BearInsider has some information on our new special teams/tight ends coach Jeff Genyk. Things look like they'll be a-changin' in the special teams department. Thanks royrules22 for collecting these quotes.
..Genyk’s "Expect to Execute" program is a program that instructs athletes and business professionals how they can operate in their field when they face difficult obstacles in their careers.
"We attempt to improve your belief system by improving focus, self talk, visualization, framing skills and physical presence." The ability to utilize the best from the sports world and improve other professionals is a very rewarding process. The "Expect to Execute" program is presently being used at Medtronic, Inc., General Motors and Michigan High School(s).
"You also convince your team that once you cross the other team’s 45-yard line, you always are going to go for it on fourth down if it’s fourth-and-medium or -short. You build in that mentality among the players that, if we get there, coach is going to go for it and we will get an extra down."
From 1994 to 2003, Genyk served as an assistant coach at Northwestern, and at different times coaching linebackers, running backs, and the secondary. From 1998–2003 he served as Special Teams Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator. During his time at Northwestern, the Wildcats won 3 Big Ten titles and participated in 4 bowl games.
Most importantly, the special teams. I obviously don’t follow Northwestern football close enough to know how their special teams were from 1998-2003. But how many Special Teams coordinators have you heard of that got a head coaching job at a D-1A school straight from being a special teams coach, with no offensive/defensive coordinator experience?
This suggests to me that Northwestern must have had very good special teams (allowing them to overcome some talent deficiencies and win some Big Ten titles, perhaps) and/or Jeff Genyk had a reputation as a great recruiter in the midwest.
After the jump men's basketball gets blown out by Washington, women's basketball completes a sweep of the Washington schools, and more.
Cal Football
- As a coach of a Lou Groza award finalist in 2004 and a punt coverage unit that ranked third in 2006, Genyk should have a measurable impact on the Cal special teams.
Cal Basketball
- Jeff Faraudo's game thread is a good barometer for yesterday's game. The Bears started off hot (for about two minutes), got outscored 33-7, and then kept pace with Washington for the rest of the game.
- With 22 turnovers, 16 field goals, a 33% field goal percentage, and 18 missed foul shots, not much went right for Cal yesterday. Monty talks about what went wrong during the post-game press conference.
- Alexis Gray-Lawson's 29 points led Cal to a 75-68 win over WSU, completing the sweep of the Washington teams. With her team down 6 with 15 minutes to play, Boyle is proud of the team's resilience in the situation. She believes it is teaching them good lessons which should play off as freshmen get more experience.