Summer Project: Specialists Expected To Set A Standard
Part of the equation is being mentally prepared for every task
Mike Brohard
Often overlooked by the outside world – and sometimes within their own locker room – specialists across the country have come to terms with the perception.
They get it. They’re used minimally. Maybe up to 10 plays per game, but the truth is those plays carry impact, and when they’re on the field, all eyes are on them. At Colorado State, their position coach expects them to be out in front in everything they do, all the time and be mentally prepared to carry the torch.
“If there’s one thing, it’s identifying and holding each other to a standard. We talked about our standards, and we put them up on the board, typed it up and put it in their lockers,” special teams coach Tommy Perry said. “Not just the standards as far as snap to handle or location or hang time -- those are standards, but those are end-result standards. It’s also the process of if there’s a lift, we’re doing everything we can to dominate that lift. No matter if you’re a kicker, punter or snapper, you’re an athlete. If we’re running as a team, the standard is the specialists are out in front. As far as grades are concerned, that’s the standard that we have the best grades on the team.
“There’s a different between rules and standards. Rules are what Coach Jay Norvell hands down to keep us in line, but standards are things we decided on as a group, and those I found in my coaching career are looked at very differently by the players. They say this is what we need to do to be successful.”
Everything is different when a coaching regime changes. Heck, start with the fact there’s an actual special teams coordinator who holds expectations. To that end, the specialists understand they carry a bit of pressure with what Perry is asking. The standard they set this year will be expected to carry forward throughout the Novell era, so getting it right the first time out is key. No shortcuts.
It means when the team eats together, Perry wants them last in line. When they travel, he wants them to be the last off the plane so they can sweep through and pick up any trash left behind.
“I think that’s where it stems from. Let’s say a respect level, the average is here, but the specialists are a little bit below that, so we need to extra to be at an average respect, and then beyond that to earn our respect, as well,” punter Paddy Turner said. “We all know where we stand. We know how we contribute to the team, and we see our role as very important. The good thing with Coach Norvell and his staff is they do as well and see how important our roles are, and that’s filtered to the players. I think we’re really respected around the place.
“With Coach Norvell here at CSU, that’s the start of a legacy and we want to start that legacy in the specialist room, apart from Saturday’s. The legacy of specialists in the past, particularly with Ryan Stonehouse and Ross Reiter going on to their future endeavors, on the field and off the field, we want that legacy to be strong, as well.”
For the past few seasons, Cayden Camper has been the one following. Stonehouse, Reiter and even Joe DeLine pushed the pace and set the bar of expectations high. He followed their lead and took notes. He listened when Stonehouse pulled him aside during a low period early in the season, used the advice and turned the campaign into a record-setting finish, establishing the mark for field goals made in a year and a record six in one game.
I think it’s good in sports that the mental side is becoming much more focused on and there’s more awareness of it.Paddy Turner
He can take a bit of what he learned from them and shape it into what Perry is requiring, a process he’s excited to undertake as he wants to get it right for the players who will eventually follow.
“It’s an honor to set the standard, to be the leading part of it. I’ve always been under Ross and Ryan and Joe, and whatever they said went, so now it’s up to me and the others,” he said. “That’s pretty cool. I think the younger guys look up to us to see what we need to do, especially out on the field. Paddy and I were talking we need to be harder on the guys, be a leader more than a friend at times. We’ve got to be able to get everybody on track.
“The plane, he explained it that we’re specialists, but we’re the guys who are going to do all the right things. We have respect, but at the same time, it’s not what you get as a quarterback or a linebacker, and we understand that; we get it. But from here on out, when we get off the plane, it might not be our trash, but we’ll pick it up. We will do the right thing. Its’ a team effort to pick up trash in the locker room, fold clothes so they look nice and that’s a thing Coach Norvell has really pushed.”
Just as important, Perry wants them to be mentally tough. Among the most mentally prepared on their team and each game, definitely the most mentally well-equipped specialists on the field each week. It was when he was at Alabama under coach Nick Saban where he was first exposed to the idea the mental edge was just as important as the physical ability.
Everybody works hard. Those who are ready when the moment comes make a difference. So, he will assign them books throughout the year to help sharpen their minds. This summer, it is “The Zen and the Art of Archery.” While it might not be the same sport, they carry the same idea. A target must be hit, but if that’s the sole focus, Perry explained, it’ll never be achieved. True aim comes from focusing on the process and being ready to let loose.
And he wants them to have their heads in the right space, so he also incorporates meditation.
“Typically, in the summer, I give each on a topic to mediate on and get back to me,” Perry said. “It’s amazing the amount of growth I see with these guys.”
And the pushback. Which he expected and even appreciated. Camper told him up front he has trouble sitting still for 2 minutes, so he was a bit skeptical when it came to meditating.
“I’ve gotten better at it. It’s one of those things, it’s a skill,” Camper said. “Hey, I have an itch on my nose or my legs feel restless. I feel like I’ve got to move, so it was hard for me. It was one of those things where it starts up here, not with your body. It’s starts in your head, thinking about relaxing, doing nothing and sitting there. It’s gotten easier. You only sit down and do it for 5-10 minutes. I mean, there are people who meditate for 30 minutes to an hour, and I’m like, how in the world do you even do that?”
He wasn’t alone in his doubts. Turner also leans toward the restless side, but Perry said the ability of both to buy in and put it to use has made it easier on him with the rest of the group. As time moves on, he will give each of them specific topics to meditate to, and each one will be particularly geared to their individual personalities.
It’s the next step, and from the feedback Perry has had from former players, it is the type of meditation which makes the greatest impact. Turner is coming around to it himself.
"I think it’s good in sports that the mental side is becoming much more focused on and there’s more awareness of it. Especially in the college ranks, there’s a lot of 18- and 19-year-old kids with a lot of pressure on their shoulders,” Turner said. “Take Michigan, we’re going to be out in from of 105,000 people, we need to be mentally strong for that.
“Coach Perry is putting us on the right path. It’s new. I’ve never meditated before in my life, and I won’t lie, when we first started, I thought this is absolute crap. But you know, I’ve bought into it, and I think it’s helped me develop. The biggest thing we’ve focused on the past few weeks is short-term memory. If one mistake is made, yeah, we get down about it and we know we make that mistake and we own it, but then we’ve got to forget about it and focus on our next opportunity. It really comes to you as specialists. Kickers, snappers and punters, you get one chance. You might not get another chance until the next quarter, the next week, so we have to put that behind us and make sure you’re 100 percent ready physically and mentally for that next rep.”
Not overlooking anything, that’s the standard Perry wants set. Better yet, his guys are on board leading the way.