Semones takes helm of Tiger football

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Author: Juliet Suess

Amidst a tumultuous time for Occidental Athletics, Doug Semones comes in as the new head football coach to provide some stability for the department and for a team that has had three different head coaches in as many years.

“[The players] need someone that is going to be here and be their leader and be a figurehead for the program and that’s me,” Semones said. Semones is a Cal Lu alum, who was a defensive coach at Yale from 2009-11 when the head coach resigned and the assistants were not retained. He spent the last season coaching at an inner-city school in New Haven, Conn.

The NCAA placed Occidental’s football program on probation for two years following and investigation into recruiting violations under former head coach Dale Widolff. But Semones is not deterred by the situation.

“I don’t feel like I am coming into a situation where I have to walk on eggshells to do my job, so I mean, I am just moving forward,” Semones said.

For him, it is not the atmosphere in athletics that concerns him but working with admissions because he is unfamiliar with Occidental’s process. Having previously been a coach at Yale, Semones is familiar with high academic standards for student athlete applicants. The difference in the structures of the admissions processes has been difficult to maneuver thus far.

Yale’s system is a little more structured where we had a specific number of football players that we could get into school,” Semones said. “We had 30 spots, and they had to fit into a certain academic index or a band to be admitted. They had to go through the same scrutiny, and we didn’t get all of them. If we had a kid that had the right numbers and we put them in front of admissions we usually got them because they were quality kids. With Oxy, it is a little morevague.”

Assistant coach Kevin May ’11 worked with admissions in the off season before Semones was hired. He was looking to improve the communication between admissions and the football staff in order to get more football student athletes admitted.

We worked hand-in-hand with the ladies in admission and we said, ‘ya know, we want to do things your way, we want to work together, so what have we been doing wrong in the past, what can we improve on?'” May said.

Often, students see Semones roaming the quad or frequenting the pool deck. When he sees one of the football players around, he motions a “howzit” to them, which looks something like a snapped hang loose sign.

“I think that Semones generally wants to meet everyone and be on good terms with everyone from the chefs in the marketplace to admissions to the maintenance guys, everyone, and he is genuine,” May said. “He
wants to give them hats and shirts and just give us a better presence around campus.”

His outgoing personality and lively interactions with the players made him a prime candidate for the job.

“[Semones has a] very outgoing personality, very full of energy, which is something that we didn’t have in our previous head coaches, which is what I liked the most. And [he is] really straight forward,” left guard Dalton Spinas (junior) said.

But, according to quarterback Tommy Edwards (junior), Semones also knows when it is time to joke around and when it is time to get to work.

“That’s a pretty special thing to have,” Edwards said. “He knows when he can joke around and have a good time with his players, but he also knows when it is time to get serious. He knows when to turn it on and when to turn it off.Like he is always joking around with me, and then when we need to get down to business, he is always obviously not joking around.”

Semones has three rules when it comes to his team and likes to keep his coaching philosophy simple.”It is basically, be on time, work your ass off when you’re here, and don’t embarrass the program,” Semones said. “Don’t do something stupid and get in trouble and besides that: keep it simple. The more rules you have, the more policing you have to do.”

He holds people accountable when they break any rules or when they are not producing wins.

“He is a go-getter kind of guy. He holds people accountable. He will not accept losing. He is not a loser. He doesn’t accept excuses. He is someone you can really rally around, and that is something that this program really needs right now is change, and he is willing to make those changes whatever they may be to get the program going in the right direction,” Edwards said.

Edwards also said standards were lacking in the team last year, so Semones is the right guy to demand respect.

“Last year, guys were just slacking off way too much,” he said. “There were no consequences, so Semones is definitely up in your face kind of guy, he shows you respect if you give him respect, and if you don’t, you’re out of here.”

Spinas looked for more than leadership qualities when he, along with Edwards, interviewed Semones for the job.

“I think the most unique challenge we faced when looking for a coach was someone who could really fit the Occidental experience as far as a small, D3 school because a lot of coaches had experience with bigger schools, but it is a tough sell trying to get them to come to a small school especially one with academic standards,” Spinas said.

Part of the Division III, small school experience lies in the relationships built on campus, not just between students and professors or between students and clubs, but between athletics and the campus. In order to improve the football team’s on-campus perception and relationship with fellow classmates, the team is holding a bone marrow drive in April and adding events to their games to attract more of a crowd to home games. For example, before the Pomona-Pitzer game, they are going to hold a bonfire before the game where they barbecue “Sagehens,” a tradition that Semones is bringing back.

“[Pomona-Pitzer) are the Sagehens I guess, so we are going to eat some Sagehen or BBQ or something, all legal. No PCA or anything. We aren’t going to go killing chickens,” Semones said.

May is also looking forward to bringing back another tradition: winning.

“We are not too far removed from a very successful time,” May said. “Three years ago we had a 7-2 season, four years ago, we had an undefeated playoff season, so I think what the new coaches will learn is even though 2-7 looks terrible,I think we are closer to being successful than the 2-7 record shows.”

Edwards thinks that winning has been a part of Occidental football for years, and he is planning on bringing that aspect back to next year’s team.

“Last year was a fluke,” he said. “I mean I haven’t been here that long, but I have read Oxy’s history and last year is not indicative of what this program is or what it is ever going to be. I don’t see why we shouldn’t have a winning record next year. I don’t see why we shouldn’t push for a SCIAC Championship.”

Linebacker Matt Matulaitis (junior) stated that winning is something Semones knows very well.

“He has basically been successful wherever he has gone,” he said. “And I think that part of it maybe is because he always preaches about efficiency where we just get in get out and get our job done.”

Players expressed their excitement for the changes that Semones is implementing (even though that will mean waking up before 7 a.m. to go to practice), but mostly, players have been centered on one new emotion that is brought in by Semones: hope.

“I think the general attitude on the team is that we are all looking forward to it, we are all pretty excited for the change because what we have had in the past has not been the best, so it is hopeful, and we think it will be the best for everyone,” Spinas said.

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