Player of the Week : Head to Toe, Coston Gets Better

Modern technology, which brought the computer, polyurethane and self-visualization to professional and college sports, has, by the middle of the 1980s, trickled down to the high school level.

Exhibit A: Mater Dei High School senior Gary Coston.

After having what he considered a disappointing junior season, the Monarch kicker spent most of the offseason developing the mental and physical aspects of his game through the use of state-of-the-art training.

The technique is called psycho-cybernetics and in one year, it has helped transform Coston from an erratic placekicker into one of Orange County’s finest in 1985.

Already this season, Coston has scored 37 points, including 8 field goals and 13 extra points. Two of the field goals have been last-minute game-winners.

His most recent was a 47-yarder, the longest of his career, which came with 52 seconds left to give Mater Dei a 17-14 win over St. Paul--an achievement of note, considering that the game was played at the Swordsmen’s hostile home field, notoriously known as “The Pit.”

For his kick, he has been named Times’ Player of the Week.

The week before, Coston kicked a 39-yarder with 13 seconds remaining to beat Westminster, 14-11. His recent success in pressure spots has been somewhat remarkable, considering how he responded in similar situations before this season.

Last year, he had made eight consecutive field goal attempts, before missing several in succession. Two of those failed attempts, one against Servite and the other against St. John Bosco, came in potential game-winning situations. Coston said those misses nearly destroyed his confidence.

But during the offseason, Coston discovered a mental training method designed for athletes called psycho-cybernetics. It is a systematic way of developing the intensity of an athlete’s concentration level.

Coston credits it as the main factor in helping him overcome his fear of kicking under pressure.

“It really helped my mental game,” Coston said. “Last year, I let the pressure get to me . . . I came into this season not feeling too good. I kept dwelling on last year. But now I feel real confident.”

Chuck Gallo, Monarch coach, also has been impressed with the impact the mental training.

“I think you could say that it’s working,” Gallo said. “I’ve definitely seen a difference. He’s also our punter, and he’s been punting extremely well. And he kicks off for us, and now he kicks off into the end zone more times than not. He performs every phase of our kicking game, and does a great job.”

Coston learned about the form of mental training from his running coach, Kevin McNair. McNair is a friend of high jumper Dwight Stones, who has been instrumental in developing psycho-cybernetics.

Coston said he spoke with Stones several times last summer. Then, he went out and practiced it, going over the kicking motion, again and again, in his head.

“It helps me to block out the crowd, and just mainly not thinking about my kicking,” Coston said. “I try to get my mind off kicking, and think about anything else. Now I don’t let the pressure build up on me.”

In addition to this mental conditioning, Coston also spent a great deal of time trying to strengthen his leg, regularly using computerized weight-lifting equipment. As a result, he believes he has added more than 10 yards to his distance.

Not only has Coston topped his previous longest kick in a game, but he claims to have made a 60-yard field goal in practice. Earlier in the St. Paul game, he attempted a 67-yarder, which Gallo said “fell six or seven yards deep in the end zone.”

Coston’s main goal for the future, he says, is to kick for Notre Dame. Gallo has little doubt Coston will attain his goal.

And with Coston’s newly-discovered confidence, the kicker is beginning to share those sentiments.