SLIPPERY ROCK — Soccer first, football second — that's been the order of things in the Bahr family, and C.J. is no exception.

The Slippery Rock University sophomore kicker began his athletic career as a soccer player, just like his father Chris and uncle Matt, both of whom went on to lengthy careers as NFL kickers.

"One summer, I started kicking a football, just playing around with it,"Bahr said. "I developed a little accuracy and thought ... 'I might be able to do this.'"

That was before his sophomore year at State College High.

"I was running a kicking camp and C.J. attended with me,"his father said. "C.J. kicked the ball for a while and all of a sudden, it started jumping off his foot.

"We went to the football coach and they let him try it. It just sort of happens. That's the way it was with Matt and myself."

Chris and Matt Bahr were soccer players at Penn State University before they began playing football. Matt Bahr played some pro soccer as well.

"If C.J. had to make a choice between the two in high school, he would have chosen soccer,"his father said. "Fortunately, they let him do both."

C.J. Bahr shared the kicking duties at State College his senior year, when the team reached the state semifinals. He kicked 55 extra points and a 47-yard field goal that season.

As far as following his father's and his uncle's footsteps to Penn State, the window of opportunity was small.

"There was some talk there ... but who knows when or if he'd ever get on the field,"Chris Bahr said.

So C.J. and The Rock eventually found each other.

"We were looking for a kicker and State College is (offensive coordinator Vick Campagna's)recruiting area,"SRUcoach George Mihalik said. "Vic saw some film on him and with the last name Bahr, we knew the genes were there."

SRUwas not alone in pursuing Bahr. A number of other PSACschools and Division IIIprograms had interest as well.

But Bahr was attracted to The Rock's sports management program and was impressed by the friendliness and longevity of the coaching staff.

Bahr set the SRUrecord with 50 PAT's in 53 attempts as a freshman last year. He connected on a mediocre six of 11 field goal attempts, however, the longest being 32 yards.

Kyle Witman, the team's punter, handled the kickoff duties.

"We wouldn't think of trying a field goal from beyond 35 yards,"Mihalik said of last year.

Bahr stands 5-feet-10 and weighed only 145 pounds as a freshman.

"I thought the wind was going to knock him over,"Mihalik said.

But the kicker worked with a nutritionist during the offseason, gained 20 pounds and increased his leg strength.

He enters Saturday's homecoming game against Edinboro perfect on all 23 of his PATattempts while converting eight of 10 field goal tries, including a 46-yarder.

One of Bahr's two errant kicks was the result of a bad snap.

"I worked on my game hard last summer,"C.J. said. "I practiced pretty much every day. But the big thing was just getting stronger."

His father figures C.J. will continue to improve.

"He's still physically maturing and experience will make him better,"Chris Bahr said. "He still hasn't been kicking a football for all that long."

Carrying the last name Bahr hasn't meant carrying any extra pressure when C.J. trots on to a field to kick a football, whether in practice or in a game.

"Nobody's ever even mentioned that. Not even once," he said of his father's and uncle's kicking success.

Does C.J. Bahr have aspirations of kicking in the NFL down the road.

"Haven't even thought about it," he said, smiling. "Right now, I'm just having fun kicking for Slippery Rock."