LA’s Kicking Game In Good Shape With Hamilton
Mike Chanpong
Wednesday June 2, 2004
Luckily for Los Angeles, the eighth-seeded Avengers have one of the best kickers to ever play in the AFL in seven-year veteran Remy Hamilton.
A former All-American at the University of Michigan, Hamilton is currently the third highest scoring kicker in AFL history with 878 points. He finished the regular season first in the league among kickers with 146 total points, connecting on 104 of 117 extra point attempts and 14 of 24 field goals. His field goal percentage of 58.3% was good for second in the league. Against Arizona in Week 13, Hamilton kicked his 100th career field goal, becoming one of just five players to ever accomplish that feat.
“I just feel like I’m in a groove with my extra points and field goals,” said Hamilton about his success this year. “I’m really comfortable with my snapper (Chris Butterfield) and holder (Kevin Ingram) – everything’s perfect.”
Kickoffs have always been one of Hamilton’s strengths. Coming out of high school where he played defensive back, quarterback, punter, and kicker, he was recruited as a kicker by big-time schools like Michigan, Wisconsin and UCLA on the basis of his powerful kickoffs. “I didn’t really know how to kick at the time, I just had a strong leg. Out of 40-something kickoffs in high school, only one was returnable, so they made me a kicker.”
Hamilton’s kickoffs don’t just reach the nets, often they sail through the uprights where many times they disappear into the crowd for a touchback. This type of accuracy on kickoffs also enables him to kick the ball off the irons when needed. During the regular season, the Avengers recovered two of his kickoffs that ricocheted off the uprights.
One well-placed kickoff nearly saved a game for the Avengers. Trailing by seven with a few seconds left in regulation against San Jose, the Avengers had just scored a touchdown and had to kickoff. Knowing that an on-side kick would take up too much time, the only hope the Avengers had was that Hamilton could clang the ball off one of the uprights and it would bounce around long enough a teammate to pounce on it.
Hamilton executed a perfect kick, nailing the right upright, but San Jose recovered the live ball just before Los Angeles could get to it. Nevertheless, Hamilton’s display of accuracy was impressive. “I really just aim for the right upright every time,” he said after being asked about his kickoffs. “I have a natural fade on the ball so if I hit it just perfect it’ll land in the soft nets. If I aim it over a little though, it’ll hit one of the uprights.”
On-side kicks are another weapon Hamilton possesses. The Avengers recovered three of them this year, including a huge recovery against Las Vegas in Week Two that enabled them to retain possession and win the game. He’s also a solid tackler, recording 11 stops this year to give him 75.5 for his career.
Now that the playoffs have arrived, kickers are sure to be under the microscope. Every kick could make or break a game. Playoff pressure however, isn’t something that is likely to faze Hamilton. “It’s great,” he says with a smile, “I love the pressure.”
And while he doesn’t have any superstitions, Hamilton does do something significant every time he takes the field. “I always turn my (wedding) ring twice before I kickoff and kick field goals and extra points,” he explained. “It’s for my wife and my newborn son. I just know that there’s more to this kick.”
Mike Chanpong is a freelance writer living in Hollywood, CA. In addition to
sportswriting, he also works in television production. This is his second
year covering the Los Angeles Avengers for ArenaFan.
