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 BACK ISSUES - AUGUST 2003

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  August 29, 2003 -  "The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." Sir William Osler   2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)    GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE OPENING THIS WEEKEND - (ESPECIALLY DOUBLE-WINGERS)   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: His given name is Franklin, but nobody ever called him that. He went by "Pepper," a nickname that seemed to suit him and his personality. Pepper Rodgers was a character. No doubt he still is. He used to lead his team onto the field doing cartwheels, and he once wore a wig. He had his hair permed into an Afro while coaching at a major college. He has run for mayor of Memphis. He is the author of two books, one an autobiography ("which I wrote too soon") and the other a novel entitled "Fourth and Long Gone." He has coached at three major colleges and in two professional leagues. He narrowly missing out on coaching in a third. He is considered a brilliant offensive mind. Competitive? Former Cowboys' personnel director Gil Brandt once said of him, "He's the only guy I've ever seen who makes his golf handicap lower than what it really is. Everybody else makes it higher. Not Pepper. He loves a challenge and I guess he thinks that will make him play harder." A native of Atlanta, Pepper Rodgers was a quarterback and place-kicker for Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech. He played on two unbeaten teams and he kicked the game-winning field goal against Baylor in the 1952 Orange Bowl. His record of 39 extra points in 1952 stood for 38 years. He was working as an assistant at UCLA when he got his first head coaching job. At Kansas. He was 35 years old. At KU, he put together some great teams, whose best known stars were Bobby Douglas and John Riggins. It would be fair to say that Riggins was no coach's favorite player, and our coach was no different in that regard. Determined to show Riggins who was boss, he told an assistant "I won't let him play this week." But then the assistant coach reminded thim that this week's opponent was Missouri, then a major power under Dan Devine. In that case, he said, "By God, I won't let him play next week!" He estabished himself as a character by leading his Jayhawks onto the field doing cartwheels. He wore a wig on the sideline. And he did have one recruiting violation, when a person other than a coach "acting in Kansas University's interests" had signed three recruits to letters of intent prior to the legal signing date. That person was his father. As a result, KU lost 15 scholarships and assistant John Cooper was prohibited from recruiting for a year. (Cooper had nothing to do with the violation, but how are you going to punish the coach's father?) His 1968 team went 9-2, losing only to Oklahoma 27-23 and Penn State, 15-14, and tieing for first in the Big Eight. The loss to unbeaten Penn State came in the waning moments of the 1969 Orange Bowl when the Lions scored on a long pass, then went for two points and the win - and got stuffed. But KU was penalized for having 12 men on the field, and, given a seconde shot at the conversion, the Lions were successful. While there, he had one of the greatest college staffs ever assembled: John Cooper would go on to coach at Tulsa, Arizona State, and Ohio State; Dick Tomey at Arizona; Terry Donahue at UCLA; Dave McLain at Wisconsin; and Don Fambrough at Kansas. Only Hayden Fry's 1981 Iowa staff, with six men who went on to college head coaching jobs, can top it. He was originally signed to a four-year contract at Kansas, and when his four years were, done, he left for UCLA. There, he found tough going at first. "My dog was my only true friend," he joked. "I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends. So she bought me another dog." And then he and his offensive coordinator, former Army head coach Homer Smith, decided to run the wishbone. Double-Wing coaches will recognize this scenario: the going was not easy at first. His players resisted the change, and the alumni squawked, demanding that he run another offense. A new offensive system, he said, "is like Christianity. If you believe in it only until something goes wrong, you didn't believe in it in the first place." He stuck with the wishbone and the rest is history. With runners James McAllister and Kermit Alexander, and quarterback Mark Harmon, son of Michigan's famed Old 98, Tom Harmon, his teams set all-time UCLA offense records. (His book, "Installing Football's Wishbone T Attack", written in 1973 with Homer Smith, is the best I've seen on the subject.) The highlight of his UCLA stay was probably the 20-17 win over Nebraska, ending the Cornhuskers' 32-game win streak (a streak which had begin in 1969 with a win over his Kansas team). His final college stop, 25 years after his senior season, was at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, where he wound up getting fired, and successfully sued the university. (There are those in Atlanta who swear that the lingering bitterness over the lawsuit is what had kept him out of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.) Next came stints as head coach of the Memphis Showboats of the USFL, and the Memphis Mad Dogs of the Canadian Football League. (He did not make friends to the north with his suggestion that Canadians change their rules to conform to the American game.) His Showboats played exciting football and drew crowds averaging nearly 30,000 a game. The great Reggie White played his first pro football for the Showboats. After a 10-year hiatus, he took on the job as head coach of the Memphis Mad Dogs, as the Canadian Football League expanded into the US. Following the CFL gig, he spent two years in a temporary position with the Houston Oilers while they played in Memphis, awaiting the completion of their new stadium in Nashville and their metamorphosis into the Tennessee Titans. When he was how Memphians could be get excited about a team that just in town on a temporary basis, he said, "If you put me on an island with Cindy Crawford for two years, that's better than nothing." His final stint was in the front office of the Washington Redskins, with the nebulous title of Director of Football Operations. In 2000, when Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder decided to let Norv Turner go in mid-season, the rumor was that our man would step in, adding the title of NFL Head Coach to his extensive resume. But it was not to be. Offensive coach Terry Robiskie was named interim head coach, and although he did as good a job as could have been expected under the circumstances, he was let go at the end of the season, and Marty Schottenheimer was named Redskins' head coach. A Kansas wit once summed up what it was like to have him around: "Four years of Pepper Rodgers is like opening a box of Cracker Jacks every day." (If you can identify the man above, e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com - be sure to include your name and where you're writing from. Those answering correctly will be listed on Friday'e NEWS.) Correctly identifying Pepper Rodgers - Dennis Metzger- Fountain City, Indiana (He wrote a great book on the Wishbone. It is a little heavy on theory but it is one of the early classics. UCLA was simply running over/through/around people. Action photo on the book cover of his book shows great fundamentals for the backfield. Huge pocket for the Fb and great triple option technique for the Qb.)... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Don Capaldo- Keokuk, Iowa... Mike Foristiere- Boise, Idaho... Skip Bennett- Lawrence, Kansas... Joe Daniels- Sacramento... Scott Russell- Potomac Falls, Virginia... Joe Gutilla- Minneapolis ("An amazing guy with a brilliant offensive mind. Way ahead of his time.")... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Michael Morris- Huntsville, Alabama... Tom Hinger- Auburndale, Florida... Charlie Wilson- Dunedin, Florida ("When Pepper moved away from the Wishbone, a newsie asked him, 'Pepper, how could you get out of the Wishbone when you've said that you love it so?' Said Pepper, 'I loved my first wife, too.'")... Scott Whaley- Oskaloosa, Kansas... John Muckian- Lynn, Massachusetts... John Zeller- Tustin, Michigan... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky... *********** A friend of mine who has found himself facing a 10-game varsity 11-man schedule with just 16 kids (following a few injuries and defections), has rallied his troops and is enthusiastically facing the season. He has been bolstered by some great advice, including this letter from his wife's uncle: Hope things are looking up and that the kids are having a good experience. Just think of all the things you can teach to a select group who are there because they want to be. You are in for the greatest experience of your young life. Look at this as a new adventure. One small word of advice, Don't talk about the 16, talk about the team so those who are not there don't thing you really need them anyway. Don't give those bums another thought, you will do well and have great success, with the chosen few. Making those kids feel like they're the greatest for the next 10 weeks will be a big positive in their young lives. Good luck and everything happens for a reason. (Isn't not knowing the reason, the reason we keep going?) *********** Forget Rick Neuheisel. Instead of paying a liar like Rick Neuheisel so much money that he can afford to own a $4 million house on Lake Washington, we should all remember and honor men like Jim Wacker, who died this past week of cancer. We should remember and honor him not because of what he did on the field, which was certainly impressive enough. Starting out as a high school coach at tiny Concordia Lutheran High School in Portland, Oregon, he moved on to the college level and won four national titles, two each at Texas Lutheran (NAIA) and Southwest Texas State (Division II). He also managed to do something few people had been able to do up until his arrival - win at TCU - but his run of success finally played out when he failed to win at Minnesota - nothing unusual there. His overall record in 26 years as a college coach was an impressive 160-130-3. We should remember and honor Jim Wacker because he was a man of principle. Coming off an 8-4 1984 season at TCU, he was expecting big things in 1985. His star running back, Kenneth Davis, was mentioned in some quarters as a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate. And then, just prior to the second game of the 1985 season, he learned that six of his top players, one of them Kenneth Davis, had been receiving illegal payments from TCU boosters. He dismissed the players on the spot, and without his stars, the Horned Frogs struggled to finish 3-8. And then, as if things weren't bad enough, the NCAA really hammered them. Despite having tuned itself in, TCU was hit with three years of probation and a one-year television ban and was limited to only 10 scholarships in 1987-88 and 15 the next year. At the time, it was considered one of the harshest penalties ever handed out by the NCAA. But Coach Wacker hung tough. TCU finally had another winning season in1991, and then, his rebuilding job complete, Wacker left for Minnesota. He taught his players some lasting lessons. Kenneth Davis, the Heisman Trophy candidate, told the Dallas Times, "He made me understand that there was more to life than football, that there are values that you carry with you in life." Thanks to Jim Wacker, Kenneth Davis is now in a position to teach those same things to another generation of young men. He is the head coach at Dallas' Bishop Dunne High School. *********** Our First State Championship of the Year! Hi There Coach, Just thought I should drop you a line to let you know how your playbook went with the Berwick Miners this season. Our Championship game was played 2 weekends ago so I thought I would give you a quick wrap of the season. As I told you in my initial email to you Berwick Miners were a struggling team. They had won just 3 games in three seasons and finished the last season with just 11 players. My first preseason practice I had 7 guys 5 returning players and 2 rookies. Over the course of preseason we built our numbers up to a playing roster of 25 players. This included 5 guys who had played under me at other clubs anything up to 7 years previously but hadn't played Gridiron for about 3-4 years, 11 rookies, and 9 returning Miners from the previous season. It was a rocky start to the year. We were horribly underdone defensivly in fact had spent very little time apart from practicing technique and talking basic roles and responsibilities. We had a practice scrimmage with the defending champions 2 weeks prior to the start of the season and I lost both middle linebackers I had to season-ending knee injuries. Offensivly with 3 out of the interior 5 O Linemen rookies and a rookie Tightend and full back we looked ordinary, but when we did execute we hurt them. We lost the first game of the season 34-7 after being down 8-7 at half time to the number 2 ranked side (we were ranked 5 out of 5) The following week we went down 32 - 20 to the number 1 ranked side this after being down 24 nothing in the first quarter. The following week against the 3rd ranked side (tough opening to the season 2-1-3 ranked) we lost 14-12. So an 0-3 start and things were on the scoreboard at least were not looking to good. The guys were improving but we really needed a win. We played the 4th ranked side and came from behind to secure our first win in Round 4. From then till the end of the season we won every game except against the top ranked side to finish with a 4-4 regular season and Third place on the table. In this country we play finals etc and the system was for 5 teams that the top 3 would progress. Number 1 ranked Croydon Rangers finished the regular season undefeated 8-0 so were granted automatic entry into the Vicbowl XIX The second placed Western Crusaders (5-3) and ourselves had to play off for the right to meet them. We came out and spanked the Crusaders in the semi leading with 4 mins to go 30-6, but we let in two late TD's and scored another ourselves to win it 38-20. As rank underdogs we went into the bowl having gone from the bottom of the pile for 3 years to the final and yes we pulled it off winning the Vicbowl XIX 36-28 in one of the best games the league has witnessed in a championship final. Our "A" back won the league MVP rushing for over 1700 yds in 10 games for 21 TD's rushing and 2 passing. Thanks very much for your support via your playbook and tapes. We are now preparing ourselves to defend our State title next season.... regards, Mark Levin, Head Coach, Berwick Miners Gridiron Club, State Champions 2003, Berwick, Victoria, Australia *********** The first game of the un-Neuheisel era at Washington will take place when the HUskies open at Ohio State. In a way, I'm sort of sad, because I wanted to see how long Slick Rick could have gotten away with playing13 defenders, before he got caught and blamed it on miscommunications. Speaking of Skippy, he is said to be working as a volunteer QB coach at Seattle's Rainier Beach HS. I have my cynical suspicions as to why he's doing it, but I can tell you that no one with that man's lack of ethics would ever work for me. *********** After all your efforts at team-building and creating a sense of all-for-one, one-for-all brotherhood, how many of you would keep a Bill Romanowski on your team, after he tore off a teammate's helmet in practice and slugged him so hard it fractured his eye socket and chipped a tooth? Don't hold your breath waiting for the Raiders to do anything about Romo. *********** The Oregon Ducks leave the mild, low-humidity climate of the Pacific Northwest and head to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Bulldogs this Saturday night. While waiting for the Ducks to wilt, you might want to be aware of this: the Ducks, whose patron saint, Phil Knight, is the owner and CEO of Nike, will be wearing a new Nike product, a vest containing magical cooling powers. (Actually, I have no idea how the vest works, so it's just as easy to attribute its qualities to magic.) At this point, there evidently aren't enough vests to supply Missisippi State, also a Nike school, but I presume that their kids at least will be better acclimated to the heat and humidity. If you haven't seen the Oregon uniforms, don't laugh. They are Nike-designed. Actually, they are teenage-boy designed, based on ideas gleaned from several Nike focus groups made up of young men, Not the young men who go to libraries or compose music, you understand, but the kind of young men who are likely some day to wear a major-college uniform. Those garish, men-from-outer-space getups are evidently what appeal to kids. At least until another fashion fad comes along. Can you imagine what would happen if a school setting out to design a uniform for its female students were to do so based on focus groups? Girls would all be wearing camisole tops that stopped barely below the breasts. (Of course, they would be low-cut, with spaghetti straps holding them up.) Down below, starting well south of the exposed navel, they would wear shorts with one-inch inseams. And that's at the middle school. *********** For those of you who wonder whether young kids can run the Double Wing... Aloha High, in Aloha, Oregon, a Portland suburb, plays in one of Oregon's toughest conferences. In recent years, Aloha has seen much of its student body - and many of its athletes - shipped off to two new, neighboring high schools, and its high school program has suffered as a result. And then the high school head coach and the local youth organization decided to get together on a plan. Aloha head coach Rob Casteel and the Aloha Youth Football organization - officers Oscar Cardona, Ken Whitley, Gerry Plasker and Kathi Costa - agreed to commit to running the Double-Wing, top to bottom, from high school varsity down to 3rd grade. The AYF people put a lot of work into learning the system, but they also put a lot of work into convincing some coaches who were reluctant to run the Double Wing that it was time to think in terms of the good of the whole organization - they insisted that all seven of their teams (two 3-4 teams, two 5-6 teams, two 7the grade "JV" teams and one 8th grade "Varsity" team) running the Double-Wing. Some coaches resisted ("it won't work") but a few bought in right away, and fortunately for the good of the overall organization, their teams immediately began to enjoy success. Last year, the entire organization made progress. The high school varsity struggled, but did manage to end an 18-game losing streak. The high school freshmen had a winning record. And two of the AYF clubs, including the 8th-graders, made the playoffs for the first time in the organization's history. I was honored to be invited to attend their post-season banquet at which they honor their coaches. This past spring, a large contingent of coaches from AYF attended my Pacific Northwest clinic. So this year stared with high hopes overall. I paid a visit to the youth teams' practices last week and saw some great things taking place. The organization has done its job - coaches have all bought in, and those who enjoyed success last year are now twice as knowledgeable. And then, after last Saturday's monster jamboree, which started at 12 noon and ran until 10 at night, AYF's Gerry Plasker, whose title is "Coach of Coaches" (think of him as the quality control guy - he coaches at a nearby high school but lives in Aloha) sent out a note to all members of the AYF organization, which he kindly shared with me. In my seven or so years pushing my offensive system, I've had no greater endorsement. Guys - Congratulations on a day of dominance! Aloha Football had a coming out party Saturday. As a program we were a force to be reckoned with. We finished the day 10-6-2 with two of these games playing almost all our second team players only. We still have several things to shore up, but we are so much further ahead of where we were a year ago. I was really overwhelmed by the atmosphere of victory exuded by our teams. Our players and parents no longer hope to win. It has become the expectation! The hugs, high five's, and the emotion felt and shared by our players and coaches was unbelievable. Our players and coaches arrive in packs to cheer each other on. Yesterday helped to put us back on track and makes all the problems we have had in the last weeks seem to disappear. This success is due to all of your hard work. You guys deserve a ton of praise for everything we as a program have done. All of the time you have spent in meetings and on the field has paid off. I hope all of the people who told us we could not win with the double wing were paying close attention to the ass kicking we were doling out. We shoved the ball down peoples throats until they choked. Even in the games we lost we were able to move the ball. The tide is turning! we have begun to move in the direction of our whole program becoming true believers! Our greatest success has been to create a belief in victory among our players. the kids now believe we can beat anyone anytime anywhere! Gerry Plasker *********** Thanks again for your help. I'm so glad I ordered your materials. I know I can rely on the tapes and the book for help. The team we beat Saturday was coached by a former high school coach and a few former NFL and college players. Thanks again., Mike Talentino, Twinsburg, Ohio *********** Thank you very much! The video is great and we've learned quite a bit already! Many of the tapes we have purchased have been wastes of money and time, but yours is fantastic! We're thinking seriously about attending one of the seminars next year! Mike Gilreath, Manchester, Missouri *********** Coach, Please enroll our team in the Black Lion Award program. I think it would be a great way to show solidarity in a program that has many sons of Marines on the team. We are minutes from Camp Pendleton in California, and the continuous deployments take a toll on our young boy's morale. Perhaps this would be something nice to show dad when he gets back. San Clemente Peewee Tritons, Line Coach Tom Mendenhall (ß Linemen should always win! Sacrifice is inherit in the position), San Clemente, California (GREAT THINKING! DON'T MISS OUT - SIGN UP NOW SO WE CAN BEGIN TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY AWARDS WE WILL NEED TO BUDGET FOR! BLACK LION AWARD) *********** Tom Hinger wrote and included an Amazon.com review of Pepper Rodgers' "Fourth and Long Gone." "Looks like Pepper isn't another Hemingway," he added. True enough. But what the hell did Ernest Hemingway know about the wishbone? *********** Pepper Rodgers may not be another Hemingway, but to those of us who read "When Pride Still Mattered," David Maraniss comes close. If this review, sent to me by Tom Hinger, means anything, David's soon-to-be-released book, "They Marched Into Sunlight," is a winner: From Publishers Weekly - Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author Maraniss (When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi) intertwines two compelling narratives to capture the Vietnam War at home and on the battlefield as well as, if not better than, any book yet written. The first narrative follows the soldiers of the army battalion the Black Lions, 61 of whom died in an ambush by North Vietnamese on October 17, 1967. The battle scene description is devastating, brilliantly compiled with painstakingly recreated details of the four-and-a-half-hour battle, unflinchingly drawn pictures of the damage modern ordinance inflicts and an equally unflinching record of the physical and psychological residue of battle. The second narrative centers on the October 18, 1967, riot at the University of Wisconsin at Madison when student protesters tried to stop Dow Chemical, the maker of napalm, from recruiting on campus. *********** This is going to be Frosty Westering's last year. God, we'll miss him. As head coach at Pacific Lutheran University, he has set an impossibly high standard for football coaches, both on and off the field. As a fellow coach in the Northwest, I can't say enough good things about Coach Westering. I can't say any bad things. His on-field record - 299-93-7 - speaks for itself. His Lutes (honest to God, that's their nickname) won the Division III title in 2000. Off the field, he is up there by himself. To give you an idea of the image of the PLU program in the Northwest, Frosty Westering doesn't recruit kids. He expects them to recruit him. This is no B-S. Prospective players must meet with him and convince him that they will fit into the PLU program and they will contribute in a positive way. He is a big, huggy-bear kind of guy whose forte is the stuff of human relationships. As just one example, after every Lute game, win or lose, players, coaches and parents all gather and take part in a glorified de-briefing that they call the "Afterglow." It can take a while, as props are given out, and players share with everyone else such things as how it felt to see a hole open up in front of them, or get a great block, or get into a college game for the first time. Rather than just play the game and file it away, players come to appreciate what they just went through, what they just acomplished together as a team. I can tell you that parents love it. It all may sound a bit touchy-feely, and it won't work for everybody. Not everyone can bring it off without his players rolling their eyes and asking, "what is this?" But part of Frosty Westering's genius lies in being able to do so. He has had a great influence on my coaching and my career. Years ago, after having had a brief taste of the pro football atmosphere, I found myself stranded on the West Coast in need of a job, and I wound up coaching high school football. But I had no intentions of staying in that job. My sights were set higher. My goal was to move up. Somewhere. Anywhere. But definitely up. I was meant for bigger things! That dinky little high school where I was coaching was only temporary - a mere stopover on my way to the bigger things that I was sure were in store for me. And then I heard Frosty give a talk at an Oregon Coaches clinic -1978 I think it was. Its title was "Make the Big Time Where You Are." Few things have had the impact on me that that talk did. The title was self-explanatory - wherever you are, big place or small, you owe it to yourself and the people depending on you to make it the Big Time. To give it your absolute best. If you are the coach at Podunk High School, it's the Big Time. For you, it 's the Green Bay Packers, and you owe it to yourself, your family and your players to do your job and coach those kids with every bit as much gusto and effort as you would if you were in the Big Time and the eyes of the world were on you. Listening to him, I realized that by living for the future - worrying about the next job - I was cheating myself out of the joy of living one day at a time. And worse still, I was cheating my players out of the "big-time" experience that they deserved. I began worrying less about the results - the wins that were going to get me a bigger job - and more about the process. I began thinking more about all of us - players and coaches - being in it together, and less and less in "labor-management", us-against-them terms. I began enjoying the practices as much as the games. This is not to say that I became a saint. I have been hard on players and assistants. Winning still matters to me very much. Mistakes will always piss me off and I will always despise loafers and "me" guys. But Frosty Westering got me to thinking about forgetting the next job and putting everything I had into the one I was already at. Frosty made me think about enjoying every day. He made me realize the importance of trying to turn out winners both on and off the field In his book "The Sweet Season," a tag-along-with-the-team look at Minnesota's St. John's University and its fabled coach, John Gagliardi, author Austin Murphy expresses great admiration for Frosty Westering and his program. Like Gagliardi and his Johnnies, Westering and his Lutes are regulars in the post-season playoffs, and the two have faced off on several occasions. Their games are always hard-fought, but the Johnnies, used to playing against opponents many of whom Murphy describes as anal orifices, come away from them with glowing praise for the sportsmanlike conduct of the Lutes. Murphy describes a St. John's- PLU game as football the way it was meant to be played - hard, rough, and clean. Here's to a great season for Frosty Westering, who lived his lesson, and made the Big Time where he was. *********** Coach, we lost a great member of the coaching fraternity on Monday. Head football coach and athletic director John Hoerster of Loyola Academy died of a massive heart attack Monday morning, 5 days before the opening game of this season. Rick Telander wrote a fitting tribute to the man in this morning's Sun Times (http://www.suntimes.com/output/telander/cst-spt-rick27.html). I ran into Coach Hoerster many times while Zachary, my oldest attended Loyola. I can personally attest to everything Mr. Telander writes in his column. Perhaps his best line was, "If every high school football coach were like John Hoerster, this would be a different American society." Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** "Dear Hugh: I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention your exceptional writing, so I will. Tuesday's "Legacy" biography is another in a lively series of examples of your thoroughness (covering all facets--the lows as well as the peaks--of your subjects' careers), vivid description (my heart raced as I re-lived the "12th Man" episode), and entertaining use of anecdotes (we always loved those cartwheels in northeast Kansas). I know that the kids you work with (and, I'm sure, the coaches, as well) appreciate the organization and style of your presentations, as well as the content. Pepper Rodgers is our man. I always wondered whether the "freer spirit" on that team belonged to Riggins or to the coach. "Congratulations on your new coordinator position. What a boon you will be to those kids and to that school. I hope you will keep us informed during the season." Sincerely, Skip Bennett, Southwest Junior High School, Lawrence, Kansas (Every writer is flattered to know that people he respects appreciate his efforts. HW) *********** "Yesterday (8-25-03) my son and I attended a scrimmage between Peabody Pop Warner and Everett (Huskies) Pop Warner. When Everett broke out of the huddle I said Oh S*** Peabody is going to have problems. Everett came out in the Double Wing. After a few plays I could tell it was your offense. They even used GO...READY...HUT. Their 88 and 99 superpowers were tearing Peabody up on the Midget (13/14 Year Old) level. They really look good. I then walked around to the other 4 levels and noticed that all of Everett's teams were running the Double Wing and having success doing so. "The only downside I saw was that on the lower levels (Mitey Mights, Jr. Pee Wee, and Pee Wee) they were not always pulling their backside guard and tackle. They were running straight ahead blocking. On the Pee Wee level I saw a great of 47C (with Motion and the play side guard pull) go for what would have been a TD. I heard the coach call the play as a 47C therefore, I know they are running their offense. Just wanted to let you know that another Double Wing Program is under way in Mass." Best Regards, Steve Weick, Peabody, Massachusetts *********** I'm not usually given to reprinting Web humor, but this one is choice: Now that Uday & Qusay have been eliminated, a lot of the lesser-known family members are coming to the attention of American authorities. Among the brothers: Sooflay ............the restauranteur Guday...............the half-Australian brother Huray...............the sports fanatic Sashay..............the gay brother Kuntay & Kintay.....the twins from the African mother Sayhay..............the baseball player Ojay................the stalker/murderer Gulay...............the singer/entertainer Ebay................the internet czar Biliray.............the country music star Ecksray.............the radiologist Puray...............the blender factory owner Regay...............the half-Jamaican brother Tupay...............the one with bad hair Tooshay........... the fencer Among the sisters: Lattay..............the coffee shop owner Bufay...............the 300 pound sister Dushay..............the clean sister Phayray.............the zoo worker in the gorilla house Sapheway............the grocery store owner Ollay...............the half-mexican sister Gudlay..............the prostitute  Finally, there is Oyvey, but the family doesn't like to talk about him. *********** COME SEE US! MADISON SENATORS 2003 SCHEDULE 9/5 - 7:00 pm (H) Sandy Pioneers 9/12 - 7:30 pm - at Parkrose Broncos 9/19 - 5:30 pm - at Benson Techmen* 9/26 - 7:00 pm - (H) Lincoln Cardinals* 10/3 - 3:30 pm - at Cleveland Warriors* 10/9 - 7:00 pm - at Wilson Trojans* 10/17 - 7:00 pm (H) Roosevelt Roughriders * 10/24 - 7:00 pm - at Franklin Quakers* 10/31 - 7:00 pm (H) Marshall Minutemen* * Portland Interscholastic League Games   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  August 26, 2003 -  "A football game is probably the best kind of training you could ever get for violent combat. It's just like that, except it's for keeps." General James Shelton, US Army (Retired)   2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)    A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: His given name is Franklin, but nobody ever called him that. He went by a nickname that seemed to suit him and his personality. He was a character. No doubt he still is. He used to lead his team onto the field doing cartwheels, and he once wore a wig. He had his hair permed into an Afro while coaching at a major college. He has run for mayor of Memphis. He is the author of two books, one an autobiography ("which I wrote too soon") and the other a novel entitled "Fourth and Long Gone." He has coached at three major colleges and in two professional leagues. He narrowly missing out on coaching in a third. He is considered a brilliant offensive mind. Competitive? Former Cowboys' personnel director Gil Brandt once said of him, "He's the only guy I've ever seen who makes his golf handicap lower than what it really is. Everybody else makes it higher. Not (him). He loves a challenge and I guess he thinks that will make him play harder." A native of Atlanta, he was a quarterback and place-kicker for Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech. He played on two unbeaten teams and he kicked the game-winning field goal against Baylor in the 1952 Orange Bowl. His record of 39 extra points in 1952 stood for 38 years. He was working as an assistant at UCLA when he got his first head coaching job. At Kansas. He was 35 years old. At KU, he put together some great teams, whose best known stars were Bobby Douglas and John Riggins. It would be fair to say that Riggins was no coach's favorite player, and our coach was no different in that regard. Determined to show Riggins who was boss, he told an assistant "I won't let him play this week." But then the assistant coach reminded thim that that week's opponent was Missouri, then a major power under Dan Devine. In that case, he said, "By God, I won't let him play next week!" He established his reputation as a character by leading his Jayhawks onto the field doing cartwheels. He wore a wig on the sideline. And he did have one recruiting violation, when a non-coach "acting in Kansas University's interests" signed three recruits to letters of intent prior to the legal signing date. That non-coach was his father. (Sound a little like Rick Neuheisel?) As a result, KU lost 15 scholarships, and assistant John Cooper was prohibited from recruiting for a year. (Cooper had nothing to do with the violation, but how are you going to punish the coach's father?) His 1968 Jayhawks went 9-2, losing only to Oklahoma, 27-23, and Penn State, 15-14, and tieing for first in the Big Eight. The loss to unbeaten Penn State is an all-timer - it came in the waning moments of the 1969 Orange Bowl when the Lions scored on a long pass, then went for two points and the win - and got stuffed. But KU was penalized for having 12 men on the field, and, given a second shot at the conversion, this time the Lions were successful. His 1968 Kansas staff has to be considered one of the greatest ever assembled on one college football field: John Cooper would go on to coach at Tulsa, Arizona State, and Ohio State; Dick Tomey at Arizona; Terry Donahue at UCLA; Dave McLain at Wisconsin; and Don Fambrough at Kansas. Only Hayden Fry's 1981 Iowa staff, with six men who went on to college head coaching jobs, can top it. He was originally signed to a four-year contract at Kansas, and when his four years were, done, he left for UCLA. There, he found tough going at first. "My dog was my only true friend," he joked. "I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends. So she bought me another dog." And then he and his offensive coordinator, former Army head coach Homer Smith, decided to run the wishbone. Double-Wing coaches will recognize this scenario: the going was not easy at first. His players resisted the change, and the alumni squawked, demanding that he run another offense. Commitment to a new offensive system, he said, "is like Christianity. If you believe in it only until something goes wrong, you didn't believe in it in the first place." But he stuck with the wishbone and the rest is history. With runners James McAllister and Kermit Alexander, and quarterback Mark Harmon, son of Michigan's famed Old 98, Tom Harmon, his teams set all-time UCLA offense records. A highlight of his UCLA stay was a 20-17 win over Nebraska in 1972, ending the Cornhuskers' 32-game win streak (a streak that had begin in 1969 with, coincidentally, a win over his Kansas team). His final college stop was at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, 25 years after his senior season. Things did not go as well as all had hoped, and he wound up getting fired, and (successfully) suing the university. (There are those in Atlanta who swear that the lingering bitterness over the lawsuit is what has kept him out of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.) Next came stints as head coach of the Memphis Showboats of the USFL, and the Memphis Mad Dogs of the Canadian Football League. (He did not make friends to the north with his suggestion that Canadians change their rules to conform to the American game.) His Showboats played exciting football and drew crowds averaging nearly 30,000 a game. The great Reggie White played his first pro football for the Showboats. After a 10-year hiatus, he took on the job as head coach of the Mad Dogs, as the Canadian Football League expanded into the US. Following the CFL gig, he spent two years in a temporary position with the Houston Oilers while they played in Memphis, awaiting the completion of their new stadium in Nashville and their metamorphosis into the Tennessee Titans. When he was asked how Memphians could be expected to get excited about a team that was just in town on a temporary basis, he replied, "If you put me on an island with Cindy Crawford for two years, that's better than nothing." His final act was in the front office of the Washington Redskins, with the nebulous title of Director of Football Operations. In 2000, when Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder decided to let Norv Turner go in mid-season, the rumor was that our man would take over, adding the title of NFL Head Coach to his extensive resume. But it was not to be. Instead, offensive coach Terry Robiskie was named interim head coach, and although he did as good a job as could have been expected under the circumstances, he was let go at the end of the season, and Marty Schottenheimer was named Redskins' head coach. A Kansas wit once summed up what it was like to have him around: "Four years of (him) is like opening a box of Cracker Jacks every day." (If you can identify the man above, e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com - be sure to include your name and where you're writing from. Those answering correctly will be listed on Friday'e NEWS.) *********** Regarding TIP #185, which conerns play-calling, Mark Kaczmarek from Davenport, Iowa writes... Woody Hayes' quip most applicable…."Don't scale walled fortresses" *********** Coach Wyatt, Last year my son was recognized by his head coach, Ted Quinton (Grand Junction CO East 49er's) as the team's recipient of The Black Lion Award. My son, Darrek Stoffel (age 12) was very honored to be recognized for this prestigious award. It is proudly displayed at our home and has been the topic of several discussions with friends and family. Darrek has continued to play football and has accepted his role as a leader of the East Middle School (Lightweight) Team. He encourages the other players and always leads by example. After reading about the sacrifices of Major Holleder his career goal now is to attend West Point and become an Army Officer. Since last year Coach Quinton changed weight divisions (flyweights) to coach his son, Justin. I am coaching the lightweights and would like to continue the tradition of recognizing that special kid that exemplifies the selflessness and team orientated goals that is a Black Lion. Please register my team for the Black Lion Award. I believe the Coach Ted Quinton will (or may have already) registered his team for the award also. They are two different teams (Both running the Double wing) and would recognize different kids. Thank you, Henry Stoffel, Grand Junction, Colorado (It should be pointed out that it is possible for more than one team in the same organization to enroll in the BLACK LION AWARD program.HW) *********** Our lack of leadership at the senior level is very apparent.  I may have to tell my juniors to step it up.  They are a "quiet" bunch and never get too excited...that scares me a little because I like them to get excited about things (big hits, great blocks, nice runs, good tackles etc.)  Football is an emotional game...any ideas or thoughts? I think that the biggest thing you can do when kids are unemotional is to put them in competitive situations in practice - every day, some sort of competition, with rewards for the winners (maybe popsicles) and punishment for the losers (maybe extra sprints, or 10 up-downs, administered by the winners). Figure it out - in our female-dominated educational system, which devalues competition (it might make the losers question their self-worth) kids need to be taught to compete. I picked this thought up years ago from a great coach in Bakersfield, California named Paul Briggs. He taufght his kids to compete - he ended every practice with some competition. A ten or 15-minute period will work for you. The competition period could be a tug-of-war, a game of touch, a car push, West Point drill, or any number of different types of relays. My kids used to love to play Australian Rules ("touch footy") and keep away (which can also be a great conditioner.) Think back to some of the things you did in the lineman challenge. On wet days, we have tried to see who could get a running start and slide the farthest on his ass. Divide the squad into maybe four teams. Put seniors in charge of each team. For some competitions, you might need to put two teams together (say, teams A & B against teams C & D). Change the teams from time to time, because you don't want the intra-squad rivalry to become more important than the overall team. The point is to get them competing, and get them excited about it. At some point, they will uncross those arms and start hollering. And they'll go into the locker room excited about practice. Something to think about. *********** Coach, I need to thank you. We beat the best team in the league 12-6. We ran the ball well. We lost a few fumbles and didn't hit the holes on a few plays. But other than that. It was great. Broke a tight rip 88 super power for 80 yards to win the game in the 4th qtr. Broke a QB keep left for  a 40 yarder. After watching your videos a few times, and having 1 week of practice and 1 game under my belt, I'm a little overwhelmed with how to balance it out. On the one hand I see so many good plays, but I know I need and should put in a relative few of them and run them well, especially with 6th graders. Any advice on a game plan strategy? So far I've got these plays installed: 88, 99 super power, 3 trap at 2, 47 counter, 6 G (didn't work so well, needs reps), Wedge. Thanks again., Mike Talentino, Twinsburg, Ohio You have a pretty good arsenal there. I would say that at some point you will need a pass. Red-Red/Blue-Blue are simple passes. And you might look at a sweep: 29 g-o reach and 38 g-o reach. Other than that, though, it is important not to overload the kids. Work at getting better at what you do. *********** Coach Wyatt- I know you are LOVING every MINUTE of it. By the way I very enjoyed your comments on the "handling of the parents of a special needs kid". That coach DOES need to remain in coaching (again strengthening my argument that all good coaches need to be coaching so soccer moms (or special needs moms) do not get our game killed. Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa (Every time a football coach takes a step back, a soccer mom takes another step forward. Hold that line! HW) *********** Hi Coach, Thought you might enjoy knowing about our opening win Friday night with our Double Wing offense. As you remember, I changed to the DW during the 7th game of the season lasr year, so we were really excited about starting the season off with it. The kids have worked hard at it and absolutely love it. As you also know, we broke the state's longest losing streak with the DW last year. What I DIDN'T know was that our 22-14 win Friday night was the first home victory for Ardmore in 43 tries! (That's a little over 8 years of home games without a win.) The beautiful thing about the win Friday night was we were able to keep it very basic and still win the game. We ran only out of "Tight" formation and scored on Red-Red, 56-C, and 2-Wedge. We were successful on a 2-point conversion running 88 Super Power. What a difference your DW system has made for a program that was about as low as I've ever seen when I got here last year. One added note... What a sweet, sweet win. Thanks again, Coach Wyatt for everything. I'll keep in touch throughtout the season. Barry Gibson, Ardmore, Alabama *********** The weekend before last we went to Langley BC to play in the Golden Helmet Tournament put on by a youth group up there. We played Canadian rules on the big field with twelve per side. We did what you've talked about before, sent a kid out wide and ran the double wing. We won all three games and the tournament championship. They weren't quite ready for a team like ours with experienced kids and a passion for the game. They were great hosts and we made new friends up north. Glade Hall, Seattle, Washington *********** At World Track & Field Championships in France, sprinter Jon Drummond was disqualified for a false start. He then proceeded to throw a World Championship tantrum, culminating in his lying down in his lane. For eight minutes. He had an explanation - "The officials were asking me to walk away from my dream," Actually, Jon, I think they were telling you to get up and get your ass off the track. ***********Hugh, I think your response to your coaching tip #184 which was the following: "Do you practice all your plays on a daily basis or do you set aside specific days for powers, counters, traps etc..." where you responded that you preferred to master what you were doing by practicing your game offense daily, was excellent. It has always been our approach (which I got a long time ago from former University of Minnesota head coach Cal Stoll) that (a) if it is good enough to be in Plan A than you should be practicing it daily; (b) don't worry about Plan B because if you try to practice too many plans, none of them will be any good; and (c) rather than spend time practicing Plan B, if you would have put that time into practicing Plan A, your original plan would have been that much better. I have always felt that the DW allowed us to feature a basic attack that we could use against any opponent and by adjusting our sets, we could look more multiple while still featuring the same blocking schemes and plays. Against specific opponents we might add a "wrinkle" to supplement something that had been going well for us in previous weeks (a halfback pass off the 88 Super Power, for example, or an "Over Tight Slot" set where the wing to the long side was flanked by two ends side by side in a tight slot set - good for the 88SP, 6G, 38GO, 47C, and the passing game) and didn't take up any significant amount of practice time to master. Take care and keep up the great work. Sincerely, Mike O'Donnell, Pine City HS, Pine City, Minnesota *********** Let's see... we can't afford the people to seal off our borders.... but we can send federal marshals to Alabama to remove the Ten Commandments from a courthouse. The ACLU fights the state of Alabama because it wants to display the Ten Commandments - a "symbol of religion" - in a public building... while the same ACLU fights the city of Philadelphia because it seeks to prevent an Islamic female police officer from wearing a scarf - a "symbol of religion" - over her face. *********** From a HS coach in the Midwest... We just had a 5 team scrimmage and our offense has not scored in the past 2 years there. Yesterday we scored 10 times and you could really see the kids confidence start to take over. We ran 52 plays and only threw once. I wanted them to know that they could move the ball on the ground. This offense is working out for us right now. I know down the road we will play some very good football teams, and it is going to be tough. thanks for all your support. *********** We had a scrimmage last night and my attempts to run the 88 super power resulted in mixed results. My plays up the gut (mainly 2 wedge) worked very well. At the time, during the scrimmage, I was trying to establish the sweep as the play to beat. Now looking back at it, I realize that the defense was giving me the middle of the field, and that I should have established a power game up the middle (2 Wedge, 3 Base, 3 trap at 2, etc), and only start the sweep once they stop me up the middle. Is my reasoning correct? I've tried to read everything you've written (all your tips, for example), and you make the point about the DW being a power offense and a misdirection offense. Please let me know. You are correct. Find where they are vulnerable and hit them there. And, as an old boxing acquaintance from Baltimore named Al Flora used to say, "Keep Punchin'." In concept, it is that simple. Run off-tackle (88 Super Power), then either run slightly to the outside (38 G-O Reach)) or slightly to the inside (6-G, 2W, 3 Trap 2) or over the top of them (Red Red) or back against the grain (47-C). And when you find something that works, don't stop yourself. Don't assume that it won't work twice in a row. Stay with it and force them to stop you. (Keep punchin'.)  *********** Coach Wyatt- Well this was week one of our season. I wrote you last week with our jamboree results. Well I have to say that I'm even happier this week. To watch these 9-10yo kids execute your offense out of the book is really beautiful. The parents are starting to buzz about all the yards we keep getting. Coach, we had the ball four possessions in the first half and the score was 28-0 at halftime!! In three years of coaching this group of kids I have never had to pull in the reins and slow them down myself, but honestly the score could have been 50 or so nothing. We ran wedge, 88/99sp, 47/56xx,6g(once) and that's it... A-back 8-94 ... B-back 9-105 ... C-back 6-190 (wow!) The final score was 34-13. We finally got the ball back in the fourth quarter, the other team kept getting the ball on our 25 in accordance with our leagues mercy rule (good rule). I kept my first string backfield in the game for one last play------Tight rip 47xx---td 80 yards UNTOUCHED!! I have put in 29/38go but I never did it because we kept scoring so quick. Then when it got into the second half, I figured it would look like we were running up the score as their def ends were crashing so hard to get my wings on the s/p I knew we would go around him and score easily. This offense is absolutely awesome. The xx counters went for 40 yards, 45 yards, 80 yards..It's just like you said, the defense has no idea where the ball is until the ball is 20 yards down field. Chad Clark, Concrete, Washington *********** Coach, As you know, I have the pleasure of working with 11,12 & 13 year olds (up to 125 lbs). Even with success I had with the High school kids (40-3 over 4 years for the first group) and (43-1 for second group), the pop warner folks were convinced that Your DW was "too complicated". Funny, the kids didn't think so. We ran the 88 super power and 99 super power whenever we wished. (scored twice with each). Scored another on the wedge at 3 and twice on the counter. Even had two scores passing, one from black and one from brown. Due to rules we spent the rest of the games running basic to keep score down. Interestingly enough we ran this offense against the kids here in Reno, where you had given a wonderful clinic sometime back. If the folks in Reno and Sparks weren't believers then, they are now. We'll let you know how it goes. Tom Pipes, Susanville, California *********** The Eagles lost to the Patriots in their first game in their new stadium. It wasn't the first game played in the stadium, though, because some damn fool in Philadelphia allowed Manchester United to play the grand opening. A soccer game, fer chrissakes! The place is probably cursed. *********** I've been seeing lotsa empty seats in the "highlights" of the NFL "preseason" games, but I've been looking in the box scores for attendance figures, and damned if I can see anything reported. You don't suppose the image-conscious NFL is willfully withholding the information, do you? *********** Coach Wyatt, Just wanted to drop a line and say hi. I'm glad that you're back in the game, and in a good situation. We started camp on Monday, and we have 27 kids 9-12. We only have about 40 boys in the school so we are very pleased. We only have 14 on varsity, remember we're an 8-man team, but they are all fired up. This past week 12 of the 14 went to youth camp so we start a little late each year, but it's more important that the guys learn about Christ, than get a couple more days of practice. This year we have switched from a spread offense to the Single-Wing. This decision was based on personnel. Our Head Coach did not want to change, but after some heated meetings and some major arm twisting, he said let's look at it in the Spring, and the next thing you know he thinks this is the greatest offense ever! We have the Spinner and Buck lateral in. As you know it is the power attack that is the backbone of this attack, and our kids love to WEDGE! Our coach made a mistake and got on a bag in the Spring and got flatbacked! Now remember that he is over 350# ! I'll let you know how the season goes. Enough of my ramblings. I just got done watching the 1977 Alabama/Nebraska game on ESPN Classic. My question is what happened to our wonderful game? I mean the kids just went out and played a great game without all the BS you see today. The linemen really could play! Not just stand around and shove people. The other thing is both offenses could RUN the ball! I mean option, sweep, trap and power. Not the crap you see today, oh well. I had to laugh when the Bear fired up a butt on the sideline! Have a great season. Bert Ford, Los Angeles (Funny- I was fumbling around with the remote, looking for the Grambling-San Jose State game Saturday, and I happened on ESPN Classic and the 1981 USC-UCLA game. I had the same thoughts you did - what have they done to our beautiful game? My wife was sitting next to me and she said, "Look - they all look so slim. Even the linemen!" Lord, it was a good game to watch. The field wasn't clogged with Sumo wrestlers pushing and shoving against each other. And yes, they showed some offensive imagination with respect to the running game. It was also good to hear Frank Broyles working with Keith Jackson. HW) *********** Coach Wyatt - Good Luck!! for the upcoming 2003 season,I am sure those kids will get a "positive" learning experience with you on the staff, I will try to track Madison scores online and keep tabs. Coach Wyatt don't know if you caught ESPN Classic's ,College Football Weekend, But Coach Frank Broyles proved why he is the "best" color analyst in T.V. sports history, he was Awesome!! explaining situation's ,and strategies,and Fundamentals in a CLEAR,CONCISE,DIRECT,manner, I learned more knowledge from him in a 1/2 hour of a game,instead of watching some of these analyst today for the entire season who are "master's of the obvious"(i.e.: John Madden,Chris Spielman) Broyles did a unbelievable Job on the Geogia- FLA' (1980), USC-UCLA (1981) Penn St.-Ga. (1983 Sugar Bowl). Coach Wyatt practice in Massachusetts opened up last Monday and there are some pretty good scrimmages on tap for the scrimmage season , Everett-Fitchburg Everett-Lynn Classical , Peabody-St.John's, Peabody-Gloucester, Good Luck !John Muckian Lynn,Massachusetts (As a matter of fact, I caught one of those games and really enjoyed it. HW) *********** This season, I am fully armed. I have a dish satellite and PVR, both acquired in the off-season, which means that as in other years I will watch every football game I can - high school and college, that is - but I will also record those I can't watch live. But with the season just two games old, I have a feeling that I've already seen the Heisman Trophy winner. In terms of sheer athletic ability, value to his team, and success at a high level, it's going to be tough to come up with someone more deserving than Ell Roberson of Kansas State. He may be one of the best all-round offensive players I have ever seen. Imagine a single wing tailback, equally adept at running and passing, who can also jump under center and take the T-formation snap and either throw a drop-back pass or run an option - that's Ell Roberson. You have got to see this kid. *********** Both my older sons had their first scrimmage at (Boise State) Bronco Stadium Saturday. Over 4,000 kids participated in this huge Jamboree they do every year. My oldest touches the ball on every play. ..... He is the center. Take care. Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** "Not just flag football," read the headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article that followed, by Jack Wilkinson, dealt at some length with the place of football in the priorities of our service academies. "The game isn't a matter of life or death," he writes. "At Army and Navy, they know better. But they don't take this tradition-packed annual battle lightly." And he quotes General Jim Shelton, a man who is near and dear to me as one of the inspirations behind the Black Lion Award, and the man who shephered it through to approval by Army higher-ups. Jim Shelton was also a Wing-T guard at Delaware, good enough to be named on several Little-All America (before Division I-AA) teams: "When you're in a football game, it's like chaos, people coming from every direction," said Jim Shelton, a retired brigadier general who played linebacker collegiately at Delaware and went from ROTC into the U.S. Army, serving as a major in Vietnam. "Football's violence, it's fast, it's mano-a-mano. Either I hit him hard, or he's gonna run over me. Combat's like that. "Mortars going off. There's chaos all around. A football game is probably the best kind of training you could ever get for violent combat. It's just like that, except it's for keeps." In college, Shelton played against Army's Don Holleder, an All-America end in 1954 who was moved to quarterback by coach Red Blaik in '55. "It was like trying to tackle a horse, like he had four legs," Shelton recalled. "He tried to knock the hell out of you. He was aggressive, a driver, a real leader. That's the way he was in Vietnam, too." On Oct. 17, 1967, in the Battle of Ong Thanh, Holleder was killed during the massacre of "The Black Lions," the 2nd Battalion of the 28th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division. Although they were not his troops, Holleder sprinted into a grassy field, trying to save wounded soldiers who'd been ambushed. When the dead were returned to base camp and Shelton saw Holleder's body lying there, "He was gray by then. His face looked like stone. I said, 'Oh, Don, how could a guy as powerful as you be dead?'" When Army opened a new basketball and hockey arena in 1985, it wasn't named for Blaik or any of his three Heisman Trophy winners. The Holleder Center honors Maj. Donald W. Holleder '56, an Army football player killed in combat. (Honor Don Holleder, General Jim Shelton, the Black Lions, and American service veterans everywhere - and at the same time, recognize a player on your team who carries on their values: Black Lion Award.) ********** I hope the coach who wrote in can take a moment to reflect on all the young men he has helped the past seven years.....I hope he reconsiders.....Kevin McCullough, Culver, Indiana *********** So I set my alarm to remind me that the Grambling-San Jose State game is coming on, and I tune in and find myself watching... SOCCER! Is this somebody's idea of a cruel joke? I'm watching a bunch of guys in satin shorts, none of whom has a last name, and the frigging game isn't over yet - it's now in overtime - and the idiots who run ESPN really think that the minuscule audience that's been watching a soccer match - a soccer match, for God's sake - is more important than those of us who were promised a football game at the same time. But then I found out it was sudden-death overtime, and, boy, did I become a soccer fan. Fast. C'mon guys! Somebody score! And when some guy for one team or the other (I never did bother to find out who the hell was playing) got by a defender and shot it into the net, I think I was as excited as he was! Game over. Now on to real football. *********** The mighty USA basketball team pounded the Virgin Islands, 113-55. And, the headlines all said, they did it without Tim Duncan! Imagine if they'd had him! *********** COME SEE US! WE'RE FIVE MINUTES FROM THE PORTLAND AIRPORT MADISON SENATORS 2003 SCHEDULE 9/5 - 7:00 pm (H) Sandy Pioneers 9/12 - 7:30 pm - at Parkrose Broncos 9/19 - 5:30 pm - at Benson Techmen* 9/26 - 7:00 pm - (H) Lincoln Cardinals* 10/3 - 3:30 pm - at Cleveland Warriors* 10/9 - 7:00 pm - at Wilson Trojans* 10/17 - 7:00 pm (H) Roosevelt Roughriders * 10/24 - 7:00 pm - at Franklin Quakers* 10/31 - 7:00 pm (H) Marshall Minutemen* * Portland Interscholastic League Games *********** We had a scrimmage last Friday and things were going fairly smooth at the beginning. The defense pretty much lined up in a 5 man front and we were able to handle that well.. The second half of the scrimmage the defense switched to a 6 front and stopped us dead… Any ideas on how to handle the 6 man front….??? Teach the kids their rules. Over and over. There is no shortcut. Those rules will handle any front. HW   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  August 22, 2003 -  "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist." Queen Victoria of England, reassuring her subjects at a time when the nation was at war and things were going badly.   2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)     *********** WARNING!!! IF YOU RECEIVE AN E-MAIL FROM ME CONTAINING AN ATTACHMENT, DO NOT OPEN IT!!! SOMEONE IS SENDING OUT E-MAIL AND USING MY RETURN ADDRESS. BASED ON THE NUMBER OF "UNDELIVERABLE MESSAGE" AND "VIRUS DETECTED" NOTIFICATIONS I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A LARGE VOLUME OF MAIL. THE E-MAIL HAS BEEN GOING TO PLACES NOT EVEN IN MY ADDRESS BOOK, SO THERE IS A CHANCE THAT MY NORMAL CORRESPONDENTS WON'T RECEIVE ANYTHING. BUT --- THE ATTACHMENT EVIDENTLY CONTAINS A VIRUS OF SOME SORT. IF YOU SHOULD RECEIVE AN E-MAIL FROM ME WITH AN ATTACHMENT, DO NOT OPEN IT. UNLESS I FIRST NOTIFY SOMEONE THAT I AM SENDING HIM AN ATTACHMENT, I WILL NEVER DO SO. AND - PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY UNSOLICITED ATTACHMENT WITHOUT FIRST NOTIFYING ME IN A SEPARATE E-MAIL THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING SO. .OTHERWISE, IT HAS BEEN MY POLICY TO ROUTINELY TRASH SUCH MAIL, EVEN FROM SOMEONE I KNOW. *********** If you have noticed that my "NEWS" has been published somewhat erratically over the last couple of weeks, there are three good reasons: First, I had some difficulty in uploading pages, which I attribute to the East Coast power outage. Or to Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. Or soccer lovers who are out to silence me. Second, I was in Chicago, busy for the third year in a row helping Coach Jon McLaughlin at Rich Central High with his two-a-days (actually, the way he runs them, three-a-days). It always reinvigorates me to spend time with Jon and his staff, a great bunch of guys, and work with those kids. It's always hard to predict how a team will be, but based on what I saw, the Olympians, despite graduating most of their offensive line, could be a playoff team once again. That's because there is a large group of junior linemen ready to step up, and line coach Dave Connell, who by now is a veteran double-wing line coach, finds himself with unaccustomed depth at every position. The backfield is solid, and A-back Terrell Blackshire is one of the quickest, most difficult to tackle runner I have seen in a long time. And, third, back in the Northwest this past week, I have been, uh "busy." That's because I find myself gainfully employed. Shortly before leaving for Chicago, I accepted an offer to coach for Tracy Jackson, a double-wing coach who is heading into his second year at Madison High in Portland. I have known Tracy for some time and I've come to like him, but his offer to coordinate his offense, came out of the blue and caught me completely off guard. After we talked at some length, though, I realized that he was outlining the perfect opportunity for a guy in my shoes. I love coaching and I love kids, but I'm no longer able to commit the time and effort required of a head coach, and I don't want to find myself caught in a program that I feel uncomfortable in, working with other coaches whose standards and values aren't the same as mine. Now, to an outside observer, Madison might not seem like a positive situation. Madison, once a Portland Public Schools power, has been down in recent years. The Senators have won only two games in the last three years. That's 2-25. Last year's team, Tracy's first, won only one game. But this ought to tell you all you need to know about Tracy Jackson as a coach - Madison's lone win came in the final game of the year. The fact that a bunch of kids kept working hard and hanging tough through eight heart-breaking losses, to the point where there three-year record was 1-25, and then finally put it all together and won tells me a lot about their coach. Add to that the fact that it wasn't just a win - it was an ass-kicking - and this year's team comes back believing in what Tracy has been preaching - which is "trust in coaching and trust each other." A long meeting with Tracy, a look at the kids working hard in the weight room, and a meeting with the rest of the staff was all it took to convince me that Madison is a great fit for me. Madison may have been 1-8 last year, but Tracy didn't waste the year. He was building infrastructure. Yes, in a school of more than 1,200 kids it is distressing that the vast majority of them have other things to do than play football. That's what losing will do. But the kids who are out for football are great kids. They are hard-working and eager and coachable. And talented. At least from a Double-Wing coach's perspective. I refuse to go out on a limb, but as we near the end of the first week of "Daily Doubles" (as two-a-days are called in the Northwest), I really do feel that this could be a very good offensive team. The kids have learned fast. We did make the changeover to my terminology , which took the kids maybe the first 15 minutes of the first practice. There is no carping or griping about the offense among the staff, either. Talk about coaches believing in the Double-Wing - there is Tracy himself, a double-wing believer; new defensive coordinator Jason Travnicek, who coached the Double-Wing last year at Gaston, Oregon (coincidentally, the site of my first high school coaching job); and new assistant Kevin Thurman, who was practically drummed out of one youth organization for his stubborn insistence on running - and beating people with - the Double-Wing. To say the least, I am excited. Stay tuned.   *********** There is a lot of food for thought in the following column , brought to my attention by reader Steve Tobey, in Malden, Massachusetts. It is reprinted by permission. Message for our student-athletes, parents and coaches By Michael Muldoon Teachers, coaches, parents, classmates and entire towns do a tremendous disservice by giving a star athlete special treatment. True story. After playing big-time college football, the most popular, best looking kid in my high school class turned into a drug addict who robbed the unsuspecting, aging parents of his friends and lived under a bridge. I always wondered if his receiving kid-glove treatment due to his athletic prowess was the reason. If the kid deserves to be failed, fail him. If he deserves to be suspended, suspend him. If he deserves to be arrested, arrest him. While the real Dear Abby is still on sabbatical, here is some advice for athletes, coaches and administrators worth keeping in mind this year. From the ages of 12-18, there is nothing more important than being popular. From the ages of 19-99 there is nothing less important than having been popular from 12-18. If all your friends are athletes, you are shallow. A lot of middle-aged guys who can't play ball with their kids today thought they were doing the right thing playing with pain. Listen to your body. A real athlete never misses a game or a practice for a dance, a concert or Senior Skip Day. Coaches Award winners tend to be more successful in life than team MVPs. Humility is a virtue. False humility makes you a bore. Your coach doesn't have it in for you. Repeat, your coach doesn't have it in for you. Always give a kid a second chance. Be a three-sport athlete. You think that 155th AAU game of the year is making you a better player? The number of athletes who do one sport year-round who blow out their knees or quit from burnout is frightening. Ask any college coach, they prefer three-sport athletes. It is easier to get into an Ivy League school than to earn a full boat. And that's a fact. Go out of your way to befriend the fat kid, the kid with acne problems or the kid with the troubled home life. The late Ted Williams was wrong. The toughest thing in sports isn't hitting a baseball. It's being a parent of an athlete. Good parents shut their mouths, stay glued to their seats and let the players play, the coaches coach and the officials officiate. You won't always be successful, but give it your best shot to spare your child a heap of embarrassment. Forget everything your AAU or travel team coach taught you. No matter how unsatisfying the season may have been for you, never skip the team banquet, it's the ultimate slap in the face to your teammates and coaches. Play for the love of the game and only the love of the game. You're not going to make the pros. Our 23-school region has sent a total of two players to the NHL and sends about one baseball player and one football player to the pros every 20 years. We've never produced an NBA player. You have a far better chance of becoming a brain surgeon. Any coach who swears too much is a lousy coach and an even worse role model. The undersized benchwarmer who doesn't miss practice in four years should be more admired than the all-scholastic quarterback who can barely fit his head in his helmet. You'll never regret having said no to alcohol, drugs and sex in high school. Tattoos make you look like a punk. Right, wrong or indifferent, colleges covet scholar-athletes. A star athlete with 1,250 on his SATs with a 3.6 GPA can go to the Ivy Leagues. A regular student with those grades would be laughed out of any Ivy League admissions department. Any coach or athletic director who drones on about "kids nowadays" should get out of the business. Same goes for those whining about being underpaid. If a coach positively affected your life, write him/her a thank you note. You'll have a friend for life. You have the rest of your life to get a job. If your coach instructs you to cheapshot an opponent, quit the team immediately. Treat the team manager with the same respect as the star of the team. A coach who makes fun of a boy's weight is a boor. A coach who makes fun of a girl's weight is dangerous. Any coach/athletic director who voluntarily hosts invitational events is a gem. Any athletic director who doesn't have rosters for the fans for state tourney games isn't doing his job. Administrators must stand up to meddlesome parents or it will be a slippery slide to chaos. Ask anybody in Londonderry. The size of your nose, biceps or breasts is inconsequential to anybody who truly cares about you. A good captain will lead his team to a Super Bowl title. A great one will take a stand against hazing. It's never too late to change. A loss should hurt like hell. Getting thrown out of a game should hurt even more. Steroids make you a bigger athlete and a smaller person. Always feed the benchwarmer the ball at the end of a blowout. Don't listen to the coach who cut you. Work like the dickens and shock the world next year. Let the games begin. Reprinted by permission. Michael Muldoon works for The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence, Mass. - if you appreciated his efforts, let him know - mmuldoon@eagletribune.com     *********** Hugh - Hope the season is off to a great start for you. We are alive and well in South Florida, and looking forward to our 3rd year of the Black Lion Award. Steve Goodman has presented the award each year and it is truly an honor to have him involved with our school. Last season he gave me a copy of General James Shelton's book, The Beast Was Out There, which tells the full story of the October 17, 1967 when the Black Lions were attacked. GREAT READING and even more so, reinforces our commitment to help keep the memory of all of the heroes alive. Please sign us up for the 2003 Black Lion Award. Coral Springs Christian Academy, Head Coach: Jake von Scherrer, Coral Springs, Florida - BLACK LIONS, Sir! (SIGN UP YOUR TEAM NOW!) *********** You know that I;ve said for some time that if I could have my pick of youth coaches around the US, I'd take nine or ten of them and we'd have the best staff in the US. I have that much respect for so many of the ones I've met and corresponded with. Yes, there are piss-poor youth coaches. But there are piss-poor high school coaches, too. (CLUE: They're often the ones who say that the Double-Wing won't work. The good ones know that it does. Oh, they may hate the Double-Wing and refer to it with vulgarities, but they are smart enough to know that, yes, it does work.) Last week I wrote about Bill Lawlor and John Urbaniak, two Chicago-area youth coaches who have stepped up to the HS level and without missing a beat, are coaching as if they've been coaching high school kids all their lives. They are welcome additions to an already strong staff at Rich Central High. Sometimes, though, youth coaches move up to the high school level and are shocked to find out that the level of coaching isn't what they thought it would be. One former youth (Double-Wing) coach who finds himself coaching at the high school level for the first time wrote me... I have not yet seen the "offensive system" on paper. However, I did attend a 5-hour meeting in which we determined the nomenclature for the formations. That's right, 5 hours discussing the names of formations. If you remember, ******* and I taught the basics of the DW to all of the coaches in our program last year in just 4 hours. That's numbering, blocking schemes, passes, techniques, tackling, etc, etc. in just 4 hours. The whole time I was in that meeting, I kept thinking, I could teach these guys the DW in no time. I am being expected to teach the varsity offense to the freshmen. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. I mean, I can be a good soldier and support the HFC and teach whatever he wants, but I can't teach something if I don't know what it is I am supposed to teach. One of the main problems is that it seems as though the "system" is changing everyday. My theory is that since it is not written down anywhere, the coaches forget the way they decided it was going to be. I have sparingly brought up the idea of the DW but I get the usual answers about how it wouldn't work because this is high school and how some of these teams have some "serious athletes".  You know, "I'm sure it worked great at the youth level but, this is high school."  I've gotten into a couple of pretty good discussions with the O-Line coach about his blocking methods.  You see, he teaches the push and shove technique.  When I told him that I wanted to teach the freshmen the drive block, he actually laughed.  When I asked him what was so funny, he told me that the drive block wouldn't work at the high school level because the defensive linemen are so advanced in their techniques that they would just blow right past the o-linemen. NAME WITHHELD I just got back from Chicago where I would venture to say they have athletes every bit as "serious" as yours, and they teach double-wing and drive blocking and they can kick serious ass. And they have two (former) youth coaches in charge of their sophomore team and instead of teaching them formations, they taught them the Double Wing and within three days the kids - sophomores - could run 12 plays. HW   *********** Some nut named Kelly Brownell - actually, he's a professor of psychology at Yale - is heading a campaign designed to combat childhood obesity through a complete change in their eating habits. He thinks that it's all the fault of Big Food - the people who sell us fatty foods are just doing too good a job of selling the stuff. Okay so far. Can't totally disagree with the guy. See? It's not our fault! It's all the fault of BIG FOOD. But get this - one of the things he and others like him are calling for is for fast-food companies to stop selling larger portions. Yeah, right. I'm sure that the folks at Burger King will be real successful trading in the Whopper for the Teensy-Weensy. Big Mac? Don't you mean Li'l Mickey? And would you like to mini-size that? *********** There may not be a more knowledgeable wing-T coach in America than Chuck Klausing, who after a long and successful coaching career is now semi-retired and living in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Here's what he had to say to coaches in a recent e-mail: "Coaches the number one play in youth F B is the Wedge." *********** You mention the center "check blocking" with man away. ... A "check block" is a generic football term for a block against a defender lined up over a pulling lineman, thrown by a lineman to his playside. *********** Just got done distributing the fine line video tape to all of my coaches.A definite brilliant tape. Being a former arena football player and now coaching at the high school level and coaching at the arena football level, the learning cues are excellent... pics in pecs,back off the ball and the one I love the most "it isnt what you do at the point of contact in the block, it is how you finish it" I think alot of kids in this day and age need to know the importance of finishing. finish what you started whether it be in the classroom or the field. It is a great thing when you think you know all their is to know about double wing play, I can pop back in either the double wing dynamics tape or the fine line and learn something new year in and year out.Last years big news about our team was the 3 backs each going for over 1,000 yards each. But i think my offensive line is the story this year. we average 285 across the front and have a bunch of manchilds on the line. I think our wedge will be our base play. Thats alot of girth coming straight at you, I wouldnt want to be in their way. BUt our hopes this year is to win a state title, coming close last year and losing in the state semifinals makes our guys even more hungrier then last year. I loved all the nay sayers after we lost our last game last year. "hey those guys gotta open up the offense if they want to win it all". I will prove them wrong. I will keep in touch either on the phone or the email.hope everyone is well in your family and life is treating you good. God bless! Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York *********** I guess the NFL just doesn't give a s***. The ad with Ray Lewis 'coaching' a kid to hit a bag ends with the kid doing the Curtis Williams special (head first, head down) into the shield. (I haven't seen the ad in question, but nothing those whores do surprises me. Curtis Williams is the late Washington Husky who died tragically after making a headlong tackle against Stanford a few years ago. HW) And am I the only one who thinks John Madden is beginning to bear a striking resemblance in sight and speech to Ted Kennedy? Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts. *********** my daughter is a rising freshman (and now a varsity volleyball player) at a new high school here in Loudoun County, VA. It is called Dominion High School. They are the "Titans". This past Saturday evening, the school sponsored a pot luck supper and pep rally open to the serviced community, featuring a visit from some of the T. C. Williams High School "Remember the Titans" team and it's family members. A spokesman from the team addressed the rally to encourage the students to cross lines of diversity, make new friends and work hard in school. It was all very nice. Anyway, I had occasion to talk again with the Head Football Coach from Dominion, Mike Dougherty. He told he has been to your clinics and thought it great. How about that? G'Day Coach, Scott Russell, Potomac Falls, Virginia *********** Some of you haven't heard, but I am going through some real trying times here at ******* HS this season. I have just 17 kids out for football (grades 9-12). We are in jeopardy of not being able to finish the season, but we will hang in there and do the best we can. However, there are several very good football players walking the halls who could help us. The obvious question is "Why aren't they playing?" Well, the principal just told me that what he is hearing is those former players are saying that I run too intense of a football program. Oh well, I know that what I do has been successful, and lots of young men have benefitted from being on my teams. I will not lower my standards or compromise my principles. Anyway, please pray for the 17 young men who have the courage to play the game, and pray that my coaching staff and I will make it a great experience for them. Thanks. *********** I have now run into a different and VERY puzzling problem. I ran out of VHS tapes, so I went to purchase some more (these are RCA)/ When I put them into the two players to record, the bottom one took, but the top one replied back TAB and spit the tape out. Not sure what to do here, as I can not get it to record (am recording on 6 hr speed) It is possible that for some reason the "record tab" is missing on that tape. Looking at the tape's spine, the side on which they put the label, near the lower left-hand corner there will be a 3/8 x 3/8 inch tab cut out on three sides. If you want to protect a tape from being recorded over, you punch out that tab. If it's already been punched out, you will have a 3/8 x 3/8 hole in the tape cassette and you won't be able to record on it - until you cover the hole with a strip of Scotch magic tape. I'm betting that's the problem. ********"*** ESPN is planning to be here in a few weeks for Coach McKissick's 500th win. This may very well be his last year. The team has a great chance at the state title. Nothing like going out on top, and in the same year as win 500"... Jody Hagins, Summerville, South Carolina (Coach John McKissick, of Summerville HS, is the winningest high school football coach ever. HHW) *********** Hi Coach Wyatt- I coach 9-10yo and this year is our first year running the double wing offense (your plays straight out of your playbook). We just competed in this year's jamboree. We play 10 minutes on offense and 10 mins defense. We played 3 20 min games. WOW, I am so pleased right now it's hard to keep myself in check because I know we have alot of room to improve. I gotta tell you the kids really looked good and executed pretty darn good. We only have 16 kids so I don't live scrimmage in practice. This was our first test live against another team. Now, I realize this is a ball control offense but we scored from 40, 35, and 25 yards out. We are a very small 1A HS team but we play against 4a schools. We ran 88sp, 99sp, wedge, 6g, red-red. We couldn't be stopped!!! Here's the breakdown---- vs Mount Vernon wedge 2 plays 13 yards and an extra point.... 88sp 3 plays 60 yards..1 td... 99sp 2 plays 5 yard td extra point. That is all we got against them. Seemed like a pretty quick 10 minutes. vs. Arlington wedge 3 plays 11 yards extra point try no good.... 88sp 3 plays 20 yards but that includes a 2 yard td run... 99sp 1 play 15 yards... 6g 2 plays 40 yard td run extra point.... 47criss-cross 1 play 30 yard td run vs. Oak Harbor wedge 4 plays 40 yards including a 25 yard td run.( not too bad 10 yard average)... 88 sp 3 plays 37 yards which includes a 25 yard td run... 99sp 1 play 5 yards..two extra point trys GOOD (who says this isn't a good goaline play!!)... 47 criss-cross 1 play lost yardage -- c back was hit by crashing end head on as soon as he got the ball from the a back...(so the next play was 88sp and went for 25...td...)...red red - two completions 20 yards, and a 40 yard td pass!! This was all run on 50 yard fields. I'm so excited!! But many things to improve on. Pulling lineman were not always getting there quick enough and sometimes when they did they were looking outside instead of inside. We have repped this play many, many times but they still look to outside first! Thank you Coach Wyatt for the great tapes and playbook. Any feedback you may have will be greatly appreciated. I'll keep you posted on the upcoming season. Chad Clark, Concrete, Washington (There aren't many coaching thrills that compare with the one you get when you work to learn an offense and then teach it, and you finally get to see it in action and, doggone it - it works! HW) *********** Coach Wyatt - We just finished our first scrimmage on Sat. and I was very pleased with what we were able to accomplish with a first year team running the DW. In our scrimmages each team gets 10 consecutive plays on a 40 yds field and you bring the ball back to the same spot each time. We went into the scrimmage with 88SP, 99SP, Wedge, 47-C and RED-RED. Our numbers were 31 carries for 192 yds and 1 TD (we went the full distance of 40 yrds.) Passing 3 for 6 for 55 yds. and 1 TD (we went the full distance of 40 yds) it was our first pass of the scrimmage. The other teams coaches told one of mine how impressed they were with our O line, not bad when earlier in the week I lost 2 of my starters when they had to move up a division. My lineman love the offense, getting to get out and run. Kevin Jackson, Jr.Pee Wee Head Coach, Glendora, California *********** Val Ciapponi, a doouble-wing coach in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, wrote me some time back to tell me he had a deaf QB, and ask for suggestions on how to get the plays in to him. I suggested using my no-huddle system, then signalling in the coordinates to him. Not only would the QB see the call, but so would the other kids. Here's what Coach Ciapponi wrote back: "Thanks ,We had our first exhibition on the weekend ,we did quite well. Our Qb did well as a rookie ,but one thing popped up .He could not hear when the REF blows his whistle for time to begin .Well, we figured that one out. Our FB taps his shoulder. You should have seen the grin on the kid when the game was over .He thought three weeks ago he could not play football,let alone QB." *********** Good Morning Hugh, This is my first full day back at the job - doesn't seem possible but we are opening our ninth year with the DW tonight. Freshman and Sophs come in at 3:30 juniors and seniors at 5:30. We have over 100 young men grades 6-12 in the program all running the DW. I wonder how many 88-99 SP will be run over the season - sure is going to be a lot - Ha Ha. Not bad considering we have 270 boys total grades 6-12. More than one out of every three plays football. Where has the time gone - it seems like only yesterday you were introducing the DW to us. With the exception of that first year we never failed to make the play-offs, we have won 78% of all games played, and played in three state championship games, winning two. Anyway, the point of all of this is to say thank you again - and include the Sea Hawks in the Black Lion Award. (SIGN UP YOUR TEAM NOW!) Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** I am and have been a Youth Football Coach for 7 seasons.  Yesterday, I once again was faced with a disgruntled parent.  I had our EMT call his mom yesterday after he was once again unable to do more than about 3 minutes of exercise.  He said he was having an asthma attack (every day he as been to practice, which is about 1/3rd of those held).  The EMT once again found no evidence of any asthma problem.  Despite encouragement from all seven coaches on the staff, we could not persuade this young man back onto the field. After practice his mom was waiting, I explained that I was concerned that her son didn't seem interested in playing football, and was finding excuses to either miss practice time feigning injury, and asthma problems and that it seemed like he perhaps didn't really want to play. She immediately attacked me, indicating that "if he had a good coach, he would be doing better".  She went on to say that I needed to spend extra time with him because he has disabilities, namely ADHD, and Asthma, and if he doesn't get extra attention, he loses interest.  She went on to tell me that his asthma means he can't do much running or heavy exercise, and it was my job to work around that. She also told me this is his first year playing football and he should receive more attention because of that. I tried to explain that football requires physical conditioning, stamina and hard work. I also explained that there are 29 other kids on the team, some with ADHD, Asthma, bumps, bruises, etc.  For some this is their first year and for some their 7th year playing football.  I went on to explain that this is a competitive team of 12-14 year old kids for the most part in 7th and 8th grade, and that at the end of the day, the team needs to be able to play a football game against competitive teams from other towns and that I owed it to those kids to ensure that the team was ready to play. I have 7 other coaches on the squad, and  none have been able to get her son to want to play. I was then accused of playing favorites by only paying attention to the "kids I like". I am so tired of dealing with this type of parent that I am leaving the football league at the end of this season.  I have been the President and head coach of the 120 lb squad for 7 seasons, this being the 8th. How do you handle someone like this? You always seem to have some good advice. Coach- This shows how wild some people become in their belief that (1) every kid can succeed and (2) if the kid doesn't succeed, it is the teacher's - or coach's - fault. These parents of "special needs" kids are the bane of teachers everywhere. Now, evidently, they are moving on to coaches. They see equal outcome as an entitlement. They know their "rights", and they know the jargon, as evidenced by some of the things you say she said. And, backed by some vague-ass, loosely-written laws, they have learned to badger teachers. So why not coaches, too? First of all, not knowing anything more than what you have told me, it sounds to me as though you have nothing to apologize for or be ashamed of. My wife is a grade-school teacher, and she and her colleagues are being slowly driven crazy by people whose children have great limitations, yet come to school and, in effect, say to teachers, "FIX HIM." And they get ample support in their demands from "advocates" and spineless politicians (oxymoron). When their kids are "reluctant learners" as the Japanese say, they blame the teachers for not motivating them sufficiently. Screw the other 25 kids in your class - my child needs individual attention. I DEMAND IT! I'M ENTITLED TO IT! And now it has reached the athletic field, where "no child left behind" is exposed for the farce that it is. I have made no secret of the fact that I support President Bush, but I am angered at the way he sold educators and coaches down the river by getting into bed with Teddy Kennedy (not literally, of course - the mere thought of it is enough to make me sick) and pushed through an education act which blames schools and teachers for failing to "succeed" despite having to deal with more and more kids - and parents - like the one you described. ( And it's your fault if you have a team full of players who run 5.5 40's and you can't run a successful sweep.) What kind of fool would falsely raise peoples' hopes by promising them that schools will fix their kids' problems? What kind of fool would ignore the fact that the number one factor in a child's education is parents. (You didn't mention a father in this case, so I am going to take a wild guess and say that I'll bet there isn't one around.) I think you should stay in coaching. I think your organization should show you support. And I think that next year you should establish physical standards that kids should meet before they are permitted to play. Leave it open-ended - if a kid is out of shape the first time, give him a chance to get in shape and pass the test again. So long as the test is designed to measure what a knowleageable football person would consider to be a minimum level of fitness required for safety's sake, and not to run kids like this off, I don't see how anyone could object. Of course, you would want to run it past a lawyer, but I think that the safety of your players comes ahead of providing access to the disabled. I don't think that playing football is an unqualified right. At registration all parents must be made aware of this requirement, and given a suggested exercise regimen that their son can perform in order to prepare. I wish you luck. Don't let a witch like this deprive the other kids of your coaching.   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

August 18, 2003 -  "A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up." Albert Schweitzer   2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)     A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: They called him "Big Red." For ten years, Alex Webster was a solid member of the great New York Giants of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He also had the misfortune to coach the Giants during the long string of lean years that followed. He was a highly-recruited single-wing tailback out of Kearney, New Jersey who played his college football at North Carolina State. In 1953, Webster was drafted 11th by the Washington Redskins, and was cut four days before the opening game (Teams carried only 33 men then.). He reminisced that he was given $10 to get home, and bus fare back to North Jersey cost him $9.45. On a tip, he contacted Montreal of the Canadian Football League. Montreal Coach Peahead Walker had previously coached at Wake Forest and, remembering him, told him to hustle on up. Alex Webster spent two highly productive years in Montreal, and in 1954 was named the CFL's Most Valuable Player. And then in 1955, he signed with the Giants, and came under the "guidance" of offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi. "I learned it was going to be more difficult in the NFL," he recalled. "Lombardi really put you through a workout. I thought I was going to die. I was a lazy player to begin with - I hated to practice. But you had to work if you were going to play for him." Work he did. Playing in a backfield with such other stars as Frank Gifford, Kyle Rote, Mel Triplett, Eddie Price and Joe Morrison, he became the guy who got the tough yardage. "He was one of the hardest-hitting running backs you ever wanted to see," said his coach, Jim Lee Howell. "There were a lot of defensive players who did not want to see him across the line from them." By the time he retired, in 1964, he held Giants' records for most carries, most rushing yards, and most touchdowns scored rushing. (All records later broken by the great Joe Morris.) He later joined the Giants as an assistant, and in 1969, when head coach Allie Sherman was let go after the last pre-season game, he was named head coach. He did have two good years - 1970, when the Giants went 9-5 and he was named Coach of the Year, and 1972, when the Giants finished 8-6. Unfortunately, that 8-6 was good for no better than third place in the NFC East, behind George Allen's Redskins at 11-3, and Tom Landry's Cowboys at 10-4.   (If you can identify the man above, e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com - be sure to include your name and where you're writing from. Those answering correctly will be listed on Friday'e NEWS.) Correctly identifying Alex Webster - Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Scott Russell - Potomac Falls, Virginia... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Mike Foristiere- Boise, Idaho... Joe Daniels- Sacramento... MIke O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... Gregory Vann- Cherry Hill, New Jersey ("Being a native of DC and having suffered through the 60's with my Redskins I remember how nice it was to defeat Webster and the Giants (and nearly everybody else) when Lombardi and later George Allen came to town.")... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Steve Staker- Fredericksburg, Iowa... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky... Bill Mignault- Ledyard, Connecticut... Jim McGuire- Alexandria, Virginia...   MY APOLOGIES --- FROM LAST THURSDAY NIGHT UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON IT WAS AN ANXIOUS TIME FOR ME, AS I WAS UNABLE TO UPDATE MY WEB SITE. I WOULD PREFER TO THINK THAT IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE POWER OUTAGE IN THE EAST (I WAS IN CHICAGO SINCE TUESDAY), AND NOTHING TO DO WITH MY SOFTWARE.   *********** Coach, Just writing to tell you about my job. After 4 years at Geraldine High School, I moved to Plainview High School around the 1st of July. Telling my kids at Geraldine that I was leaving was one of the hardest things that I had ever done; we had an experienced bunch of seniors that worked hard and expected to win a lot of games this year. However the Plainview job is a good fit for my family and myself. It is closer to my home and my kids will go to school there. The biggest challenge to the Plainview job is the sucess that they have had (104 wins in the 1990's and no less than 7 wins a season in the last 15 years) and the fact that this is considered a major rebuilding year for them. They have had two coaches the last 20 years (one for 18 the another the last two). Tim Cochran, Plainview, Alabama *********** It's that time of year again, and I'm back from Chicago and two-a-days at Rich Central High. The big news there was that there were three new coaches, two of whom - Bill Lawlor and John Urbaniak - are former Chicago area youth coaches who have run my Double-Wing. With a strong varsity staff, head coach Jon McLaughlin has assigneed them to the sophomore team offense, and it was a thing of beauty to watch those guys working with those kids. By the end of the first practice, those kids - whose freshman coaches had never even bothered to teach their linemen to pull last year - were running Super Power as well as the varsity. (There are 45 sophomores, with size and speed comparable to the varsity's.) *********** "I read the news, I'm going to have to get down to Rockville to see the Youth League DW games this season. It would be great if the DW takes off in Montgomery County, it would be something else if one of the High Schools run the offense, but this is Wing-T country. The Wing-T has treated the Montgomery County Teams well. In Maryland's 1A to 4A class system more championship have been won by Montgomery County Schools than any County in the rest of the state. Last year the 4A runner up (Sherwood H.S.) and 3A champion (Seneca Valley H.S. 12 title overall, best in state history) were from Montgomery County. Football is big, I played in front 3,000 to 5,000 every week on Varsity in High School." John Grimsley, Gaithersburg, Maryland *********** I was just reading the SI College Football Preview and there is an article about Jonathan Vilma from Miami (the guy who did the perfect tackle you posted the stills on your site) and our friend Dana Bible is mentioned it as the Boston College Off. Coordinator. Adam Wesoloski, Pulaski, Wisconsin *********** My wife Joan is down in San Marcos with our daughter, Amanda, looking at SWTS University &emdash; so I have the boys with me &emdash; we were out to dinner last night, and I was telling Austin that you had a new gig. I told him your team hadn't won much over the past 3 years &emdash; he asked if you were going to run the DW &emdash; I said, "duh"..he replied..."they won't be losing any more!" -- real conversation -- Anyway, he started drawing some of his teams plays on a napkin (wing-t) -- then I started drawing on another napkin, in an attempt to relate their Wing-T plays to a DW offense (in my feable attempt to give him some "history", as well as encourage him) -- anyway, Hunter was over there with crayons and all the sudden he threw out HIS napkin &emdash; he had drawn a perfect WEDGE &emdash; and said, "Austin &emdash; if you guys want to win, you should run THIS play &emdash; we ran it last year!" -- man..I didn't think Hunter had paid any attention to what we did last year, much less remembered a play well enough to draw it out! Very nice!! Austin just cracked up &emdash; and said "I know Honk,,,the Wedge is AWESOME!" -- What a great guy night! Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** (From a sailor - and Double-Wing coach-to-be - aboard the USS Nimitz) Hi Coach Wyatt, Just 80 more days until I get home, I can't wait! I am missing football like crazy right now, since camp has started. My head coach said he's bummed out I'm not going to be in until November, he was hoping to turn over the offense to me and concentrate on the defense this season. There was a small glimmer of hope I could be home in September, but it has been snuffed out. Ah, November it is. I should most likely be ordering the playbook and tape around that time, hopefully in time for Christmas. Best regards, I hope you aren't being swamped by too many questions at this time of the year! Rodney Polston (PolstonR@nimitz.navy.mil) *********** Hugh, Please count the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights in again for the Black Lion Award this year. In the last three years the award has become one of our most prestigious post-season honors. The players continually badger me the week before our banquet wanting to know who the Black Lion will be. Our parents think the award is absolutely fantastic. Joe Gutilla, Benilde-St, Margaret's High, Minneapolis *********** Coach, We are excited to begin the season. We have nearly 70 kids in grades 7-8 trying out for our middle school team. We will keep as many as possible and make football a great experience for them. It seems to me that if we believe in the benefits of football in shaping the youth then we must do everything we can to expose them to it. One of our other local schools is rumored to only have 30 kids on their team. Not because they only have that many who want to be part of the program, but because they are running off or cutting the other kids. In the long run I think this will hurt their program and gives other sports like s****r a foothold on those kids left behind. Dan King Evans, Georgia. (Great point. I was just talking last night to Bill McMahon, head coach at Lakeside School in Seattle, and he said essentially the same thing - that as hard as coaches are making it for kids to play other sports, with tryouts and elite teams and so forth, football may have become the most "accessible" of all sports. I agree with Bill, and I think it's important that it remain that way. HW) *********** U. S, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who tends to come up with some wacky ideas, may have come up with a good one this time. Well, let's put it this way - she gave me an idea. Quite by accident, of course - I doubt that the woman has the brains of, oh, owl sh-- She was squawking about the fact that hurricanes are now named for men (women complained about the previous practice of stigmatizing them by giving exclusively female names to storms), and they are occasionally given Hispanic names such as Juan. But, complained Ms. Lee recently, they are not for African-Americans! I suspect that she means they are not given names like Jamal and LaTonya, because I know a lot of African-Americans named Kevin and Joe and Bill and Carl. Not that I think they spend a lot of time worrying about when their names will come up. But damn - the woman gave me an idea. How about selling naming rights to Hurricanes? What a fundraiser for the US Government! Your cost? Hang the cost! It'll be worth every penny you can come up with. Just think what a hero you'll be in your house when you and your loved one snuggle on the couch and turn on the TV and she watches in excitement as "Hurricane Barb Johnson" bears down on the Gulf Coast and thousands are evacuated from their homes. *********** Hi Coach Wyatt, My name is Paul Smith from Bullard-Havens Tech in Bridgeport, CT. I've attended two DW clinics in the past, and have been running much of the DW with my Freshman team for the past three seasons. I've also been following Fitch and Notre Dame of West Haven in my state with great interest. Two weeks ago, our coach had a "falling out" with the Principal and AD and resigned on the spot! They almost dropped our program! They've been threatening it for years, (not successful - not enough participation) and this seemed to them the "right time". Another assistant and I talked them into keeping the program alive, at least for this season - "then we'll see". So, as of two weeks ago, I've been named "Interim Head Coach"! As you can imagine, I've been scrambling! I sent out letters to EVERY boy in the 9th - 11th grades, and a few selected seniors, called every area school for scrimmages (got two so far), and hired one assistant. I'm interested in the "Black Lion Award" for my team. That's the type of award I've been giving to the Freshmen anyway - for "honor roll", "attendance", etc. Please put Bullard-Havens on the list for this award. The Varsity's been running a spread Wing-T (3 foot splits). I've been using our team's terminology - Delaware style - with the DW (that's what the head coach wanted, and that's what I did - can't help the loyalty). I'd start my line at one foot splits "to cut down on inexperienced linemen's penetration problems", which my Head Coach said was fine, but is the tightest he'd allow (I always check with the boss first). To my delight, they'd naturally tighten up their splits! We're going DW all the way this year. Every coach I talk to about it, except the one assistant that was with me in the office thinks I'm nuts! Too tight . . . it'll never work! I don't give a flying *&%$#, I've seen it work! I have the "Sure and Safe Tackling" and "Installing the System" tapes already, and you'll soon be getting my order for the playbook (if it's still available) and "A Fine Line". Thanks for all of your support over the years. Paul Smith, Bridgeport, Connecticut My congratulations and best wishes to you. You are taking on a tough job under difficult conditions, but very few guys are lucky enough to walk into jobs where everything is in place and ready to go. The first task, it seems to me - after getting as many kids out as possible - is to make those kids glad and proud that they made the choice to play football, while at the same time getting them ready to play a rough game. Work very hard at avoiding losing - at staying within striking distance. That means staying as simple as you have to in order to eliminate mistakes. But it is a great challenge and I wish you the best. Please keep me informed! *********** I ordered and received your "Dynamics of the Double Wing" playbook and video a couple of weeks ago. I find it to be just what I was looking for, for my Pop Warner Pee-Wee's. I have a question though concerning the ball carriers path. On page 22, it shows the "A" back going off the the outside tail of the 6 man and the inside of the "C" backs block. On page 23 with 88 Super Power, it shows the "A" back running running off the tail of the RT and the TE's down block on the defensive tackle. Is the "A" backs path determined by 6/9 call of the TE? I look forward to starting the season with your system. The idea of the "6" and "9" (by the way, I often say "ON" or "OFF") call is to give our blockers maximum advantage. The reality is that against most sound defenses, you will rarely see a guy in a "6" technique. The A-Back has to keep his eyes open because he must run INSIDE the kickout block of the B-Back. One thing that helps him a lot, as I note on the video wrapper, is to keep motion short and shallow. In fact, in the early stages, I recommend running the play without any motion at all. That eliminates a lot of the runner's temptation to take the play outside the block of the B-Back. (Kids will want to do that.) The next thing I tell him to do is after he catches the ball to try to push on his blockers with his inside hand. *********** "I want to enroll my Northbrook Jr. Spartans for the Black Lion Award. This will be the third year I've participated and I continue to believe this award is a tremendous vehicle for teaching our youth about the sacrifices necessary to ensure the freedoms all Americans enjoy. Thank you, the family of Don Holleder, General Shelton, and all of the Black Lions for making this award available to our players."Regards, Keith  Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** In 14 years at Texas A & M, R. C. Slocum won 70 per cent of his games, but last season he went 6-6, and he was gone, replaced by Dennis Franchione. No one could deny that Coach Slocum had done a great job. The strongest indictment of him that most people could come up with was. "it's time for a change." He told the New York Times recently that he was "surprised and disappointed" by his firing, but he had begun to sound as though he'd come to understand the reasoning. "It's a sign of our times," said Slocum. "We're a fast-food society. Everyone wants a quick meal." ***********The total evening news audience on the major TV networks is way down. In late June, "CBS Evening News" had one of its least-watched weeks in its history, according to Nielsen Media Research. The audience of ABC Nightly News is down nearly 600,000 from last year. Only NBC is holding its own. The network suits claim it's because Americans are simply tired of all the stressful news they've been getting. I guess they've totally dismissed the possibility that Americans could be tired of the same old party line being force-fed them by the likes of Dan Rather (CBS) and Peter Jennings (ABC). *********** "Last Year, I coached the PeeWee team of the Southwind Titans. Unknown to me the leadership of the organization already had the team on suspension for various infractions. The leadership of the league made the team leave the league. Myself and another fellow restarted the team under the name of the Southwind Titans Youth Athletic Organization. "We offer Cheerleading, Track & Field and Football now. Our first year Track team had nearly 60 participants and came in 3rd in the league. Our football program is off to a great start. Our current enrollment is approximately 95 and we expect to field 110 children on four teams: Bantam (6-7) PeeWee (8,9,10), Junior (11-12) & Senior (13-14). My question is it one per organization or can we request one per team. We have a total of 16 coaches and many are first year coaches with great football acumen and a love for working with children. "Last year's winner for the team I coached was Reginald Farmer and he ran track and is playing football this year. Lawrence Bullard, Head Coach PeeWee Team, Assistant Director, Southwind Titans, Memphis, Tennessee (Yes- it is possible to enroll more than one team per organization. HW) *********** "Coach just mailed out the check to you for Dynamics 3 Then that's it - I have all your tapes. Great stuff, made me a much better coach , worth every penny." Tom Hensch, Staten Island, New York   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  August 15, 2003 -  "I don't want any communiques saying you are holding your position. We're not holding anything. We'll let the enemy try to do that. We are attacking day and night."General George S. Patton   2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)     A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: They called him "Big Red." For ten years, he was a solid member of the great New York Giants of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He also had the misfortune to coach the Giants during the long string of lean years that followed. He was a highly-recruited single-wing tailback out of Kearney, New Jersey who played his college football at North Carolina State. In 1953, he was drafted 11th by the Washington Redskins, and was cut four days before the opening game (Teams carried only 33 men then.). He reminisced that he was given $10 to get home, and bus fare back to North Jersey cost him $9.45. On a tip, he contacted Montreal of the Canadian Football League. Montreal Coach Peahead Walker had previously coached at Wake Forest and, remembering him, told him to hustle on up. He spent two highly productive years in Montreal; 1954 he was named the CFL's Most Valuable Player. And then in 1955, he signed with the Giants, where he came under the "guidance" of offensive coach Vince Lombardi. "I learned it was going to be more difficult in the NFL," he recalled. "Ombardi really put you through a workout. I thought I was going to die. I ws a lazy player to begin with - I hated to practice. But you had to work if you were going to play for him." Work he did. Playing in a backfield with such other stars as Frank Gifford, Kyle Rote, Mel Triplett, Eddie Price and Joe Morrison, he became the guy who got the tough yardage. "He was one of the hardest-hitting running backs you ever wanted to see," said his coach, Jim Lee Howell. "There were a lot of defensive players who did nto want to see him across the line from them." By the time he retired, in 1964, he held Giants' records for most carries, most rushing yards, and most touchdowns scored rushing. (All records later broken by the great Joe Morris.) He later joined the Giants as an assistant, and in 1969, when head coach Allie Sherman was let go after the last pre-season game, he was named head coach. He did have two good years - 1970, when the Giants went 9-5 and he was named Coach of the Year, and 1972, when the Giants finished 8-6. Unfortunately, that 8-6 was good for no better than third place in the NFC Easr, behind George Allen's Redskins at 11-3, and Tom Landry's Cowboys at 10-4. (If you can identify the man above, e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com - be sure to include your name and where you're writing from. Those answering correctly will be listed on Friday.) NOTES FROM A RECENT TRIP TO IOWA.... ***********For 27 years now, the Iowa Football Coaches Association has put out an Iowa High School Football Yearbook. Brad Knight, of Galva-Holstein High, was kind enough to give me a copy of this year's book, and it is really nice.  They've got the usual all-state teams and coach-of-the-year writeups, as well as week-by-week results of every team in the state, ( they wisely waited until after the state playoffs so they could print all those results, too.) If you're interested in a copy, send $8.30 (includes postage and handling) to Football Yearbook - 209 Terrace Drive - Oskaloosa, IA 52577 (I found it especially interesting that the several ads in the book bought by Iowa State to advertise their various camps all prominently boast, "FIVE STRAIGHT WINS OVER IOWA!") *********** It may not be De Le Salle, or Long Beach Poly, or Joliet Catholic or one of the nation's high-profile programs, but you could argue that if you wanted your kid to play in the NFL, you'd be better off if you just sent to to Aplington-Parkersburg High. In Iowa. Aplington-Parkersburg, a 2A school (4A is the largest class) has four graduates now playing in the NFL: Jared DeVries (Lions), Aaron Kampman (Packers), Brad Meester (Jaguars) and Casey Wiegmann (Chiefs). *********** It took Steve Staker 33 years to get it right, but two years ago, in his 33rd year as head coach at Fredericksburg, Iowa, he finally won a state title. And then, once he had it figured out, he turned right around and nearly made it two in a row. Despite the fact that most of the players from that team - including his QB son - graduated, doggone if he wasn't back in the final game this past season as well. Unfortunately for Steve, he ran into another one of our Double-Wing teams, powerhouse Manning High, coached by Floyd Forman, and this time it was Manning's turn. (You can't imagine the pride I felt in being associated with those two guys, and then having the chance to coach with them at our Western Iowa camp a couple of weeks ago.) Coach Staker, a member of the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame, is actually heading into his 36th year of coaching (he got out of high school coaching for one season - 1989 - to work as offensive coordinator at Upper Iowa University) and he's as fired-up as ever. And just to show his commitment to football - he took two days off after coaching the North team to victory in the annual North-South Shrine Bowl game and then drove to Galva-Holstein to work our camp. Even if he weren't a winner, Steve Staker would be a hall-of-famer based on what he's done for our game and for the kids at Fredericksburg - there are 65 boys in Fredericksburg High, and 50 of them play football. But this will be his last year as coach of Fredericksburg. Not because he's getting out, but because, like far too many Iowa towns and schools, Fredericksburg has lost population, and next year it will be merging with nearby Sumner to form one school. (Let's hope that at least they retain the town names in the new school, and don't settle for something inoffensive - and bland - like "Skyview" or "Horizon" or "Legacy" or some such.) But here's the best part - the search for a coach for the new, consolidated school will be opened up to all applicants. Steve Staker, Hall-of-Famer, will have to apply just like anyone else. ********** On ESPN's version of Monday Night Football, they told about New Orleans coach Jim Haslett and his son. I don't know how old the kid is, but evidently he wanted Dad's team to draft Ken Dorsey, and when they didn't, he called Dad to complain. And when Dad tried to explain, the kid hung up on him (the story goes). Nice. If one of your kids did something like that to you, would you tell people about it? *********** It probably doesn't make a lot of difference to people who no longer believe in heaven and hell, but just in case Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien thinks the Roman Catholic Church hasn't been paying attention to the Canadian government's rush to approve homosexual marriage, Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary put the whole idea in spiritual terms for him: "I pray for the prime minister because I think his eternal salvation is in jeopardy." *********** The Cleveland Browns have got themselves quite a quarterback controversy. Tim Couch vs. Kelly Holcomb could become one for the ages - a Van Brocklin-Waterfield or a Montana-Young, to name a couple of the great ones. For what it's worth: This year Couch is due to be paid $6.2 million, Holcomb $825,000. *********** "While I was in Canton last week at the Youth Summit I spoke with several HS coaches who run the Wing-T. It was interesting listening to them talk to one another, and how they all spoke the same language. Reminded me of our Double Wing coaches when we get together at your clinics! When they asked me what offense we run at BSM and I told them the Double Wing they immediately asked me this question, "Wyatt's or Markham's version?" Apparently all of them know about yours and have had experience facing both versions, and NONE of them have had a lot of success against either! All of them agreed that even though the DW is similar to the Wing-T, running the Wing-T wasn't an advantage in trying to prepare for the DW. In fact, most of the Wing-T guys agreed that when we "spread" the DW it makes it even more difficult to defend. When they asked me why I run it I simply told them it gives our kids a chance offensively to compete on a level playing field. It comes down to talent. If one year I don't have a lot of talent the DW gives us a chance to be competitive. If my talent is average the DW helps us to be better than average. And when I have a lot of talent, watch out! I told them I've run a lot of different offenses over the years and the DW is the most personnel friendly offense of them all. A few of them were taking notes. Not to worry, I didn't give away any trade secrets. "Tomorrow we have our pre-season staff meeting at my house. It has become an annual ritual for me to serve up barbecued tri-tip sandwiches, home-made potato salad, barbecued beans, and "beverages" to my staff on the day before we start. It gives us a chance to be organized, iron out last minute details, and get fired-up for the first day of double session practices on Monday. "But more importantly getting together as a staff helps us to get started off on the right foot. Needless to say I'm excited about season number 29 for me, and can't wait to get started. I'd like to wish all of my DW colleagues the best of luck this year, and look forward to seeing their results each week in your "Winners Circle" page." Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis  *********** Not bragging - and knock on wood - but for three straight years, not a single high school, middle school or youth football player has died as a result of the early-season heat. I hesitate to point out that the NFL - the people who presume to tell us how to coach - can't say the same. *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, I would like to enroll my team for future Black Lion Awards. My name is Terry Grider and I am the head football coach at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. Both my daughter and son are graduates of West Point so I know about Don Holleder. My daughter is a captain with the 3ID and my son just finished Airborne training and begins Ranger training next week. When he finishes, he will report to the 1ID as a mechanized platoon leader. *********** (From an American soldier in Iraq who wants to be a coach when his Army career is over) Do you still have your website running? We have access to the internet but all of the sport site have a block on them. I can inderstand blocking the porn site but football, now that's un-American!! Thanks again and take care. Harry Manus Jr. (Maybe somebody can tell me what the hell is wrong with the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army or whoever the hell sticks American kids in a Godforsaken place like Iraq and, in this day and age of instant communication, shuts them off from football? I'll bet soccer people are behind this. HW) (If anybody would like to send "anything dealing with the DW or SW" you can send it to Harry Manus Jr. - 952 Hurricane Creek Road - Stewart, TN. 37175 and it will be forwarded to him in Iraq) *********** In your comments regarding NBA owner Mark Cuban's comments, I am reminded of the process called "Defining deviancy down," the clever alliteration coined by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D., N.Y.). It seems so fitting when describing the direction our society is moving. Football has become the true counter-culture movement..."An unselfish pursuit played by disciplined people in a selfish world populated by undisciplined people". Mark Kaczmarek, Davenport, Iowa *********** The single wing is alive & well in Sharon, PA. This year we have added the "Slide Rule Shift" to the 57' Firebird Wing. In short, the line & backfield shift independently of each another, or alone, or not at all. The kids are getting pretty good at it, and I anticipate much confusion for the defense. Todd Bross, Sharon, Pennsylvania (I can just hear the kids: "Coach, what's a slide rule?"HW) *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, Read your news coloumn this morning as usual and have to comment on the fat out of shape NFL lineman that seem to be passing out when the heat index is only 86 degrees. This is unbelieveable to me. I played in the days when water was not allowed on the practice field and full contact started on day one of practice, both in college and high school. We also had three weeks of two a day practice and all practices were in full pads. We were expected to be in shape when football practice started and the only thing we needed to do was to get in hitting shape. On Saturday we usually only had one practice but it was always the day we had a full game type scrimmage against the first defense. And those days were hot!!!!! Many 100+ degrees. First practice was at 0900 to 1100. Second was 1400 to 1600. Remember my old high school coach who I used to talk to all the time while I was coaching, the first thing out his mouth was "Your not teaching that pitty patty pushy pushy blocking are you!". I'm sure if I said I was he would have hung up on me. I can't stand the line play of the pros. All that pushing and shoving by big fat guys. What happened to linemen who had athletic ability and proper footwork and technique? Pushing around with your hands is not line play in my book. Shoulder pads are still designed with a pad over the top of the shoulders, which means they are designed to be used for SHOULDER BLOCKING. There is nothing like the sound of a shoulder trap block at full speed and there is nothing as satisfying as delivering that block. I compare it to hitting a home run, getting the fat part of the bat on a good fastball. CRACK, SMASH leg drive and down goes the defender. Wow is that ever great. And the added bonus of teaching the shoulder block is that it is exactly the same technique in tackling with the addition of wrapping the hands. (Butt down, eyes up, bull your neck, bend your knees, flat back, same leg and same shoulder, etc. etc etc) Well that's all for now, but I just had to get that off my chest! You touched a nerve! The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California *********** I just received  " A Fine Line " and just like the other ones they are great. Just a few more purchases and I'll have them all. I am an asst. at Henry County High School in Kentucky and I have a Wing T background. I was able to install the tight set and run super sweep along with our wing t plays from that same set. I loved it , the kids loved it but the head coach does not share our enthusiasim. Sorry the head coach doesn't share your enthusiasm. Be careful not to give him the impression that you are working aqgainst him. He's the boss, and maybe someday he'll come around. *********** This year the NCAA, wary of heat-related injuries and even death, has mandated that colleges can't have two-a-day sessions on two consecutive days. But don't kid yourself - schools are still going to get in the same number of practice sessions. They're just spreading the pre-season out over more days. Oregon State offensive lineman Kanan Sanchez was asked what he thought about the new policy. "It's like saying, 'Would you rather get hit with a belt (when you're young) or would you rather be grounded for three months?" he told the Portland Oregonian. "Personally," he went on, "hit me with a belt. Let me get it out of the way." *********** Coach in your opinion do you lose the integrity of the offense by moving into different formations? Example moving a tight end out, moving both tight ends out, moving a wingback back to tailback position, going unbalanced, etc. I was looking at it and it seems to me you can you can run your entire offense still out of this formation including super power. Are you watering down the DW by doing this or adding variety that gives you a better chance to pass and makes them adjust to different sets instead of just loaded up against one formation? Also take advantage of mismatches you can create by coming out in different formation? Also using motion to change formations and take advantage if they are loading 9 or 10 up front? Coach- I think the integrity of the offense lies more in what goes on from tackle to tackle - we stay constant there, teaching the same stance, alignment, steps and techniques and the same seven or eight master blocking schemes - and that's it. But I am totally in favor of putting multiple sets to good use, for many reasons: Hiding players who aren't so good; Making maximum of a player who is very good; Neutralizing a defensive strength; Capitalizing on a defensive weakness; Trying to sneak an overshift in on someone; Showing an overshift in hopes of forcing a favorable adjustment; Stealing practice time from an opponent who sees the stuff we do; Changing-up when you need to change things up; Getting people off your back - looking like you're "cutting edge" I think that's a big edge that we have. You can stay in double-tight, double-wing all you like, but that isn't always feasible, so we have the chance to go multiple with sets and motions. *********** Coach Wyatt, My name is Mickey Martin and I coach football at Parkview HS in southern Wisconsin. We went to the DW 2 years ago and qualified for our state play-offs for the first time in school history last season. We finished 6 and 4 overall. Our JV's and freshmen both finished with winning records as well. Not bad for a school who had to abandon varsity football just 10 years ago due to lack of numbers, but we're back! Thanks. Also, thanks for a great job with "A Fine Line". It really helps my assistants understand... Sincerely, Mickey Martin, Orfordville, Wisconsin *********** Coach- Thought I would report that Double Wing Fever has infected the Rockville Football League. It looks like there will be 2 Intermediate, 1 Pee Wee and 1 Ankle Biter Double Wingers. The Leagues entry in the new Maryland Middle School Football League, my guys, will of course be running it as well. As the Middle School league is attracting unbelievable attention from the Catholic School Coaches as a fertile recruiting source it will be interesting to see if any of them will give it a try next year. You would think that Archbishop Curly's success in Baltimore would have spread to the Washington Suburbs but all the Washington guys know about Baltimore is Gilman, Gilman and Gilman. I guess those ridiculous USA Today High School rankings impress somebody. Hope all is well and you have "recovered" from clinic season. Eric Heckman, Rockville, Maryland (Glad to see that the DW is making inroads in Montgomery County. My goal is for us all to get to the point someday where nobody will scoff when we tell them what we run, but instead they'll look at us in admiring amazement! Shock and awe. HW) *********** Coach,   Well we had our first scrimmage of the year.  We looked good for the most part, but we need to work on technique and mental toughness.  We won 51-0, with lots of 88 and 99 powers and superpowers.  We really ran 2 Wedge well today; probably getting a good 75 yards with it.  We scored two touchdowns with Red/Red with a Bootleg Right.  Looks like this year will be a good one.   Respectfully, Coach Marvin Garcia Manzano Monarch Freshmen Coach- Sounds as if after winning 51-0 your big task is going to be convincing your kids that they're not perfect yet. That is a tougher job than you might think. Of course, it's hard to work on mental toughness - learning to take a punch and get back up - when you're dominating an opponent. *********** Coach, Well, I've got my annual 5 min. fix of the NFL. I made it to the first Giants running play. The PLAYSIDE tackle could not get to the OLB! I can assure you that we dummies at the high school level would be looking for a replacement yesterday and not paying the clown. Well, we start in two weeks and can't wait. We have a great group of kids that are working hard. We are small but with the switch to the Wing we will do very well. I'll keep you posted on our season. Bert Ford, Los Angeles *********** The Seahawks set a record Saturnight that will never be broken. It can only be tied. Their sideline bimbo started talking non-stop, and talked right through the opening kickoff. *********** Not only are pro offensive tackles lining up deep in their own backfields, but take a look at the receivers spread out across the field and you tell me which ones are on the line and which ones are not. In the Seahawks-Chargers game it was customary for the 'Hawks to have three guys on the line - on the same side of the line - and send all of them out. What the hell - it's only rules. What? That bothers you? What are you, anal? You must be one of those types who have a problem with travelling and palming in the NBA. *********** Cliche city - I heard Steve Raible and Warren Moon, the Seahawks' broadcast crew, use the weary, overworked phrase "brings to the table" four times in the first half. *********** "Another Barry Bonds homer? Wake me up when he passes Ruth. And find me some before-and-after pictures of Ruth as dramatic as those of Bonds." Kevin Gleason, recordonline.com *********** Well, do tell... Seahawks' announcer Steve Raible (talking about Seahawks' running back Kerry Carter): "And coming out of Stanford, he has to be smart, too..." Broadcast partner Warren Moon, former Washington Husky and walking ad for the benefits of a University of Washington educatiion: "I know. I couldn't of went there." *********** Do you think youth level players (9-10 year olds) are too young to run an option offense?  What age would you recommend? I think it is possible for kids at any age to run an "option" offense - provided that you take the option from them. In other words, you have to tell your QB whether you want him to keep or pitch. But if you are talking about actually letting a young QB make the choice, forget it. Option football has a very deep downside. Believe me, it is a very lucky high school coach who has a kid who can consistently make good decisions. *********** THERE ARE SOME PLACES IN AMERICA WHERE IT WOULD BE MORE ACCEPTABLE IF YOU PRACTICED SODOMY OR WITCHCRAFT RATHER THAN RUNNING THE DOUBLE-WING... Last year I installed the double wing at the youth level here in --(someplace in America) -----.   By Pre-season it was clear that --- (two other programs in our league) --- were running it as well.   We had a great year, going 4 and 4 with a small team and limited talent.   We scored almost 300 points in 8 games and the kids loved it really.   At the beginning of this year I was interviewed for the JV coaching job here and I was told that my running of the double wing was a real problem.   If I want to coach this year I can not run it.... bottom line.   Partly because it is different than what we run at the high school but there was something more.   A deep seated dislike coming form certain individuals in our program and I was not and am not sure where it is coming from.   A couple of guys have kids that may not be showcased in this system, as much but we loved it!    Our Varsity coach refused to discuss it at all and at a coaches clinic there was a special time taken to discuss the fact we cannot and will not run the double wing.   Shame really.   They are afraid of what they cannot understand.   And ---(Unnamed school) -----, the largest high school in ---(our state) ------, can barely generate a winning season at times.   They suffer from small line size, and yet they run a single back offense and throw the ball all over the field.   IN their playbook is a Wildcat and Thunder formation which is in fact the double wing alignment with wider line splits.   I guess I will run out of that formation and some other sets but I will still run some of these great plays.   Thanks for sharing your system with me and my boys and I hope in the future I can have a chance to run it again. NAME WITHHELD (Lord. Banning an offense. What ignorance. What asses. Their time would be better spent fighting against dietary supplements. What's that? You say their kids are taking them? Because it will get them ready for the "next level?" Never mind. HW)   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  August 8, 2003 -  "Played wholeheartedly, football is a soul-satisfying outlet for the rugged, courageous type of boy who loves physical contact.  Played half-heartedly, football is a waste of time and energy. Football is no halfway game. To play it, you have to 'get wet all over.'" Dana X. Bible, all-time great Texas coach    2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)      A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He looks like the town banker or the superintendent of schools, but Dana X. Bible (or sometimes "D. X. Bible") was one of the greatest of all college coaches. He was a head coach for 34 years, the last 29 of them at Texas A & M, Nebraska and Texas, and present-day coaches at those places can thank him for the often-unreasonable demands supporters place on them, because he's the one who spoiled them. His teams won 14 conference championships, and he posted an overall win-loss mark of 209-74-19. Born in Jefferson City, Tennessee, Dana Bib'e was a three-sport athlete in college, first at Carson-Newman and then at North Carolina. Right out of college, he took a job as head coach at Brandon Prep in Shelbyville, Tennessee. After a year, he moved to Mississippi College, then moved to Texas A & M to become freshman coach. Following a year as head coach at what is now LSU, he was offered the job as head football coach and athletic director at Texas A & M. It was 1917 and he was 26 years old. You might say Coach Bible got off to a good start at A & M - his 1917 team was undefeated and unscored-on. With World War I going on, he had to take a year off to serve overseas as a pilot, but he returned without missing a beat - his 1919 team was also unbeaten and unscored-on. When he left after the 1928 season to take over at Nebraska, he could truly claim to have put A & M football on the map. His record at College Station was 72-19-9, with six Southwest Conference (SWC) titles. He had undefeated teams in 1917, 1919 amd 1927. He was a master motivator. In 1922 at halftime against Texas, with the game tied, 7-7, he drew on a bit of Texas history to challenge his men: in an act reminiscent of the defense of the Alamo, when Colonel Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword, he drew his foot across the floor of the Aggies' locker room and said, ""Those who want to go out and be known as members of an A & M team that defeated Texas in Austin - step over the line." There was a stampede to cross the line, and the Aggies went out and beat Texas, 14-7. If for nothing else, he will be forever remembered at A & M as the man who started the tradition of the "Twelfth Man" - the notion that every Aggie - anywhere - stands ready and willing to go onto the field and jump in if needed. (It's why Aggies stand for the entire game - they never know when they might be needed.) In eight years at Nebraska, he was 50-15-7, and won six Big Six titles, but in 1936 he was lured away to Texas with what was then, in the middle of the Depression - an unbelievable contract - $15,000 a year for 20 years, the first 10 as head coach and AD, the final 10 as AD. (The President of the University of Texas was only being making $7500 a year.) University of Texas football was down when he arrived, but he came up with a plan - which came to be called the Bible Plan - designed to put it on solid footing. He knew that there was a lot of high school talent in Texas, and he believed that the key to success was winning the recruiting battle at home. So he divided the state into fifteen districts, and designated prominent Texas alumni to play major recruiting roles - including providing "jobs" - within those districts. At first, wins came slow - he won only three games in his first two seasons. But then the Bible Plan began to bear fruit, and from 1940 through 1946 Texas was 53-13-3, winning three SWC titles. He served as a member of the National Football Rules Committee for 19 years (1929-1947). He is a charter member of the National Football Hall of Fame, and in 1934 served as President of the American Football Coaches Association When he retired following the 1946 season, he hired Blair Cherry, who by most peoples' standards did a great job - he went 10-1 in his first season and beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. His overall record was 32-10-1, and he never lost to A & M. In fact, he went 9-1 in his last season, and the Longhorns finished third in the nation. Unfortunately for Coach Cherry, that lone loss was to Oklahoma, which finished first. It was his third straight loss to OU,, and he "retired." Our man had so elevated the aspirations of UT supporters that a 9--1 season and a third-place finish nationally wasn't enough to save his successor's job. And then Coach Bible went out and hired him another coach - a young Oklahoman who's just finished his first year at the University of Washington. Young fella named Darrell K. Royal. Correctly identifying Dana X. Bible - Joe Daniels- Sacramento... Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois... Keith Babb - Northbrook, Illinois... Mike Foristiere- Boise, Idaho... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... JOhn Muckian- Lynn, Massachusetts... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa ("For someone who coached 3 yrs. in Nebraska 83-86 Dana X. Bible is an easy one.")... Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island ("You would think I'd have heard of Coach Bible, but I must admit I had not. Good quiz this week") .... Scott Russell- Potomac Falls, Virginia... John Naylor - Fort Worth, Texas... MIke O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois...  *********** In regards to the "pancake drill", I've got 12-14 first time players who aren't even sure they want to play football yet (9-11 yrs. olds), is the drill safe enough for these guys or should I make some adjustments to ensure safety.  I know some of my veteran kids will really tee off on the man holding the shield. Coach: The pancake drill (which, by the way, I cover in some detail in "A Fine Line") is as safe as any I've hard-hitting drill ever run, but no drill is perfectly safe. I think you will find this drill to be a great introduction to full-speed contact for kids who've never played the game. As with any drill, you want to be careful to avoid mismatches - which would include veterans vs newcomers as well as big kids vs little kids. Make sure that you control the drill and no one starts until you give the okay... make sure that the man holding the shield cover the bottom of his face mask with the top of the shield to avoid "whiplash" contact. Always make sure that the pit is ready and the man with the shield is centered directly in front of it. Be sure to tell that man not to fight it, either - he is going to be knocked onto his back. *********** Glad you enjoyed your time in Galva, Iowa. You probably didn't run into any of the Baldwin brothers, Susan Sarandon, or Hillary Clinton either. Take care, Mick Yanke, Dassel-Cokato HS, Cokato, Minnesota *********** Coach, You don't know me and I hate to even ask for information because I know that you are covered up with requests constantly. I emailed Adam (which is a good friend of mine) for your address. I'm an Army Apache Longbow pilot currently providing air security over Iraq and kicking some serious terrorist ass if I may say so myself. I currently have 20 years of military service to this great country of ours and fixing to retire in the near future. I'd really like to coach high school football and teach school of course. Adam has been talking non-stop about your single wing system and your coaching abilities. I'm from Tennessee and have been a huge fan of Vols football for my entire life. The blood runs orange through my veins as you can well understand from their long tradition. Coach Neylands balanced SW attack has intriged me for a while now. I have actually talked to Coach Aldrich and he stated that Neylands system was the most boring of all the SW attacks of that era. What I'm looking for is information , playbooks, videos or anything else that you would be willing to part with. Just let me know what I owe you for your cooperation. I'm scheduled to rotate back to the states in March 04 time frame. As you can imagine there's nothing to do here except fly and read. I figured that it would be a great opportunity to study your system and to get smart on the double wing. Thanks for your continued support of our American soldiers and our fight against terrorism. God Bless America and the DW. Harry Manus Jr. As a Tennessee guy, of course you would support the General. From the point of view of Coach Aldrich and his spinning fullback single wing, I guess you might call the General's single wing boring. Actually, his football was rather boring if you weren't for Tennessee, because his entire strategy was (1) don't lose the game and (2) keep yourself in position to win it when the opportunity presents itself. He is known more now for his single-wing, but actually he was a defensive guy, and possibly the first special teams fanatic as we know the type now. He had no qualms about punting on third down. He was definitely a "position over possession" guy who had such faith in his defense that he would just as soon you have the ball on your 20 as he have it on his. (Coaches- I am waiting for an address. HW)   *********** Hey guys - football is just about here. Time to stop putting it off - time to sign your team up for this year's Black Lion Award! (Even if you've given the award in the past, you need to sign up so we know how many awards to order.) And for those of you who might be the slightest bit suspicious, who might wonder what my angle is - there is no angle. There is no catch. This is not designed in any way for me to sell something or for the US Army to recruit your kids. There is nothing but good in it for you, your kids and your program. *********** Take out your copies of this week's Sports Illustrated, class, and turn to page 70. There you'll find diagrammed the play on which Ohio State beat Purdue last year. Without getting into great detail, it shows Ohio State sending two guys into the pattern from the right side. The "tight end" runs a drag, and the wide receiver runs a dig.   Now, before some coach out there draws it up and runs it... Unfortunately, as the play is drawn up, only one of those guys is eligible. The wide receiver is up on the line - meaning that the tight end is no longer actually an "end", and is therefore not an eligible receiver.   No matter. Print it anyhow. What the hell do fans know?   Now, my guess is that neither Jim Tressel nor his OC designed the play that way. Only Rick Neuheisel does things like that, things like playing 12 men on defense and thinking he'll get away with it. I'm sure the geniuses at SI drew it up that way.   Funny - just six pages later there's another article about college football's coaching "geniuses." One of those so designated is Dirk Koetter, of Arizona State. The secret of his genius? "It is not magic. It is attention to detail."   Attention to detail. Are you listening, Sports Illustrated? *********** In reading the 2003 NFHS Football Rules Book, Rule 7, Article1 (Snapping, Handing and Passing the Ball) states "the snapper may be over the ball..." and then later states "...no part of his person...may be beyond the foremost point of the ball." My question to you is what is meant by "over the ball?"  I'm wondering if my center is too far over the ball during the snap.  Coach: The rule means that his head (for example) may be over the ball but it can't extend beyond the forward point of the ball. Actually, I would prefer that that not be an issue, but I know that this can be a problem with certain younger kids who are very large and have a hard time crouching. I like the center to drop his tail and extend the ball as far forward as he can. It helps to get those defenders as far back from your offensive linemen as possible. *********** There was a young coach on Osborne's staff at Nebraska with the same name.. I wonder if there is any connection between the two? Mark Kaczmarek, Davenport, Iowa (Can anybody help? HW) *********** We will be running the double wing system with our 9-10 yr. old youth football team.  Out of all of our kids, only one has played football before. With this in mind, would you recommend  choosing only one blocking scheme to keep it easier?  If so which one, down or double team?    Most teams are running the 6-2 defense. We can only practice two hrs a day  5 days a week until school starts then we go to 3 days a week and we don't think they will be able to handle the different assignments. You are asking me to recommend something I don't believe in, which is one blocking scheme for most (I assume you don't mean all) plays. I can't coach your team, but I suppose if I had to choose one scheme - which I wouldn't do - it would be "down." *********** "I just made a major investment in UConn football: 2 prime season tickets at the new stadium in East Hartford. Between the 35's, chair-back seats, and they required an annual "donation" to the school and a 3-year commitment. I don't want to think about what the cost of each ticket will actually be when I add all that up, plus the cost of a parking pass...But I figure these seats are going to become more valuable over time and will be even harder to get in the future. Now I'm counting the days until the August 31 home opener against Indiana, then at Army, then home again against Boston College, then... Damn, I guess all those weekend chores are going to have to wait until after football season!" Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island *********** Coach, what exactly is meant by "swim Fake" and "playside A gap"  in your manual?  Thanks! A "swim fake" requires the man we who want the defense to think is getting the ball to "swim" (freestyle fashion) with the arm nearest to the QB, exaggerating the action of making a pocket for a handoff. (A "swim" move is also taught to a defensive lineman as a way of slipping past a blocker, and to a tight end as a way of getting off the line when someone is trying to hold him up.) In football coaching jargon, gaps are often identified from the center out: The center-guard gap is the "A" gap, the guard-tackle gap is the "B" gap, etc. *********** Coach Wyatt, Just read your section about the soccer game taking place in Philly at the new Lincoln Financial Field. To me what was more interesting was the fact that not only was it the first event to take at the new field, but it was slam packed with soccer fans! Where the hell did all those people come from? Certainly not Philly! They must have all been "out of towners" because no "real" Philly person would be caught dead at a soccer game. Unless of course this was going to be the only event that fans were going to be allowed to bring hoagies into the stadium! Did you hear about that controversy??? Only in Philly, which is now ranked #1 as the fattest city in the United Sates. Sad but true. Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania *********** Coach Wyatt - Another great "legacy" Pick this week,that is Dana X. Bible, often gets over-shadowed by his contemporaries of that era Rockne, Jones,Warner,Stagg,Neyland ,but as his record proves he does not have to take a back seat to anyone."You can take the boy out of Philly,but you can't take Philly out of the boy" Coach Wyatt even though you live out in the West Coast ,you still are true "Easterner" ,that Yankee name bit was "classic", You try to tell or explain what a Yankee is to other people in other parts of the country , they think you are talking about the baseball team forcrissake!!!, proud to be 1/8 th Yankee,so I am going to have a cucumber sandwich and some Ice Tea and I'll see ya-Friday - John Muckian Lynn, Massachusetts *********** They had an article in today's paper saying the problem of players' passing out at these NFL camps is that they are too damn fat. I mean that was what the guy said and I agree but I guess it isn't politcally correct. Mike Foristiere, Boise Idaho (Isn't it interesting - they legalized blocking with the hands, and even though everybody knows it was to jazz up the passing game, they cloaked it in the guise of a safety measure. But in doing so, they have created a game in which it's become a virtue for large guys to blow up to gigantic sizes. Now we have hundreds of 300 pounders in the NFL, and every one of them is a walking, ticking time bomb. Some safety measure. HW) *********** It was almost 50 years ago but I can still hear it - Philadelphia's old Convention Hall rocking with the chant, "GO-LA-SALLE! GO-LA-SALLE! GO-LA-SALLE!" We had the Eagles, the Warriors, the Phillies. Even the A's. They were still around. And there was Penn football, too - Penn routinely put 70,000-plus into Franklin Field. But in Philadelphia, when I was a kid in junior high, there was nothing bigger than a college basketball player named Tom Gola, of LaSalle. He was Superman, a Philly kid who'd set all sorts of records as a high schooler, and he stayed home and helped lead a local school to national renown. At LaSalle, he was a 6-6, 220-pound do-everything star of an Explorers' team that won the NIT title in 1952 when he was just a freshman, won the NCAA title in 1954 and lost in the NCAA final game in 1955 to the great San Francisco team of Bill Russell and K.C Jones. He was a four-time All-American, one of the few men in basketball history who can make that claim (nowadays, it just ain't gonna happen). He was a complete player - he scored 2461 career points and his 2,201 rebounds are still a college record. He played 10 years in the NBA with the Warriors - first in Philadelphia and then in San Francisco, and he was a consistent NBA leader in steals, rebounds and assists. He made the All-NBA team in 1958. He was even named once to somebody's All-Italian-American team. Thanks all the same, said his dad, Ike, a Philly cop - except we're Polish. (The time Ike shot and killed a bad guy - these were back in the days when we expected our cops to do that - headline writers had a field day claiming that Tom wasn't even the best shooter in the Gola family.) He was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, and in 1960 Sport Magazine named him to its all-time All-American team. Tom Gola always seemed to be a man of great dignity. He even served for a while on the Philadelphia City Council, which Lord knows can always use some dignity. He is now 70 - happens to all of us, I'm discovering - and at last report he lay in a coma a Philadelphia hospital after falling and hitting his head on a curb. I pray for Tom Gola. *********** Red Hipp said it best. The owner of a football team I coached, Red was a Hagerstown, Maryland nightclub owner. He said when he first arrived in Hagerstown and opened up his joint, the Vogue Room, he needed to become known, and he figured it was a lot easier to become notorious than famous. (Sportswriters and sportscasters, being the barely literate types they are, don't seem to know the difference, but in case one might be reading this - notoriety is the dark side of fame. It's being known for something unfavorable.) So there was Dallas Mavericks' owner Cuban, saying that the Kobe Bryant case and the notoriety it was bringing would probably wind up helping the NBA. Does anybody doubt him? Face it - he's a businessman and he knows his market. He's talking about a league full of Allen Iversons, Damon Stoudamires, Rasheed Wallaces, Ruben Pattersons, Latrell Sprewells. That's just for openers. He's talking about young fans who get off on rap. And they're gonna stop buying Iverson jerseys - or Kobe jerseys - over a case of he-said, she-said? Hey - get off Cuban's case. He wasn't jumping up and down and shouting "Yippee!" He was just saying that this is the way things are - and given the reality that much of America today is sick, sick, sick, the guy is right. But Jeez - from the reaction his words have gotten, from Commissioner Stern on down, you'd have thought he'd suggested the NBA send out rape squads to high schools all over America. (Although come to think of it, given the appetite of TV for new reality-show themes, that suddenly doesn't sound all that farfetched.) By the way - what's with the Kobe makeover? I mean, the shaved head, the heavy gold chain with the cross on it, and - I swear I seen 'em - hand signz? Is it me, or is Kobe going for street cred, just as I once only joked about? Is this a clever defense ploy - to start "going black," a la O.J.? *********** Coach, I was interested in your comments about Rich Central hiring a youth coach and totally agree with you. We had a youth coach that implemented the double wing the first year we arrived at Umatilla. The next year we hired him on as an assistant on the JV team. He has done a wonderful job, helping our JV's go undefeated the last two years and have a current 17 game winning streak. Recently our head JV coach transferred to another program and I immediately promoted Corey Bartholomew to head JV coach. He has been invaluable to our program and was a tremendous hire for us. He is a loyal double winger and a real plus to our program. Ron Timson, Umatilla High School, Umatilla, Florida *********** "Hey- that town in Iowa sounds like MY kinda place!" Joe Daniels, Sacramento, California Coach- I would recommend it to a guy. Imagine a place where your kids are safe. The trouble is finding a job. Usually, the teachers are the best-paid people in town. *********** Coach Wyatt: It was well worth the wait for your 'News' this week. Lots of great stories. The one at the end was the tops. This week's subject (another easy question) is Dana Bible- an east Tennessee native. Just another example of what I've said for a long time: If it wasn't for the state of Tennessee, there would be no Texas. Imagine where the two top programs in Texas college football would be without Coach Bible. Or as so eloquently stated on the Rocky Top Brigade blogger web site (http://southknoxbubba.net/rocky_top_brigade.htm), " Dubya would be riding around on a donkey and drinking cheap tequila at his ranch in Mexico if it weren't for Davy Crockett and Sam Houston." (In fairness to Texans, though, it should be pointed out that Texas has made a substantial payment on the debt - UT's legendary General Bob Neyland was a Texan. HW) I enjoyed your comments about your Iowa clinic. It reminds me of the rodeo my family and I attended in western Iowa last year. I believe I wrote you at the time that when the American flag appeared and the National Anthem was played, everyone stood up, all men removed their hats, and all talking ceased. Yes, we were "in the America that was supposed to be." Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois Coach Babb also writes... I heard from my son who's in Marine basic training in San Diego. The initial correspondence is a form letter that a recruit barely has enough time to fill in the blank after, "Dear" and sign his name. The letter encourages us to write often but to not send any care packages. I've written him 4 times, and follow his training schedule. Even though it's hard work, knowing him, he must be really enjoying himself. As I told him in one of my letters, he'll probably learn more in the next 12 weeks than most of the kids he graduated with will learn in the next 4 years. Anyway, feel free to publish his address if you wish. I'm sure any letters he receives from your readers, he'd be glad to share with his platoon mates. His address: Recruit Babb, Nicholas R. 2nd Bn Echo Co. Platoon 2010 38001 Midway, Av San Diego, Ca. 92140-2010 *********** The best book on defensive backfield play is "Coaching the Defensive Backfield" by Greg McMackin who if my memory serves me right is still the DC at texas Tech and was with the Sea Chickens as well (sorry I'm a Raider fan) Joe Daniels, Sacramento *********** Hi coach, Just wondering, I'm I the only one who looks at Maurice Clarett and sees another Marcus Dupree? Steve Tobey, Malden, Massachusetts   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

August 5, 2003 -  "I am convinced that the ordeal of soccer teaches our kids all the wrong lessons in life. Soccer is the Marxist concept of the labor theory of value applied to sports -- which may explain why socialist nations dominate the World Cup." Stephen Moore, National Review, 1998    2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES   click here for info ----->>>>> <<<<<-----click here for info THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")  AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them)      A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: In this photo he looks like the town banker or the superintendent of schools, but he was one of the greatest of all college coaches. He was a head coach for 34 years, the last 29 of them at Texas A & M, Nebraska and Texas, and present-day coaches at those places can thank him for the often-unreasonable demands supporters place on them, because he's the one who spoiled them. His teams won 14 conference championships, and he posted an overall win-loss mark of 209-74-19. Born in Jefferson City, Tennessee, he was a three-sport athlete in college, first at Carson-Newman and then at North Carolina. Right out of college, he took a job as head coach at Brandon Prep in Shelbyville, Tennessee. After a year, he moved to Mississippi College, then moved to Texas A & M to become freshman coach. Following a year as head coach at what is now LSU, he was offered the job as head football coach and athletic director at Texas A & M. It was 1917 and he was 26 years old. You might say he got off to a good start at A & M - his 1917 team was undefeated and unscored-on. With World War I going on, he had to take a year off to serve overseas as a pilot, but he returned without missing a beat - his 1919 team was also unbeaten and unscored-on. When he left after the 1928 season to take over at Nebraska, he could truly claim to have put A & M football on the map. His record at College Station was 72-19-9, with six Southwest Conference (SWC) titles. He had undefeated teams in 1917, 1919 and 1927. He was a master motivator. In 1922 at halftime against Texas, with the game tied, 7-7, he drew on a bit of Texas history to challenge his men: in an act reminiscent of the defense of the Alamo, when Colonel Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword, he drew his foot across the floor of the Aggies' locker room and said, ""Those who want to go out and be known as members of an A & M team that defeated Texas in Austin - step over the line." There was a stampede to cross the line, and the Aggies went out and beat Texas, 14-7. If for nothing else, he will be forever remembered at A & M as the man who started the tradition of the "Twelfth Man" - the notion that every Aggie - anywhere - stands ready and willing to go onto the field and jump in if needed. (It's why Aggies stand for the entire game - they never know when they might be needed.) In eight years at Nebraska, he was 50-15-7, and won six Big Six titles, but in 1936 he was lured away to Texas with what was then, in the middle of the Depression - an unbelievable contract - $15,000 a year for 20 years, the first 10 as head coach and AD, the final 10 as AD. (The President of the University of Texas was only being making $7500 a year.) University of Texas football was down when he arrived, but he came up with a plan - a plan which bore his name - designed to put it on solid footing. He knew that there was a lot of high school talent in Texas, and he believed that the key to success was winning the recruiting battle at home. So he divided the state into fifteen districts, and designated prominent Texas alumni to play major recruiting roles - including providing "jobs" - within those districts. At first, wins came slow - he won only three games in his first two seasons. But then the Plan began to bear fruit, and from 1940 through 1946 Texas was 53-13-3, winning three SWC titles. He served as a member of the National Football Rules Committee for 19 years (1929-1947). He is a charter member of the National Football Hall of Fame, and in 1934 served as President of the American Football Coaches Association When he retired to become full-time AD following the 1946 season, he hired Blair Cherry, who by most peoples' standards did a great job - he went 10-1 in his first season and beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. His overall record was 32-10-1, and he never lost to A & M. In fact, he went 9-1 in his last season, and the Longhorns finished third in the nation. Unfortunately for Coach Cherry, that lone loss was to Oklahoma, which finished first. It was his third straight loss to OU,, and he "retired." Our man had so elevated the aspirations of UT supporters that a 9--1 season and a third-place finish nationally wasn't enough to save his successor's job. Ed Price followed Blair Cherry. He put up a 33-27-1 record over six years, but 22 of those wins and only 8 of those losses came in his first three years. From 1954 through 1956 he was 4-5-1, 5-5, and 1-9 and he was doomed. Bring back Blair Cherry! And then our man went out and saved Texas football for a second time. He hired him another coach - a young Oklahoman who'd just finished his first year at the University of Washington. Young fella named Darrell K. Royal.   (If you can identify the Legacy Question, e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com - be sure to include your name and where you're writing from. Those answering correctly will be listed on Friday.) *********** My name is ----- ----- and I am a 16 year old athlete. My dream job is to be a professional football coach. Could you please tell me the best way to get started such as education after high school and things I need to learn about the game? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time. If you want to be a football coach, you need to get involved in football right now. I assume that when you say you are an athlete, you are playing football right now, so you are in a good position to learn - provided you do more than just go with the flow. That means you need to soak up as much as your coaches know as possible. You have to learn to observe and ask. Observe the things your coaches do and ask them why they do them and why they do them that way. When you hear an unfamiliar term used, ask them what it means. You might even - if you have time - ask if you can help them break down game tapes. As for college, don't look for a major in coaching. Study something that's going to be useful to you. You don't need a college course to become a coach. What you need to do is hook up with the coaching staff. If you are able to play, that's one thing, but if not, you should find a school where you can meet with the coaching staff and convince them to let you get involved in some way. As a manager, say. At least at first, it won't involve coaching, but you should be willing to do whatever it takes to be around the coaching staff and observe what goes on. Expect to spend a lot of time doing grunt jobs. 99 per cent of all coaches have started that way. It is one way that the people who don't really want to become coaches get weeded out. They just decide that they aren't willing to put in long hours for no pay just for the chance to some day become a coach and they drop out. The ones who remain behind and do the work and learn what it takes are the ones who will become coaches. I hope that helps. *********** Hello Coach, My name is Tony G. Hernandez & I am the head coach of the St. Paul Royals football team. This team will be taking the field for the first time this season. We participate in the AIAL in San Antonio, TX. Our school is celebrating its 50th jubilee and is fielding a tackle football team for the first time in school history. I thought it would be very fitting to incorporate your esteemed award in our program. We preach being a # 3 to our athletes; Team 1st, Teammates 2nd & our own needs 3rd; & I thought this award would give the players something to aspire to. Thank you for your time & consideration into our participation in your program. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, 210-738-2773. Thanks again! Sincerely, Coach Tony G. Hernandez, San Antonio, Texas (Hey guys - football is just about here. Time to stop putting it off - time to sign your team up for this year's Black Lion Award! (Even if you've given the award in the past, you need to sign up so we know how many awards to order.) And for those of you who might be the slightest bit suspicious, who might wonder what my angle is - there is no angle. There is no catch. This is not designed in any way for me to sell something or for the US Army to recruit your kids. There is nothing but good in it for you, your kids and your program. Ron Snyder, who coaches the YMCA Bruins 3rd Grade team in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, put it best when he wrote, "This is an awesome program!!" Hugh Wyatt) *********** Ever since the end of the Tour de France, the argument has raged in bars (okay, in Starbucks) all over America - is Lance Armstrong really the World's Greatest Athlete? What a stupid discussion. Hell, nobody can even agree on what's an "athlete." Is Lance Armstrong the World's Greatest Athlete? Of course not. Is Barry Bonds? Of course not. Is Michael Jordan? Of course not. So who is? Answer: Nobody. In this day of specialization, there are no Jim Thorpes, no Jesse Owenses, no Bob Matthiases or Milt Campbells. There's not even a Neon F--king Deion. Athletes? Hell, you can't even get a pitcher to throw a complete game any more. An offensive line weighs 3/4 of a ton. And middle linebackers come out on passing downs. So let people go ahead and make asses of themselves arguing an unarguable point. Meanwhile, on somewhat the same subject, competitors in the "Paralympics" are suing the United States Olympic Committee, claiming that they are being denied all the perks being given to, uh, "real" Olympians. Who wants to take that one on?   *********** I haven't actually been a Philadelphian since I graduated from high school, but I'll never get the Philly out of me. Philly is a football town - a pro football town. Philadelphians love their Iggles. So, Manchester United or not, can someone please, for the Love of God, tell me why the first contest to be played in the Iggles' brand-new stadium, Lincoln Financial Center, was a f--king soccer match? *********** Matt Millen, GM of the Detroit Lions, knew the man he wanted as his coach - Steve Mariucci - so he went out and hired him. This is the way business is routinely done in America. And the NFL is a business, right? Well, evidently not, at least where hiring coaches is concerned. There, the NFL, sounding more like a government agency than a private, for-profit business, fined Millen $200,000 - because he hadn't bothered to interview any "minority" applicants before going ahead and hiring his man. His honesty did him in. He was quite frank and upfront, making no secret of the fact that Mariucci was his guy. Potential minority candidates, wise to the fact that the Lions' job was wired, understandably refused to allow themselves to be drawn into the process as interview stooges. As token candidates. Should Millen have lied to them and led them on? Should he have cynically used them as cover? Just last week, Sylvester Croom went public with his frustrations at not getting the job at Alabama, his alma mater. He implied that his being black played a part in Mike Shula's being hired ahead of him. Maybe he's right. Who can say whether he is? How can anyone at Alabama prove that he's not? So here we are, once again, wringing our hands over why black men weren't hired for high-profile head coaching jobs, when the far bigger issue is that there isn't exactly a huge pool of black men with demonstrated head-coaching experience. Take a look around if you don't believe me - except for traditionally-black colleges, there aren't very many black men in low-profile head coaching jobs.   But wait- I have a plan... (To be continued)   *********** Get hold of the latest Sporting News (Miami's Kellen Winslow, Jr. is on the cover) and read what's written about the lack of fundamental soundness in the NFL - specifically, the poor tackling. It's what I've been saying for some time. (And bear in mind these are the same people who claim that they can teach our youngsters how to play the game.)   *********** Corey Dillon was late to Bengals' camp. Said he missed his flight because he was late getting to the airport. Or something like that. Considering that he is a Seattle native, and ought to know that Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) Airport is noted for horrendous security delays, I ain't buyin'. *********** Only in the old Eastern cities such as Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia can you find "old money" - socialites - rich WASPs whose families came over before the Revolution, and made a lot of money over the years. (The movie "Trading Places" is a fair representation.) These people are not given to lavish displays of wealth. They tend to live near each other in leafy old suburbs, and to vacation in the same exclusive places. They also tend to intermarry, and to try to improve their odds, they send their children to the same exclusive prep schools and colleges, where they can associate with one another and, hopefully, meet and breed. . A book called the Social Register serves as something of a stud book, listing those considered socially acceptable. There is an old joke that you can tell a Philadelphia (or Boston, or Baltimore) socialite because he'll have three interchangeable last names. Perhaps it's a means of advertising their kids' pedigrees, but socialites love to stick family names on them. For example, picking three family names purely at random, it would not be at all unusual for a boy to be named Watts Wetherill Webster. Or Webster Wetherill Watts. Or Wetherill Webster Watts. Perhaps when he grows up and manages the family investments, he'll be known as W. Webster Watts. In a recent book, "Frankie's Place", author Jim Sterba writes of summers spent in Bar Harbor, Maine, long a retreat of the old-money types. "Their names are usually a giveaway: Schofield, Minturn, Hamilton, Bradley, Whitney, Warrington, Denholm, Burnham, Crawford, Compton, Stockton and Granville. Those were their first names." *********** Eli Manning of Ole Miss may be one of the country's top quarterbacks this year, but there won't be a lot of Heisman hype associated with his name. "There's not going to be a campaign, no bobbleheads, nothing like that," according to Langston Rogers, Ole Miss' sports information director. To a large extent, that's by request of Dad Archie, who knows from personal experience as the most highly-publicized player in Ole Miss history what hype can do, and watched Eli's older brother Peyton, go through it his senior year at Tennessee. Eli concurs. "I don't want to ride around Oxford and see a big poster that says, 'Eli for Heisman,' " he told the New York Times. "There's a limit. I don't want a billboard in New York, or anything like that." Not that he'd shy away from the honor, if he were to find himself in the running late in the season. "If I'm a Heisman Trophy candidate late this season, great, it means we're winning games," he said. *********** Good Morning Hugh ( wherever you are!!) We have been at Rangeley Lake for the last month enjoying the Maine woods, golf and fishing. I am in the office for a couple of days (actually helping Tim with our annual summer football camp) and then back to the lake before I have to go to work as Principal on August 18 (coincidentally the start of our football season as well). I am sure you get the theme of working in school and vacationing ( something to do with football). Anyway, I wanted to comment on Keith Lehne (Wisconsin) and play calling. I couldn't agree with him more - over the last 7 years 88/99 have accounted for over 50% of our play calling and we never, never, never, get tired of running that play. There have been times when we have run this play as many as ten times in a row. 49 Brown-O has been our bread and butter pass play accounting for lots of points and yardage over the years. But 43 Brown has been a close second, a play I really like and which looks like 6g, 43 tackle trap, and 88 Sp all in one nice package. The C-Screen off the same action has been good as well. Again Keith sounds like my kind of coach please send him my regards. Have a great rest of the summer and I hope you get back to RC and some coaching!! Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** Coach, How are you? I'm feeling good and football's back. I spoke to Mrs. Wyatt the other night and she said you were doing a camp in Iowa I believe. Of course I'm green with envy of those coaches and kids but before its all said and done I'm gonna get you down here for a few days. Or a week or two. We just started practice on Monday and before I lose the thought let me tell you what I think is one of the biggest advantages of our system. It allows us to get very focused very fast. I think it is at this point where we really get a big jump on the other teams. I know of several coaches who spend a week trying to run kids off and a couple of days to see who can run and catch. By that time the kids are blocking and tackling pretty well and we've dang near got the thing installed. I can't thank you enough for giving our staff a sound way to get it done. Coach what we're lacking in size this year, we're gaining in experience and nastiness. I've got some kids this year that could be considered under sized but they really get after it and have a lot of football experience. It will be a fun season. It feels great to be back in my element. Thanks for everything coach. Kevin Latham, Miller Grove Middle School Raiders, Decatur, Georgia (Readers of this page will remember that Coach Latham suffered a heart attack in March of 2001, from which he has made a great recovery - thanks to the love and prayers of a close family, a regimen of exercize and diet, lots of prayers and good wishes from his fellow coaches, and of course, anticipation of getting back on the field. HW) *********** Coach, I started a conditioning camp this year, after four years of being told it would never work. Well, for three days a week, at 0830, I have had 27 out of the 30 kids who signed up for football at the camp. "If you build it they will come" comes to mind on this one. Anyway, I have been teaching a little bit of the D/W after each session, and I am AMAZED how easily the kids have picked up on things. Coach, THEY ARE SO EXCITED TO DO THIS, I can't wait for the first day of practice. Bill Murphy, Queen of Martyrs Wildcats, Chicago *********** Last year you recommended Lou Tepper's Complete Linebacking book. I bought it, and it is truly outstanding. Do you have a similar recommendation for a defensive back text or video? Thanks, Mick Yanke, Dassel Cokato HS, Cokato, Minnesota (Coach- I don't, but I'll bet if I post your question we'll get a good answer from a reader. HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, We play most of our games on fields beside schools. It is not a stadium and it is hard for me to see what is happening. I don't know frequently what is stopping the play, did somebody slip, was the wrong man blocked? I have thought of using binoculars or running the plays to my bench to help see what is happening. Or getting a coach to watch 1 player. This was my first year running the Double Wing. Ronald Singer, Toronto, Canada It is certainly a disadvantage not to have someone look at the action from higher-up, but this is the way it is for most American youth coaches, and sometimes you just have to rely on your intuition (which comes from experience) as to what probably went wrong. I find that this is one reason to limit your play selection, so that when you run the same play a number of times, you can spot "anomalies" - the (usually bad) things that make a certain play stand out from the others like it. It is not the dumbest thing in the world to run plays to your side, merely to be able to see what is happening. *********** Lotsa luck... The New York Times reported that more than 20 airlines have applied to fly into and out of Baghdad International Airport. One of them is Air France. *********** Coach, I finally had the chance to read your "News You Can Use" section for the week. I wanted to say that the Archbishop Curley Clinic (in Baltimore. HW) was an excellent resource for Double-Wing Information. I am very fortunate to have the support of the parents of players that play for me in the Millersville organization. We had 18 players from my team, about 24 total players from our organization attend the clinic. Coach Murphy and his entire staff treated us like we were members of Curley! This was such a treat for us, because not only did the Curley staff instruct the players, but they also took time out to show us "the finer coaching points." A lot of things were truly put into perspective during our four-days there. Coaches Murphy and Dison had our lineman looking like professionals in 1/4 of the time it would have taken me. Fortunately for me the wife understands how things are when the season starts - the camp ended at 8PM, but several of the coaches did not leave the school until 10PM - that is when the real clinic started! We had a great time, and cannot wait to go next year! Jason Clarke, Millersville Wolverines, Millersville, Maryland *********** Hi Coach... I am receiving a LOT of resistance from my assistant offense coaches regarding the "new" way of running the Super Power with no or sudden motion. They think that the old slow sidestep motion is the best because it sets up defenses for the counter by getting them to overpursue the SP. What are the benefits of going to the no/sudden motion that you have observed? I want to use these examples to "sell" my assistants on this newer way of running the SP. They have been coaching with me for 5 years and are resisting the change strongly. I've determined that this is best for me and that's what I teach. This is no exactly new. Since 1999, I have printed a label on all my "Dynamics of the Double Wing" tape packages informing people of this, and I've covered it in all my clinics. People are of course free to do as they wish. I merely try to help keep them up to date on what's going on. That is why I provide TIPS. (See #179) All I can do is tell you what I believe in. If your program is successful and you have a good staff, take it slowly. *********** How's the summer treatin' ya coach? The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of using the overstrong we covered in depth at the clinic. Our C back is wicked and sticking him deep in that "I" will give him another tenth of a second of freedom to do whatever he wants. He's one of those running backs you try not to overcoach, just leave him alone and enjoy the show. This year, we have all four RBS from our 2000 undefeated team starting for the three area high schools. Two of them comprise the one school's eye, the other will start at tailback, and the last would have started also at tailback at the last one. These are all class A schools coach with 2500+ students. (And we had two high school coaches with kids in our program last year giving us a terrible time all year saying the double wing doesn't nurture running backs. They were NOT invited back.) We have had the highest scoring, number one offense every year since we went DW. I say "would" because I found while visiting his dad in the hospital (his dad had a bad stroke while driving on the freeway, 47 years old!) yesterday, that the kid has to have knee surgery for a torn ACL. Out for at least six months, no varsity football for the poor kid now, and basketball too. He scored 37 TDS last year on the freshman squad. The damn basketball coach "made" him do the summer camp. This kid's schedule was early morning weighlift, basketball camp, and then sometimes baseball doubleheaders at night! What's wrong with these people using a young kid up like that? His mom said he (the coach) told him "he had to participate in the camp. or playing varsity was out!" All I could think of was what a bunch of B.S! I also heard on the radio today that Maurice Clarett was pulled over by a cop recently. Get this, he was driving a brand new SUV with $800.00 cash and some 300 CDS. From what I've seen first hand, heard about, read, etc.... I don't think anybody can ever rationalize to me again that college athletics is on the up and up. Mr. Muckians' of Mass. Kennedy phrase was sooooo bad. I've already spread it around pretty liberally, pun intended. Football starts soon!!!!!!!! God bless coach. David Livingstone Troy, Michigan (After all that bullsh-- at the Fiesta Bowl about Clarett insisting that he be flown back to attend a homie's gang funeral, and then his spouting off about players' deserving to be paid... as good as the kid is, I'll betcha Tressel has already had more than he's wanted with that guy. "He is an interesting and relatively complex character," Ohio State AD Andy Geiger told USA Today. Come to think of it, for a college freshman from modest circumstances to drive a late model car and have $800 in cash, he seems to be making great progress in his fight for pay for college athletes. Personal progress, at least. (Of course, in fairness, based on comments made by members of the OSU faculty, there is some question as to whether he has ever actually been a "college" athlete. HW) *********** Someone once said that a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. The same thing happens to me every year, when I tune in the first NFL pre-season game as if I expect something new and different and exciting is really going to happen. So there I was, tuning in at halftime with the game tied, 6-0. Wow. I'd missed two field goals. But I did see one field goal before God shut the damn thing down. You would think that with all God has to deal with, the last thing He would worry about would be a pre-season NFL football game, but somebody was behind that lightning storm that put an end to that miserable bit of television called Monday Night Football. I'm guessing euthanasia. I'm guessing that when God takes time out of His busy schedule to watch a football game on TV, He expects more than three field goals in three quarters of play. While we were sitting and watching Madden and Michaels try to B-S their way through the rain delay, my wife asked, "Couldn't they go back and show us what we missed?" And then, remembering the score, she realized what a ridiculous thing she'd just said. *********** "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public" was how H. L. Mencken, the sage of Baltimore, once put it. And so there is FreeKobe.com, finding a way to make money off the latest disgusting revelation of a professional athlete's misconduct, peddling tee-shirts urging us to - to what? Free a multimillionaire, who as I write this walks as free as any man can walk, on any street he likes? Anyhow, if you want a good laugh, go there and take a look at their slogan. Better yet, I'll save you the trouble... "Because we're running out of heroes." *********** It's not very likely that under ordinary circumstances, I'd ever have spent the better part of a day - much less a week - in Holstein, Iowa. But that's where I found myself last week, putting on a camp at Galva-Holstein High and four other schools, and having the time of my life. There were complete teams from Galva-Holstein, Alta and Manning, and kids from a fourth team whose coach might not want to disclose his plans in advance. (By now, everyone knows that G-H, Alta and Manning run the Double-Wing. I guess they know about Manning - the Manning Bulldogs won the state Class A championship this past year.)   Also on hand were coaches from Forest City and Fredericksburg, as well as a Kansas City school that also might want to sneak up on opponents.   What was really cool about the camp was the amount of coaching we were able to give the kids - there was, to say the least, quite a bit of knowledge of the Double-Wing among the coaches on hand, including host coach Brad Knight, who G-H Pirates went unbeaten in the regular season last year, Floyd Forman, this past year's state title winner at Manning, and the guy he beat in the finals, Steve Staker of Fredericksburg, who won the Class A title last year. So there those kids were, getting hands-on coaching from two state champion coaches (not to mention that fact that Coach Staker had just spent the previous two weeks coaching the victorious North team in the annual North-South All-Star Shrine game. No, he didn't run the Double-Wing, but he did put in the Wedge, and the North got two TD's with it.)   The common complaint about small towns (Holstein's population is about 1500) is "there's nothing to do," which may be true if you're a teenager looking for action, but for coaches, after a couple of three-hour sessions, there was plenty of, uh, "fellowship." (Readers are free to apply their own interpretation.)   I felt like I was in the America that was supposed to be. It wasn't hard to I imagine myself in Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio," in a small town at the turn of the century (19th-to-20th, that is). Houses were substantial and well kept-up, and built on large, grassy lots, set way back from the tree-lined streets. Little kids could ride their bikes safely to and from the town swimming pool. People really did leave their keys in their vehicles (mostly pickup trucks). Old guys wearing faded jeans and faded plaid shirts and seed-company baseball caps sat around in the town restaurant and drank coffee. It was 7 AM but they'd already finished the morning chores. You could buy as nice a house as you'd ever want for less than $100,000, and for $385 a year you could play all the golf you want at the local club, on its nice, well-tended nine-hole course.   It also was like turning back the clock in another way, too - they don't have soccer in their schools - yet - and when it arrives, it shouldn't expect a warm welcome.   One of the kids showed up at camp wearing a tee-shirt he'd gotten at a soccer camp. One of the coaches made him turn it inside-out., the same as if it had advocated legalizing marijuana.   We all had a good laugh during evening "fellowship" at a story about Curt Bladt, longtime - and very successful - coach at Harlan, Iowa.   It seems some people in town were considering starting a soccer program, and they approached him about the use of the football field.   "You're not using my football field," he told them.   "But where can we play, then?" they asked.   He looked at them very matter-of-factly and said, "Russia."   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.        --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD