It was obvious that something was different.
When John Haggerty began punting the football at Toronto Argonauts training camp, there were obvious signs that he had been working at his craft during the off-season.
His punts had more hang time. His directional kicking had become more consistent, as had his contact with the ball.
The hard work has paid off, as through three games he’s averaging 51.8 yards per punt, bettering his career average to 48.4 yards, the highest lifetime punting average in Argo history.
Haggerty’s return to Toronto this year almost didn’t happen, but more about that a bit later.
He arrived home in Australia during the off-season to work on his game. He wanted to increase his hangtime and was able to do that while at the same time simulating the conditions along the north shore of Lake Ontario.
“It was tough in Melbourne, it’s windy,” Haggerty explained. “So, if you hit ‘em high then they go thirty yards. It was finding a balance of being able to drive it when I needed to and putting it up (high in the air) when I needed to, just working on a few kicks I knew I was going to need out here at BMO Field and other windy places that we play in.”
Like, oh, I don’t know…in Regina on Thursday?
“It’s always windy there,” he said with a smile.
The Argos first round pick in the 2022 CFL Global Draft mixed things up a bit this year as he worked with former NFL punter Sav Rocca. The pair trained together for about three months during the off-season.
“It was more so fine tuning,” Haggerty told Argonauts.ca. “It was more getting in a competitive environment, kicking with other punters, which I haven’t done for a while. Just getting back in a good space where I could hit my targets and my lines, just hit a good ball over and over again.”
It’s a practice makes perfect mentality for Haggerty, who likes to get his work in so that the games become easy.
“I like to put in my work during the week and in the off-season so that when I hit game day I can let loose and not have to think about anything. For me, I focus on my process rather than the outcome. I know if I can control my steps and my drop the outcome will take care of itself.”
So far so good, or at least that’s what you would think. Haggerty is second in the CFL in punting average, while the Argos are second in net punting yards. Argonauts.ca asked the 6’5” punter if he’s been happy with the results so far and was surprised by his reply.
“Not very happy, if I’m being honest with you,” he admitted. “I always have a chat with Mickey (special teams coordinator Mickey Donovan) after the games and apologize for not putting us in the best spots to be in, especially this past week, letting up big returns and things like that. It all starts with me, so I need to do better at my job to help everyone else do theirs.”
Being honest, if not overly harsh about his performance shouldn’t be surprising, after all, it’s just work. As much as the 29-year-old loves playing for the Argos, there’s something he puts above it on the depth chart, family life.
He and his wife Spenser recently welcomed a second child to the family. Beau joins her brother Lincoln, who turns three next month.
“I had a baby girl who is two months old now. They flew in just before the Edmonton game, so they’ve been at the last two games which is nice, being back with my kids and my wife.”
He’s able to be with his family, only being separated from them during training camp. Though it’s only for a few weeks, being away from his newborn and his family was not easy for Papa Haggerty.
“It’s hard. Ya, it’s hard. The best part of my day is finishing here and going back and taking my son to the park or playing around and just being dad. To me, that’s the best job there is and playing football is just a bonus. I’m a dad first and I enjoy that thoroughly.”
So much so that he almost didn’t come back to Toronto this year. He came close to staying back in Australia with his family.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back. Having Beau changed things a little bit, it was a rush for everyone to get over (to Canada). I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my kids and my wife to come over, so that played on me a little bit. I probably chose maybe three days out from camp that I was going to come. I said to everyone back home that I was just going to go there and have fun and enjoy it. I’m not going to stress, I’m not going to worry about the games, I’m not going to worry about practice, I’m just going to go and have fun and I’ve really being loving being back.”
Almost as much as his teammates love that he’s here and playing as well as he is.