Ball State University Athletics
Football Team Spring Practice #12 Report
April 17, 2011 | Football
Ball State's football team has one week left before its annual Spring Game and Spring Practice No. 12 is now complete. First-year head coach Pete Lembo talks with the Ball State media relations staff about the day.
We are one week away from the annual Spring Game, are you where you want to be at this point?
Today was a pretty good day in terms of tempo, enthusiasm and execution. But, as a general rule, I am never satisfied. You will never catch me feeling too good about where we are at. Those kinds of feelings are a breeding ground for complacency. Even when we built Lehigh and Elon into consistent winners, we never took our foot off the gas pedal. You have to keep pushing to get better every day both on and off the field. It is human nature to get comfortable. You can find it in every organization and on every college campus. I assure you, no one in this program, including me, is good enough to become satisfied. We have a long way to go in all areas. If you ever need additional motivation, just look at our schedule the next few years, that will get you out of your comfort zone in a hurry. At the same time, you have to enjoy the process. It's definitely a process. There has to be some balance. You can take your job seriously without taking yourself too seriously. I hope this team sees that in me as well as in the rest of the coaching staff. We work hard, but we truly enjoy our work and enjoy being around each other. We value what each guy brings to the table, knowing that none of us are perfect.
There has been some good competition at placekicker, when do you plan on making a decision on this position and others that have been competitive?
Excellent observation. Kickers sometimes fly under the radar to the casual fan until that moment of truth comes and the game is on the line. Like most positions, there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye. We are evaluating Steven Schott and Scott Secor daily not only in terms of their PAT/field goal consistency, but also on kickoffs and specialty kicks. Hang time and placement on kickoffs is critical to good kickoff coverage. It is possible both guys will have a role to play as starters next fall. Like every other position, the backup is always just one play away from being "the guy", so he has to be ready. Much like our quarterbacks, Schott and Secor are great kids who work hard and support each other. It has been competitive with them all spring and I have no concerns if the competition continues into preseason camp in August. I continue to be pleased with Scott Kovanda at punter. He had another excellent day today in terms of distance and placement. Garrett Mack has been very steady at long snapper on both punts and field goals. Our operation times have been on target thanks to his speed and accuracy.
Are there a couple of coaches in your career that you would say you pattern your style and philosophy after?
Absolutely. I have had to work my way up through the coaching ranks, so my mentors are definitely not household names to most fans. Bob Ford at Albany was my first boss. He's been the head coach there since 1970 and has transitioned the program from club status all the way to the FCS level. He was very organized, detailed, took an mentoring role with all his coaches and was a good delegator. He was also very thorough in the hiring process, even if it was a graduate assistant position. Kevin Higgins, my boss at Lehigh when I was an assistant coach, had a lot of similar qualities. Coach Ford and Coach Higgins were similar because, once you earned their trust, they allowed you to do your job without micromanaging. They were also both program builders who sincerely cared about their players. They treated me well, allowed me to grow and I wanted to do my best for them. I try to treat my staff the same way. I was also fortunate to work with a great group of assistant coaches under John Lyons at Dartmouth in the mid 1990's. Several of us went on to become head coaches. One high profile coach I have always admired is Mack Brown at Texas. I have never met Coach Brown in person, but we have a mutual friend in North Carolina. I listened to Coach Brown speak at a national convention in the early 1990's and I have tried to follow his progress ever since. He's an excellent CEO who stays even keeled through the highs and lows. He hasn't forgotten where he came from or what it took to get there.
With just a few practices left before the Spring Game, what are some of the things you want to be sure are taken care of before summer conditioning arrives?
There are some situations we want to introduce or perhaps cover for a second or third time in practice before the spring season ends. We have definitely been multi-tasking this spring as we install new systems, create a new culture and evaluate our personnel. At the same time, we want to make sure our guys are learning the game and gaining a better understanding of the scenarios that will present themselves in the fall. We have a certain way of dealing with particular game situations. It's the Ball State way. We want our guys to understand the rules of the game and how they should react. For example, when does the clock start and stop in a two minute drive? When should I try to get out of bounds versus going down quickly in bounds? Do our backs and receivers understand not to fight for an extra yard and waste precious time in a two minute situation? This is all part of the their football education. It takes repetition because not everyone truly gets it the first time around. It has to become second nature to them if they want to play for us on Saturdays. We want our guys to earn a "PhD in football" by the time their career is over.
