Chris Sailer

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Chris Sailer

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| position = Kicker

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|1|9}}

| birth_place =

| death_place =

| number =

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 10

| weight_lbs = 190

| high_school = Notre Dame
(Sherman Oaks, California)

| college = UCLA

| pastteams =

San Francisco 49ers* ({{NFL Year|1999}})
Los Angeles Dragons (2000)
San Jose SaberCats ({{AFL Year|2000}})
Oklahoma Wranglers ({{AFL Year|2001}})
Arizona Rattlers ({{AFL Year|2002|2003}}, {{AFL Year|2005}})

| highlights =

First-team All-American (1997)
First-team All-Pac-10 (1997)

| afl = 2516

}}

Chris Sailer (born January 9, 1977) is an American football trainer of kicking specialists. He works with high school placekickers and punters and evaluates them for college football programs. Sailer was named an All-American as both a kicker and a punter while playing college football for the UCLA Bruins. He played professionally in the Arena Football League (AFL).

Early life

Sailer was born to Elisabeth and Hans Sailer, who had emigrated in 1969 from West Germany to Burbank, California. His parents were soccer fans who knew nothing about football. They exposed him to soccer early, and he excelled as a youth soccer player.{{cite news |last=Sondheimer |first=Eric |title=Sailer More Than a Footnote for Bruins |date=November 19, 1997 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-19-sp-55525-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202235640/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/19/sports/sp-55525 |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} Sailer attended high school in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, where he was both the kicker and punter at Notre Dame High. As a senior, he set a state single-season record with 22 field goals, making seven from 50 yards of more to help his team win a Division III title. He was named to the USA Today All-USA team, and finished his prep career with a state record 33 career field goals. He also played soccer as a defender.

College career

Sailer decided to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), because Bruins football coach Terry Donahue and soccer coach Sigi Schmid allowed him to play both sports, even though the two teams' seasons overlap.{{cite news |title=UCLA to Get Twice as Much Kick Out of Sailer |date=January 25, 1995 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-25-sp-23974-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128235631/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-01-25/sports/sp-23974_1_chris-sailer |archive-date=January 28, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} His athletic scholarship was rare for a kicker, a position which coaches often filled with walk-ons.{{cite news

|last=Shepard

|first=Eric

|title=Scrounging for Scholarships : High School Kickers, Overlooked in Recruiting Game, Often Become Walk-Ons

|date=February 1, 1995

|newspaper=Los Angeles Times

|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-01-sp-26859-story.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202230216/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-02-01/sports/sp-26859_1_high-school-career

|archive-date=February 2, 2016

|url-status=live

|access-date=January 18, 2016

}} He put soccer on hold as a freshman to get acclimated to school while playing football.{{cite news |last=Springer |first=Steve |title=Kicker Goes for Two: Football and Soccer : UCLA: Sailer, a freshman, punts for Bruins but wants to play second sport too |date=September 29, 1995 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-29-sp-51419-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202221930/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-09-29/sports/sp-51419_1_bruin-soccer |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} Later, he decided he could not play both, and chose football.{{cite news |last=Bahman |first=Farahdel |title=Just for kicks |date=September 28, 1998 |newspaper=The Daily Bruin |url=http://dailybruin.com/1998/09/27/just-for-kicks/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203163420/http://dailybruin.com/1998/09/27/just-for-kicks/ |archive-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 18, 2016 }}

As a freshman in 1995, Sailer won the job as punter and ranked 15th in the country with a 42.2 yard average.{{cite news |last=Hodges |first=Jim |title=Punting His Game—for Now |date=August 21, 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-21-sp-36223-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129185941/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-08-21/sports/sp-36223_1_field-goal |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} After kicker Bjorn Merten graduated, Sailer assumed the position in 1997, becoming the first Bruin since Frank Corral in 1977 to handle both punts and kicks.{{cite news |last=Hodges |first=Jim |title=Punter Ready to Do Kicking |date=August 12, 1997 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-aug-12-sp-21631-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129163644/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/12/sports/sp-21631 |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} That season, Sailer made four field goals in a 39–31 win over Oregon, including a 56-yard kick that stood as a school record until Kaʻimi Fairbairn's 60-yarder in 2015.{{cite news|title=Sun Devils embarrass USC, 35–7|date=October 12, 1997|newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel|agency=Associated Press|page=B-4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4058994/|access-date=January 17, 2016|via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Jack |title=Rooting for USC worked out well |date=October 26, 2015 |newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News |url=http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151026/rooting-for-usc-worked-out-well |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130231821/http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151026/rooting-for-usc-worked-out-well |archive-date=January 30, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} Sailer finished the season as the runner-up behind Martín Gramática for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top college kicker.{{cite news|title=KSU's Gramatica earns first-team All-America|date=December 10, 1997|newspaper=The Salinas Journal|page=D3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3816700/|access-date=January 16, 2016|via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}} He was named a first-team All-American kicker by the American Football Coaches Association and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.{{cite news |last=Hodges |first=Jim |title=Overhauser Makes All-American Team |date=December 10, 1997 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-10-sp-62702-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129164313/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/10/sports/sp-62702 |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} Additionally, the Football Writers Association of America named Sailer to their first team as a punter.{{cite web |last=Gangi |first=Ted |title=FWAA All-America |website=Sportswriters.net |url=http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/allamerica/alltime.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227072543/http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/allamerica/alltime.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} He is the only player in UCLA history to have received first-team All-American honors at two positions in the same season.{{cite web|title=2015 UCLA Football Media Guide |page=128 |url=http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/pdf/FB_15MG_127_137.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905202831/http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/pdf/FB_15MG_127_137.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=live }}

In his senior year in 1998, Sailer struggled with his field goals after being bothered for most of the season with a groin injury.{{cite news|last=Howard-Cooper |first=Scott |title=After Taking His Licks, Sailer Makes His Kicks |date=November 16, 1998 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-16-sp-43471-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623045252/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/16/sports/sp-43471 |archive-date=June 23, 2022 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|last=Howard-Cooper |first=Scott |title=A Simple Solution for Sailer |date=November 13, 1998 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-13-sp-42459-story.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527164356/https://www.webcitation.org/6eceUDgfc?url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/13/sports/sp-42459 |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live }} He suffered the injury during practice when he did not warm up before participating in a kicking duel with a local sports anchorman.{{cite news|last=Harvey |first=Randy |title=Sailer Really Should Know Not to Play With Anchors |date=October 21, 1998 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-21-sp-34789-story.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527164436/https://www.webcitation.org/6ecfHMfsR?url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/21/sports/sp-34789 |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=live }}

Professional career

After leaving college, Sailer signed with the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL), and played for the Los Angeles Dragons of the Spring Football League and four years in the AFL.{{cite news|last=Crawford|first=E. J.|title=Good kickers are very tough to find|date=October 25, 2004|newspaper=The Trentonian|url=http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20041025/SPORTS02/310259994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118033227/http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20041025/SPORTS02/310259994|archive-date=January 18, 2016|url-status=live}} While still playing, he also ran organized camps and provided private tutoring to high school kickers and punters.{{cite news|last=Pielluci|first=Mike|title=No Punter Left Behind: How One Guru Made The Art Of Kicking A Science|date=October 17, 2013|work=Deadspin|url=http://deadspin.com/no-punter-left-behind-how-one-guru-made-the-art-of-kic-1259585520|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813224608/http://deadspin.com/no-punter-left-behind-how-one-guru-made-the-art-of-kic-1259585520|archive-date=August 13, 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Okamoto|first=Brett|title=Kicking camp touches down in Las Vegas|date=January 18, 2009|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|url=http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/18/kicking-combine-touches-down-las-vegas/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124065332/http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/18/kicking-combine-touches-down-las-vegas/|archive-date=January 24, 2009|url-status=live}} He started Chris Sailer Kicking in 1999,{{cite web|title=Brief History of Chris Sailer & Chris Sailer Kicking|website=ChrisSailerKicking.com|url=http://chrissailerkicking.com/chris-sailer-kicking-blog/history-chris-sailer-chris-sailer-kicking/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118041402/http://chrissailerkicking.com/chris-sailer-kicking-blog/history-chris-sailer-chris-sailer-kicking/|archive-date=January 18, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=January 18, 2016}} taking financial losses on his camps to build his client base in pursuit of his goal of forming the first national recruiting camp for kicking specialists at the high school level. He held the first national camp in Las Vegas in 2003, when 125 kickers and punters participated in the presence of 30 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision coaches.

Sailer's kicking camp became the most prominent in the country.{{cite news |last=Simmons |first=Barton |title=Best of the best kickers to camp in California |date=July 17, 2008 |website=Rivals.com |url=https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=827854 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020142833/http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=827854 |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |url-status=live }} He is routinely contacted by college coaches to assist in identifying potential college recruits for their special teams.{{cite news|last=Estes |first=Ben |title=Recruiting path of nation's second-ranked punter began with a coma |date=April 24, 2014 |work=Sporting News |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football-news/4580861-recruiting-rankings-2014-football-punter-corbin-daly-top-recruit-unc-texas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630221433/http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football-news/4580861-recruiting-rankings-2014-football-punter-corbin-daly-top-recruit-unc-texas |archive-date=June 30, 2016 |url-status=live }} Players which he identifies as top recruits generally receive scholarships from major football programs. Sailer partnered with former UCLA teammate Chris Rubio, who provides services for long snappers as part of Rubio Long Snapping. Greg Biggins of Scout.com described Chris Sailer Kicking as "pretty much a monopoly". {{As of|2009}}, Sailer's camps were drawing an estimate of 450 to 500 kickers, punter, and long snappers. By 2014, thirteen of the 32 starting kickers in the NFL had attended his camp.{{cite news|last=Lemire|first=Joe|title=Skill Level of N.F.L. Kickers? It's Good. Really Good.|date=December 24, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/sports/football/for-most-nfl-kickers-its-up-and-its-good-nearly-all-the-time.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027180019/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/sports/football/for-most-nfl-kickers-its-up-and-its-good-nearly-all-the-time.html|archive-date=October 27, 2015|url-status=live}}

Sailer is on the selection committee for the Chris Sailer Award, presented annually to the top high school placekicker in the nation.{{cite news|last=Wade |first=Eric |title=Rehkow named Chris Sailer Award finalist |date=November 28, 2012 |newspaper=Nevada Daily Mail |url=http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1917408.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204173242/http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1917408.html |archive-date=December 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=High School Student-Athlete Earns National Placekicker of the Year Award |date=February 27, 2015 |work=Palmetto Scene |url=http://palmettoscene.org/article/high-school-student-athlete-earns-national-placekicker-year-award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230141609/http://palmettoscene.org/article/high-school-student-athlete-earns-national-placekicker-year-award |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 18, 2016 }} The award began in 2011 as part of the Herbalife National High School Football Awards.