Jun
Stala ready to get his kicks with Cats
Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:
It was late last season while covering a runback in the opening moments of a game against Montreal that Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ kicker Nick Setta took a knee deep into the meat of his back that nearly did him in. The muscles in the area tightened, causing intense pain down his plant leg which almost forced him to take a seat for the rest of the day.
So, coach, who would’ve been your place kicker had Setta been unable to continue?
“Ray Mariuz,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille answers quickly.
And your punter?
Long pause.
A little chuckle.
“Hang on a sec,” he says, a smile crossing his face as he tips his head up to the side and rubs his chin in the universal signal that lets you know he’s puzzled. “I’m trying to remember.”
Point is, you can understand why things are being done a little differently at Ticats’ training camp this year. Instead of Setta hoofing every punt, every kickoff and every field goal, a significant amount of leg work is being given to new arrival, Dave Stala.
Forget for the moment that he’s a receiver by trade and is running routes with the offence most of the time. Fact is, he’s here because he can do that and provide some security in the event of a disaster.
“That was as important as him being a proven receiver,” says Bob O’Billovich of the reason the Cats signed the 29-year-old this off-season.
Not only did Stala start playing soccer when he was two, but he kicked on his high school and university football teams. And during his six-year CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes, he’s worked on that part of his game. To the point where he’s more than pretty good at it.
“I know that in my first few years, (that ability) got me dressed,” he says.
That said, there haven’t been a ton of chances for him to show it off in game situations. He’s never had an opportunity to attempt a field goal under live fire. And he’s had just two extra-point chances. But he’s kicked off and he’s punted 15 times or so and feels confident splitting the uprights from 45 yards.
In fact, there are some who believe that if he abandoned the receiving work and concentrated solely on kicking, he could make it as a starter somewhere in the league. He’s heard those comments and taken them to heart, which is why his contract negotiations included assurances he’d get a chance to be the backup and fill in for Setta if anything happened.
“Unless I take his job from him,” Stala quips.
That’s not going to happen. Still, his arrival has actually been welcomed by the incumbent. Comparing a kicker’s leg to a pitcher’s arm, Setta says too much work can be detrimental. Guys want to save some leg in camp. So letting someone else step in only helps.
And as far as Stala’s concerned, the more work the better. He figures he might be able to extend his career by six or seven years if he can get good enough to kick all the time. But that means reps and lots of them.
He expects to get a chance to kick a field goal or two today in the Black and Gold Day. Hopefully in one of the pre-season games, too. All as preparation for something nobody on the Cats wants to see, namely Setta going down with a long-term injury. Which brings us back to that question about last year’s backup punter.
Bellefeuille never does come up with the answer. O’Billovich remembers though.
“It was (Chris) Bauman,” he says.
Then he bursts out laughing.
“He wasn’t too good.”
