Oct. 15, 1999
by Tim Welsh
As the sun shines down on this gorgeous autumn day in South Bend, the roar of the stadium can be heard across Notre Dame campus. It is a perfect day for football. The Irish are driving late into their opponent’s territory and it becomes apparent that the field goal unit will soon be called into action. Notre Dame’s senior kicker Jim Sanson watches from the sideline focusing on staying mentally loose.
“When you are sitting there not doing anything on the sidelines, you think about a lot of things,” says Sanson. “What I try to do is think about something that has nothing to do with the game I try to think of something that is the opposite of football because it will loosen up my mind a little bit.”
The field goal unit is called out on to the field Sanson walks out to the huddle alone and focused on the ball.
“I don’t like people being around me when I am kicking. Right when I walk out there to the ball is when my focus just completely focuses on the ball and everything else just blocks out,” says Sanson.
Standing behind everyone else, Sanson intently focuses the ball. The words “I Believe,” which he used to write on his wrist tape, but now has etched in his memory forever, pass through his mind and build his confidence.
In an instant the stillness of the moment is shattered as the ball is snapped Sanson approaches and kicks the ball high into the air.
“As soon as I kick the ball I know if it is good,” says Sanson. “When I kick it and it goes up I will just start walking away. It is just a feeling you have in your foot that you get because you just do it so many times. It is like a guy when he hits a homerun he knows right off the bat that it is a homerun.”
The ball sails high, down the field, and through the uprights: three points Notre Dame!
Sanson’s teammates crowd around as he calmly walks off the field without celebration.
“I hate being congratulated when I score because I think of it as business out there,” says Sanson. “I am supposed to do that. It is not something I should go crazy for, it is just supposed to happen. When I make a kick I don’t celebrate very much. I just go off the field because I think if you celebrate very much, obviously you are not sure if it will happen again. I treat every kick like it is just another kick. I try to make myself fell comfortable that I am going to make it every time.”
Sanson has been able to give himself that all-important confidence. In a position of such heavy criticism like kicker, confidence means more than anything Along with a great love for the game of football, confidence motivates, focuses, and strengths Sanson when he needs it most.
Growing up in Scottsdale, Ariz., Sanson was surrounded by football. Sanson came from a football family, as he called it. Sanson’s father Jim played football at Texas-El Paso and his grandfather played for St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia.
“My dad was a college coach and I would go out there everyday and watch practices, shag balls for the team and the kickers,” says Sanson. “I always talked to my dad about football, about his team and about my playing.”
Sanson would often kick field goals with his dad for fun. He showed off his leg for the first time in a peewee football game at about age seven. While his team was playing a short game during halftime of an Arizona Cardinals football game, Sanson’s team had to line up for a 30-yard extra point attempt due to penalties. Sanson’s attempted sailed easily over the uprights, earning him a standing ovation from the Cardinal crowd.
From this football background, Sanson grew up with a great love for the sport that has never left him.
“It is just fell in love with it,” says Sanson. ” It is something I can’t lose. I hear of people getting tired of the game. I can not see that would ever happen to someone like me and I have been with it for 22 years now and I love it more than I have before.”
Sanson turned his love for football into a successful high school career. He was a three-position star as a halfback, safety and kicker. He lead St. Mary’s High School in Phoenix to the class 5A Arizona state championship his senior year. When it was time to select a college, Notre Dame was the choice for Sanson.
Sanson says that playing football at Notre Dame is heaven for someone with a love for the sport as great as his.
“Coming here just add to the excitement of football,” says Sanson. “Coming here is the pinnacle of it. From Thursday to Sunday, it is so exciting here on this campus during a football weekend. I still get butterflies and jitters every time I walk out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium. I am a calm person when the game is on, but I always get jitters coming out of that tunnel.”
When he came to Notre Dame, Sanson had trouble adjusting to only playing one position. Because of his love for the game and desire to contribute in any way he could, Sanson soon became more comfortable only a kicker.
“I never really practiced kicking in high school,” says Sanson. “Kicking was something that always came naturally. I wish I could catch a ball and go tackle people than kick, but I love the game of football and I want to contribute in any way I can. I knew this is my way of contributing to it, as a kicker.”
As a freshman, Sanson was able to contribute almost immediately at Notre Dame. He took over the kicking duties in the second quarter of the first game of his career against Vanderbilt. From then on, Sanson never looked back. Even through the criticism that comes with playing for Notre Dame, Sanson learned to motivate himself and believe in himself.
“I go out there and try my best every week,” says Sanson. “What bothers me is when people question my confidence or my ability. I say to myself, I made it here so there is obviously a reason why I am here. I have learned to use what people say for myself.”
Sanson’s confidence increased even more his freshman year when hit the game-winning field goal from 39-yards with 00:12 left on the clock. Since his freshmen year, Sanson has learned to play for fun and for the love of the game he always had.
“Between freshman year and now, I have learned to approach the games differently,” says Sanson. “I used to wonder what is going to happen if I miss this kick, or, what is going to happen if I make this kick. Now, I just go out there to show off I want to show people what I can do and why I am here. I just want to go out there and have fun.”
Along with confidence, mental preparations for a kicker are extremely important. Sanson uses a great deal of practice time working on his fundamentals and focus.
“I mentally prepare myself more than anything,” says Sanson. “I try to be loose. I always focus on the fundamentals and techniques. I do a lot of visualizing, putting myself in the stadium.”
Sanson also works very hard to prepare himself physically in order to compete. This summer, especially, Sanson worked on building his strength.
“I did every single thing the whole team did,” says Sanson of the Irish summer conditioning program. “I pushed a van and flipped tires.”
He also trained in water – kicking off of a tee at the bottom of a swimming pool. As a result, Sanson is kicking with a lot more power than he did in the past and also gained the respect of his teammates.
“All of my teammates have seen me sweat the way they have and I have gained the respect of my teammates. As long as I have earned the respect of my teammates, then I have earned the right to be on this team. Being a kicker that is the hardest thing to do.”
Within the team, the kickers have created a special bond shared through their common position.
“We are a distinct group out here,” says Sanson. “We are the kickers. People kind of see us over here on the side and we have to be as close as can be.”
In a group of young kickers, Sanson acts a mental mentor teaching his prodigy how to deal with the pressure of kicking.
“They look up to me more for mental preparation because I have been through everything. I told them that when I am gone and they are here, they can always give me a call because I have been through everything here. We have come pretty close I think and we are getting better and better every game.”
The other kickers are not the only ones who look up to Sanson. Off the field, Sanson carries his message of self-confidence to children around the community through Notre Dame Athletes Against Drugs, a foundation Sanson helped create through the Notre Dame Life Skills program.
“I really enjoy going out there and speaking to children,” says Sanson. “I actually feel more pressure going up there and talking than I do kicking field goals. When you meet these little kids you have just made their day. One of the greatest things is seeing their face when you walk in a room and they are just in. When you leave the place and look at their faces they are just so thankful. That has meant a lot to me mainly because it is something I helped create.”
With a good work ethic, passion for what he does best, respect of his peers, and a strong belief in his abilities, children would do well to make a role model of Sanson.