Music: {allcanada} Better with age

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

{allcanada} Better with age

Paul McCallum's house has been egged, his family has been threatened and a load of manure has been dumped on a neighbour's driveway. Turning 40, after all he has endured over his long CFL career, has been a breeze by comparison.

He is the league's oldest player and has become one of its hottest kickers after opening the regular season with a flawless performance for the B.C. Lions. McCallum connected on each of his six field goal attempts in a 25-10 season-opening win over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday, extending a remarkable run that began last year, when his very employment hung in the balance.

McCallum has not missed a field goal in six regular-season games dating back to last season, when injuries and an understudy threatened his workload. He was 5-of-5 in two playoff games, and has improved his overall success rate to better than 91 per cent over the past two years.

"Getting up to 40, I'm starting to appreciate a lot more of what I'm doing for a living," he said Wednesday. "And I'm not taking it for granted."

He spent the off-season working out with a trainer and, having relocated to Vancouver from Saskatchewan, he also spent more time kicking outdoors in the winter months.

"If I thought Paul was too old to kick, then he wouldn't be here," Lions head coach Wally Buono said. "His age, for me, is not relevant at this time."

That is not to say the Lions have not taken any precautions. The team has a 24-year-old replacement stashed on its 46-man roster, with understudy Sean Whyte collecting a full base salary while waiting for cracks to show in McCallum's form.

There is reason to believe it could be a long wait.

McCallum has connected on 73-of-80 attempts over the last two years, a run of success that spans 23 regular-season games, and four more in the post-season. He was the most successful of the four perfect kickers in the opening week this year, followed by Hamilton's Sandro DeAngelis (2-for-2), Toronto's Grant Shaw (1-for-1) and Edmonton's Noel Prefontaine (1-for-1).

"If somebody in this league screws up -- at whatever position -- I'm sure the personnel people get phone calls galore from other people wanting that job," McCallum said. "So, in this business, if you're not doing your job, you're not going to be there very long."

McCallum began his CFL career 17 years ago, in the same season the Sacramento Gold Miners became the first in a series of ill-fated U.S. expansion teams. He spent a decade with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where fans thrust him into the national spotlight after a heart-breaking playoff loss six years ago.

He missed two field goal attempts in the West Division final against the Lions, including one from 18 yards, in a 27-25 loss that prompted frustrated supporters to vandalize his Regina home and threaten his family. A load of manure was dumped on a neighbour's driveway, while eggs and threats were hurled at McCallum's house.

He has not missed a kick in the playoffs since.

"That didn't teach me so much as a football player, but it taught me how to deal with things as a person off the field," McCallum said. "And I can carry that back onto the field -- just to prioritize things, and focus a little bit better."

McCallum's job security was shaken last year after he was injured in the home opener. Whyte took over, and handed the reins back to McCallum late in the season.

"He knew, going into the off-season, that he was going to be challenged and he had to be ready to compete," Buono said of his veteran. "He came to camp, he was ready to compete."

McCallum spent the winter working out with Lions strength and conditioning trainer Chris Boyko, spending three days away building core strength, adding muscle and improving his flexibility.

"In the long run, if a person's more athletic, and keeps their body a little bit more in tune, I think you're going to last a lot longer," Boyko said. "And one thing I find with kickers is, a lot of it is mental.

"And as you age, if you feel like your body is not as good as it was before, it does affect you mentally."

McCallum is under contract through next season.

"The possibility for longevity in our position is definitely longer than for your average position," Alouettes kicker Damon Duval said. "But if we don't perform, they'll bring in someone who can."

McCallum does not know how much longer he would like to play.

"I still think I've got a lot of life left in my leg, and I'm having fun," he said. "I'm just going to enjoy this season."