The Mustang football team completed a 6-5 season culminating in a Great West title in final year and the team is currently preparing for a strong season to come.
Behind the Mustangs’ successes stand a large group of individuals who work behind the scenes to ensure the team stays on top of its game.
Assistant coaches
A day in the life of an assistant coach holds various responsibilities. During offseason, assistant coaches focus on recruiting players for next year and regulating players’ academics and physical training.
During the season, however, they hold a busier schedule filled with different tasks.
“We’re not at a big school where they have 20 assistants to do the grunt work,” assistant coach for defensive secondary positions Patrick Johnston said. “Guys wear a lot of different hats. You have to be a football coach, an event planner, a travel agent — a lot of different things to do that we have to do ourselves, where at the big schools they have the luxury of just having a lot of people and the programs to do those things.”
Because of the many responsibilities the job entails, Johnston said the average day is time consuming and full of deadlines.
“We’ve got to get back from the game and start working right away on the next opponent,” he said. “You’ve got to have a plan done by Sunday night or Monday morning. Sometimes during the season, you wish there were more hours in the day to get accomplished what you want to get accomplished.”
The plus side of his busy schedule is it allows for a closer relationship with the team. Players must check in for their academic game plan, a regulation to ensure they are on the right track with school, and visit the training room often, which assistant coaches regulate. In addition, traveling to different states for games is when the most bonding takes place, Johnston said, because coaches and players alike must rely on each other to keep their heads on straight.
Another bright side of the job is when assistant coaches’ efforts pay off through game performances.
“Let’s say some team you know does a couple things really well, and you’ve harped on it so hard all week about what to do when you get this situation,” Johnston said. “To see them do the right thing and keep their composure … those are kind of the special moments when you can see the instruction that they’ve been given paying off.”
No matter how hard the team works to improve its game, though, nothing helps as much as student support, Johnston said.
In 2008, the Mustangs experienced an extremely successful season when they went to the Football Championship Series (FCS) Playoffs. People were being turned away from games because the stadium was at maximum capacity. The team would like to see that amount of support consistently, as student enthusiasm this season was not as strong, Johnston said.
“The students don’t realize how much of a difference it makes when we come to a packed stadium that’s full of energy as opposed to a half-filled place,” he said. “It fires us up when we see people getting so excited for the game. It can turn the game around sometimes … the players and coaches really appreciate that.”
Athletic trainers
Only under rare occurrences are athletic trainers in the public eye, and during which, they might be criticized for not recognizing players’ conditions or something of the sort. Cal Poly athletic trainer Jim Eggen is no exception.
Athletic trainers are often misconceived as just plain trainers, Eggen said. An athletic trainer meets the qualifications set by a state and practices under a physician’s direction, while a personal trainer monitors and alters someone’s customized exercise program in a fitness or sports setting.
The biggest difference between an athletic trainer and a trainer is the considerable amount of education an athletic trainer must go through, Eggen said.
“It starts with learning in-depth anatomy and physiology, and learning how the body responds to insults and figuring out a safe way to repair it,” he said.
Eggen went through undergraduate kinesiology and athletic training program at San Diego State University and went on to complete a graduate program at the University of Virginia.
Athletic trainers are required to be at every football practice, all conditioning events and games. In off times, injured players visit the training room to receive treatment as needed.
The most rewarding part of the job is seeing athletes get better and back on their feet, Eggen said.
“They work to get better, and then they stop coming in,” he said. “Not because you don’t want to see them anymore, but just because that usually means they’re healthy enough to return safely to their sport. Seeing them back out on the field, that’s kind of cool. (its also rewarding) when athletes say ‘Thank you,’ because they’re about the only ones that do.”
Video coordinators
Much of the team’s game preparation is based on studying video footage of practices and opponents’ games. Jake Otten, kinesiology junior and the team’s video coordinator, oversees the editing and compilation of video clips for coaches to use.
The constant time and attention the job requires creates pressure, Otten said. The video coordinator will usually receive film for the next opponent on Sunday morning, and must have the footage marked, cut up and ready to go by Sunday afternoon. He usually gets three games to be marked up in three hours, Otten said.
“If the game gets done at 9 p.m., I’ll be there until 1 in the morning putting the game in,” Otten said. “So while everyone else is partying, I’m still in office marking up the game so they can watch it the next morning.”
Despite the difficult hours, being a part of the team is worth it, Otten said.
In 2010, the Mustangs defeated the No. 1-ranked Montana Grizzlies in Alex G. Spanos Stadium, one of the biggest wins since head coach Tim Walsh took over in 2009.
“It was one of the biggest accomplishments we ever had at Cal Poly,” Otten said. “Being a part of that — just the rush and feeling really said, ‘Wow, I’m really happy with what I’m doing right now. This was all worth it, just that one game was worth it for the entire year.’”
Otten has volunteered for the team for two years and has high hopes to become a coach one day.
Not many people want to do video because of the heavy workload and the time crunch it requires, he said. But his dad is video coordinator for the Raiders, so Otten has been exposed to the challenging aspects of the career.
As video coordinator, he works closely with the coaches and the players. Through a program called Huddle, Otten puts videos on the computer to be streamed live from the house of whomever requested it. He also creates highlight films for the team’s personal enjoyment.
Otten’s success as a video coordinator can be attributed to his lifelong exposure to football and playing on his high school’s team. Although he would have enjoyed playing college football, working behind the scenes is better for his goal of becoming a coach, Otten said.
“I like hanging out with the team; I like being involved in something other than just school,” he said. “Football’s a big part of the school, so it’s kind of fun to be involved. And even though it’s behind the scenes, you know someone needs to do it. It’s kind of cool to be that guy.”
Defensive quality control
In addition to editing videos, studying those videos in game preparation is another crucial aspect to the team’s success. Defensive quality control works to remain one step ahead of the opponent and understand the tendencies they might run.
Having played on the offensive side of football in college, defensive quality control coach Russell Oka said it is challenging to study the defensive side.
“It’s learning new things and seeing it from a different perspective from the other side of the ball,” Oka said. “That’s been the most challenging thing. But it’s a good challenge because it helps me understand the whole game better.”
Another difficulty is a seemingly lack of resources Cal Poly football has. The team does not get an equal chance to gather recruits or players compared to other, larger teams, but that doesn’t stop it from having high expectations, he said.
“We don’t let (lack of resources) be an excuse,” Oka said. “(We) expect to win on a consistent basis, so it’s really promoting a winning attitude here.”
Oka has worked at Cal Poly for only a couple months, but said he has learned a lot about the football team through off-the-field interactions.
Before every game, home or away, the players touch a memorial rock representing a plane crash in 1960 during which 22 players’ and coaches’ lives were taken.
“It’s a reminder to the kids that to play football is a privilege, and to be able to play this game is something that they shouldn’t take for granted,” Oka said. “I would say that at Cal Poly, (the team takes) a lot of pride in their history. Coach Walsh does a good job of reflecting that not only with the players but with staff as well.”