DAVID ALTER
Special To Argonauts.ca
David Alter is a reporter and sportscaster for Toronto’s Sports Radio THE FAN 590. David covers the Argos and has covered football at every level dating back to 2003.
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The Argos’ new kicker has never been shy when it comes to taking on new challenges, so it should come as little surprise that the Edmonton native has been a key contributor to the Boatmen’s resurrection.
Grant Shaw started his football career when he was 12 years old after spending his years before that playing soccer. Kicking wasn’t what attracted him to the game, rather playing on the defensive side of the ball.
“The first year I ever kicked a football on a team was in grade 11 after our kicker got hurt and I filled in for a couple of games,” says Shaw. “I didn’t even do it in grade 12, not even in my first year (as a member of the CJFL’s Edmonton Huskies – a circuit known simply as ‘Junior’). In my second year (with the Huskies) our kicker was struggling so I took over from there.”
As a defensive back while playing for the CJFL Huskies, Shaw led the country in 2005 with 12 interceptions including one game where he had three of them. Kicking a field goal of 49-yards is difficult to do at the pro-level. Shaw did so in Junior, even winning $20 in a bet with his head coach on making it from that distance. It was a bet that his coach, no doubt, was happy to lose.
Following a couple of championship seasons in the CJFL, Shaw joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies of the CIS as a defensive back. In his second year, much like in Edmonton, Shaw found himself back in a kicking role.
He set a team record last October when he nailed a 55-yard field goal. Funny enough, it matched the CIS Canada West record set by now Argo teammate, P/K Jamie Boreham.
Shaw’s kicking ability couldn’t be denied when the Argos selected him 11th overall in the 2010 CFL Draft. Nobody could really predict the impact Shaw would have on the Argos from the get go.
Heading into week eight of the CFL, Shaw has been perfect from two attempts at field goals of 50 yards or more. Through the first three weeks of the season, Shaw was nine for 11 in accuracy and his impressive play helped the Argos in making a decision to release import kicker Justin Medlock once he cleared NFL waivers.
The amount of mental toughness a kicker has to have in order to be consistent at the professional level is crucial. Shaw doesn’t get discouraged when he misses, and he has responded with clutch kicks after a miss. Shaw credits his play as a defensive back as a means of pushing the reset button.
“It was nice playing defensive back along with kicking because if you missed a kick, you’d be on defence so it would give you an opportunity to contribute and make a big play,” says Shaw. “Here, I have to wait until the next kick comes around, and you’re going to make some and you’re going to miss some. The important thing is to try and break down what happened later. But playing defensive back in addition to kicking helped me get over a miss very quickly.”
Shaw has won over the respect of his teammates and he’s been part of a new tradition in Jim Barker’s practices. Each day, every player will huddle around Shaw as he tries to hit a few field goals starting from the 20-yard line and working his way back. The last one is always from 50-yards out and the team erupts when he nails it to end practice.
“We play it out as if it’s the final play of the game and we’re down and I need to make a 50+ yard field goal with no time on the clock to win the game,” says Shaw. “It’s never going to be the same feeling as doing it for real, but to have everyone stop what they’re doing and bring their focus on me to try and add some pressure to the kick is a great way to prepare mentally.”
There is a great debate going on arguing who the better rookie kicker is right now. Stampeders’ kicker Rob Maver has a better accuracy through eight weeks, but there is no question the degree in difficulty of the kicks has to side with Shaw.
Shaw is 14/21 averaging 34.6 yards per attempt.
Maver is 16/18 averging 25.4 yards per attempt.
This is the first year Shaw has joined a football team where is he kicking and not playing in the secondary (although he does, at times, practice as a defensive player). He’s exceeded expectations and has the right combination of mental toughness and physical skill to be a CFL player for years to come.