Milo trusts in Sweet science
SASKATOON — Chris Milo could have turned to many kicking coaches to enhance his chances of once again becoming the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ primary kicker.
Milo selected kicking guru Don Sweet, whose disciples include Paul McCallum of the B.C. Lions, Sean Whyte of the Montreal Alouettes and Rene Paredes and Rob Maver of the Calgary Stampeders.
“I was trying to get my fundamentals down and improve as a player and (Sweet) is one of the best,’’ said Milo, one of three kickers on the Riders’ trainingcamp roster.
Milo, 26, isn’t old enough to have seen Sweet kick in the CFL. Milo said his parents remember Sweet’s 13-year CFL career, during which he played in Montreal and Hamilton. Milo is more concerned about what Sweet has accomplished as a kicking coach than as a player.
“You look at what he’s done with Paul, Sean and the two guys in Calgary,’’ Milo said. “Hopefully I’ll be the next one.’’
Milo was already the next one with the Riders before the 2012 season. He earned that confidence after a stellar rookie season in 2011, when he hit 84.6 per cent of his field-goal attempts and averaged 43.2 yards per punt.
Milo’s role as the all-purpose kicker lasted five games into the 2012 season before head coach Corey Chamblin lost faith in his second-year kicker. Chamblin was unhappy with Milo’s performance — he had missed six of his 17 field-goal attempts and had a league-worst field-goal percentage of 64.7. Chamblin replaced Milo with veteran Sandro DeAngelis, who remains the most accurate field-goal kicker (minimum 250 attempts) in CFL history at 280-for-341 (82.1 per cent).
Milo retained his punting duties until being sidelined with a serious ankle injury on Oct. 8 during a loss to the host Toronto Argonauts.
In January, Milo started visiting Sweet at his Vancouver home. The two worked on Milo’s fundamentals and on restoring his confidence, which was bruised after what transpired in 2012.
“I was hoping to have a better season, but I struggled a bit at the beginning,’’ said Milo, who made monthly trips from Regina to Vancouver to train with Sweet. “I punted well, but you have to put points on the board when you’re kicking field goals. That’s what I worked on during the off-season with Don.’’
The lessons extended to training camp. Sweet was in Saskatoon last week, working with Milo and the other kickers, Brody McKnight and Ricky Schmitt.
Sweet even spent time with special-teams co-ordinator Bob Dyce, who is coaching the special teams for the first time since 2003 when he started his CFL coaching career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Riders added Cory McDairmid to the staff as a special-teams assistant to help Dyce make the transition from offensive co-ordinator to his new role.
“It’s a small thing, but Don showed us some drills that we can all do in practice to get better as a unit,’’ Milo said. “If we’re not hitting them well, we know what we’re doing wrong. If we’re hitting them well, we know what we’re doing right.’’
The team approach to kicking includes Weston Dressler, who is Milo’s usual holder on placekicks. Sweet also talked to Dressler about his role as Milo’s holder.
“When I hit a good ball, (Dressler) knows it,’’ Milo said. “He knows it when I don’t, so he’s able to correct me. It’s good to have a guy like that who is very receptive to learning. He didn’t have to because he’s the best receiver in the league and he doesn’t have to care about anything else. He does and I appreciate that a lot.
“We’re going to work together and we’re going to have a very good year.’’
How that works out may well be a product of Milo’s time with Sweet.
“He worked on the physical as well as the mental part of kicking,’’ Milo said. “He just wants me to trust myself and to believe in my swing. If I work hard and I do the small things right, they are all going to go straight through.’’
The Riders’ training camp continues today.