Tuesday, February 23, 1999
The k factor
KEZIRIAN: Ed Kezirian – ‘Coach K’ to the football team – works
hard in the off-season to make sure his players stay on track in
class and in life
By Mary Vuong
Daily Bruin Contributor
He’s like one of those people you see on your favorite shows –
the guest star who distracts you because you’re trying to place his
face.
Here’s a hint: place a towel in his hand and imagine him
swirling it like a maniac.
The football season may be over, but Ed Kezirian’s spirit is
still going strong.
"He’s so Bruin it’s sickening. If you cut him, he’d probably
bleed blue and gold," his wife Kay said, jokingly.
Kezirian’s tradition of waving a towel at home games began in
1994 in a game against Stanford.
"I just saw a towel lying on the ground, so I started waving it
around to get everybody to stand up and cheer. Sure enough, the
kicker missed and we won 31-30," he said.
Simply known as "Coach K," Kezirian is the assistant athletic
director for the football team, working closely with coaches,
counselors and over 100 players to ensure their academic and
athletic success.
"The retention of our kids working towards graduation is what
motivates me. Now my wins and losses are more the kids working
towards graduation and finding meaningful careers," he said.
Sometimes the players’ lack of success and disappointment in
their sport can create problems for them in the classroom, Kezirian
said.
Once, he heard coach John Wooden say that "love" is the most
important word in the English language and "balance" is the
second.
"I try to keep those two things in mind when I’m working with
students," he said. "They have a full-time job playing a sport, and
they have school too. It can be overwhelming at times."
When students come to him, he takes a coaching approach and
tries to be positive and enthusiastic.
"I learned from Chip Anderson (a professor in the education
department) to encourage kids to take the strengths that they have
in athletics and transfer them over to academics," he said.
"I particularly keep an eye on the guys in their first year; the
transition from high school to college can be tough," he added.
"I see him as a father on campus. He showed me everything I
needed to know," said Eric Whitfield, a fourth-year history student
and safety on the football team. "He’s worth more than all the
money in the world."
Gary Walton, a former defensive tackle and linebacker who
graduated in 1996, recalled his similar relationship with Kezirian,
naming him as one of the few people he could confide in at
school.
"I went to him for everything. He’s like a second father," he
said.
Walton said that at one point, when he was doing pretty well in
football and became rather cocky, Kezirian showed him just how much
he cared.
"My head was getting kind of big, and I started to slack off in
schoolwork," Walton said.
Kezirian went to his classes to check up on him and also
notified his parents. "And let’s just say that I’ve made it to all
my classes since then," Walton added.
Before taking his current administrative position, Kezirian
spent 13 years coaching under former UCLA football head coach Terry
Donahue.
"(Donahue) had a vision of a coach who would be part of our
academic team here," he said. "We’re trying to satisfy two masters
in terms of academic and athletic excellence – trying to be great
in both."
After two years as an assistant graduate coach, Kezirian coached
at the University of Hawaii for four years before returning to UCLA
as a full-time offensive coach.
Long before he started coaching, though, Kezirian stepped onto
campus as a transfer student who played left tackle for the
football team.
After two successful years of Bruin football, he was drafted by
the Cincinnati Bengals and decided to put school on hold.
Quickly realizing that his chances of playing in the NFL were
slim, Kezirian signed with the World Football League (WFL) and
played for a season.
Before continuing with the WFL, Kezirian returned to school in
1975 to finish his degree in sociology.
"School was very important to me. Both my parents emphasized
education. I also enjoyed the relationships I made with other
students," he said, "although I was really shy in high school."
"Of course people can’t believe that now," he continued,
smiling. "For me, playing sports was a way to be involved."
The second youngest of five boys, Kezirian grew up in Rolinda,
Calif., a small farming community west of Fresno. Through daily
chores and farm work, his parents instilled the hard work ethic and
positive attitude that he carries with him to this day.
"As a kid growing up in the country, I led a pretty sheltered
life. Being fourth in line, you kind of just watched your older
brothers and followed suit," he said. "But when we weren’t doing
our chores, we were involved in sports."
Next fall, another Kezirian will grace the Bruin football
field.
His son Blane, a senior at El Camino Real High School, has been
recruited to play linebacker for the team.
Though he never pushed his son to play football or to sign with
UCLA, Kezirian is excited about having him here next year.
He and Kay, his wife of nearly 20 years, also have two
daughters. The whole family attends various sports games throughout
the year.
Kezirian added that the students can do so much to help support
a team. And the players and coaches definitely feel it.
"It really gives you a winning edge," he said.
True, but some say Kezirian is being much too modest.
Kay remembered one student, Jesse Sapolu – recently retired from
the San Francisco 49ers – with whom Kezirian was always strict.
"The kid hated Ed at the time; we thought he’d come to school
one day with a gun and shoot him. But then after settling down,
Jesse named his first son Kezirian," she said.
"During games, he’s always the one who gets the fans and the
team going," Whitfield added. "For example, if we’ve just had a
turnover, then Coach K is the first one to clap his hands, smile
and say everything’s gonna be fine."
Be the best you can be – that’s Kezirian’s hope for each of his
players.
"It was always Coach K. When he told us he was retiring, we got
pretty teary-eyed," Whitfield said.
"Once we were on a three-game losing streak and we realized it
was cause we didn’t have Coach K there anymore. No one can get us
going like he can, not any of the other coaches or the captain.
Ever since then, we knew we needed him with us at every game," he
said.
"He’s like the backbone of our team, the heart and soul of
football games."
JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Ed Kezirian, or "Coach K" to his players, is known for waving a
towel around at football games to pump up the crowd. Coach K’s
players often say that he is an inspiration to them.
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