Coordinator's ability to think on his feet pays off in long run
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist
He is in full stride now, making the sharp turn on to Dole Street, maneuvering through the morning pedestrian traffic of students arriving at the University of Hawai'i campus.
By the time Kevin Lempa, the Warriors' defensive coordinator, hits the slope on St. Louis Heights Drive, he is head down and buried in deep thought, oblivious to the gentle rain that is falling.
The familiar scenery along Wai'alae Avenue and on to Kalele Road has gone largely unnoticed, but a blur in the background of his thoughts.
While the rest of the coaching staff heads off to breakfast or the showers after practice, Lempa hits the pavement looking for fresh air, answers and inspiration more than exercise.
"I'm not a workout type of guy," Lempa confesses. Indeed, this is a daily business trip. This is his office away from the office, where the coach of the Western Athletic Conference's leader in scoring defense leaves the blackboards and VCR machines behind to contemplate and prepare for the game ahead.
Over the same 2.5-mile path he has covered every on-campus working day of his 20-month stay since arriving from the San Diego Chargers, Lempa finds post-practice room to let his thoughts roam and solutions gather.
It is where he plans practices, meetings and more. It is where he pondered the merits of moving Chris Brown from defensive end to middle linebacker; where he mentally sorted out the lessons learned from the loss at Nevada and arrived at how best to adapt them.
It has been the defense that has driven the Warriors in their remarkable U-turn from 1-2 to 6-2. It has been the defense that has set the bruising big-play example.
From the struggles of last season, when the Warriors were 99th in Division IA in scoring defense, they have become a stingy 27th even in a wide-open league.
The turning point of this season has been the Sept. 29 game against Rice, the Warriors' last loss. That's where the defense first showed signs of coming together and the potential for what has occurred. "That's where the light went on for us — both as coaches and the players," Lempa said.
"That's when the players first started to buy into what we were telling them as far as the whole defensive philosophy. It was where we started to play with emotion and we started to play together as a unit. It was where we, as coaches, simplified things for them. We realized that we didn't have to do so many things. We just had to ask them to do a few things well. And, that's what we've been doing," Lempa said.
Along the way, penalties are down and turnovers — 12 by fumble and nine by interception — up. Big plays are a regular feature now, especially on third down.
All this amid a rash of injuries that have wreaked havoc with the lineup but not with the final results.
While most of the passersby pay little attention to the man in the green shorts and white T-shirt on his morning rounds, the occasional horn-tap salute from passing bus drivers suggests the turnaround he has helped direct has not gone unnoticed.
