MEDINA, NY — In 2003, Mike Vanderjagt became the first kicker in NFL history to go an entire season, including playoffs, without missing a field goal or extra-point attempt.
This came after the Oakville, Ontario native was called an “idiot kicker” by his quarterback Peyton Manning for criticizing Manning and head coach Tony Dungy for Indy’s 2002 postseason exit.
Vanderjagt and Manning are on good terms now, and the kicker is using his time in the NFL to teach others — right here in Western New York.
“I get a lot of, ‘hey! I googled you last night!'” said Vanderjagt. “And I’m like, ‘OK, well read the good stuff and not the bad stuff.'”
Vanderjagt, who retired as the NFL’s most accurate field goal kicker in 2006, is now coaching special teams at Medina High School.
“We’re doing weight training the one day and then I was in school and [head coach Eric Valley] said that this NFL kicker came to the weight room with him and said he wanted to help out with kicking,” said soccer star and placekicker Cole Callard.
“I walked into the principal’s office and I asked who the football coach was and now here we stand,” said Vanderjagt.
This summer, Vanderjagt held clinics for kickers and punters who came from across upstate New York to learn from the 2003 Pro Bowler — with bigger goals than the next three points.
“I take pride in the fact that I try to get kids from the ninth grade to a free education. That’s the goal,” said Vanderjagt. “I don’t want to just be out here wasting time. I want kids to make kicks and I have that mentality of ‘be great or don’t bother trying.’ So Team’s Vandy philosophy is ‘we don’t accept missing.’”
At 52 and professionally retired for as long as the freshmen Mustangs have been alive, Vanderjagt is still obsessed with competing — and loves the game more than ever.
“In every little thing he does, he almost reminds me of a kid at times,” said Valley. “Whether it’s throwing the ball, kicking the ball, basketball we talk about. You can tell he’s just a very competitive person by nature, and it comes through and I think the kids get that too.”
Callard now goes from kicking one field goal and extra point last year for the Mustangs to Vanderjagt’s star pupil.
“He was a big reason why I decided that this could be really good, because he’s very good,” said Vanderjagt. “He’s going into his sophomore year, so I’ll be with him for three more years and we’ll see where we can get him on a Saturday afternoon too.”
“It means a lot,” said Callard. “It shows he trusts me and thinks I can do it.”
“You know, it’s funny. I keep telling him touchdowns are twice as many as field goals. So we’ve already started jabbing and going back and forth. We get in those situations and I’ve never had to really consider it and think about it,” said Valley. “So I told him, ‘you’re going to have to remind me, because I’m just not used to it.’ I think he will gladly so it’d be a nice weapon to have for us.”
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