UCLA coach Bob Chesney grades Bruins on effort not perfection as spring football opens

UCLA coach Bob Chesney leads the Bruins through their first spring football practice at Spaulding Field on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) UCLA football coach Bob Chesney wasn’t looking for star performances during the Bruins' first spring practice on Thursday — instead, he wanted his players to focus on holding themselves accountable for putting in their best effort. “We talk about the mirror test.

Don’t worry about what your coach says, don’t worry about what your other teammates say,” Chesney said. “Go look at yourself in the mirror. That’s really the only guy that’s gonna know, right?

” There was excitement and intensity but perfection wasn’t expected. For the new head coach, it was about whether the fundamentals UCLA worked on throughout the winter carried over, he said. “While I watch it out here, the things that don’t take skill, the things that don’t take great genetics, were the things I wanted to focus on today more than anything — the effort,” Chesney said.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava stretches with teammates at Spaulding Field on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) “We’ll go and watch the film and figure the rest of it out, but I didn’t think it was a bad day. " Chesney said he plans to build on each practice, and his coaching staff will set a standard that trickles down to the players.