.

“I just laugh,” he said. “Big deal. If I’m going to miss, I’m not going to miss because they called a timeout.”

As for giving credit to the Notre Dame coaching staff, Sailer said, “McNab created me. He’s the one who got me out there. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be playing soccer somewhere right now. I’ll give him 50%.

“Coach Rooney, I’ll give him 25% for letting me kick. He took care of me. Coach Kraemer gets 15% just because he claims credit too much from the other guys.”

Sailer’s mother doesn’t care who gets credit--she’s just enjoying every minute of her son’s rise to prominence in football.

“It’s like I’m still dreaming,” Elisabeth said. “I’m still up in a cloud.”

*

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.