By Sam Wentz, Sports Information Student Intern
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COLUMBUS – It was the start of winter break and as many students and faculty prepared to make the trip home, Craig Candeto was just arriving on campus and beginning to find his way around.
His December and January hardly consisted of relaxation. Instead, he busily started to try to wrap his mind around all that he had to do.
Candeto's first few days on campus consisted of settling, getting organized, planning for recruiting, as well as dealing with staff and returning players. Needless to say it was a very hectic first few weeks as the new head football coach for Capital University.
It is nearing the end of the school year, and Candeto and his wife, Maribeth, are settled in the Columbus area. The Crusaders have just finished spring practice, which commenced just over two weeks ago with the Purple vs. White spring intrasquad scrimmage.
Sitting down with Coach Candeto, I was able to gain insight to the thoughts of one of the newest members of the Capital family and really discover just whom the university had hired.
Q: What attracted you to Capital University?
A: "It was an immediate attraction- coming to the campus, seeing the facilities, interacting with the people and even the location were all things that appealed to me. The entire process from working with the administration, to the search committee, and even meeting the team made an impact. To be a coach for the guys and to be in front of them was huge for me- it really fired me up to be in front of them."
Q: Since you've been here, have you gotten the feeling that we are consistent with the promise and promotion of our "Cap Fam"?
A: "In fact it was the idea of a family that really helped me feel like I belonged at Capital. People reached out to me, were friendly; it was the most welcomed my wife and I had been. I am 100 percent on board with the idea of the "Cap Fam" and I consistently work to sell it during my meetings with recruits."
Q: When you were in college yourself, you were busy with two sports, so clearly sports were important, but how did you handle academics along with academics in your life? Were there any specific difficulties?
A: "Doing two sports in college was tough, there's no doubt about that. Being a part of two sports of totally different seasons was hard, but spring brought on completely new difficulties. It was hard to be in season for baseball and attend spring practices for football. The worst was when I had to do Saturday scrimmages for football and then go over the baseball field and play double headers Saturday and Sunday. I know for one thing, it definitely made me tougher."
And let's not forget where he went to college –you think playing two sports is difficult? Try attending the Naval Academy, while dealing with two sports, military requirements and academics.
"It was, to say the least, demanding and difficult," Candeto said.
There were missed classes to deal with, being mentally and physically exhausted but that was nothing to stop him.
"I believe that if you're going to do two sports, you should have strong academics, contribute strongly to both teams," Candeto said. "It is possible to do both and be excellent in both."
With this in mind, one can only believe that Coach Candeto will have high expectations for his student-athletes, staff and for himself as part of the Capital family.
Q: What do you believe your role should be as a coach, with experience as a prior student athlete?
A: "You have to be a student first. You can't do your job as a football player if you're not taking care of yourself in the classroom. Being pulled in different directions can easily distract from your success. We aren't going to be a 'football factory', so we want to maximize the ability in the classroom. In the end it's the 40 years after the four years that matter.
"We want our players doing the right thing, not screwing around in class, being respectful and be good in every area of life. All of this takes a lot of discipline, but we are holding our players to this high level, as long as they try, we can work with that."
Q: If you could choose three words to describe what you expect of your student-athletes as a coach and an academic, what would they be?
A: "Effort. Attitude. Discipline. Each of those don't take talent, everyone should be able to maximize in those areas. You control these three things – it's about seeing something, going after it and taking the steps to get there."
Q: What type of student-athlete are you looking for?
A: "Tenacity. Being tenacious and never letting go. I want players who are still going to fight, still play as hard as they can in the fourth quarter, just like they would in the first. The best analogy I could make it would be I want athletes who are like pitbulls, grabbing and holding on until they have nothing left.
"I'm also looking for guys with good character and are going to do the right thing. It is my hope that my athletes will be better people by the time they leave than when they first came through the doors. I want them to know and understand what it means to be a true man, teach them about the real world. Football is what life is – ups, downs, victories and defeats; you get hit, you bleed, you're challenged physically and mentally."
Q: A student athlete said "Coach Candeto will develop current and future players as men, instilling the values we take with us and use as husbands and fathers…" Do you feel that this is consistent with the message you are ultimately trying to get the team to understand?
A: "This was just unbelievable when I read it. I felt extremely humbled; it was amazing that after only 25 minutes with the team, they knew what I was after. It was so flattering because those things are so important to me. As a coach and mentor I'm going to push them and hold them to high standards. It's in their hands to do this thing right the first time. But I also know that I'm going to have a chance to make a major impact. A while back I met Billy Graham who said that a coach will have more influence on people in his life time than any one will. According to him the two most powerful words are 'coach said', and with this I know that I have been given a high honor and high responsibility."
Q: Your success follows you all the way back into high school, where in 1999 you were 6A Florida State High School Player of the Year, had honors in football and you were also first team all-state in baseball…were these things you expected of yourself going into high school? Or were they seen as something to strive for as you played through the seasons?
A: "I never really set out to be those things; they were just results of hard work and dedication. You have to be willing to continue to work, to get better. It wasn't about the honors for me; it was about what I could do to help the team and the honors were just something that followed that."
Q: With all of your success, how does it affect what you want from your athletes? How much success to you expect from them?
A: "I wasn't the most talented but I know what it takes. There is no excuse for a guy not to maximize his level of talent. I've been pushed to my limits and have seen how it's helped and benefitted me and that is exactly what you'll get from me. I don't have a lot of sympathy for excuses and complaints; excuses are for losers. There are always ways to be more efficient, if you want something bad enough you put in the effort and go do it. Saying that you want to be good isn't enough; you have to show it. These guys will be pushed harder they they've ever been pushed before. As a team we are striving for excellence in everything."
Q: Do you remember what it was like being recruited?
A: "I remember being excited and nervous all at the same time. At that point in your life it's the biggest decisions you're making. It's not a four-year decision; it's a 40-year decision. I chose the Navy because of all they had to offer and the fact that my recruiter never stopped trying to get me. He was personable and continued to develop the relationship with me, and really showed me that a recruit doesn't know how much they care about the recruiter until the recruiter can show how much they care about that player."
Q: Since you're getting a late start with the team, how has it been working with recruits?
A: Within the last two months we've had over 100 guys on campus, so it's been really good. The assistant coaches have done tremendous work with visiting schools and developing relationships with high school coaches. I can't say enough about the work they have done."
Q: You said, "I believe we have the pieces in place to compete annually in the OAC and bring the program back to national prominence. Achieving our goals will not be easy, but we will stay the course and expect excellence in all areas of our program. We want to build champions in all that we do, on and off the field, and will take the necessary steps to make sure this is accomplished." What other changes do you plan to implement other than the triple option offense…what are some of the necessary steps?
A: "There will definitely be attention to detail. Everyone has to know that they have an assignment to do and have to do it. Accountability is key; do your job and don't compensate. If all 11 players on the field do their job we'll be successful. We're going to focus on the little things – hand placement, eyes, and first step – in order to make the big things happen. We'll break it all down to fundamentals, footwork every day, focus one execution and make fewer mistakes."
Over the past few weeks the team has been practicing for spring ball where Coach Candeto, along with his coaching staff and the players, have started to work together for the first time. Candeto expressed that during the spring season he hopes to do a few things:
-"put in basic offensive and defensive schemes; keep it simple and rep those things"
-"teach them the temp of practice, show them what August will be like"
-"focus on the little things and finally put words into actions"
After getting the chance to catch up with Coach Candeto after a few weeks of practice, I was able to see if his expectations were being met and see what he was looking forward to for August.
Q: How has the spring season been so far?
A: "It's been good so far and I'm pretty pleased overall. I think the team is beginning to understand how we're going to practice in the fall. They have been putting in the effort and working hard and have improved since day one. But of course we still have a long way to go. In the fall we ad pads and that's a completely new element. There will be a lot to learn and a lot to find out."
Q: How is it working with the players and coaching staff as whole for the first time?
A: "The players seem to be responding well, even when we do yell at them and are hard on them. The coaching staff has been great so far, we're still all learning how we are as individuals but we are also meshing well. Sometimes there's a lot of yelling but there is also a lot of teaching which is important."
Q: Do you have any concerns?
A: "My only concern would be that the guys don't keep their focus over the summer. It's extremely important that over the next three months the players take care of their bodies, with running and lifting, they just need to be smart. I hope that they can stay focused on the bigger goal, which is to turn the program around. But I know they are going to continue to work over the summer, I have faith in them."
Q: By the end of August this year, after preseason camp, what qualities do you hope to see in the team that you put on the field?
A: "I want Capital to become better. I don't wasn't us to compare ourselves. What matters is that by August 31 were are better than we were on August 30. Whatever it looks like, it's going to be a building process, who knows what's going to happen. I just want us to continue to get better every day and be proud of the things we've done. I'll be happy as long as we continue to get better."
