Pete Lembo compares special teams coordinator role to Risk board game

South Carolina special teams coordinator Pete Lembo has carved out a role as one of the top coaches in college football dealing in punts, kicks and all that comes with it. And as he approaches a third year with Shane Beamer at South Carolina, Lembo discussed how special teams is sometimes a year-on-year endeavor where establishing scheme continuity doesn’t really matter.

In discussing how he might lose experienced special teamers as they climb up the depth chart on offense or defense, Lembo analogized his role to that of someone playing the board game Risk. He has to pick and chose where he can sink resources to ensure he gets the best results.

“So you almost look at it like the old game of Risk,” Lembo said. “And you have so many armies and you can only put them in so many places, and so it’s like, ‘OK, I’m weak in South America. I’m willing to lose South America. But I’m going to fortify Europe and there’s no way you’re going to attack me in Europe.’ So that’s kind of my day-to-day. It’s always changing, it’s always evolving and that’s before you even throw injuries and specific things relative to a game plan when you look at matchups and you look at the strengths of an opponent.”

Even if he has a player who might’ve been a key special teamer the last two seasons back for this year, Lembo knows there’s no guarantee that player will be available for all the units he wants him for. Plus, a player he has playing across multiple units might move up the depth chart elsewhere as the season goes on and can’t play on as many units.

It’s got Lembo in what he calls “General Patton mode” — a reference to famous World War II general George S. Patton — as he turns over every stone in making sure he’s got players on the same page.

And while Lembo is demanding of his players much like Patton was of his troops, he also wants to make sure they know he and his fellow coaches are equally proud when the go out and make plays.

“It’s that balancing act, back and forth every day and being demanding but still letting these guys know when you do something well that we’re proud of ’em and hopefully we are a — it’s like when you invest in a mutual fund, right? And one of the first things you read is ‘Past results are not a guarantee of future performance.’ So we don’t forget that we’ve out-performed the S&P 500 the last two years, we’re proud of that, good stuff. But every year presents its own unique set of challenges and so we need to stay humble, we need to stay grounded. And we need to stay after it,” Lembo said.

He concluded: “Teddy Roosevelt used to say, and my dad used to tell me, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick.’ So hopefully that’s what we’re going to be able to do here.”