NEWS YOU CAN USE

AUGUST 2006

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With Pluto Now a Dwarf Planet - I Nominate Soccer as a Dwarf Sport! (See"NEWS") Shocking Opinion - I Think Today's Football is Softer! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

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August 29, 2006 - "After retirement, there ain't but one or two big events left." Bobby Bowden

TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL REAL FOOTBALL STARTS!!! THURSDAY: BC AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN, SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE, EASTERN WASHINGTON AT OREGON STATE. YEE-HAW!

*********** I don't know if any professional athletes were watching the Little League US semifinals, but they could have learned something from a bunch of kids from Columbus, Georgia. It certainly was gracious of those kids to invite the losing team from Beaverton, Oregon to join them in a victory lap around the stadium.

*********** How bad does it make the NFL and its wide-open game look when a team is apparently so desperate for a QB that it signs a guy - Jeff George - who hasn't played in five years?

Hey Raiders' fans - don't get all over me now. Maybe it's because the head coach hasn't coached in six years and hasn't been a head coach in 12? Maybe it's because the offensive coordinator has been out of pro ball for 12 years? Just asking.

On the other hand - great story. This guy's tending bar in Indianapolis, see, and his friends tell him that the Oakland Raiders are having an "open tryout." Sure, I'm 39 years old, he thinks, but what the hell...?

*********** I'm not even going to get into all that went on at Arizona State, where Dirk Koetter announced that he was going with Sam Keller, the senior QB. Then he met with the loser of the competition, sophomore Rudy Carpenter - and his father, who apparently engineered his son's transfer to a different high school just before his senior year - then called a meeting of "team leaders," including a guy who had recently been suspended, and then, after what is said to be a rancorous meeting, he, uh, changed his mind and decided that he was going to go with the Carpenter after all.

Upshot? Keller is outta Dodge, already at Nebraska where he's sitting out this season until he becomes eligible for next year. And Koetter, rightly or wrongly, most definitely looks like a man who has trouble making a decision and living with it.

*********** "How did we make Pluto feel when we took away its planethood? Should we arrange for Pluto and it's supporters to receive counseling of some sort? I made need a day or two off of work so that I can grieve properly for Pluto." Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa

In today's schools...

Counselors will be bused in to meet with any students or faculty who feel the need to talk about the loss of Pluto.

Teachers are asked to excuse any students from class who need to meet with counselors, and to encourage students to write about how the demotion of Pluto affects them.

There will be a candlelight vigil in the town square this evening.

*********** Pluto is gone from our solar system, relegated to a new classification of heavenly bodies known as "dwarf planets," but some good could come from the idea:

Why don't our sports editors get together and demote a few sports into a whole new category known as "dwarf sports," based on the number of people who watch them and read about them? I suggest they start with soccer.

Sports editors won't have it as easy as astronomers, though. Astronomers didn't have to deal with Title IX.

*********** Coach, We just got through putting a butt whipping on a team that we have played 6 times in the past 3 years. Yesterday was the 6th time they have lost to us (34-0). The funny thing is that they run the Double Wing on all of their teams from 5-6 to 11-12 years old. We are an 11 and 12 year old team and I am here to testify that we demand that the offense be run almost to the letter of your teachings, and the other program does not. They line up in the Double Wing but they then "bastardize" the offense and in my opinion, loose all the mechanical advantages that the DW brings. When they run the 88 or 99, it is pure beauty to see the fullback kickout block and the wall of blockers sealing off the inside. Most of my offense also plays on the defensive side of the ball and I not only teach the offense, I teach "why" we are doing what we are doing and what we are expecting to happen. When we play another DW team, the defense knows exactly what the offense is trying to do, and if they do not run it perfectly, we eat they alive. On the other hand, they know exactly what we are doing, but our execution prevents them from stopping us. I almost always run the "tight" formation and as you know, almost every play looks just like the one before it, from the defensive side of the ball. After a couple of 88's the 47C is a killer and the crisscross is even better. I wish I could understand why coaches decide to run the DW but never take time to really study the offense and understand why they are doing what they are doing. I see teams of all types, not just DW teams, that have no blocking rules and cannot adjust to what the defense is doing. I often hear "Hit Him" from the other sidelines and I often wonder "Hit Who" If you haven't taught blocking rules and the offensive linemen and backs don't know who they are blocking (or not) by the time they line down, you are wasting your time and need to think about coaching soccer. I know that you already know all of this. I just wanted you to know that you are getting your point across loud and clear to some of us. Thanks again for all your help. We are working on our 4th straight championship using your system.

(Amen, coach. I never foresaw the day that there would be bad Double-Wing teams, but it seems that the more success that good Double-Wing teams have, the more bad Double-Wing teams there are. I think the major reason is that many guys have tried to copy-cat those of us who have paid the price, without realizing that they have to pay the price, too. They see a coach who has put in the time and effort into being good, and they seem to think that they can start out where he is right now, instead of where he was when he started. They have jumped on board thinking that it is just a matter of running plays drawn up on a playsheet, rather than taking the pains to teach proper techniques correctly, and to correct kids whenever correction is called for, and to rep the plays until they have total confidence in them. Like people who think they're getting a bargain when they buy a dog from a puppy mill, many of them got their info on the cheap without finding out all that's required, and then - and this is true even when they do get started with the right information - they too often get "advice" from people whose experience isn't much deeper than theirs. Sadly, they can't resist the temptation to cut corners, or to try to put their own stamp on the offense, or to try to do too much. HW

************* A guy wrote, claiming that today's football is "soft" and I answered...

Although undoubtedly many of today's football players are far bigger, faster and stronger than those of just 10 years ago, I agree. I do think today's football is softer.

Not the kids, necessarily, but the game itself, and its physical requirements. I think that today's pass-oriented offensive thinking ("grass basketball"), starting with the NFL and increasingly working its way down to the high school level, has made the game softer overall.

The specialization that it requires has made room for players who could never have gone both ways, and even under today's rules couldn't possibly play another position (such as 300-pound offensive linemen who can only pass block - and then need oxygen when they come off the field! - and wide receivers who can't block at all).

Defenses have responded with defensive linemen who are pure pass rushers and not worth a damn against the run, and corner backs who can cover any human alive but can't tackle.

(Don't get me started on tackling.)

Blocking with the hands has made things so soft at the line of scrimmage that there is little need for offensive linemen to pad their shoulders, as evidenced by the way NFL linemen increasingly wear youth shoulder pads, merely to satisfy league requirements.

There is real opportunity here for the team whose strategy is to be contrarian, to force opponents to play its game by making them play old-school, physical football whether they want to or not - to make them face the kind of blocking that they only see once a season. (Ever notice all the bitching that goes on after people get finished playing Air Force and Navy?)

For the most part, Air Force has remained competitive with this approach. Whatever has happened recently, I don't believe it's a failing of the system. And there is no question that the unconventional approach is a major part of Navy's success. I know that Army's Bobby Ross is also a believer in the sort of hard-nosed, physical football that not every opponent is prepared to play on a regular basis, and I believe he is on the right track.

The problem with this approach at most schools, unfortunately, is that the public has been conditioned by the NFL to think of that brand of football as boring. Maybe a Nebraska has the luxury of cashiering a coach (Frank Solich) after a 9-win season in order to "open it up,", but I think most service academy fans are willing to sacrifice entertainment for wins.

*********** Coach Wyatt - I just wanted to send you a quick note thanking you for sending along your Virtual Clinic, and The Army Full-House Belly-T DVD with Don Holleder. That was tremendous and I want to thank you &endash; it is greatly appreciated.

The virtual clinic was a super production and really was instructional from much more than a X's and O's viewpoint. Now, as for the X's and O's, it was outstanding &endash; it is your ability to put the X's and O's in context of actually practicing, coaching and running them in a game that is invaluable.

I am disappointed in not having been able to make a clinic in the past two years and this was a great way to "catch up" with you, so to speak. If I may, could I trouble you and ask you to email a copy of your wrist band you are using and the game calling play sheet you showed on the 3rd DVD in the set? Those really made sense to me and could simplify my play calling and organization this season. If you can't, I understand &endash; maybe some tips on how to make the wrist bands viewable and the game play call sheet and formation diagrams could be helpful as well. I'll need them, because…

I am coaching again at the youth level this year, although I had not planned on it. My son and step-son 'graduated' to middle school ball and out of our youth program. I dropped them off for their first 6:00 am practice a few weeks ago, resigned to watching from the stands from now on, and was chatting with some of the dads I've known and the players I'd coached came by in ones and twos with 'Hey, Coach' and the like.

It really got to me how I thrilling it was to see the kids and their folks I've coached with over the years getting fired up for practice and a whole new year, and at 6:00 am at that. Some of us dads and 'ex' youth coaches have taken to 'tailgating' in the mornings with our Coleman camping stoves, bacon and eggs and all, to watch practice from 6-8 am before work, talking football, being old, raising kids and the BS in the schools and how we don't envy the 8-9 coaches trying to herd 155 kids into order in three weeks. The kids are getting irked on the field because they can smell the bacon and it is kind of funny to get under your kids skin for a change.

Fast forward from early August first 6:00 am practice to now, when the coaches, early practices and the players sorted themselves out a few weeks later, I was bowled over to find out where 'my' kids ended up on their squads. We have 6 middle schools our kids branch back out to after youth football, so it is kind of fun to see who their new 'rivals' will be after having the kids and parents playing together all these years.

At my sons' school, 155 kids went out for football. Four of the boys on our team last year, including my son and step-son were selected for all of the 'A' first and 'B' second team quarterback positions. At another school last year, another one of my kids made the 'A' team starting quarterback as well. The other three wanted to stay on the line and are the center and nose guard on their teams at two other schools.

While some of these same kids played a few games over the past three years at QB, these kids were the heart of our line and linebacking groups, and here they were &endash; being selected for quarterback by their middle school coaches. Middle school coaches running the Spread Offense 'Package' from the 5-A high school coach. Politics are thick and heavy in our district given the neighboring town has won the TX 5-A state championship 3 out of the past 4 years and every coach in the area is scrambling to 'spread it out.' Parents of course are following suit.

What literally woke me out of my sleep last week was after I thought about where the kids I coached ended up was this: that of these five kids, all of them except one were my Guards &endash; my pulling guards, my B-Backs and on D, my Linebackers on my youth teams &endash; they were not the starting QB save one from last year. When they did play QB in our DW offense, it was by 'platoon,' and we had them lead and block in the hole on our 88, 99 Super Power, 6-G, 47-C plays etc. We threw 38 Black-O, Red-Red and 6-G Pass when we did throw. For us, I always told the boys that the Guards, B-Back and QB positions were interchangeable. Leadership, ability to persevere, sustained downfield blocks, knowing the plays, the first steps and running the offense correctly by assignment was what we stressed.

Of the three years I coached these kids &endash; the three Guards &endash; the three "G-Men" as I called them for their pulling role and skills, all had something else in common on their way to being their teams Middle school QB &endash; they were all my Black Lion Award Winners.

We didn't win a whole lot of our games against some of the other cities we played because for inter-city youth ball outside of our association, the towns we played against had 'built' teams &endash; meaning the coaches brought up core teams together from flag football on, and some of them were quite good. You know what I mean; 6-7 deep coaching staffs with matching shirts, youth 'booster' parents scouting and filming our games a week ahead, and on and on.

We always had new kids who were first time tackle players and we were always teaching the game, vs. perfecting the offense or running everything around a few key players. I used 'A Fine Line.' I used 'Practice Without Pads.' I used 'Installing the Double Wing.' I used 'Safer and Surer Tackling.' I used 'Troubleshooting the Double Wing.' I used everything you had and then simplified the number of base plays for our kids with your guidance and experience I gleaned from our exchanges and what you shared with other coaches. I went to your clinics (in person and Virtual) and I read 'Tips' and 'The News' and still do.

Whether I knew enough about football to be an effective coach given our W-L record against these towns is something I was never satisfied with. As for this 'preparing for the next level' stuff &endash; no one will convince me the Double Wing is the wrong offense to prepare kids to move on. My Youth DW Guards, my DW B-Backs, and one of my DW QB's and Linebackers &endash; our Black Lion kids - are all leading their teams at QB and linebacker &endash; at 'The Next Level' &endash; in a competitive TX 5-A unified school district with 2 '5-A' and 1 '4-A' high schools, and that is enough for me. I don't know how long the Coaches will let the starting and Backup QB's start both ways as the the Mike/ Will Linebackers, but for now, that's where they are playing.

Oh &endash; and back to how I got involved in Youth Coaching this year with my kids 'graduated' to Middle School - when the President of the Youth Association called me a few weeks ago, he said none of the current dads are volunteering and they were two coaches short and asked if I could talk to my wife and see if I would take a team &endash; I did what you did with Madison and so many other kids and coaches you influenced so strongly over the years. Not having seen these kids in the league 'draft' grass drills camp, save one who was the younger son of a guy who coached my son in baseball, I stepped up and took a team of 20 kids &endash; 12 who never played football before... and it is going to be a DW team to be sure. We are the Keller Junior TimberWolves and I want to nominate our team for the Black Lion Award for 2006. We will compete, and we will learn the game of football correctly.

I'm officially an 'Old Guy' now &endash; my kids are not on my team and I am still coaching. As you pointed out in your Virtual Clinic DVD, you have to get help off the field in the coach's house, and I think my wife will support it - so far so good. My wife even volunteered to be the team mom, and I will be indebted to her for that in more ways than I can say…

I had a parents' meeting, and outlined rules and goals via your philosophy in my role of educator and coach to set the tone for the year. We've been practicing two weeks now and when I get emails like this, below, from one of my kids three weeks into the season, you almost feel like it is your duty to stay involved in coaching…This is from one of the parents on my team:

"I have to say I for one, am very excited for my [Name withheld]. I am impressed with the love that you have for the game and obviously for the children. Just a note to let you know who we are as a family and where we've been. I was a stay-at-home mom for 8 yrs. Married for those 8 yrs to [Dad]. My husband was in a motorcycle accident with head injuries and severe back injuries. Long, long, long story short. We lost our house, his job, our cars, our dog, our life as we knew it. He got hooked on pain pills several surgeries later and as far as I know, was living on the streets....

[Name withheld] and his xx yr. old brother [Name withheld] have been through quite a bit in the past three yrs. I since divorced my husband who abandoned his family. We have moved on and they are prospering. We are very involved with our church which is part of why I'm explaining so much on this email, sorry this is so long.

[Name withheld] has issues with his weight. He eats as clean and healthy as I, as long as he is with me. He is the one that asked me if he could sign up for football this season. We have so much fun watching him progress.

"Here's my dilemma. I have church Wed nights. I can miss church for the football season if need be. I am also in church every Friday from 6p.m. until 9:30p.m.. This is a problem, I am in a leadership role there on Friday and probably should not be out for three months....but I will if I have to be for [Name withheld]. I am teaching [Name withheld] that when you start something you finish it.

"I don't know any of the parents on the team yet. I would be willing to pay someone to take [Name withheld] home with them after practice until I could pick him up. I could take him to practice though.

"I get no child support either. [Name withheld] was granted a scholarship this season, this was a blessing for us. He has grown so much that his cleats and practice pants do not fit.

"I most definitely can buy this stuff just didn't know if you all knew where I might be able to get a good deal on cleats too.

"Thanks for listening to me and my story. [Name withheld] is a very sweet boy. Unfortunately, he is missing a dad and is very clingy with his coaches....he loves to hug. He loves to please. He is not the most athletic kid on the block but, he is willing. He needs coaching, that's all. I will help however I can."

If she knew where I learned this from, I'd have given her your email, Coach Wyatt. Take care - I'll stay in touch.

Regards, Mark Bergen, Keller, Texas

*********** Coach, We just had our first scrimmage this past weekend and the split formation works great. We had a ton of success with 82 trap and the quick pitch. The Virtual Clinic DVD set is paying off...BB, New York

*********** Coach, We have run the double wing for a few years now and have seen just about everything that people have thought up to try to stop it but at yesterday's scrimmage I saw something new. We were getting 5+ yards every time we wedged and the opposing defense started to have the inside backers dive into the feet of the linemen in the wedge and sort of log roll when he hit the ground to take out everyones feet. The backer would start out back about 3 yards from the line of scrimmage before reading wedge and then coming up to dive into the legs. Is this a legal play, if not how can I explain the rules to refs? JW, New York

Coach - This is NOT legal.

FIRST OF ALL - This is key - Blocking can be an offensive man blocking a defensive man, or a defensive man blocking an offensive man. Blocking, according to the rule book, is "obstructing an opponent by contacting him with any part of the blocker's body" (Rule 2, Section 3, Article 1) It does not define blocking as something only offensive players do.

Therefore... Rule 2, Section 17, Article 2 - "blocking below the waist is permitted in the free blocking zone when the following conditions are met: (a) All players involved in the blocking are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap; (b) the contact is in the zone"

Linebackers cannot block below the waist because by definition, being linebackers, they were not on the line of scrimmage at the snap.

*********** I know you had a phrase that went with HATES. What did it stand for again? I like it and want to use it. I know 2 were tardys and excuses but I am brain dead on the rest. Take care and I will keep you updated. Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho (Your memory is pretty good. I know it is Politically Incorrect to say "Hate," but these are my HATES (an acronym): Hustle (lack of it)... Attention (lack of it)... Tardiness... Excuses... Selfishness)

*********** Hey Coach, Had to write and let you know how our first game in the double wing went.We were unstoppable! I took a group over that has scored 26 points in 2 seasons.We hung 36 on a league powerhouse and played every kid a bunch. I had my starting guard come up after the game and say "thanks coach". I said for what?and he replied, that's more points than we have scored in my last 2 seasons combined! Makes a coach feel great. Thanks for everything!! Kirk Melton, Mount Vernon, Washington (Is there any greater pleasure in coaching than seeing the excitement of winning among kids who haven't been used to it? HW)

*********** Follow-up from the coach who asked about getting butterflies (before his first game)...

Coach, Thanks for the advice, it was what I needed to hear. We did win, 28-6. We had a little over 300 total yards of offense. The kids played their hearts out, it was something to see. Thanks again Coach ES, North Carolina

*********** Greetings Coach Wyatt, Thought I would touch base with you as things get rolling around here in our second season devoted entirely to the Double Wing. Last night we held our only scrimmage allowed for this pre-season, as we participated in spring football last semester. Texas rules allow for two scrimmages, if a class 4A or 5A team foregoes spring ball. We scrimmaged Del Rio HS (spread shotgun team) at our place for a couple of series of controlled action followed by two "game like" quarters. We scored two touchdowns (one on an interception) to their one, so everybody feels pretty good so far. Our superpowers averaged 6.5 yards per attempt, counters averaged 5.6 yards per attempt and traps averaged 5.0. Wedge and G were a little disappointing, but show potential. Our defense seems way ahead of last season. Del Rio's TD came on a fade, but we essentially shut them down on just about everything else; classic example of lesser athletes having a chance to compete using the DW. Man, they looked like the Green Bay Packers. We have a noseguard, Joaquin Escobar, who is 6-2 and 280, but their NG made Joaquin look like Danny Devito. We play at San Antonio Sam Houston next Saturday. We'll keep you posted. Thanks for everything. Don Davis, Head Football Coach, Martin High School, Laredo, Texas

*********** They say this could be the best Navy team since Roger Staubach. Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California

I think it's fairer to say that this could be the best Navy team since George Welsh's 1978 team.

Comparisons with the Staubach teams (coached by Wayne Hardin) are simply inappropriate. Navy played a much tougher schedule during Roger's time there - Navy was 9-2 in 1963, with wins over West Virginia, Michigan, Pitt (Pitt's only loss), Notre Dame (!!!), Maryland, Duke (the Devils were good - 7-3 that year) and Army. The only breathers were William and Mary and VMI. The only losses were to SMU (by four points) and to Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

The best Navy team since Staubach's days - and likely to remain so no matter how this season play out - was the 1978 team, which went 9-3, defeating the likes of Virginia, BC, Air Force, Duke, Pitt and Army, and ending with a Holiday Bowl win over BYU. The three losses came in a three-week span to Notre Dame, Syracuse and Florida State.

Charley Weatherbie's 1996 team was 9-3, with a bowl game win over Cal, but five of the wins were relatively easy ones - Rutgers (2-9 that year), Duke (0-11), Wake Forest (3-8), Delaware (D-IAA) and Tulane (2-9).

This year's Navy schedule is not even close to the one Staubach's or Welsh's teams played. This one has only one sure top-25 team - Notre Dame - on it. Otherwise, it contains the likes of UMass, a good D-IAA team, but a D-IAA team nonetheless; Duke, Eastern Michigan and Temple. That should be good for four wins right there, and then there is Stanford, whom many have picked for the Pac-10 cellar.

Lurking along the way are East Carolina, Rutgers, UConn and Tulsa: they might have looked like easy wins back when they were scheduled, but not this year. They are not walkovers by any means, but they are beatable. Navy still appears better than the other service academies: Air Force has been down, and Navy has had Army's number for several years now. My guess: 10-2, maybe 11-1.

No better than 11-1. Much as I'd like to see it happen, they are not likely to beat ND. HW

************* Tell your kids not to skip their piano lessons... At Wyoming home games, Cowboys' coach Joe Glenn can be seen at the start of the fourth quarter playing the fight song, "Ragtime Cowboy Joe," on the piano.

*********** Speaking of Wyoming, the Cowboys have had as many good coaches as any college anywhere. Problem is, from Wyoming's point of view, most of their noteworthy accomplishments took place after they left Laramie.

How about this:

Bowden Wyatt won at Wyoming and moved on to Arkansas where he shocked the football world by winning the Southwest Conference championship, and then to his alma mater, Tennessee, where he'd been an All-America end. At Tennessee, from 1955 through 1962 his record was 49-24. In1956, the Vols were 10-1, their only loss a 13-7 upset by Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, and he was named National Coach of the Year.

Bob Devaney, who left Wyoming for Nebraska, is the man who deserves credit for building the great Cornhusker Dynasty. When he arrived in 1962, Nebraska had really fallen on hard times, but in his 11 years there, (1962- 1972) the Cornhuskers were 101-20-2, winning eight Big 8 championships and two national championships.

Pat Dye moved on to Auburn where he won four SEC championships, including three straight (1987-1989), and he won SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1983, 1987, and 1988. Over 12 seasons, his record was 99-39-4

Dennis Erickson went on from Wyoming to Washington State, then to Miami where in six years (1989-94) he went 63-9 - 2 and won National Titles in 1989 and 1991. Most impressive to me, though, was what he did at Oregon State - he gave the school its first winning season in 28 years, and in 2000 took the Beavers to an 11-1 season and a Number 6 ranking nationally, capping things off with a 41-9 ass-kicking of Notre Dame.

And then there is Joe Tiller , who has been a winner (67-43) in ten years at Purdue, winning the 2000 Big Ten championship and taking the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl.

*********** An Air Force assistant was suspended - with pay - for two weeks after it was revealed that he had hit a player, but now he has been reinstated.

The incident was caught on film, and it is not pretty. You can view it here: http://www.gazette.com/other/football.mov

Here is my take on the matter...

A coach is a leader, and self-control is certainly one of the things expected of a leader. There is no place anywhere for a coach who can't control himself, and certainly not in an institution dedicated to developing leaders.

I do know that "physical coaching" goes on in some high school programs in certain parts of the country - south Florida comes to mind, as anyone who has seen "Year of the Bull" will understand - but it is deplorable, and takes unfair advantage of a kid's desire to play football. Often, the kids are poor and from single-parent homes.

But while there may be some high school programs, even top-ranked schools, where coaches put their hands on their kids in anger, under the guise of "coaching," I can assure you that these places are the exceptions to the rule. Most high school coaches are far more professional in their conduct than that Air Force coach.

In my travels and my contacts with high school programs all over the US, I know of no school principal worth a damn who wouldn't fire any coach on the spot if he'd "handled" a player the way that coach did.

Every one of us puts his hands on kids to demonstrate techniques. That's part of coaching. But that coach wasn't demonstrating anything. He was inflicting punishment on the kid, showing him how pissed he was.

It wasn't that the kid could have been hurt. There's no way that coach could have hurt that big kid, even if he didn't have football gear on. It was the coach's blatant abuse of authority.

The kid showed admirable restraint. He could have dismembered that old tyrant on the spot. But the coach knew that the kid wouldn't, which makes him a bully of the worst sort.

I have actually heard a few people say that handling service academy players with kid gloves is not a good way to prepare them for the rigors of combat. I strongly disagree. I count on our service academies to have better ways of toughening up our future officers than having their coaches cheap-shot them on a football field.

This can't help Air Force recruiting. This video clip will be seen by many, many high school football players, who will be asked by coaches from rival schools if that is the way they want to be coached.

In fact, this could be the incident that brings down Fisher deBerry, for whom I do have great respect. I'm guessing that Air Force officials have given some thought to what this incident might have blown into if that white coach had struck a black player.

PS- The player has since left the team, but claims that this incident had nothing to do with it. Right.

*********** Coach, Thank you for acknowledging the achievements of Damon Allen in the CFL. Having lived in Canada for three years, Vancouver, eh, where Allen was the QB for the BC Lions, I took an interest in the CFL and always admired what a warrior he was on the field and a true gentleman off it. If ever there was a CFL player who deserved to be in Canton, Damon Allen would be it. Sam Keator, Litchfield, Connecticut

*********** Hi Coach, I know, I know...the subject heading sounds like a spin-off on a gushy, sentimental wedding dance song...LOL.

I just wanted to commend you on the response you gave about what a coach should & shouldn't be & do. If I may be so bold to suggest it,

I would love to see that experience & thoughts fleshed out to a more complete & Inclusive essay on the subject....perhaps even include it as an aside in whatever video you are working on now (direct snap, per chance? :)) or also as a part of your Clinic presentations.

Information like that is GOLD and as such valuable no matter what offense or defense you run.

Todd Bross, Union, Maine

*********** Hugh, I drove from Normandy to Brussels today. Between Amiens and Cabrai in the basin of the Somme there is no major freeway, just a fas two-lane road. While on it I elected to stop in Albert to visit the Somme/1916 museum. It was a mock trench built from a WWII air raid shelter under a church. There were lots of photos on display and rusted weapons, ration cans, uniforms, the regular museum stuff. The battle itself was so long, massive and without result that I barely tried to comprehend the battle maps. I actually wanted to get through the museum and out as soon as I could, the Great War being such a tragedy of history.

As I drove northeast on the road, road signs logged the movement of the front towards Germany. In the span of six months from summer to December 1916, it couldn't have moved more than ten kilometers.

In Normandy I saw the ubiquitous WWI memorial in every town of any size. On the Somme I saw a cemetery - French, British, Australian and more - every few kilometers. It was a sad and overwhelming experience for me, unlike visiting Civil War or WWII sites. I doubt I will willfully visit more WWI places.

Big surprise here, but still touching - all the war sites are marked by road signs, with drawing of a poppy.

Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California

(maybe you are aware of the moving World War I poem, "In Flanders Fields.")

Following World War I, Americans began to celebrate the week leading up to Memorial Day as Poppy Week.
It was because of a poem by Major John McCrae, a Canadian surgeon, that the poppy, which burst into bloom all over the once-bloody battlefields of northern Europe, came to symbolize the rebirth of life following the tragedy of war.

Long after World War I ended, veterans' organizations in America, Australia and other nations which fought in the war sold imitation poppies at this time of year to raise funds to assist disabled veterans.

After having spent seventeen days hearing the screams and dealing with the suffering of men wounded in the bloody battle at Ypres, in Flanders (a part of Belgium) in the spring of 1915, Major McCrae wrote, "I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

Major McCrae was especially affected by the death of a close friend and former student. Following his burial - which, in the absence of a chaplain, Major McCrae had had to perform - the Major sat in the back of an ambulance and, gazing out at the wild poppies growing in profusion in a nearby cemetery, began to compose a poem, scribbling the words in a notebook as he went.

But when he was done, he discarded it. It was only thanks to the efforts of a fellow officer, who rescued it and sent it to newspapers in England, that it was published.

The poem, "In Flanders Fields", is considered perhaps the greatest of all wartime poems.

The special significance of the poppies is that poppy seeds can lie dormant in the ground for years; only when the soil has been turned over do the poppies flower.

The violence of war had so churned the soil of northern Belgium that by the time Major McCrae wrote his poem, poppies were said to be blossoming in a way that no one could ever remember having seen them do before.

In Flanders Fields... by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*********** A father of one of our kids was yelling from the stands week in and week out that our head coach should be fired. After a very close game with a good team he belted out again, and I turned around and said "If you think you can do any better put in your application."

In your honest opinion do you think I did the right thing?

Coach, In my old-fashioned way, I applaud an assistant for covering the head coach's back like that. I know that school administrators will say that it is best to ignore loudmouths, but my feeling is that if they are ignored they just keep making more noise. I don't think they expect any response. I think they feed off the fact that most people nowadays don't have the stones to respond, and I think that that guy was probably shocked that you called him on it. It's not as if you challenged him to a fight. All you did was ask him to step up and coach himself, which we all know he couldn't. Loyalty is prized in an assistant, and to my mind, you displayed great loyalty.

*********** First high school game of the year on ESPN - Glades Central of Belle Glade, Florida at Byrnes High of Duncan, South Carolina.

Hey, ESPN- it was Glades Central High, but it's from Belle Glade (no "s" on the end), Florida. Your producers and graphics people only had, oh, six months or so to get that little detail right.

Byrnes High has a $250,000 JumboTron scoreboard screen, paid for by its boosters.

Sports Illustrated reported that Byrnes lost 38 seniors off a team that won the state title last year, yet this year's team is nationally ranked, and beat Glades Central, also nationally ranked. So what I want to know is this - how good must Byrnes' jayvee team have been last year?

Glades Central's placekicker, Vincente Escobido, was referred to by the commentators as a "former soccer player." Excuse me, but if all he does is kick (and that's all he did), he is probably not a "former" soccer player. He is sure as hell not a football player. We were told that the Glades coach went over to the soccer team and got this kid. And then he missed two PAT's. Why in the hell didn't the coach just have a kicking competition last spring among the football players on his team?

Early in the first quarter, a Glades runner broke loose for a score, covering the last five yards with a headlong dive into the end zone, an obvious unsportsmanlike act. And then, without even considering the irony of what they were saying, the announcers referred to him as "the future Miami Hurricane."

*********** Hugh, I have never been a big fan of Bill Parcells' sour-puss attitude, but I had to laugh at an exchange I just saw in a press conference clip. He was talking about TO not coming to practice and a reporter asked "can you not play if you don't practice?"

Parcells looked at the guy with incredulity and said "how are you going to play if you don't practice?" The reporter mumbled "uh, I don't know" and Parcells said "now think about what you just asked" and made a humphing sound. Have any of these reporters played sports?

No joke, we had a big problem with this at (the last place I coached). Kids with sore/injured ankles or wrists would say "Oh, I'll just rest this week and play in the game."

The trainer said "I can't believe these kids, they see NFL guys sit out practice and play and think they can do it, too."

I wonder why (the head coach) let them do it. I guess he didn't have much depth to play with, but he never even addressed the issue. I did learn a lot about what I thought was not the way to do it there. NAME WITHHELD (I guarantee you, if you investigate Terrell Owens' background, you will find coach after coach who helped turn him into what he is today, by condoning his misbehavior because they feared they couldn't win without him. HW)

*********** A friend writes about the way certain college football Internet forums are being monitored by players' parents, who immediately go on aggressive defense whenever someone says anything the slightest bit derogatory about their darlings.

God - is there no place you can go to get away from these stage parents, the wretched refuse of years of overprotectiveness combined with hyper-involvement in their kids' sports.

Over-parenting parents have become a huge problem for college administrators, who call them "helicopter parents" because they are always hovering around their kids.

*********** The two Fox reporters were forced, at gunpoint, to convert to Islam. Yet, we are told, they were "released unharmed."

Some f--king religion. Convert or I'll kill you.

I hate to bring this up at a time when we should be grateful for their freedom, but I'm willing to bet those same two reporters were among the media claque claiming "brutality" at Abu Ghraib because soldiers put women's panties on prisoners' heads.

*********** If a team says it runs a multiple 8 man front to try and stop the run, is their base most likely a 44 or 35 defense. I know how to block it, but for me I would like to know the base. This team has a new coach heading up the JV, so I don't want to go by last years film. The varsity will run this multiple 8 front. Any help here would be appreciated...plan of attack?

All it means is that they are committed to playing a 3-man secondary. So you can expect to see one safety in the middle of the field and two corners. Against a Double-Wing team, it's hard to say how deep those corners will play. I suspect that they will play close enough to support on runs, which means that they could be vulnerable to simple corner routes (provided that you really stretch the safety).

Up front, although there are some variations, you will probably see either a 4-4/6-2 (even front) or a 5-3/7-1 (odd front). Because they have the ability to fill all or most of the gaps, you will need to work hard on "down" blocking.

*********** In one little town in Utah...

We had over 900 kids sign up this year in our school boundaries (Alta), we have 10 teams of 8-9 year olds alone this year which is our record. Utah has a very healthy youth football program and you'll start seeing more and more athletes come out of here in the future. Dave Harrison, Alta, Utah (http://www.2bitproductions.net) Wow- Sounds like soccer numbers! HW

*********** "Invincible" update...

I'm reminded of something I make use of in a program called Adobe Photoshop. It's called the "blur" tool, and it blurs the line between two objects, makes it tougher to tell where one ends and the other begins. More and more, I look at the NFL and ESPN and I see the line between sports and entertainment being blurred. Reporters at major newspapers have been caught blurring the line between truth and falsehood, embellishing their supposedly-true stories with completely made-up details.

And now comes Disney and "Invincible", a story "inspired by a true story" that plays fast and loose with the true story, blurring, if not completely erasing, the line between reality and fantasy.

"If you don't stand up and cheer, you don't have a pulse," say the the promos for "Invincible."

Call me flat-lined.

If it seems that I am pissed off big-time by this hoax of a movie, I am. I feel the way a soldier must feel when he and his comrades have fought their asses off in battle and then years later, Hollywood steps in to "tell the story." They get some little weasel to write the script ("inspired by a true story") and anothere weasel to play the part of one of the guys, and then they totally write all the other guys out of the story and make it look as if this one guy fought the battle bare-handed. With no training.

I am pissed on behalf of all the guys I coached and coached against in minor league ball and then worked with in the World Football League. They are dishonored by the movie because their role in the true Vince Papale story was completely ignored.

Those guys were not chopped liver. They were good people and good football players. Most of them had played college football, some of them had played in the NFL, and every damn one of them was better - and more deserving of a shot at the NFL - than the "Vince Papale" portrayed in the movie - "...A 30-year-old bartender... who played only one year of high school football..."

I am not saying that they were better or more deserving than the real Vince Papale, but the movie doesn't show us him, and the way the story is told, a moviegoer is led to believe that "Vince Papale" had simply been tending bar and playing touch football, instead of honing his football skills against real competition. I can see lardass guys by the thousands writing to the Patriots and asking when they're going to hold their next "open tryout." Sorry, NFL - you brought that one on yourself when you went along with this script.

I told you that although it is true Vince Papale didn't play college football, he did play football. Pro football, in fact.

"...A 30-year-old bartender... who played only one year of high school football..." the trailer describes him. Well, yeah - maybe he did play only one year of high school football. That's not a lie.

And when he tells Coach Dick Vermeil that he didn't play college football, that's not a lie, either.

But in the three years prior to his signing with the Eagles, he had played one year of minor-league ball and two of professional (World Football League) ball. The movie, "Invincibles" ("inspired by a true story") makes no mention of that, but it does show that he loves to play ball in the streets with his buddies.

Leaving out something rather important is not a lie, exactly, but it is so... Clintonian. It isn't so much the untruth as the half truth, and it all depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.

Meanwhile, the farce continues...

I am told (no way am I going to watch it) that there is also no reference to Vince Papale's being an outstanding college track performer.

And there is the Big Lie about his coming to the Eagles' attention at an "open tryout," a mass free agent cattle-call. Based on the trailer, this fallacy is central to the entire story. The character "Vince Papale" survives the open tryout, which consists for the most part of wannabes with beer guts, and earns a shot at making the team, but the truth is that Papale's signing with the Eagles came about when then-GM Jim Murray arranged a private workout for the benefit of coach Dick Vermeil. Believe me, as busy as NFL head coaches are, they don't grant a private workout to any old "down on his luck bartender."

Then there is Mark Wahlberg as Vince Papale. Try as they may, Hollywood simply can't make him look real on a football field. Haven't we all had guys who were so small we had to put double cheek pads in their helmets? That's Mark Wahlberg. (Have you seen the clip where he gets hit from the side and his helmet wobbles?). Wahlberg is a smoothy-face, who probably has been bikini-waxed from head to toe. Vince Papale, on the other hand, was a stud. Vince had (probably still has) classic Italian good looks. I'm sure he had hair on his chest. He was definitely not metrosexual, definitely not a guy who got regular manicures.

From what I have been able to see of the promos (they have been running a few of them, haven't they?), it sure looks as if they're pushing the kid-from-the-mean-streets angle. That was not Vince, at least not by the time I knew him, when he was 28 years old. And it definitely wasn't Vince a couple of years later, when he signed with the Eagles.

The promos also show the guy who plays his father discouraging Vince from going for it (the Eagles' tryout). Now how realistic would that be - a Philadelphia father telling his 30-year-old son, coming off two seasons of professional football, not to try out with the Eagles? Three years ago his kid was risking his neck playing for a team called the Aston Knights, for God's sake. Where was Dad then?

Oh - and I'm hearing people pronounce his name "pa-POLL-ee." Maybe he's put on airs since his football days (does changing DOR-sett to dor-SETT come to mind?) but I can guarantee you that back in his WFL (and NFL) days, it was "pa-PAL-ee," and he had plenty of opportunities to correct all the people who pronounced it that way.

One small note in the interest of authenticity: the place where "Vince" tends bar has Yuengling Lager on tap. Not a chance. Not in 1976. Yuengling is a very good beer, and now, 30 years later, it is very popular all up and down the East Coast, but in the Philadelphia of the 1970s, you couldn't give it away. It was a smalltime beer from a small town (Pottsville) and there was little chance you'd find a bottle of it on any of the thousands of bars in Philly, much less a place that had it on tap. Okay, okay. I understand the concept of product placement. Somebody from Disney visited assorted brewers and offered to "place" their product in the bar . In the movie. For a price. Those of you who've seen Talladega Nights understand product placement.

So anyhow - "Invincible," while "inspired by a true story," is based on a totally false premise - a superfan with no football experience to speak of takes part in an "open tryout" and makes an NFL team. But when I read that the audience for this feel-good story was 47 per cent female, it tells me that Disney knows what it is doing.

"INVINCIBLE?" UNBELIEVABLE - FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE REAL VINCE PAPALE! www.coachwyatt.com/vincepapale.htm

(2006 CLINICS)

CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
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WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
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HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

Two of My Grandsons Meet Some All-Blacks! (See"NEWS") I Am Really Shocked That Pluto Got Cut! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 25, 2006 - "This generation is morally paralyzed." Pat Buchanan

*********** Hello, Coach Wyatt: I have a question regarding coaching ethics and I would like to get your input.

Last night our team played its final pre-season tuneup, a game that did not count in the standings but was played under game conditions with referees, special teams, etc. After the opposing team returned the opening kickoff for a TD, our guys settled down and at the end of the third quarter, we were up 16-6 and driving. We then pulled our starters and sent in our little guys. As you are no doubt aware, at the youth football level, depth is a problem and there is a substantial dropoff in talent between the starters and reserves. This is very evident with a 22 man squad. We turned the ball over on downs vs their starters.

The opposing coach knew we had gone to the reserves, and made a show of getting his backups organized to go it, but left his first team O on the field and they scored on the first play, running untouched through our second team for about 70 yards.   Extra point good, 16-13. OK, so they scored a consolation touchdown. They then did send in their reserves, but with only 20 kids they had to use a couple of starters. They chose to leave their two studs in the game.

In their final possession, relying on their two studs, they drove the length of the field, running O.O.B, using timeouts, etc and their stud 1st team running back scored from 5 yards out on the final play of the game. We lost, 19-16.

Now, we know who really won the game. Our starters beat their starters. It was a pre-season game and all. But my question to you is, when, if ever, is a coach obligated to "throw in the towel",  or to call off the dogs? Who should initiate the act, the coach who is ahead or the coach who is behind, and when he does it, is the other coach obligated to follow suit?

Looking forward to your response.

Coach, This is one of the tougher ones I've had to deal with.

I think, in a nutshell, certain things needed to be agreed on beforehand. I think the very fact that you did what you did is evidence that you didn't consider it to be a "real" game. I rather doubt that under other circumstances you'd have pulled your starters with a 16-6 lead and a quarter to play.

So therefore, I think that an agreement was called for before the game - an agreement by both coaches to substitute at a certain point or under certain conditions, and an agreement not to take advantage of the other coach's charity.

There really isn't anything that covers situations like yours. It is mostly a matter of the two coaches' regard for one another, for the opposing kids, and for the good of the game. As often as not it works out, depending, it seems, on the experience level of the coaches. (It does seem that there is a lot more poor sportsmanship at the youth level, due, I suspect, to coaches' simple ignorance of coaches' ethics.)

I have been on both sides of lopsided scores over the years, and my experience is that very few coaches act like jerks and take unfair advantage.

Another thing you want to do beforehand, I think, is to alert your kids as to the nature of the game ("it doesn't count") and what your substitution intentions are ("as soon as we get up by two touchdowns I'm going to substitute," or "the 'B' squad is going to play the entire fourth quarter," or whatever), and to let the kids know that while you certainly want to win, this game is different because you want to get a look at everybody.

What that does, I think, is protect the backups from the scorn of the starters, who if they are not properly prepared for what could happen, might blame the "loss" on the subs.

This one, I must say, took a lot of time. Without careful reflection, I know I would have been pissed at that other coach.

*********** Hey coach: I found it interesting when you mentioned that its that time of year to start teaching tackling. I went to my two youngest sons high school 1st fall practice and witnessed some scary techniques. The coach had a player with a big bag approximately 7 yards from each line. On the first whistle the player in front of each line ran up to the bag; on the second whistle they threw their arms straight back; on the third whistle the proceeded to tackle the dummy (most had their eyes to the ground not eyes to the sky) and were instructed to put it on the ground. Not to be one to stick my nose in....but I am going to take my copy of "Safer, Surer Tackling to this coach and offer it to him. I know, I know I'm just being another dad buttin' in. OH WELL!

*********** Hugh, One of those Dutch WWII buffs I met in Bastogne told me a funny and germane story. He went to South Philly (first time in the States) to visit 101st AB vet Bill Guarnere. The Dutch guy lit up a cigarette in the hotel lobby. A porter told him "you can't smoke in here." Guarnere, with one leg (a German shell took care of the other one in Bastogne) stepped forward with his own lit cigarette and said "...yes we can." Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California

*********** I have a quick question about 6-g. When running the play we have encountered problems with our end blocking down on the D tackle playside. Our D tackle weighs 215 lbs and the TE is about 150 lbs. The mismatch has caused the play to blow up. Is this a case of too little attacking overwhelming force?

Yes, if the DT isn't made vulnerable, it is a matter of physics.

In this case, I think you can run 6-G but it is a question of setting it up first by trapping that DT.

If the DT is closing down to keep your OT off the inside LBer, then he will be setting himself up for the TE's down block. If he isn't, keep trapping him.

*********** Justin Gatlin has been given an eight-year ban from track and field. That means he'll be 32 when he's finally able to run competitively once again. With proper training and advances in medication, he should be ready again in time for the 2016 Olympics.

*********** When you come up to the ball are the linemen all in their stances hands on the ground?? YES - We are ready to play football the instant the QB puts his hands under center.

If everyone is down can you shift to slot or spread without causing a problem?? YES - Only the interior offensive linemen are prevented from moving once they have put their hands down. The end men on the line - and backs - may do so.

I ask because I am running drills and wish to use the cadence that you have in the playbook which is" go...ready hut". The boys I am coaching (12-13) are not ready…I think they need to be down, right?? Yes. No screwing around. The guard on each side puts his inside hand down next to the center's foot, then on each side the tackle puts his hand down even with the guards' hand, and the tight end puts his hand down even with the tackle's. They have to get this routine down, because if the tight end puts his hand down before the tackle, or the tackle before the guard, you may a bowing in your line that could amount to an illegal formation (not enough men on the line).

You also mention that certain plays can be used to set up a series of other plays...which plays are the basis and what kind of plays follow…it isn't the basis plays from the table of contents in the playbook is it?? Check my TIPS - #130 or 131 - for a good core of plays.

Do you recommend a certain type of huddle or isn't it that important since you have a code for all your plays?? It's not important to me how we huddle, but we don't want to be too far back from the line, and we always make sure that we have good huddle discipline. Although we do huddle most of the time in games, we rarely huddle in practice - eliminating all that wasted time in practice getting in and out of huddles is a major benefit of our "no-huddle" system, along with the fact that we have pretty much eliminated errors getting our play calls in during games.

*********** We are four practices into our pre-season and we really had a good day today. The biggest thing I have noticed is with our offensive lineman. They are more enthusiastic about playing the position and every time that we had a big gain or broke one all the away during our reps, they were extremely proud. Most seem to really be having fun with the offense.

I am especially glad that you're noticing that the greatest beneficiaries of the Double-Wing are the offensive linemen - they actually get to play the game! That pleases me, because I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys who do all the hard work that makes the QBs and runners and receivers famous.

The Double-Wing is also better for tight ends, too, because you use two of them, while many of today's "modern" offenses don't even use one.

And it's definitely better for running backs. You use three of them, and you use blocking schemes that actually make holes for them.

It is not so great for the pro-type pure passing quarterback, whose agent/father will probably transfer him to a more passing-oriented school when he learns what offense you are running. You are well rid of both of them. But there are lots more of the other kind of kids around - the tougher, more athletic type - and they are able to do a lot more in the Double-Wing than in a spread passing game.

That leaves only the wide receivers unhappy. But even if you ran a spread offense and threw the ball all over the place, many of them - the ones who weren't catching as many passes as they thought they should - would still be unhappy.

Receivers are chronically unhappy people because they are selfish by nature and they find themselves trapped against their will in a team game. Maybe you've noticed that 90 per cent of the problem children in the NFL are receivers. (I just made up that statistic but I'll bet it holds up!) I consider it a plus that you don't have to deal with wide receivers.

*********** I know in past clinics you have stated that you don't use "check offs". I can appreciate your rationale when you have a 16 year old as your QB. Hypothetical question though. If you DID use just one check off, what would it be? I would imagine in your travels and experience you must have used this somewhere in your arsenal of offenses.

I believe that for the most part our plays will work against any defense, and I think the reality of working with kids is that the play that's called will have at least as good a chance of success regardless of the defense than some new play that we ask our kids to change to on extremely short notice.

And then there is the "QB as God" factor. Something that Pepper Rodgers said years ago has really stuck with me over the years. Basically, it was that you had to be very careful to keep your QB reined in and playing within his limitations or he could lose it for you real fast.

Unless the QB was my own son and I knew I could trust him implicitly, I don't like the idea of having my QB telling me after he checked off from the play I called and threw an interception that "he thought" he saw something.

The primary check offs that I have used are:

1. From 88 SP to 99 SP (or the converse) - We would call "Opposite" or "Flip" if we saw something really unusual at the original point of attack, or of there was a very, very good player we'd rather not run at. Or we may say, "88 or 99 Super Power, Check with me" then call the play at the line.

2. To QB Sneak Wedge on the Goose (silent count) if the QB sees no one over the middle

3. To a RED quick hitch to a WR who by complete accident is uncovered

4. Allowing the QB to call a series of plays at the line using the wrist band coder. (Assuming that we have done this enough in practice).

Unless you can recruit and cut kids, the average football team is not unlike a public school classroom, where there are some very bright kids but there are also a few who struggle. And just like in the classroom, we can't progress any faster than the slowest kid. In fact, it's even worse than in the classroom, because in football we get graded as a "class", and our grade could depend on how successful we are with the slow learners.

The QB may be able to check off like Payton Manning, but it's not much help if we have a couple of other kids who still aren't completely clear about what they do even on 2-Wedge.

*********** Maybe some of you who attended a 2005 clinic (or got a copy of the Virtual Clinic) will know what this is all about...

Nevada's pistol scheme puts new spin on shotgun

SCOTT SONNER - Associated Press

RENO, Nev. - At first glance, it looks like a typical shotgun formation.

But wait a second, that quarterback is much closer to the center than usual. And is that a back lining up behind the QB?

Hmm, that's weird - and very effective.

Hot as a pistol, Nevada's new offensive scheme helped the Wolf Pack to its first bowl game since 1996 last season.

Coach Chris Ault calls it the pistol - a hybrid of the shotgun where the quarterback lines up a few steps behind the center. It allows for two-back and single-back sets, typically with four receivers.

And it's attracting lots of curious coaches. Ault said more than 85 universities, junior colleges and high schools have contacted Nevada or visited to find out what it's about.

"It is THE thing," he said. "And we have great confidence in it and so do the players."

The winningest coach in school history, Ault is beginning the third year in his third stint with the Wolf Pack.

His previous offenses, one dubbed "Air Wolf," were wide-open passing attacks, often out of the shotgun.

With Nevada's move from the Big West to the Western Athletic Conference in 2000, Ault decided the team had to improve its running game.

"The feature of the pistol that people don't realize is so beneficial is the north-south running game," said Ault, adding the formation allows the running back to get the ball deeper behind the line than when the quarterback takes the snap from center.

It's a variation of the spread offense coaches such as West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez and Florida's Urban Meyer have made all the rage in college football.

But Ault - 177-73-1 in 21 years of coaching, all at Nevada - said he didn't seek advice from outside coaches or experts before installing the pistol when spring camp opened last year.

"When I first brought it up to the staff back in January 2005, they were not for it. They thought it was too much of a reach. And I really did, too," he said. "But we were a bad football team. We were 5-7 (in 2004). I just felt it would be worth the investment."

The move paid off last season as Nevada finished 9-3, claimed a share of the WAC title and beat Central Florida 49-48 in overtime in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Wolf Pack finished 14th nationally in total offense averaging 449.3 yards per game and 16th in scoring, with 34.2 points per game. They were balanced, too, rushing for 199.5 per game and passing for 249.8.

But nothing in football is truly new.

San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said the pistol is essentially the old single-wing that teams ran in leather-helmet days.

Hugh Wyatt, a longtime high school football coach in the Portland, Ore., area, said he's shown film clips at clinics of Princeton using a single-wing formation in the early '60s that resembles the pistol.

"It's not as if the fact Princeton was doing it indicates in any way he's copied this thing. It's not likely he ever had any access to the Princeton footage," said Wyatt, who was a personnel director with Philadelphia in the World Football League before joining the WFL's Portland franchise in the early 1970s.

"Given the return of direct-snap football in the form of the shotgun, the pistol alignment of the backs is the sort of idea that a bright offensive guy such as Coach Ault would eventually come up with," Wyatt said.

"It's an exciting thing he's doing. The fact it may have been done 47 years ago doesn't change the fact that nobody else has picked up on it and used it."

************ Coach, I was reading about the coach writing in and asking about lower body strength. As you know I teach at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. We have some of the finest PT instructors on the planet. We just hired two new instructors who are brining in some great new ideas. For explosive leg strength they teach "kubatas". Fancy name for simple deep knee squats from a good hit position. The kids need to have a target to set their butts on such as a low bench. The only modification from a technically perfect hit position is putting more weight back on the heels. Too much weight on the balls of the feet places an undue strain on the hamstring area. Good balanced weight produces a great result. Box drills can be somewhat detrimental if over used on younger athletes who have not had a great deal strength conditioning, but the deep knee squats are highly effective. I used to use the squats with a kid on another kid's back that you had in your Practice Without Pads video, but now that I have to coach 8th through 12th grade it is harder to get good weight match ups. I have never had great results from blocking chutes, but for years I have used a 2X12X10' for head to head blocking. Very safe as the contact is only from a short distance and the kids love it. Once a week we have "king of the boards" night. My QB wins every week in the double elimination event.

We have a scrimmage on Saturday. I could only find a 2A school and I have to run 11 man for them, but I get 2 quarters of 8 man. I am bringing my camera and a deer stand. If I get any decent footage i'll send you some 8 man footage.

Hi to Connie. Richard Cropp, Brunswick, Georgia

*********** The Cowboys were the first to do so, and now most if not all NFL teams routinely administer psychological tests to all potential draftees. Asked about their effectiveness, New York Giants' GM Ernie Accorsi seemed to have his doubts.

"I remember when I was given a psychological test for one job," he said. "I asked, 'Would you ever kill an animal?'

Well, yes, a rattlesnake ready to bite my son. But I wouldn't touch a puppy. What does that mean?"

(Actually, it means you will do what is necessary to protect your loved ones. It also means you are probably a Republican. If you were a Democrat you wouldn't kill the rattlesnake without first getting the approval of the United Nations.)

*********** My daughter and son-in-law, Julia and Rob Love, live in Durham, North Carolina with their three sons, and recently they took a trip to Australia to visit our son Ed and his wife Michelle. They also visited Auckland, New Zealand, and Uncle Ed took the boys - rugby fans - to the All Blacks Store, where two of them - Matt Love on the left and Wyatt Love on the right - were able to have their pictures taken with All Blacks Mils Muliaina and Neemia Tialata. It is impossible to overstate the popularity of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national team, in Auckland. Wyatt, a freshman football player at Durham's Jordan High, said he couldn't believe how big the All Blacks were - "and they didn't even have pads on!"

*********** Hey coach, how is it going? I coach a 6th -8th grade football team. Last year I coached a freshman team at the request of my friend. My fellow coach handled the Offense and I handled the Defense. We had 5 games where we held the opposing team to less than 100 yards total offense. We only won one of those games. We finished the season 1-8. I was very frustrated. My fellow coach tried to run the wing-t. He had the play book, but he couldn't get the line stunts down. Needless to say it was a disaster. I have studied the double wing. My question is this; are there enough effective pass plays to get you down field if time is an issue and you need some points quick. Does your playbook and video go over this? Do you have detailed instruction on how to introduce this offense to coaches and players? Are there detailed drills that go along with the rules of the Offense?

Let me try to help with the questions.

My system is a complete system with a videotape to show you the various plays and help you understand the system, along with a playbook to provide technical documentation, such as what everyone's assignment is on every play.

There are plenty of pass plays, but I will not kid you - it is not a "pass first" offense. It is a ball-control offense, with emphasis on power and misdirection and play-action passing. If you want to have a pass-first offense, I suggest that that is the way you should go, and if you have the personnel to run it, you will have a good chance of being successful. If you don't, though, you are going to be three-and-out a lot, your defense is going to be back on the field every 40 seconds or so, and it is not going to be pretty.

But almost everybody has the personnel to run our system, provided it's taught right and properly maintained.

Three warnings:

First, it is quite different from the NFL approach to football, and not everyone is at ease teaching it, or dealing with the skeptics who will laugh at it because it is supposedly "obsolete." Suffice it to say that it is rather physical and certainly not "grass basketball."

Second, It is best run "right out of the can," exactly as we teach it, without any modifications. That's because there is a reason for everything we do. Everything we do has been carefully thought out and tested, some of it by me and much of it by people I have gotten things from. Not everybody is comfortable with that. Many people want to tinker and put their own twist on things without carefully thinking them through, and although that is not a guarantee they won't be successful, it does tend to get in the way. It really gets in the way when people ask me why they're running into certain problems and then I discover that they're not really running the system the way we teach it.

Third, it is not maintenance free. There are a lot of little details, and you have to stay on top of them. If you are not into coaching the fine points, you will not likely have the success you could have.

At a minimum, you will need Dynamics of the Double Wing (What to teach) for $86.90. If you really want to do it the best you can, you should also get "Installing the System" (How to teach it) $39.95, and "A Fine Line" (Line techniques and drills) $39.95.

*********** A couple of weeks ago, I attended the wedding of one of my former players, Michael Renner, and the festivities turned into a bit of a reunion. That's Michael, third from left, holding the red cup. Those of you who've seen my Dynamics II video will remember him as #88, the big QB at LaCenter High. (The number 88 was a carryover from the year before when the previous coach had him at tight end.) A note to you youth coaches out there who keep trying to tell me you're afraid your QB might get hurt blocking on Super Power - Michael was also my middle linebacker! And he missed exactly ONE PLAY the entire season (when he was sent off because he was bleeding). On the far left is Jon Newman, whom I also converted from tight end. Jon, at 6-5 and 245, played fullback for me for three years and then went on to play four years for Weber State at guard. And at the far right is Nick Mouser, another convert from tight end. Nick became our QB the year after Michael graduated, and was our first-ever tailback in the Wildcat series (named for LaCenter's mascot). I am very proud of how well these guys have done since leaving LaCenter - Michael graduated from Central Washington and is a PE teacher and football coach in Vancouver, Washington. Nick graduated from TCU (he said he just always wanted to go there!) and now works in Salt Lake City as a bank examiner for the FDIC; Jon headed north after graduation from college and now works as a plumber in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he gets in all the hunting, fishing and snowmobiling that a man could ever want, and probably makes more money than the other three of us put together.

*********** Writes Miami native (and Hurricanes fan) and former Miami cop Armando Castro: "Willie Williams- another sad case. He will wind up in the streets of Miami. In and out of jail or dead. We football guys used to go around Overtown, Liberty City and say that we could probably put a team together and go against any college in America with all the wasted football talent that was creating trouble in these neighborhoods. Or sitting in the caged part of our cruisers."

*********** Beaverton, Oregon is in the American finals of the Little League World Series, yet there has been little mention of Beaverton's most famous resident - Nike. Nike probably is taking a pass on identifying with the Beaverton Little League team because of a nasty little fight going on between Nike and the city of Beaverton. Nike, while its headquarters has a Beaverton address, is not actually a part of the city of Beaverton, but instead an unincorporated enclave now totally surrounded by Beaverton. The city has gobbled up all sort of land over the years but Nike has successfully resisted. The city of Beaverton, highly desirous of the taxes annexing Nike would bring in, has resorted to some rather underhanded tricks in its efforts. Nike, needless to say, has better uses for its money (promoting soccer and thug athletes?) than paying taxes to a greedy city government, and is fighting hard against annexation. The infighting has been quite bitter.

*********** Coach Wyatt, I am a certified High School football and volunteer as a coach for a team of 6 & 7 year olds on a youth football team, (coaching experience for "only" 13 years). I am coaching the Double Wing to the 6 & 7 year olds, and meeting resistance from my four volunteer coaches, (total experience 2 years). I prefer coaching scripted practices with multiple repetitions. My staff wants the team to scrimmage other teams every day. It is most frustrating dealing w/these, (well meaning), coaches who don't have a clue.

I have been very lucky in coaching quality kids. Since my first year of coaching my teams have appeared in every playoff and we have won four division titles and one regional title. Your Double Wing system is the most comprehensive and finest offense for youth through college.

Frustrated in -------- and best regards

Congratulations! At least you are in a position where you can (I hope) pull rank on your volunteer assistants if you have to. Many guys find themselves in the same position as you, but they lack your experience, which makes it very hard for them to stand up to their assistants.

I know you would rather have peace on the staff, and I will bet that most of your assistants have kids on the team, but if push comes to shove, my advice is always - fire them all. If you had to do, you'd do quite well by yourself if you had to.

It does sound as if those guys have football confused with other sports like baseball, basketball and soccer, where if a "coach" doesn't know what he's doing he can always fall back on the old dodge - the intrasquad game/scrimmage.

The old "Roll out the ball and let them play" standby simply isn't going to work in football, from an execution standpoint but even more important, from a safety standpoint.

In football there is so much to teach, and there are 22 different positions with different skills that have to be taught. And overriding it all, there is the issue of safety.

I would think that scrimmages with kids this young would have to be rare and under the most carefully-supervised conditions until they are very proficient at blocking and tackling correctly and protecting themselves.

Why do I think that not every kid in those scrimmages knows how to block, tackle and protect himself yet? Why do I think that a lot of them are totally confused? Why do I think that the assistants' approach could run some kids out of football at way too early an age?

Stick to your guns. Those kids need your leadership.

*********** I think it is rather sad to see the passing of Pluto. We don't ask much of most planets, but what we asked of it, it did well. It was there when we needed it.

Now, though, it's gone, simply cast aside, just another chunk of something floating around out there in what I used to think was my solar system. Now, I don't know what to think. If you can't count on your solar system, what can you count on?

Putting aside my suspicions that textbook manufacturers were behind Pluto's banishment, I find it very surprising that this could happen.

The argument that supposedly raged among astronomers (somehow I can't see those guys duking it out on the floor of an observatory) apparently was that if we let Pluto remain a planet, why then, there were lots of other small, insignificant chinks of ice out there that deserved to be planets, too.

So, rather than deal with several new planets to have to memorize and name (what were they thinking when they came up with Uranus?), they just sent Pluto packing.

I just know that Americans didn't have much say in the matter, because they would have voted for keeping Pluto - and adding the new planets.

We are about inclusion. Nobody gets left out.

Think about it. College basketball coaches wanted to double the size of the NCAA playoff field.

More and more state high school associations have increased the number of size classifications, to produce more champions.

In most youth sports, nobody gets cut, everybody gets equal playing time, and everybody gets a trophy.

It's a rare football team that has just one captain. I see many teams sending out their entire group of seniors - or their entire defensive unit - for the coin toss.

Don't even get me started on high schools that have sixteen valedictorians.

*********** What is a reach block? A reach block is designed to get outside position on a defender who is on you or outside you.
But you have to be very careful about trying to turn the defender, because that could allow him to penetrate your inside gap. You get your helmet past him and either drive him straight upfield or (if you are able to go low) you bear crawl though his outside leg.

If you find you have to push your man to the outside because that's where he insists on going, you may or may not be doing your job, but you are not, by definition, reach-blocking him.

What is the difference between zone and reach? Essentially, zone blocking is pretty much "take him where he wants to go," which to me is indicative of one part passivity and one part indecisiveness. With zone blocking, the runner can't be given a specific place to run.

I don't like passivity and I don't like indecisiveness. Our runners have specific places to go, so our deal is to take a defender where we want him to go.

Only on rare occasions would we not raise hell if we assigned a man to reach and he wound up pushing a defender outside.

*********** Quick question with regards to the Red Zone. Have you or do you do anything different when you get within your opponents 20 yard line. Have you found that running any different formations works better or any particular plays works better or do you stay with the same tight formations and same wedge, super power, trap plays.

I do not use the term Red Zone. It is an artificial contrivance of the NFL/Madden/EA Sports gang that has no application to us.

Our offense IS a "Red Zone" offense, and based on the lack of success the pros have inside the so-called "Red Zone," they would profit from copying some of what we do.

Everything you have, including passes, is very much alive in the so-called "Red Zone."

*********** Coach, Do you still get those butterflies before a game? I have them now. Any last minute advice before my first high school game as a coach??

First of all, enjoy the experience.

The main thing to do is to make sure that you and your team leave the field better than when you went on it.

I haven't felt butterflies in years, but I used to.

It's normal to have butterflies, of course, but make sure that you keep them under control. Keep a lid on your emotions. You must act like a leader. Your players must believe that you are totally in control of yourself and in command of the situation.

Avoid the highs and lows. When things are going well, avoid being a cheerleader. If things should be going poorly, do not let on that it is bothering you. Think of the way an airline pilot could affect the attitudes of the passengers if he let on that he was worried about something.

Be very careful of the things you say and the way you say them, because most people don't understand what the heat of a game can be like and they can easily misconstrue what you've said to a kid after they've had the time to sit back and analyze it.

Do NOT point the finger of blame at anyone, and do NOT blame the players if you should happen to lose. In fact, do not treat a loss as a loss - treat a win or a loss as disclosing what you need work on.

Be sure to tell the kids - before and after the game - that you're proud of them.

Whatever happens - a loss isn't fatal. You have another game to play next week. Those kids will forget about this game long before you will.

And make sure you say something encouraging to every kid before he leaves the locker room.

*********** Dear Coach, I was wondering if you thought that the single wing was too complex for fourth and fifth graders?

I would give you a qualified "No."

I would say that it depends on how much you know, what resources you have to teach yourself and the kids, and how you teach it to them.

And of course whether you have the kids to run it. The backfield requirements are pretty specific, and you aren't going to be very good if you don't have a good tailback or two.

But I would say that my Double-Wing system is as complex as a single-wing - in fact, a single wing package is part of my system - and kids as young as yours routinely run it.

*********** Just be sure that everybody's on board. If they're not, give them a chance to walk out with their dignity intact - even if that means letting them call you nuts - but make sure they do walk out, because it isn't likely that you'll ever convert them, not matter how much success you have, and they will be a constant stone in your shoe.

*********** Reprinted from the Internet...

I am sorry but after hearing they want to sing the National Anthem in Spanish - enough is enough. No where did they sing it in Italian, Japanese, Polish, Irish (Celtic), German, Portuguese, Greek, French, or any other language because of immigration. It was written by Francis Scott Key and should be sung word for word the way it was written. The news broadcasts even gave the translation -- not even close. Sorry if this offends anyone but this is MY COUNTRY - IF IT IS YOUR COUNTRY SPEAK UP ---- please pass this along...

I am not against immigration -- just come through like everyone else. Get a sponsor; have a place to lay your head; have a job; pay your taxes, live by the rules AND LEARN THE LANGUAGE as all other immigrants have in the past -- and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Think about this: If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone-----YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM !!!!

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be America if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in America because it is the Country of Choice??????

Think about it!

All we have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? We've gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that. This says it all!

This is an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper. He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT.

I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture.. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However...... the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.

As Americans.....we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Greek, Polish, Italian, French, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women.......on Christian principles.............. founded this nation..... and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest

you consider another part of the world as your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so! But once you are done complaining........ whining...... and griping.......about our flag......our pledge......our national motto.......or our way of life...I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great American Freedom.... THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

This is from me, to all immigrants... Most of us don't have the time to figure out whether you're legal or illegal. But we're tired of hearing that we have to adapt to you. Look - you're here. That's a fact we have to deal with. But as long as you're here, to make things better for everyone, we'd like you to start acting like you want to be Americans! So start by showing us that you do! You want to be accepted as Americans? Even before you learn English, tell your boys to put that f--king (an American word) soccer ball away and get their asses out for football! No, not futbol. American football.

*********** From a youth coach in Pennsylvania... We had our first scrimmage on Wed. night. It sure is nice having speed. Our starting unit scored 4 TD's on offense and intercepted 2 passes and ran one back for a TD, and our defense didn't give up a score. We ran TR xx 47C twice, both scored 35 yard TDs (we were running on a 40 yard field). TR 88 SP scored once, and TRstop red red scored once. We were 2 for 7 passing and dropped 2 balls in the endzone. Our Qb the other times isn't getting deep enough. Tight 800 pass looked great, 3 open guys. The other coaches just shook their heads when we ran 47c. The bad news is that our line was not very good. They were forgetting their assignments. Neither kid pulled when we ran 47c the 2nd time. we hinged when we shouldn't have, and fired out when we should have hinged. In other words we beat the crap out of them and made a huge mistake on every play. The last ten plays they went to a goal line defense, so we made the O call on 88sp, and gained 15 yards. I would have reached them with my speed, but I didn't put that play in yet. I'm pretty excited about this group of kids. We did the bird dog drill a lot tonight at practice and the kids seem to have their assignments down. We'll see if they remember tomorrow.

Sounds as if you are well along in your second year (or is it third?). In any event, you now sound as if you are able to look past the success of a particular play to realize that there still are things that you need to work on, and that's a huge step in your advancement.

Nice going and best of luck.

Suggestion - give the backs a night off and DRILL the sh-- out of those linemen.

(2006 CLINICS)
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Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

"Invincible," It Turns Out, Was Only Inspired By a True Story! (See"NEWS") The Leading Passer in All of Pro Football Won't Make the HOF! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 22, 2006 - "Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know." Michel de Montaigne

*********** I'm really trying to emphasize my lineman firing out and staying low this season. Do you have any suggestions/good drills? I have a youth chute that I need to move from last year's practice field to our current one, so I can start using that. I suspect it has something to do with the kids lower body strength, as another coach was watching a clinic for HS kids and even though they were taller than my kids, they were lower in their stances and fired out lower.

I hear the term "staying low" a lot, and I'm not sure what it really means because when you think of it, few linemen get to take more than a couple of steps straight ahead before making contact with an opponent.

I suspect it refers to kids whose first move at the snap is up, rather than ahead. Chutes may or may not be helpful, because what is easy for the little kid can force the big kid to lean forward unnaturally.

I think that you nailed it with the reference to lower body strength. The weaker the thigh muscles, the more difficult it is to play with "vee's in the knees." To me, "staying low" means not coming out of the stance too soon - "staying in the stance" for the first step or so.

I think that kids need to spend a lot of time in their stances - even though that may be uncomfortable - and they need to do a lot of "bird-dog" drills - taking that first step and then freezing in the correct position - knees bent, head up, tail down, "numbers on the knees."

My concern with chutes is that with younger kids they don't always correct the real problem, which is the lack of flex in the hips, ankles and knees. Notice how many kids will bend at the waist, rather than the knees, to get under the chutes.

I do think that lunges are useful in helping big kids develop strength and lower-body flexibility

So are even simple plyometrics - something as simple as jumping up onto a box, and landing in a full squat position, then jumping back down to the ground and landing in a full squat.

Without plyo boxes it can still be helpful to have the players start on the ground in a full squat, then on command explode up off the ground, and land again in the same full squat position. And repeat.

You may be old enough to remember having to do "duck walks," which are now banned because of (I think) the strain they put on the knees.

I mentioned a few weeks ago another problem with the bigger lineman-types: they have a lot more flesh in the hip area, making it extremely difficult for them to do such things as knee raises, which really deal with flexibility not in the knees but in the hips. The extra flesh in the hips creates a bending problem for the heavier kid that is somewhat like folding a newspaper - it's a lot easier to fold just one sheet than it is to fold the entire Sunday paper.

*********** It's football season here with high school starting up next week. (My son) is on the freshman team and it has been trying for him (and me) dealing with some of the issues he is facing with coaches using unsafe tackling drills, sarcasm, wasted practice time and the like.

I hope your son survives. He's still getting to play football, and it will help him appreciate good coaching when he does get it. Actually, it's a good life lesson. Not all bosses are great, either.

*********** Are you getting a little fed up continually hearing about our supposed need to learn about Islam?

Uh - didn't they come to our country? weren't we here first? Isn't it more reasonable to suggest that Muslims - relative newcomers to our culture - should have to learn about us? About Christianity? Or Judaism? Or even - God help us all - Atheism?

And about the fact that in the US, tolerance is supposed to work both ways?

*********** It was all very sad. First there was Mel Gibson, being pulled over on suspicion of DUI and delivering a tirade to the arresting officer about Jews being the cause of all wars or something or other.

Boy, did the late-night comedians have fun with that one!

Then, last week, there was Andrew Young, a man with a distinguished career as a civic leader and diplomat. When asked whether he thought it was a matter for concern that the presence of Walmart causes smaller, mom-and-pop stores to close, saying,

"Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood. But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."

Funny. I haven't heard any comedians cracking wise about Andrew Young.

*********** Only on the day that Willie Williams signed a letter of intent with Miami, back in February of 2004, did it become public that he had a record of 11 arrests.

But Miami kept him anyhow. No doubt, they saw a chance to help a young man succeed academically. The fact that he was considered perhaps the best linebacker in the United States was simply a bonus.

But Williams never made it at Miami, and not so long ago, he announced plans to transfer to a Mississippi JC.

Now, that ain't gonna happen either, the JC coach says: "He failed to reach some stipulations we set, and I'll just leave it at that."

*********** Damon Allen passed the 70,000 mark in career passing yards this past weekend, and is on target to pass Hall of Famer Warren Moon as the all-time professional football career passing leader. He should be a lock as a Hall of Famer when he retires, right?

Wrong. I'm willing to bet the farm that he won't make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That's because, despite the name of the place, it is really the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Damon Allen, unfortunately, has racked up all his yardage in the Canadian Football League.

Yes, the CFL has its own Hall of Fame, in Hamilton, Ontario, and his place there is assured. But 84 per cent of Canadians polled said yes, he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In Canton.

I agree. Although the Canadian Football League long ago dropped out of the competition for top players, it is professional football in every other sense of the word, and I think it makes the NFL look small and petty to ignore it.

*********** You know how you can't get a tune out of your head? After watching the CFL games on TV, I just can't get rid of the tune from a damn commercial. Maybe you know the one - Enzyte? Natural Male Enhancement? Smilin' Bob? An offer THIS BIG (nyuk, nyuk)?

*********** A coaching friend writes that a kid's dad "says I'm not a man , I'm a sell out because I don't live in the rough part of town and live in an affluent area, I'm not from the ghetto, (thanks, Mom and dad), and I don't cuss and yell at my players (rarely - and only for emphasis)"

My friend happens to be a black man. He and his wife have good jobs. They work hard and provide a good home for their kids. He is a good coach who busts his butt for his players, many of whom need him very much. I wrote him...
Now let me get this straight - I keep hearing that it is important that young black kids have good role models - that it is important for them to see that black men can "make it."

I can accept that, and in my opinion you are invaluable to those kids as that sort of man. But then, I consider you to be a good example for all your kids - white kids and Hispanic kids, too.

So will someone please tell me how it would help those kids if you weren't a good "role model?" If you weren't a good man - a good worker and a good citizen? If you weren't a good family man? Is it somehow bad for those kids to know that you live in a nice home that reflects how hard you and your wife have worked?

*********** I have to write variations of this rather often, to first-time Double-Wingers who very quickly start to get way ahead of themselves...

Our offense is so flexible and adaptable that it is way too easy to see possibilities.

But - you have to be so dedicated to success that you have to resist the temptation to do too many things. You can't be the kind of person who is easily bored.

And you do have to be able to keep a lid on assistants who also have big ideas.

What it really comes down to is that it is a fairly high-maintenance offense. There is a fair amount of learning to do in the early stages, and there is never enough time.

*********** So NBC is calling its Sunday night broadcasts "Football Night in America."

How very original. Of course, "Hockey Night in Canada" has been (pronounced "bean") a Saturday night fixture in Canada for at least 50 years.

*********** When I heard President Bush say that he was committing $230 million of our money to help rebuild Lebanon, a country that was essentially blown up from the inside by terrorists that it harbored within its borders, all I could think of was "nice try, George."

Did he really think he could lowball them like that? A piddly-ass $230 million? What an insult.

I shudder to think of all the new terrorists that's going to create, once they find out that the people of just one state - Arizona - blew $450 million on a f--king football stadium.

*********** "Joe Lieberman is out of step with the people of Connecticut," said John F. Kerry.

You guys from Massachusetts - you telling me that Lord John Kerry is in step with you?

*********** If only these guys were in charge of our airport security...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has just committed $11 million of your tax money and mine to an advertising campaign threatening/promising dire consequences for those who get caught drinking and driving ("Over the limit? Under arrest.").

Since $11 million really doesn't buy that much TV advertising, the campaign has to zero in on a target market - it is aimed at males 21 to 34, the group with the highest percentage of drivers involved in drunken driving crashes.

Uh, excuse me, but wouldn't that be profiling?

*********** Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck was sent back into the locker room before Friday night's game because he was out of uniform - he had (ohmigod) white shoelaces in his black shoes. The NFL is really on top of sh-- like that. Also on the height of the white sox that players are required to wear over their stockings.

So what's the deal with the nonexistent knee pads, which give NFL wide receivers the metrosexual look of Pros in Tights. And while we're at it - what's with these immense clumps of hair sticking so far out of the bottoms of helmets that they cover the players' names?

Speaking of which - is it legal to tackle a guy by his dreadlocks?

*********** Hugh, I am in Bastogne, Belgium right now. There are American flags everywhere and monuments to Patton and McAuliffe. They seem very proud of what our Army did.

BY chance I bumped into two amateur historians who help with upkeep and tours regarding E Company, 2/506 PIR 101st AB - Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. They took me into the woods and showed me the still-remaining foxholes of the airborne troops, and took me over their routes of attack. It's totally overwhelming to think about what those guys actually went through. Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California

*********** The final act (one would hope) in the New London coaching soap opera...

As the Jack Cochran era fades into the past, New London High has a new coach. He's Bob Brackett, hired on Friday just three days before the start of fall practice.

A longtime area high school coach, Brackett admits that after years of having to go up against New London, he's happy to be one their side now.

"Yes, there is a mystique here," he told the New London Day. "I've thought about it like Yankee mystique and Celtic mystique. There's a mystique about New London High School, a tradition that gets passed from generation to generation. It's a very intimidating thing. I know when I was at Killingly, we didn't want to play New London. We certainly didn't want to play them here. But now I want that mystique. I can feel it."

Brackett coached at Griswold High School through the 2004 season, where his overall record was 72-53-1. His biggest win - and the biggest in school history - was a 7-6 win over Ansonia in the 2000 state semifinals.

Of note, the words "ethical" and "character" were stressed by his new bosses.

Commenting on Brackett's hiring, New London principal Dan Sullivan called him "highly ethical," and expressed confidence in his ability to produce student-athletes who are "responsible citizens and intelligent young men."

Added athletic director Leo Facchini, "I can speak to his character and work ethic."

*********** Seems almost unbelievable, doesn't it, that there once was a time when kids could open up a sports magazine and see an All-Pro (and a former Heisman Trophy winner at that) relaxing in front of his locker and preparing to take a drag on a Marlboro?

But there he was, Paul Hornung, the Golden Boy, sending about as powerful a message as I can think of that it was okay to smoke.

So I was watching the PGA Championship on Sunday, and a commercial came on, and although I wasn't watching it, I could swear I heard something damn near unbelievable.

When I finally heard it a second time I still couldn't believe it.

"Michelob Ultra... Proud Sponsor of Sergio Garcia!"

It all seemed so normal that it undoubtedly flew under most people's radar, but in reality, it was huge.

It appeared to be a break - no, make that a rupture - in the beer industry's longtime prohibition against using active athletes in its advertising.

Very cleverly getting around the prohibition, back in the 1970s and 1980s Miller Brewing used athletes in an incredibly popular Miller Light campaign based on the "Tastes Great/Less Filling" theme. What was clever was Miller's use of retired - but still very well-known - athletes.

*********** 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the integration of Oklahoma football by the late Prentice Gautt, and the Sooners will honor Mr. Gautt's memory by wearing his number 38 on their helmets. On October 21 at the Oklahoma-Colorado game, the school will honor the Gautt family and the 1956 national championship team. Mr. Gautt passed away in March 2004 at the age of 67, and last March, on his behalf, his wife Sandra accepted the National Football Foundation's Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football award. More on Prentice Gautt - Feb 8, 2002 - http://www.coachwyatt.com/Feb02.html

*********** As part of the "community service" that was a part of his "sentence" for his role in an infamous NBA brawl, Ron Artest didn't mince any words in telling a group of Detroit elementary schoolers why he was there - "Someone started trouble and I ended it."

Many reporters were aghast, but I loved it.

I'm sure, in the kinder, gentler spirit of today's "fighting never solved anything" schools, it was not what he was expected to say.

But give him this - no phony apologies for him. He gave it to them straight - a lesson in how to deal with troublemakers that our President could have benefited from sitting in on.

Ron Artest for President.

*********** Earl Campbell's son, Tyler, is a 6 foot, 215-pound sophomore running back at San Diego State.

************ Here is all the clue you needed that Disney is going to take a lot of, uh, "creative liberty" with "Invincible" - it is, the posters tell us, "inspired by a true story."

Inspired, huh? Hell, think of the lies fishermen tell ("I once caught a 32-pound largemouth bass"), and every damn one of them is inspired by a true story ("well, somebody caught one that big."). (2006 CLINICS)

CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
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HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
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COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

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WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
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HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

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PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

Don't Believe Disney- The NFL Did NOT Discover Vince Papale! (See"NEWS") The Connecticut Coach Says Good-bye to His Players - For Now! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 19, 2006 - "Every once in a while, in a rare instance, you may get somebody who's put in an inappropriate position by accident, but in most cervical spine injuries, somebody came in and put their head down." Ron Courson, Director of Sports Medicine, University of Georgia

IT'S TIME TO TEACH TACKLING AGAIN...

*********** A word of caution for you youth coaches who are just starting out and now find yourselves teaching kids how to tackle. I wish you all had my "Safer and Surer Tackling" tape, but if you don't...

In teaching kids how to tackle properly, you must resist the urge to go too fast, too soon. I suspect that you will have at least one well-meaning helper on your staff who will grow impatient and start asking how you expect to build a football team without finding out "who wants to hit."

Hold him off, because at the start, fewer kids than you'll need will really "want" to hit. And if you start the heavy hitting too soon, some of those other kids may never become football players. As the great Bud Wilkinson once put it, you should approach it just as if you're teaching swimming.

*********** Don Shipley is a vice-president of a major lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., but he is also the young son of the late Dick Shipley, my coach when I played for the Frederick (MD) Falcons in the Interstate League, 38 years ago. Don remembers those great days of minor league football, and wrote me and asked me if I planned on seeing the upcoming Disney movie, "Invincible." It's based on the story of Vince Papale, a former minor leaguer who against all odds won a spot with the Eagles as a 30-year-old rookie, and managed to build a four-year career for himself in the NFL.

I was going to say, "of course," until Don informed me that his sources said there'd be no references in the movie to anything Vince did before the Eagles "found" him, as if he'd just been aimlessly wandering the streets of Philadelphia when some scout in a big Cadillac pulled up alongside him and said, "Hey, kid - want a tryout with the Iggles."

Nothing could be further from the truth. The real Vince Papale story is what he did to put himself in a position to get that tryout.

It was 1973, the World Football League was on the horizon, and I was scouting the minor leagues of the East, preparing for the coming of the World Football League. This one particular Saturday night, I was in a suburb of Philadelphia called Aston, Pennsylvania, watching a team called the Aston Knights play the Schuylkill Coal Crackers in a Seaboard Professional Football League game.

The Aston Knights had existed for years as the Ridley Township Green Knights. That's who I had coached against the previous two years, but at this particular point in time, they were playing at a high school stadium in Aston, and they evidently thought it was wise politically to adopt that name. (Things tend to be a bit fluid in the bush leagues.)

They were a rough, hard-nosed bunch, and to tell the truth, something of an affront to most of the other teams in the league, because while the rest of us were working very hard at creating an image of "minor-league" football, marketing ourselves to the public and going out and persuading the NFL teams in our areas to refer their cuts to us, the Knights were a step - a very short step - above sandlot, operationwise. They didn't draw at home and they had no following on the road. And while the rest of us played in smaller towns, where we were considered something worth covering by the local newspaper guys, the Knights, playing in a major sports market, got no attention at all.

But they did have some players. I have mentioned before about the night one of my better linemen, Dickie Keats, got a working-over by a guy named Jimmy Jones who, we were told afterwards, was a local high school dropout. Dickie, who was at least 30 at the time, never heard the end of it - until years later, after "Jimmy Jones" had gone on to Temple and an All-Star NFL career under his real name of Joe Klecko.

They were a mixed bunch, ranging from guys with years of semi-pro experience, guys just out of high school, and guys with solid college backgrounds. They had a good running from Duke named Frank Ryan, a linebacker from Notre Dame named Mike Kondrla, and a great little quarterback named John Waller, who had set all sort of passing records at Temple.

I sensed that their approach to practice was a little bit more casual than ours, and unlike the rest of us, who had the money to pay our players a little something, I seem to recall they didn't even have the money for buses - they carpooled to away games.

But on the best of nights they could beat the best of us, and on the worst of nights, they could still work us over.

This particular night, against the more talented and far better-organized Coal Crackers, from the anthracite regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, they were hanging in there. Amazingly, they won, and a major reason was the incredible catches made by a receiver I'd never seen before. Not that that was unusual. The Knights had a way of coming up with some very good players who would play a game or two for them and then vanish. There was no program - I said that they were sandlotters - and when I acquired about the guy I was told his name was "pa-PAIL."

He stuck it out for the rest of the season and finished as one of the Seaboard League's top receivers.

Fast-forward a few months, and I was Player Personnel Director for the Philadelphia Bell in the brand-new World Football League. All the scouting I'd been doing gave me access to lots of names of guys that the coaching staff was going to have to evaluate in short order in their efforts to put a team together.

We set up several free-agent tryout camps in different parts of the country, and we held one near Philadelphia - in Medford, New Jersey actually. None of the free agents at any of our camps literally walked in off the street - they all drove. And most of them were invited, based on my scouting and on recommendations of their former coaches. For this camp, we made sure that we included an invitation to this guy "Pa-PAIL."

Overall, it was a reasonably productive camp. We looked at over 150 guys (more kickers than you'd care to count) and wound up inviting at most a dozen of them back for another look. One of that dozen was pa-PAIL. Our head coach, Ron Waller (no relation to quarterback John) marveled at what he'd seen in the guy. He was big (6-2, 190), very fast, and he ran good patterns and he caught everything within reach. Waller (the coach), who'd spent the previous season as head coach of the Chargers, said "F--k, (roughly every tenth word out of his mouth was "F--k"), we didn't have anybody that good in San Diego!"

And we found out how to pronounce his name. ("pa-PAL-ee")

Short story - he was definitely a good athlete. A very good athlete. He'd been captain of the track team at St. Joseph's University, a decathlete, a triple-jumper, a pole vaulter and a high-hurdler. But he was 28 years old. He had been substitute teaching and coaching track at Interboro High in suburban Philadelphia. And until the previous season with the Aston Knights, he'd never played organized football.

Short story - The guy was fiercely driven to succeed, and he had the brains and the talent to go along with the drive. And he had caught the coach's eye. I really think that Waller took something of a mentor's interest in seeing that his discovery made it. Nothing wrong with that, because they guy was good. Competing neck-and-neck with some pretty good receivers, including former Kansas star Don Shanklin, Vince actually started several games at wide receiver for The Bell. Being a local "kid", he had a large and very enthusiastic following, all the members of whom wore tee-shirts to all our games with his face printed on them. That was 1974.

Short story - he played all of the 1975 season with The Bell - all that there was, since the league folded about halfway through - but he didn't play that much offensively. He backed up the Bell's starting wideouts, former Eagle Ben Hawkins and former Montreal Alouette Ron Holliday, and the tight end, former All-Pro Ted Kwalick. And he played a lot of special teams.

Short story - following the folding of the WFL, he was signed by the Eagles to a free agent contract. No doubt his persistence - his refusal to take no for an answer - had a lot to do with it. And as a balls-out special-teamer for the Eagles, he epitomized the hardnose, blue-collar football that Eagles' fans love. More than one reporter noted the parallel to "Rocky," another Italian-American success story set in Philly.

Except Vince's story is not Rocky. Vince's story is not Rudy, a story acknowledged as phony by fellow Notre Damers. Vince's story is real.

But don't believe for one minute that he was "discovered" by the Eagles. I was no fan of Ron Waller, my boss - detested the man - but he is the person who first saw NFL potential in Vince Papale, and the World Football League gave Vince Papale the chance to show he could play with real football players (yes, we had them, and plenty of them).

As a matter of fact, I sorta think that the Aston Knights and the Seaboard Football League (of which I was a co-founder) deserve a little credit, too, because without them he never would have had a chance to prove that he could play, and the already-long odds against him would have been overwhelming. Then, he truly would have been just a guy walking in off the street.

*********** I know it is only profootball, that grotesque mutation of our game, and it's only exhibition - uh, "preseason" profootball at that... but at least it's not baseball and it's not soccer, and until the real thing - college and high school football - starts, it's better than nothing.

So all you media fools who lick the NFL veterans' feet and pass along to us their complaints that there are too many "preseason" games - enough, already. Look - we know veterans don't like preseason games. Of course veterans don't like preseason games! Preseason is where they might lose their jobs. Preseason is where the promising rookie can come along and make them expendable. Competition and all that.

Oh - and those of you who seriously suggest dropping several pre-season games, turning them instead into regular season games? Do you really think, as greedy as players are, they are going to play any more regular season games than they do now without being paid more? As it is now, they are paid a pittance to play in "preseason" games, which brings me to my next point...

All you NFL veterans who bitch about the preseason and suggest that they do away with it --- are you forgetting that the owners are just as greedy as you are? That they are charging full freight for those "preseason" games, and forcing fans to buy them as part of their season ticket packages? Do you really expect them to give up all that money? Have they ever given up money? (Okay, okay. Yes, some of them once did, people like George Halas and Wellington Mara, who actually had the foresight to know that pooling TV revenues - mostly generated by big-market teams - was a good idea for the league as a whole, even if it meant that they had to give up money. It's the rock on which all NFL prosperity has been built, but now a new greed - er, breed - of owners like Dan Snider and Jerry Jones keep looking for ways to grab off revenue without having to share it with the rest of the league.)

***********A youth coach writes...

I have a father who was a high school head-coach and was a position coach at (a nearby college). He offered to help with some drills but doesn't want to coach. He started asking me about the offense I would be running. After I told him he asked about the play calling system (how do you name the backs?).

When I started to explain it he began to argue with me that I should be using the same terminology as the high school so these kids are "ready" when they get to high school. I told him that I don't know the terminology from high school because the high school coach has never bothered to come down and tell us what he does.

In addition, the only one I know that I can rely on is MYSELF.   I've spent a lot of time researching youth football coaching, have coached at the youth level for 5 years and have decided that your system fits what I want to accomplish with our kids.   If I have questions I can review your tapes and the playbook…or I can email you.   I can't do that with our high school head coach.

I have also used John Reed's book "Coaching Youth Football" primarily for philosophy and his defense (Gap-Air-Mirror). I ran the single-wing the last few years, but he always has positive comments on the double-wing and your system. That's why I'm installing DW 100% this year. The point is, I know what I'm doing.

This father is actually a friend of mine, but the conversation became heated.   I held my ground until he said, "looks like your mind is made up".

I do think he could add a lot to the team with his knowledge, but I'm concerned that he will start doing things "his way" and could jeopardize my authority ( most of the other parents know his background ).   Do I now show him your system and hopes he embraces it and becomes a supporter?...or do I shut him out completely and risk an angry critic stalking the sidelines?   I don't intimidate easily, however, I have him as a father plus a few other fathers who had their football glory years in this school district ( I played ball elsewhere) that want to "help" but have their own ideas on how things should be done.

Any advice on how to handle this situation?

If you have my Installing the System tape, you probably know how I feel about assistants who are not totally on board.

In short - You are far better off doing it alone than taking on someone who could undermine you - with kids, with parents, with other assistants.

Some of the best coaching I ever did was in Finland, where I had no assistants. But I also had no one pulling in another direction. A good friend of mine in Georgia has been unable to find any qualified assistants he could trust or count on, and for three years he has coached his high school team by himself. He has been to the state finals with those kids.

I fear that that dad could be a huge problem, because he sounds closed-minded, and he sounds as if he doesn't respect your authority as head coach. Remember, his strong point, in his mind, is that he knows football. But the football that he knows isn't your football. It isn't youth football, and it isn't your offense or defense. He clearly doesn't know your football and as a result, he is not deprived of his stature as a guy who knows something, and unable to transfer a lot of his "higher-level" know-how to your level. Worst, it sounds as if he may not be willing to "step down" to your level and do things your way.

I am afraid that whatever you do, this may not end happily. If you keep him at arm's length, he will be unhappy, but if you bring him on board he is likely to undermine you, and things could get really ugly. The only possible compromises I could think of might be to let him help but watch him very carefully, severely limiting his scope; or depending on his interest, to give him the defense while you take the offense, with the understanding that you are the boss. Period.

It sounds like it could be a classic case of "two cooks in the kitchen."

Welcome to coaching.

*********** Coach, Pro football and its TV broadcasts have become simply hideous to me.

hid·e·ous- adj.

1. Repulsive, especially to the sight; revoltingly ugly. See Synonyms at ugly

2. Offensive to moral sensibilities; despicable.

It's sad when the worlds greatest game doesn't even interest me when a little league World Series tournament or girls fast pitch game is on. Much less a Raymond or Frasier re-run. John Madden is just done, and the rest, yuck. Am I alone here.

Larry Harrison, Snellville, Georgia

*********** A coach wrote me about slipping in the Double-Wing a little at a time, so as not to upset his seniors, and I wrote...

There is no one right way to go on this, but I do have some pretty strong feelings...

If you stay with your basics and just sprinkle in parts of my system, you may help those seniors but at the same time you set the younger ones back.

The thing about going to the Double-Wing that frightens some coaches is that in order to experience the greatest success, it does require you to commit to running it "right out of the can."

My experience is that kids are very resilient and that if you tell them that this is going to make them better, they will accept your professional judgment.

Bear Bryant made the decision to change to the wishbone between spring practice, where he was running a pro set, and a quick visit to Texas where he became convinced that it gave him the best chance of being successful. There was no doing it halfway. He couldn't just stick his nose in - he had to "get all wet."

But making the change helped him win a couple of national titles.

Just my thinking on this. I think you have to decide whether to get all wet.

*********** Check out this recording of Lt. Col. Randolph C. White's address to troops at Fort Benning who just completed infantry training.

http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/15/lt-col-randolph-c-white-a-great-american/

*********** I think what bothers me most about the NFL is that they keep trying to fool the public into thinking that they are the only true football. If they could, they would love to destroy all other football.

Come to think of it, sounds a little like terrorists, doesn't it?

*********** Coach, I just wanted to share a great moment with you. We have been through two days of two-a-day practices, and as I told you on the phone, none of these kids has ever been through two-a-day practices. Anyway, this morning I received a phone call from a parent of a sophomore football player. She simply said, "I just wanted to tell you thank you." There was a silence, so I said, "For what?" She replied, "Our son has never been so fired up about anything in his life as he is about football this year. My husband and I wanted to let you know that we appreciate what you are doing." Moments like that make it all worthwhile. NAME WITHHELD

*********** Some Ohio high school football players thought it would be hilarious: steal a fake deer, put it in the middle of a country road in the dark of night, and wait for the fun to start.

The fun ended aburuptly when an 18-year-old driver swerved to avoid the deer. His car flipped, slamming into a fence. The driver was hurt so badly he's had 10 operations already and is scheduled for an 11th. His 16-year-old passenger suffered brain injuries that have left him with the mental ability of a sixth-grader.

So the judge threw the book at two of the perps - gave them both 60-day sentences in juvenile hall. But - "I shouldn't be doing this," he told them, in a moment of brilliance - then said they didn't have to serve their sentences until football season is over.

"I'm cutting you somewhat of a break here, and the court will get criticized for this," he told one of them, the star quarterback on the local high school team. "I see positive things about participating in football," he said.

Well, yeah. Me, too. Except that unlike the judge, I still believe in this old-fashioned notion that being a member of a football team is a privilege that has to be earned, and one that can be forfeit by a player's misconduct.

This is not a dig at Ohio, where a Columbus poll showed 92 per cent of respondents disagreed with the judge, but it's people like His Honor who help produce the Maurice Claretts of this world.

*********** it's hard to beat "lobsta men"

Hah! I knew that was coming. Hell, might as well add Fishermen and Scallopers.

Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey (I asked Frank, who in his younger days was a commercial fisherman, if he's ever seen "Deadliest Catch," about those idiots who go crabbing off Alaska. He wrote, "Yes, it's a great show. I don't believe there is a tougher or more dangerous environment to work in. I tell people sea stories about some of the weather conditions I been in and I know they think I'm making it up. Believe it or not the worst of it can't be filmed it's all you can do just to hang on, little alone hold up a camera. It's great to see some actual film of that. I think Linda Greenwell's? book "Harvest of the Sea" should have been made a documentary. However the "Perfect Storm" stole the show when it came to Sword fishing." HW)

*********** Coach Enjoyed the story about the boy who walked 4 miles to practice....not the same, but yesterday, Billy Breen, my Black Lion award winner from last year, was picking up his equipment a day late (was at a wake in NJ, only missed a short timing/eval practice). Well, he was 45 minutes early for practice, and there was nobody in line to pick up equipment, but man, Billy was sprinting to the shed. His mom was barely out of her car yet and he was already at the shed, you gotta love it. First night we put in power and it was Billy's first night as a FB...we used shields on D, but holy moly, I pity the DEs this year when they have to deal with him with a full head of steam.....he was decleating everyone we put in there.

A few other coaches were watching our first practice and couldn't believe how great we looked on the first day with our powers.....a good start.

Hope all is well. You must be starting soon.

Agree with Jack on the lobsta fishermen.....tough kids. You could throw wormers and clammers in with that too. It's tough work especially in the winter (I used to dig clams with my dad and grandfather as a summer job. My grandfather ran a drive-in, and after digging, we'd go there, fire up the grill and have a good feed. Doing it in the winter was tough though, and I can remember a few frost-bitten or nearly frost-bitten days). Rick Davis, Duxbury, Massachusetts

*********** A coach mentioned timing his players, and here's how I responded...

Truthfully, I don't worry too much about clock times. I think that the pros spend so much time trying to quantify things that they never get around to asking whether a guy can actually play.

They are like the people who think that because a rose smells better than a cabbage it will make better soup.

I have always felt that on the football field that 4.8 guy who recognizes the situation fast and wants to make the play is always better than the 4.5 guy who can't figure out what's going on and maybe doesn't really want to make the play anyhow.

*********** From a former middle school coach in the Carolinas... I wanted to let you know that I did take the JV head coach position at our HS. True to the varsity coach's word, he is letting me run our offense. He said he can work with kids as long as they know how to block and tackle when they get to him... Our first scrimmage was Saturday. We played for two quarters, we ran for 206 yards...I would say that the offense works anywhere....My asst. coaches are believers! I look forward to introducing the DW to our first opponent next week. Thanks for all you do. (And God bless the HS head coach, who is unaffected by the usual paranoia and understands what is really important. HW)

*********** Question: If I have only one fast back and one guard who is good enough to pull on the power play, what would be your thoughts on a flip flop (motion wing and counter wing, pulling guard and playside guard)?

You mentioned having one fast back but you didn't say anything about his toughness. His toughness is far more important than his speed. If there is a tough one and a fast one, I would put the tough one on the left, to run powers, and put the fast one on the right, to run counters.

As for the guard, you may need to flip-flop him, because if you plan on putting him on the left for powers, you are going to need him on the right for counters. With very young players, it is possible that opponents wouldn't notice.

But I would really be surprised if you only had one kid who can pull. I've heard this more than once, and to be frank, it usually turns out to be a question of teaching. I've found that after being taught the proper stance and alignment and steps, any kid with average athletic ability can be taught to pull in our system. I suspect that your are capable of teaching it. Otherwise, if you really do have only one lineman with enough ability to do that, I'm afraid you're going to have one heck of a time playing defense.

*********** The NFL sure is one sick puppy. Monday night, they showed us a promo for next week's game (Saints vs Cowboys), featuring two star players: one, Reggie Bush, has not yet played the equivalent of a complete pro game. (Although he has already been fined $10,000 for wearing gold adidas shoes, an NFL no-no, since only Nike, UnderArmour and Reebok have the right to display their logos on shoes). Is the NFL itself so bereft of interesting players, so lacking in stars, that it has become like women's tennis and golf, totally dependent for fan interest on an influx of teenage prodigies? The other, Terrell Owens, had missed 12 practices up to that point, and seems to be making it clear that he will play when he feels like playing, Parcells be damned.

With all the bad behavior and criminal misconduct by NFL players these day, the NFL sounds more like the NBA every day. Actually, that's not completely fair to the NBA. The NFL is much more like the old, thug-ridden NBA, the way it used to be before Commisioner Stern realized it had to clean up its image.

*********** The NFL, in its infinite wisdom, allows networks to use NFL games to tell its viewers not to watch other NFL games...

Thursday Night, Fox tricked viewers into watching a Chris Myers interview (ever wish you could duct-tape the guy's arms to his side so he couldn't use his hands when he talks?). Turned out his guest wasn't a sports person at all, but the star of Fox's great new show, Prison Break - which just happens to be on next Monday night, up against NFL Football.

Not that I'll be watching either show. Madden 2007 comes out Monday.

*********** I got a letter from a youth coach asking me what I thought about an idea he'd gotten from watching some video of a very good high school Double-Wing team. He described in great detail a play he'd seen them run, and asked me what I thought about his running it with his kids. Here's what I pretty much told him...

It's not that it can't be done. It's just that I don't think you can teach it to 11 year-olds without sacrificing other things that you will need more.

What a top high school with a full coaching staff and very good players who only go one way can do is not easily transferable to too many other places, where coaching, talent and teaching time are scarcer.

It is like watching the NFL. Anybody can diagram what they do, but do they have the players and the time to actually do what they are diagramming?

*********** A friend of mine told me about a previous job he'd had where things got so tough that he found himself beginning to have self-doubts.

I told him that it can happen to anybody. I started out with complete confidence in my abilities, although I really had absolutely no reason to. I certainly wouldn't have made it through my first season as a coach if I'd had any self-doubts. We lost our first seven games (including two exhibitions) and yet it never occured to me that I might fail. Talk about clueless and arrogant. I guess I didn't realize how close I was to being canned. Fortunately for me, though, I found a few more guys who could really play - including a quarterback - and I had the good sense to put them in a position to win, and we wound up 7-7.

For the most part, that total belief that I would succeed has been with me wherever I've gone, but I do have to admit that over the years I did encounter a place or two that had me questioning myself. Could it be me? I began to think. And then I'd move on, and I'd find that it wasn't me at all - it was the situation.

The real shame of it is that so many coaches - young ones, especially - go in with that same self-belief that I had, without realizing that they are going into situations where Lombardi couldn't win. And they get beaten up and worked over, and they get out of coaching, discouraged, and never do get to find out that maybe it wasn't them at all.

Woody Hayes was 18-1-1 in his first two seasons as a head coach (New Philadelphia, Ohio HS). In his third year, he was 1-9. It wasn't Woody, you can be sure.

He simply didn't have players.

*********** Dear Coach Wyatt, I was looking at your news and found it funny that I have the same photos of KSU and U of Nebraska that you have. About two weeks ago I had to drive a car from Maryland to Wyoming. Along the way I stopped by every major college football and high school football town I came to. I began the trip after football camp in Salisbury North Carolina. I drove by U of Tennessee in Knoxville. Then I went up to Kentucky (I'd never been but I could live in that wonderful state). I look the old Cumberland Parkway across southern Kentucky. I hit the National Corvette museum & Western Kentucky University in Bowling Springs, then enjoy some time in nature at Land Between The Lakes National Park (were I met a couple from Melbourne Australia, we chatted Aussie rules). Hit Mayfield Kentucky, a nice little football town with a mural of the county high schools and there state titles in football and basketball. Drove through the Russell Springs Kentucky, home of the current Miss USA (Kentucky does have some awful cute gals). Drove up to Missouri, across to Kansas, up to Nebraska, over to Wyoming. Saw the Big 12 schools, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, & also looked around the U of Wyoming (I have cousin who is a cowboy). Walked around Jefferson City High School in Missouri, that is a football school. The field house is named after their old coach Pete Adkins. It was a grand trip across America, my second of the summer. I also drove from Albuquerque New Mexico to Maryland. Then I also flew to and back from Utah. At the same time going back and forth between South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland.

I'm glad you had a good time in Kansas, I'm sorry a fellow from my home state of Maryland bad mouthed folks from Kansas. I liked Kansas and got a kick out of their sense of humor. I know I hadn't written in a while and I saw the photos and thought now was a good time to give you a note. Yours, John D. Grimsley, Youngsville, North Carolina

*********** "'We are a nation of immigrants,' we are constantly reminded. We are also a nation of people with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Does that mean that anyone who has 10 fingers and 10 toes should be welcomed and given American citizenship?" Dr. Thomas Sowell, Stanford University

*********** Not saying that we are a culture of child worshippers, but while stopping for the night in Hays, Kansas a few weeks ago, staying at the same place was a group of softball players from Colorado, headed to a tournament someplace. How could we tell? Well, in a fashion that seems to be typical of girls' sports, the windows were painted with various slogans ("Missouri Here We Come!") And at least three of the cars boasted, in the manner of the modern parents who just have to tell the world that their daughter plays on an elite team, "ALL-STAR ON BOARD!"

*********** Cal set up a new website to hype what it calls the Heisman campaign of running back Marshawn Lynch. What "campaign?" They make it sound as if it's some grassroots uprising, instead of something that's totally the Cal Sports Information Department's doing. And the guy's just a f--king junior. This is the University of California at Berkeley, which claims to be one of the world's great academic institutions. Its coaches probably use that in recruiting kids, implying that a Cal diploma has extra meaning, but who's kidding who(m)? If Lynch has a Heisman-type season, he's off to the NFL, without a diploma. So instead of appeasing Lynch, why didn't somebody at Call have the stones to tell him that if he stuck around for his senior year, then they'd campaign on his behalf?

*********** Don't think recruiting of high school basketball players is out of hand?

Andy Poling, a seven-footer from Beaverton, Oregon, just committed to Gonzaga. The kid will be a junior next year.

"You can say the announcement is early," his coach told the Portland Oregonian, "but the fact is that Andy has gone through the recruitment process for two years already, so this isn't really that early."

*********** For what it is worth, the New York Times' education section (I try very carefully not to read its news section) ranked the nation's public colleges according to the percentage of its freshmen who graduate within six years (nationally, it is below 30 per cent).

UVa (92 per cent)

William & Mary

Michigan

UCLA

Cal

US Naval Academy

US Military Academy

SUNY Delhi

UC San Diego

Penn State (83 per cent)

*********** A good vocabulary is certainly a sign of a well-read person. But a word to the wise - never try to impress people by using a word you're not completely sure how to use and pronounce, because you could wind up achieving the exact opposite effect. And there was the Boulder County D.A., relishing her moment in the national spotlight, mouthing the word "POIG-nant," pronouncing it just the way it's spelled. Except it's not pronounced exactly as it's spelled. It is a French word, correctly pronounced (in America at least) "POIN-yant."

*********** A quick update on the Jack Cochran situation in Connecticut...

Cochran has been a winner wherever he has gone. His career record is 137-22, with four state titles at Bloomfield and three at New Britain. And this past year, his first at New London, he went 10-2 and made it to the state final game.

But controversy - and some rather serious charges - have followed him from place to place. Not the least of the charges have concerned illegal recruiting.

This past April, the state association passed a rule calling for a one-game suspension for any coach whose team wins by a margin of 50 or more points. Because of Cochran's reputation for running up the score, many have called it the "Cochran Rule." Cochran's sportsmanlike response to the new rule was to announce that he anticipated getting suspended.

Last Saturday, Cochran was accused by the coach of Fitch High of Groton of punching him. New London and Groton are neighboring towns, and there evidently has been bad blood between the two, this latest incident starting at a weightlifting competition when Cochran supposedly made some derisive remark about the Fitch kids' lifting techniques.

Cochran initially denied the charge, but Mike DiMauro, assistant sports editor of the New London Day, reported that there was another coach who had witnessed the punch and gone to the police with his testimony.

On Tuesday, after meeting with his superintendent, Cochran "resigned." He was allowed to remain as a physical education teacher, but he was ordered to have no contact with the football team.

And he was told he could reapply for the job in 2007.

Which is why, after he said his good-byes to his players, some of them told The Day that it was really just a "one-year resignation."

(Anybody think he won't get rehired next year? Anybody want to take the job for one year?)

Meantime, the law firm for the Groton Board of Education requested in a letter to the State's Attorney that Cochran be banned from Groton school buildings and grounds, that he not communicate with the Fitch coach or come within 150 feet of him, his home or his family, and - are you paying attention? - that Cochran not be allowed to contact any Groton (Fitch HS) student.

To give you some idea of what that last phrase is all about, you have to read this carefully. It's also from The Day, which interviewed several New London players after Cochran's farewell meeting with them.

Mike Romanella and junior Barquis Haley would have entered their first season playing for Cochran.

"It's hard. It's been very emotional for all of us. We really got attached to coach Cochran," said Haley. "Mike and I, we were here for a short period of time because we just transferred over from Fitch in the middle of the (2005-06) school year. ... And we were both really looking forward to playing for coach."

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

Charlie Weis Had Better Remember to Pace Himself! (See"NEWS") A Connecticut Coach Who Just Can't Avoid Controversy! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 16, 2006 - "There are two things that can happen if you stay in one spot too long. You'll get fired, or you'll get hemorrhoids. Or both." Duffy Daugherty, legendary Michigan State coach

*********** "I feel you lose an honest relationship with a kid when you teach him a dishonest act." Bob Reade, former Illinois HS championship and four-time NCAA Division III championship coach

Hey, I read his book every year before the start of the season. Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York

*********** Coach, Amid all the crappy news this week, Clarett, airliner bombings etc., Took Anthony, an 11 year old kid home from football practice today. He told me he had walked to practice. I didn't think much of it until I took him home. He walked a legit 4.4 miles along a canal ditch through sagebrush and farm fields. It's his first year playing football. He is a little smallish but ALL player and a great personality. I wish I had a team full of Anthony's. He will get all the playing time he can handle! What a great kid. Mike Studer, Kittitas, Washington (What a contrast between Anthony and all those little suburban kids in satin shorts being dropped off at soccer practice. HW)

*********** Coach - Great commentary on Charlie Weis, This from a distant and outsider's observation ( as always when talking about Big Time Pro & College Coaches )

Weis may be the greatest guy on the face of the earth as far as I know, and No doubt his coaching pedigree and accomplishments as an assistant Football Coach are second to none, But what has he proven as a head man ? Granted a 9-3 season at 88% of the schools in D1-A is considered an "outstanding" to "very good" season at ND that just a "good" season but the Irish schedule in 05 did not turn out to be as treacherous as was forecasted , Pitt,Purdue,Tenn, Michigan, Michigan ST, all under-achieved, his two biggest Victories were vs. a 7-5 Michigan team and an 8-4 Navy team, He got beat at Home by a mediocre Mich State, In their shining moment of the year ( I tip my Hat to them for playing their asses off ) they caught a USC team Flat-Footed, and then got hammered by Ohio St in the Fiesta. I just don't understand the "buzz" and "hype" surrounding Weis, and some of the comments I have seen him make in Print and TV are out and out arrogant. I think he should tone it down a notch. I would Love to see him and The Irish get Knocked right on their Asses opening Night vs. Ga.tech that would be sweet

see ya next week coach - John Muckian Lynn, Massachusetts (I wouldn't bet the farm on Georgia Tech. I think that ND is going to be very good. But will they be good enough to keep the dogs off Charlie Weis? Very few of you remember Frank Leahy, but I do. Outside of Notre Dame, he was highly disliked. He was not exactly gracious in victory, and on at least one occasion - against Iowa - he employed unethical tactics (fake injuries in the last minutes - twice! - stopped the clock and allowed Notre Dame to come from behind and tie). He came across to the public as sickeningly pious, and pessimistic in such a phony way ("Our lads - he loved to call his players "lads," even those who were hardened World War II veterans - "will be lucky to get a first down this Saturday") that it would have been comical, except that the man was absolutely humorless. In the words of one Notre Dame historian, Francis Wallace, Leahy had "a large dead spot in human relations."

But he got a pass from the Golden Domers - because he won. Oh, did he ever win. How about a record of 87-11-9 ( .887, best of anyone except the great Knute Rockne)?

From 1941-1943 and 1946-1953 (with two years off to serve during World War II) he had six undefeated teams, two of them with perfect records, and four national championships.

His teams failed to score on only three occasions, and two of those were scoreless ties against powerful Army teams.

Only five times were his teams beaten by two touchdowns, and only once was one of his teams beaten by more than two touchdowns.

He found the players and he put them in position to win: he had countless All-Americans and four Heisman Trophy winners (Angelo Bertelli, Johnny Lujack, Leon Hart and Johnny Lattner).

His post-war teams were the ones that established Notre Dame as truly big-time: from the time he returned from World War II in 1946 until he retired following the 1953 season, Notre Dame played 77 games in front of an average crowd - home and away - of 58,500. The Irish played in front of only 13 crowds of less than 50,000 and only three of less than 40,000 (all three were capacity crowds - two of them at Indiana, and one of them - get ready for this one - at Nebraska in 1948, where Memorial stadium at the time held only 38,000).

But although Frank Leahy was one of the winningest coaches of all time, in many ways he was an embarrassment to prominent Notre Damers, and I suspect that if he'd started to tail off in the win-loss department, he'd have been gone. sooner.

As it was, though, the pressure of maintaining those incredibly high standards did the job instead, and following the 1953 season, his health failing, he retired and never coached again. He was only 45.

Ara Parseghian, who was as good a coach as Frank Leahy and twice the man, hung them up in 1974 and never coached again. He was only 51.

Charlie Weis take note: Pace yourself. Notre Dame has a way of grinding down the best of them. HW)

*********** I hope you do not mind but I would like to ask you for your opinion concerning a defensive dilemma I find myself in!

I am coaching 9,10,11, and 12 year old players. It is Pop Warner so the weights are not particularly a consideration as they are all fairly close.

Some youth teams like to pass more than others, as you well know. It seems to hinge on just how well the coach thinks he can install a passing game. Ego has something to do with it, I guess.

Knowing that stopping the run is our primary concern, which would you recommend at this age level? Zone pass coverage or bump and run, man to man?

Zone would appear on the surface to be safer, but its concepts can be very difficult to teach to kids.

One of the problems is (1) you are essentially covering man-for-man in your zone anyhow, and (2) it takes a while for kids to understand who that man is, and when "your man" is no longer your man, and someone else becomes "your man."

What I am saying is that good zone coverage depends on mastering certain man-for-man principles anyhow.
The problems with man-for-man are that (1) you can run into mismatches, and (2) if you play a bump and run, even a poor football player can line up at receiver and run your defender out of the play.

On the other hand, with man coverage you have no problems explaining assignments, and you have accountability.

So I believe that with young kids I think I would employ man coverage with a free safety, who would be one of my best athletes. I would assume, as a lot of good youth defenses do, that even if our coverage breaks down there is still a very good chance that (1) the passer will be sacked, or (2) the ball will not be thrown accurately, or (3) it will be dropped.

*********** Coach Wyatt I have had the pleasure of watching, listening and learning from you coaching tapes over the past 2 months. My husband did his homework, purchased your tapes and has been studying them. I think the Double Wing is a fantastic game plan and it will really be difficult for other teams to defend against. Absolutely brilliant! I love to watch a great game and I hope to teach the 1st and 2nd grade flag football kids some of your plays!

The football program in our community is dependent on courageous parents like my husband. He has volunteered to head coach both 7th and 8th grade teams. He has 2 assistant coaches. He would like to install the Double Wing. I have assured my husband that I am sure over the years you have met with resistance and skepticism- how do you handle those people who haven't even given it a chance? I mean you have enough to deal with- getting game plans together to work on, calling all the players, watching for the kids safety, fitting players for uniforms, getting waivers signed, then you have to hand hold the parents or skeptics. Do you just smile, thank them for their input, then ignore them and go on with your plan?

Also I was wondering- do you have a support group for coaches wives? Thanks in advance, for your insight.

Shelli Martin, Harrisburg, Missouri

It is nice to hear from you. Clearly, you belong in that special place in the Football hall of Fame reserved for coaches' wives.

As for critics and overly-ambitious parents... Many people seem to think that it is appropriate to apply the standards of professional sports to youth sports. I disagree. I do not believe that people have any right whatsoever to criticize the strategy their child's coach chooses to employ.

I believe that in exchange for all the other extraneous matters the head coach has to deal with, he/she deserves the right to decide which is the best strategy, and the best combination of players, to help the team achieve the most success. (Emphasis on "team.")

I'm swamped with things to do, many that I've left undone for years, but the idea of a coaches' wives support group is an excellent one.

It may sound very corny, but while I know hundreds of football coaches, I know very few who don't have great wives as partners. There is no one mold. There are many ways that wives help make their husbands better coaches, not the least of which is the fact that they love them unconditionally, win or lose, enjoying the good with them and suffering the bad with them.

My wife and I have been married 47 years, She is a very important part of my coaching, a very positive and supportive force in my life.

*********** New London, Connecticut High School football coach Jack Cochran is at it again. Saturday, he was charged with breach of peace for allegedly punching Fitch High School of Groton's football coach, James Buonocore Jr., in the mouth.

Police were called to East Lyme High School about 11:40 a.m. while members of the Eastern Connecticut Conference's football teams were taking part in an annual weightlifting competition. Police said a heated argument that began inside a weight room continued outside, where Cochran purportedly hit Buonocore one time.

The superintendent of New London Schools admitted that the two coaches have had a "persistent frictional relationship," and said he was hopeful that Saturday's incident would be the end.

Fitch and New London are scheduled to play October 6.

The stories that have circulated over the years about Jack Cochran are shocking, and while his alleged disregard for rules and sportsmanship would be totally unacceptable in most other states, in Connecticut he wins football games, so New London tolerates him.

I'm assuming that Coach Buonocore is a gentleman and/or on a tighter leash than New London apparently gives Jack Cochran. But if he'd just punched Cochran's lights out, I'm guessing that one act would have been worth his immediate installation into the Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame.

According to the Hartford Courant, "Supporters credit Cochran with an ability to work with struggling students and help them improve athletically and academically, which West said has continued at New London. But critics say he's a bully, ranting and raving on the sidelines and running up scores. Administrators have accused him of misconduct and ignoring school policies."

Interestingly, according to the many coaches I've heard from over the years, the "struggling students" that he's helped to improve "athletically and academically" seem for the most part to be very good football players, and it's said that sometimes they even come from outside his school's attendance area just to get his academic help.

My thanks to the numerous people with Connecticut ties who passed this one on to me.

*********** I told a friend who went into an intra-squad scrimmage Saturday that If all he saw was bad things, at least he'd know what he needed to fix!

That is where being positive really pays off. I learned a lot listening to Hayden Fry years ago talk about aggressively trying to find mistakes in the early going, so you could fix them. I'll never forget the expression he used. He said, "We're just plowin' up snakes and killin' 'em."

Taking the positive approach not only helps you feel better about what you're doing, but it gets more out of the kids, too. And when things go bad, as they sometimes do, it is the only thing that can keep you sane.

*********** "Saw the story on why mid-west farmers make great double wingers and could not agree more-- except it's hard to beat "lobsta men" -- these are tough kids afraid of nothing and always out gunned in terms of the size of schools we play. They fit all the criteria you listed and would like to add them to your list of kids that make great double wingers. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine (After a vacation in the Maine woods, Jack is back and fired up. I suspect one of the reasons why he's able to stay energetic and enthusiastic is that he is able to take time off in the summer, unlike some of today's young guys who are at it 24/7, all year-round. I fear most of them will be burned out by the time they're 50. And yes, lobstermen qualify as the kind of tough, hard-nosed people that the Double-Wing is perfectly suited for! Anybody else have any nominees? HW)

*********** Kevin Love, top-ranked high school basketball prospect in the country, announced a couple of weeks ago that he'd chosen UCLA over North Carolina. But not before his father, former Oregon and NBA player Stan Love, tried to bring down another coach.

Early in the kid's high school career, Dad Stan was said to be instrumental in the "resignation" of the kid's high school coach. Now, with the kid announcing his choice of college, Dad used the occasion to take some rather vicious swipes in the newspapers at the state of the program at his alma mater, Oregon, where everyone knows that coach Ernie Kent is fighting for his life.

Thanks, Stan.

There may be more... Love one played for a Nike-sponsored elite team, but was dropped from the team last summer after he snubbed Nike camps to attend a competitor's camp. North Carolina is a Nike School. UCLA is not.

*********** Grrrr. Soccer lines painted on the field at Seahawks' Stadium.

*********** Weirdest new commercial... A drop or two of some sort of slime drops on a football, and it seems to cause the football to erupt and give birth to what appears to be a giant condom, with something inside it, pushing to get out... and when it finally does, and I'll be damned if it isn't Mr. Everywhere, Payton Manning, who's guzzling some new Gatorade product.

*********** Remember back after 9-11 when two leading clergymen, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, said it may have been God's way of punishing us for our evil ways? Here's a transcript from CNN...

Then Falwell said, "What we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be minuscule if, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

Robertson replied, "Well, Jerry, that's my feeling. I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror, we haven't begun to see what they can do to the major population."

Falwell said, "The ACLU has got to take a lot of blame for this. And I know I'll hear from them for this, but throwing God...successfully with the help of the federal court system...throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked and when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad...I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who try to secularize America...I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen."

Robertson said, "I totally concur, and the problem is we've adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government, and so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do, and the top people, of course, is the court system."

Falwell added, "Pat, did you notice yesterday that the ACLU and all the Christ-haters, the People for the American Way, NOW, etc., were totally disregarded by the Democrats and the Republicans in both houses of Congress, as they went out on the steps and called out to God in prayer and sang 'God bless America' and said, let the ACLU be hanged. In other words, when the nation is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we ought to be doing all the time, calling on God."

Ooh-whee! Did it get those two in trouble. They even wound up apologizing, which disgusted me. Talk about standing firm in your beliefs. Couldn't face the thought of martyrdom if it meant being called bad names, I guess.

But come on, now, folks... could they - possibly - have had a point?

If you believe (as I do) that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God, then He can't be missing what's been going on in the United States of America these days. And after all He's done for us, He can't be pleased with the way we fail to acknowledge His help.

Maybe we've forgotten the way He told us to live, but He hasn't.

If you believe that there is a God, do you believe he is happy with our corrupt leaders, with our culture of hedonism and our worship of celebrity and material goods? Scripture says He frowns on homosexual acts; so how, then, must He view the notion of homosexual "marriage?" He can't approve of the way we fail to admonish our children, and encourage our young girls to look, talk and act "sexy." You think He likes the fact that nearly half of all our children are being born out of wedlock? And after all He's done for this country, how do you think He likes it when we turn our backs on Him, refraining from even the mention of His name, much less praising Him? And then, despite God's commandment that we shall have no other gods before Him, we elevate Wicca to the status of a religion.

If God is all-knowing and ever-present, he has got to be pissed at what's going on. And if He is all-powerful, He is certainly capable of setting us straight, even if that means harsh punishment. And while most God-fearing people have usually felt that God's punishment would take the form of a natural event - an earthquake a flood, a plague, a meteor - why couldn't an all-powerful God just as easily unleash a human scourge on us?

Of course, if you don't believe in God, or don't believe He is all-powerful, then you have no worries - at least about God's punishment. But I should warn you that it could be a long eternity for you if you're wrong.

Frankly, as anti-God as we've become, I'm still waiting for people to turn our argument against us and start blaming God for allowing terrorist acts. Suing Him, even.

*********** Verne Lundquist did the entire Seahawks-Cowboys game calling the mountain "Mount rin-EAR." No big thing, but around the Northwest, it is "rain-EAR" (as in RAIN).

And if he's going to call any more Seahawk's games, he's going to have to learn to say "Hasselbeck," and not "Hasselback."

*********** With all pro teams limiting their starting quarterbacks to the first series of downs, Bill Parcells let one man, Tony Romo, play the entire game. Tony Romo. Think he takes a ribbing?

*********** Thank God for CBS. They gave us Dick Enberg and Randy Cross - and no sideline guys! And they actually called the game!!!

*********** On the other hand, on Sunday night we got Michaels and Madden in the press box, chatting away like two guys in the booth behind you at a bar who won't shut to f--k up so you can hear the play-by-play on the TV.

And that was for openers.

And then we had Andrea Kramer, who seemed to have no idea whether or not there was a game going on or what its status was - she gave us the mandatory interview with Chad Johnson, the mini-TO, who now sports a Mohawk, and told us that when she asked Daunte Culpepper about fellow knee victim Carson Palmer, Culpepper said, "I feel his pain." And she kept on yakking.

Chris Collingsworth cut in from time to time - did I mention that Carson Palmer's name came up several dozen times? I guess he must have hurt his knee or something.

And then there was the halftime gang - four of them. Collingsworth, Costas, Bettis and Sharpe. I actually was looking forward to hearing them say a few things, but they were limited in what they could say, because we had to cut away to some special halftime feature.

Are you kidding me? I don't want to cost anyone his job, but do they really need to pay all those guys, and then not use them?

And then it was back to the Michaels and Madden gabfest. Ever noticed how many times Madden says "I mean?"

*********** And then there was the commercial for Madden's newest video game, coming out soon. Chad Johnson and Daunte Culpepper duelling it out. And celebratin'. And Madden had the gall to stand up and tell us that eh still considered himself a coach! It'll be a cold day in hell before "Coach" Madden ever criticizes that fool, Chad Johnson for the sort of self-celebration that draws NFL football ever closer to pro wrestling. Johnson, after all, is his partner.

*********** The Quad Cities and the Wing-T family suffered the loss of a coaching great with the passing of Coach Jim Fox the former coach at Davenport Central HS. and AD at St. Ambrose University. Jim coached NFL players like Jamie Williams, Jim Jenson, Roger Craig, Curtis Craig etc. and lesser talents to success as well as influencing young Wing-T upstarts like myself. He will be sorely missed by two generations of coaches and players. Mark Kaczmarek, Davenport, Iowa

*********** Last year I successfully coached a 5th & 6th grade team to a 7-3 record. Toward the end of the season we went from a power wishbone to a double slot formation to help on the off tackle play. We had not thrown much during the year and defense began stacking the line against us. I called it the flexbone (which is what they call it at Rice) and also ran an inside belly option off of it, and an occasional pass to the split end which would go for big yards. However, we were not running the true double wing with zero splits, wedge play, pulling guard etc. We did run a counter to the full back up the middle with some success.

*********** This year I will be coaching a 3rd & 4th grade team. I feel that the true double wing will work well with this group and I have ordered your DVD. However, I was able to draft the biggest toughest guy in the league. I could put him at center and have a killer wedge, but I would also like to try him at full back where he could help on kick outs. At full back it would seem a shame not to run a traditional dive or counter play up the middle where he would wreck havoc. At 125 lbs he is twice the size of many of the 60 pounders in the league, there is no weight limit in this league.

To do this I would think I would need some line split, but not necessarily all across the front line. I could even just have the line split for certain plays. Even if the 3rd and 4th grade defenses were able to figure it out 1) what would they do to stop it? and 2) if they did move a bunch of guys inside when they saw some splits, I would think I could just have the QB fake the handoff to the fullback and follow the motion wing off tackle. I would assume I could still pull the guard. I have more size on the line than most with 13 of 17 players weighing 75 or better. League median is 75 lbs.

I can't coach your team, of course, and against younger kids you probably could do a few out of the ordinary things just to take advantage of what the bigger stronger running back can do.

There is, of course, the possibility that after they've seen you split, people will start to hit the gaps, and then you are going to find yourself designing a whole new offense. Or back to running mine.

Trust me - we have plenty of plays for the big fullback who can run, and we don't monkey with our splits.

*********** 16-13 Raiders, and the Vikings, in field goal range with under a minute to play, go instead for the touchdown. And the dolts in the broadcast booth applaud Vikings' coach Brad Childress for not wanting to play any more football. Yeah, good for him. Nobody made him pay the same price for this game as for all the regular-season games, like those poor chumps up in the stands.

*********** Whew. Did you catch Denny Green on the subject of Matt Leinart? I wish they could have put Metrosexual Matt, the Eli Manning of this year's draft, alone in a room with Green. And videotaped it.

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

I Have an Great Excuse for Maurice Clarett - Who Seems to Need One! (See"NEWS") Metrosexual Football Starts to Go Nationwide - as 7-on-7! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 12, 2006 - "I feel you lose an honest relationship with a kid when you teach him a dishonest act." Bob Reade, former Illinois HS championship and four-time NCAA Division III championship coach

*********** The first-run Reuters release on the British plane plot contains this non-sequitur paragraph:

"Following the arrests, security at all British airports was increased and additional security measures put in place for all flights. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has come under strong criticism at home and abroad for following the U.S. lead and refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

The security alert comes 13 months after four Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport network on July 7 last year."

Sounds like Reuters would like the story to be this: "Terrorists busted in plane blowup plot; British support of American policy blamed." What's interesting is that the article doesn't identify the race or religion of the alleged would-be hijackers, but feels the need to flag itself with two references to the Israel-Lebanon war.

I personally suspected Protestant grandmas were behind it. Between this and the missing Egyptian students, I am starting to get a little antsy. Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California

We can only pray that this doesn't result in - gasp! - profiling. We simply can't allow that to happen in the America we all love. Better to let a thousand young Islamic male terrorists into our country than subject even one of them to the harassment of being searched by security. Why, singling them out like that would mean that we're no better than the terrorists themselves. And as we've been taught for years now by our feel-good educationists, even if the terrorists are wrong - and who are we to say? - we mustn't stoop to their level.

Besides, it will be a lot easier to bring "freedom" to other nations around the world when we've less freedom to bring them - when we can show how sensitive we are to world opinion by curtailing our own freedoms, subjecting American grannies to airport pat-searches while allowing young, male Islamists to saunter past security.

As for those eight missing young Egyptians? Pshaw. I believe the FBI when they say they pose no threat, and you should, too. Hey - hasn't the FBI always been right on top of terrorism?

I fully accept the explanation that those young Egyptian fellas were just students, headed for Montana State. Bozeman, Montana is a small town, and it's awfully easy to get lost in America. Especially if you really want to.

Okay, okay - WHAT THE F--K WERE THEY DOING IN THE UNITED STATES?????

(Answer: I already know, and you should, too. They are known as "students of value," highly desired by colleges everywhere mainly because they pay full tuition. Cash. The colleges, never known for being very patriotic anyhow, gladly jeopardize our national security in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in tuition.)

*********** CINCINNATI (Aug. 8) - Cincinnati Bengals fans annoyed by bad behavior in the stands can now report it by cell phone. The hot line number should be easy to remember - (513) 381-JERK.

The team neglected to mention the hot line number for fans to call the next time one of the Bengals' players assaults someone, drives (or boats) drunk, gets picked up with an illegal weapon or resists arrest: (513) JACKASS

*********** "Thanks a lot, John, for selling your name for enormous sums of cash to a video game that transforms our sport from the bottom up by making NFL-style trash talking and celebration of self acceptable to millions of young American boys. Oh, and thanks too, John, for promoting one of the biggest reasons why kids don't take their fat asses outdoors any more and play real sports."

Coach Wyatt, Thank you for saying what needed to be said. Yes, there was a time that he was an excellent coach. But he sold his soul to the Devil a long time ago. Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina

*********** A friend of mine told me a story last week about Bill Yeoman, who after being let go at Houston was forced to hang around as some sort of "special assistant to the president" in order to get paid for the rest of his contract.

My friend said Coach Yeoman told a Seattle clinic about his experiences hanging around the administrators:

"It's not about success. It's about turf. It's about who's got the key to the men's room. These guys couldn't get a team out of the huddle."

*********** I'm helping a youth team put in the DW. I recall seeing in one of your NEWS items that you recommend now having the wingbacks facing straight ahead as opposed to angled...

It's not all that important how you have your wingbacks stand. In just the last day I have spoken with guys who have them (1) up and turned in at 45, (2) down and turned in at 45, (3) Up and shoulders squared up, (4) down and shoulders squared up.

Up or down, I like them squared up because I think it makes it a little easier for them to run quick-out patterns and to reach-block on men slightly outside them. But I'm really not sure how big an advantage it is.

The main thing is that they not line up too deep, and that they not be too tight - they must stay outside of the Tight ends, so that they have a better angle to get to inside LBers. And if they are turned in at 45, they should not turn in more than 45 degrees - you'll really have to stay on top of that.

*********** Lost in most of the stories about Maurice Clarett was the real explanation of why he was caught with four loaded guns in his SUV, including a semi-automatic pistol that he was sitting on, and another one described as an assault rifle. Yes, I know there are those who claim that he was suspiciously close to the home of a witness against him in his upcoming robbery trial.

But how many people knew of his plans to play for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, in the Eastern Indoor Football League, back in his home town of Youngstown? Nice name. Very tasteful logo. Looks as if it could have been designed with Clarett in mind.

Now - without charging his attorneys anything for the excuse - I'm going to suggest right here (you heard it first) that when he was picked up, he was actually on his way to an audition for the job of team mascot.

(Meantime, Hitmen coach and owner Jim Terry said that this latest arrest would not affect Clarett's status with his team. "I've seen far worse situations than this," he is quoted as saying. Holy sh--. Wonder where he's been coaching?)

*********** Did you catch the new NFL officials' shirts? No longer quite zebras, they look a bit more like soccer goalies. Wait till the weather gets colder and you see them in their long black trousers, looking for all the world like basketball or volleyball refs.

*********** http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2006/Sandersonbrains.html

That is a great summation of why soccer will never, ever, be a major sport in America - unless, that is, our overly-feminized public schools continue emasculating our boys.

*********** The article in the paper said that Justin Gatlin's "legal team" is working to get his drugging case thrown out. Did you catch that? These guys are making so much f--king money that they don't just have lawyers - they have legal teams.

*********** Matt Hayes, in SportingNews.com, listed what he called "the overall top 10 most intimidating stadiums in the nation... for one game and one game only."

You might be surprised at Number One. I know Autzen Stadium is noisy as hell, because the spectators are so close it's almost like Arena Football in front of 60,000 fans, but I suspect that its Number One ranking may be a reach... Also... somehow, I think that Beaver Stadium (Penn State), Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama) and Neyland Stadium (Tennessee) belong in there. Come to think of it, Clemson and South Carolina probably do, too. Can't say about Oklahoma or Texas or Georgia. It does seem to me I've seen Iowa fans right on top of the action, making a lot of noise. Michigan State probably belongs, too. Notice that other than Oregon, there's no one from the Pac-10, and there's not likely to be one unless Washington can manage to get it cranked back up again.

1. Autzen Stadium, Oregon
2. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida

3. Kyle Field, Texas A&M

4. Tiger Stadium, LSU

5. Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State

6. Ohio Stadium, Ohio State

7. Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech

8. Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn

9. Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame

10. Memorial Stadium, Nebraska

*********** Hi Coach, We have started to implement our Double Wing plays and I am very happy with the progress we have made in a short period of time. The kids seem to be picking the system up fairly quickly. My question, now that we have started to implement the plays, 88/99 power / 2 wedge, 6-G, Super Powers, 47-C, criss cross, Red Red, 88 G Reach, as we run this as a team, what specifically as a coach should I be keying on as we run each play and rep it over and over. Are there certain things I should be concreting on: lineman and backs? Without looking at the development of the entire play, what can I do to concentrate on individual players? Any advice would be helpful. P.S. the videos and seminar I attended were worth a million dollar's and have proven to be what I believe in the success in implementing the double wing. Sincerely, John Nigro, Jr. Midget Head Coach South Valley, San Jose, California

I would suggest looking at Dynamics of the Double Wing again, over and over, with the playbook open in front of you. Every time you look at a football tape, you see something new. And, my video, "Troubleshooting," is helpful in this regard.

Since you can't watch an entire play, I suggest focusing on the point of attack. In the case of Super Power, for example, that would be the blocks of the Tight end, wingback and B-Back. If they don't get their blocks, you have no play. If they get their blocks and the play still doesn't work, you may be able to use your intuition to figure out what may have gone wrong. You will find that you get better and better at this once you get a better grasp of how the system works.

*********** Could you possibly answer the one question now that I have in general about interior blocking. For uncovered lineman who may be thinking to double team unless they get a blitzing LB, or similarly a center who may have a NT on him but may also want to cover for a pulling guard who has a LB over him, how should he handle that block. Should he engage and look to switch, or stay home (delay) and check his or his buddy's gap before engaging? Keep in mind they are 7-graders.

It sounds as if you are talking about, say, an uncovered offensive tackle against a 4-3.

His basic rule is Gap -On- Area

1) If there is a man in your gap, block him

(2) if there is a man ON you (not a LBer, but a DL), block him

(3) If Neither (1) or (2), block the first threat from your outside shoulder toward the backside, which could mean double-teaming with the TE (if there's a man on your outside shoulder) keeping an eye on any LBer, a LBer blitzing, a man on your guard slanting toward you, a double-team with the guard, or the first LBer inside.

Essentially, it means "don't vacate your area until you're sure nothing's coming." The faster he can recognize this, the better, and he'll get better with time, but the main thing is that he doesn't go hauling right out of there and leaving a gap in the front.

In truth, if he just stays there and chops his feet, he won't do you any harm, because his main function is not to allow any penetration.

*********** For some reason, a couple of old radio ads came to mind and I couldn't get them out of my head. We'll never hear them again, because they were ads for - ohmigod - chewing tobacco, but I couldn't help thinking how much better off we'd be if we canned today's feminist-leaning educationists and taught our boys these little jingles and what they mean...

My daddy was

A mighty fine man;

He taught me a thing or two:

"When you fight, it's to win...

"When you're right, don't give in...

"And Beechnut's the tobacco you chew!"

----------------

My daddy was

A mighty fine man;

He taught me a thing or two:

"Scared money don't win...

"Evil women drink gin...

"And Beechnut's the tobacco you chew!

*********** It was the late Howard Cosell who gave us the term "meaningless game." Until he came along and brought judgmentalism to sports viewing, we were all just a bunch of rubes who were happy to be able to watch games on TV, content in the belief that players really wanted to win. And then he began to plant in viewers' minds the idea that if there wasn't something really significant at stake - the King's testicles, say - it was just a "meaningless game." Which to me always begged the question - then why are we watching, and why, if it isn't worth our watching, should they be paying you, Howard, to broadcast it?

So when Troy Aikman, doing the Rams-Colts game Thursday night, referred to it as a "meaningless game," I laughed like hell when Joe Buck, as if the director had just jumped into his ear (which he undoubtedly did), came right back with, "By 'meaningless,' I think you mean 'meaningless' in a way that's still compelling to watch..."

*********** Like a tree falling in the middle of a forest, if a play takes place in the middle of a sideline interview, does it really happen? We've only had two games televised so far, on two different networks, and already it's obvious - unless you like listening to blather, it's going to be a long NFL season. The first game was on NBC and it was Michaels and Madden and blah, blah, blah and sideline interview after sideline interview, right over the game action. Thursday night it was Fox, and more of the same - Pam Oliver on the sideline talking to La'Roi (love that spelling) Glover while an interception took place, scarcely noticed. Unless ABC/ESPN changes the formula, it isn't going to get better. The network guys aren't going to like this, but my suggestion for more enjoyable watching of NFL games is to turn down the game audio and listen to HGTV instead.



*********** It may just be a matter of time before it dawns on some genius that in today's Metrosexual Football, linemen aren't really needed any more...

I read recently in USA Today that there is a growing trend toward 7-on-7 passing tournaments around the country, somewhat on the order of AAU basketball tournaments.

It is true Metrosexual Football. Guys can wear their sexiest "performance gear." It is all passing, and nobody gets hit - not quarterbacks, not wide receivers. The quarterback simply must throw the ball within a certain period of time or he is "sacked." Whoa. Scary.

There is no running game, which is just as well, since it is looked on as a necessary evil by most modern offenses, anyhow.

And there's absolutely no need for linemen. Offensive linemen? Just keep lifting and eating, fellas, and we'll see you in the fall, when we have to let you play (the rules say we have to have seven men on the line of scrimmage).

As for defensive linemen, all they do is rush in and hurt quarterbacks anyhow, and who wants that? Shoot, with 7-on-7 nobody ever rushes the quarterback, let alone touches him. Why, with those stupid lineman out of the way, a quarterback can stand back there and throw, the way God meant him to.

From a quarterback's point of view, 7-on-7 is better even than touch, because in touch they're still allowed to rush the passer.

*********** The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on the NFL's "points of emphasis" this season, one of which - hold onto your seat - will be - are you sitting down? - offensive holding.

The NFL video that players watched every year said that officials will throw the flag when a blocker "materially restricts, alters the path, grabs or hooks" a defender.

Yeah. Next, the NBA will announce a crackdown on traveling. And palming the ball.

"Materially restricts?" Nearest I can figure, that means that a guy's only holding if he gets caught with a piece of "material" - a defender's jersey - in his hand.

*********** Nothing wrong in my opinion with the man chosen to be new NFL Commissioner. It's a tough job, and it was probably best to hire someone who already knows what it's like on the inside.

Still... like one of those schools that hauls you and several other guys in for a series of interviews in front of a pompous "search committee" and then goes ahead and hires as it new coach the in-house candidate, the guy who was probably wired for the job in the first place, the NFL jerked the chains of several well-qualified men and then went ahead and hired as its new commissioner the right-hand man of outgoing commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

*********** The honeymoon may be over at Notre Dame. Sounds as if the arrogance that comes with having your own TV network (Notre Dame coaches love to tell recruits that if they come to Notre Dame, every game they play will be on national television) may be having its effect on coach Charlie Weis...

Al Hamnik writes in the Northwest Indiana Times

SOUTH BEND - Charlie Weis is as blunt as a butter knife when he warns the media: "Just follow protocol. That's all. Follow protocol."

Jump when he yells JUMP! Don't second-guess, sneak around, or be a distraction. Then, and only then, can you expect player accessibility and a sound working relationship with the football department. Disobey his wishes, pay him no mind and you're treated like a leper, banished from the pressbox.

It's Charlie's way, or the closest you'll get to Irish football is the car radio. Behind the scenes, away from cameras and tape recorders, we're told he's got the people skills of a prison guard. And a temper to match.

What's so frustrating is that Weis can be genuinely charming one moment, a tyrant the next. He had that split personality as an NFL coordinator with the Jets and Patriots, and continues to irritate other coaches at Notre Dame with his moody nature and short fuse.

A large number of alumni reportedly are upset by his behavior. As long as the Irish win, they'll bite their lip. But if the program struggles, his critics will multiply like roaches.

Did you catch that last paragraph? Guy's been there a little over a year and he's already got "a large number of alumni" pissed off - "upset by his behavior."

Memo to Charlie Weis: Win, Charlie, Win. A lot. In fact, win 'em all. Win everything. The alumni demand it and, more important, NBC demands it.

It's the only thing that will save you. They didn't even dislike Tyrone Willingham, and you saw how fast they got rid of him. They can do the same to you. Come across as NFL-arrogant and win, and they will tolerate you. But win. Big. Fail to win big, and they will chew you up and spit you out and never even know you were there.

*********** After the first day - I think I took a pretty positive approach, they seem to respond better than last year's kids...so I must be making progress there. Our other coaches are ultra negative from the git go constantly rubbing in the kids 1-6 season as 7th graders. (before practice even started) How do I counter act this while maintaining my role as a assistant? Should I point it out in private to the HC?

Coach- There have been far too many examples of kids having a bad season one year and a good one the next. In many cases, the difference is coaching - and the coaches' expectations of them. If they are not given the chance to show that this is a new year, no one should be surprised if they go 1-6 again. I would say talk to the HC. Head it off right now. Those kids will play up the staff's expectations, high or low. HW

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

I Really Think Madden is Sick! (See"NEWS") All-Star Teams Don't Do So Well in Football! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 8, 2006 - "Our present generation is on the brink of moral insanity." Rush Limbaugh

*********** Coach Wyatt, Congratulations on Master Wyatt getting on the football team at Jordan. The high school is one of the top-ranked schools in the state, and their football program is very solid.

I don't think I've told you but I am now coaching middle school football. I am the Offensive Line Coach and Special Teams Coach for the Rogers-Herr Rams. It is a unique situation in that six Durham Eagles coaches will be coaching there. Rogers-Herr offered the head coaching job to Chuck Brown (our PeeWee head coach). Chuck asked Tony Creecy (our Junior Midget head coach) to be his Offensive Coordinator and me to coach, as well. My own Defensive Coordinator for the past 4 years (Vince Bynum) who also happens to be a police officer, was added to the school's staff as their "Resource Officer" (the cop on the premises), and two other Eagles assistants have come with us. It's got to be unusual for a middle school to take on a group of youth football coaches, en masse. I imagine it's also rare to come into a brand-new football coaching situation, where I already know all of the coaches. I believe there is one holdover from the previous staff who seems happy to be a liason until we get adjusted. The school itself has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation which includes a brand spanking new football field. Everything is new this year (helmets, uniforms and such). We don't begin practice until August 17, although voluntary conditioning and workouts commence on Monday. Yesterday, we had approximately 70 kids sign-up to play. I have no idea whether that's considered to be a lot. I do know that we will only carry 45. The school's football team has been down the past few years and was winless in 2005 and 2004. Should be very interesting.

On the other hand, none of us will be giving up our jobs as Eagles coaches. The schedules (while full), don't conflict, so we can do both. But let's face it, that's A LOT of football to teach. On the other end of the spectrum, my Eagles team started practice on August 1. So we are off and running.

My best to you and Connie and again, congrats to young Wyatt.

Sincerely, Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina

*********** Still torn over the Mac vs PC thing. Was set to buy the MacBook Pro then I read all these awful things about it and the software. It overheats, no software written yet, battery life,etc.

One of my assistants is a videographer by trade. Swears by the PC. Said that the PC has "caught up to Macs". That there are many PCs as good as Macs now to produce video.   Now I see this tablet thing that has tilted me back toward the PC. Shoot coach I wish the Mac Book Pro would have come out a with a little better design and I would not be here. Thoughts?

I'm not going to tell you to take the leap, but....

I haven't heard a single negative thing about the new (Intel chip) Macs. I get all my info from Walt Mossberg, tech editor of the Wall Street Journal, who considers PCs to be far inferior to Macs.

Not to say that your friend can't be right, but as I understand it, Mac is still the standard for video and graphics pros; and for non-pros, I seriously doubt that you could take any PC out of the box - ANY PC - and be up and editing video within 30 minutes or less. With a Mac and iMovie (included with the purchase), you can be.

In more than nearly 20 years of working with Macs exclusively, I have never for one minute regretted it. Macs are so freaking easy to use, and with the current operating system I have to work to make it crash. If a program crashes, I can quit it without having to quit everything else and reboot.

Mac stores have sales and tech people who really care about the product, and I can often get help from my local Mac store just by calling.

With Microsoft Office for Macs, I can send and receive anything I need from PC users.

My current laptop is now more than three years old and although the newer ones are faster, it is great otherwise. It is my 5th Mac laptop, and my next one will be a Mac, too.

*********** As you know we started a brand new club this year. As part of my duties I went to say hello to the cheer squad that was having their clinic this week. I welcomed them and then asked them if they wanted to run one play. They did. So I put 11 girls in a wedge formation and handed it off to a "B" back and let them run it. Man, were they having fun!!! I told them if they remembered one play this season to remember the wedge and to call it out every time we ran it. John Torres, Castaic, California (GREAT idea! HW)

*********** You mentioned Blogs/Boards in todays' News. I admit to reading them but I never post in 'em. It seems to me that too many of the guys/coaches that frequent the boards are young, know-it-all types. You have any experiences like this? Matt Bastardi, Montgomery, New Jersey I haven't visited one in quite some time. I simply can't believe that people whose inexperience I am well aware of are dispensing advice to others - and that others, unaware of the credentials of the supposed experts, are lapping it up. I would just as soon recommend a guy go online for medical advice.

*********** Todd Bross wrote me about Fly-T football, and sent me an article from American Football Monthly-

http://www.americanfootballmonthly.com/Subaccess/Magazine/1999/Dec'99/drill3.html

The article credits Hamp Pool with inventing The Fly.

I wrote back, The Fly is very sound.

Believe it or not, Hamp Pool's book, "Fly T Football", was my first coaching resource, and it is still one of my favorite books.

When I was injured my senior year in college and I volunteered to coach our house (dorm) team - tackle football - I found it in the library, checked it out and used it as my guide. It was side-open football, unlike the stodgy belly-T I knew from the varsity. (Being young and ignorant, that was my thinking then.)

What a thrill it was to put something in and see it work! I was hooked.

This article I wrote on Hamp Pool originally appeared on my NEWS page on 7-21-2000

Hampton Pool and his Influence on the Pro Game

The 1950 Los Angeles Rams scored 466 points in 12 games. Subsequent teams may have scored more points, but they needed more games to do it, and the 1950 Rams' average of 38.8 points per game remains an NFL record. The Rams finished 9-3 and were certainly good enough to win the NFL title under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances - this was 1950, the first year of the merger between the NFL and the AAFC, and the Cleveland Browns, in their first year in the NFL, defeated the Rams in a thrilling championship game. The following year, the Rams turned the tables and won what was - until 1999 - their only NFL title, defeating those same Browns. The head coach of those Rams teams was Joe ("Jumbo Joe") Stydahar, but the brains behind the offense belonged to the backfield coach, Hampton (Hamp) Pool, and the offense was what he called his Fly T, a radical departure from the game everyone else played in that he normally employed two running backs rather than the usual three, and three wide receivers, rarely using an "end" (what we now call a Tight End).

Pool had an interesting background as a player. In his eight-year career, four years as a collegian and four as a pro, he played every position except center. After his freshman year at Cal, he played two years at West Point before returning to the coast and finishing up at Stanford (!) where he earned All-Pacific Coast honors. (There can't be too many guys who have played on both sides of the bitter Stanford-Cal rivalry.) He played four years with the Chicago Bears - he was one of nine Bears to score a touchdown in the historic 73-0 championship game win over the Redskins in 1940 - but left to serve in World War II as a "frogman" in the Navy's Underwater Demotion Team (now the Seals). While in the Navy, he also coached the 1944 Fort Pierce team to a perfect 10-0 season.

Following his discharge, he coached with the Miami Seahawks and Chicago Rockets or the AAFC and at San Jose State before joining the Rams in 1950 as Joe Stydahar's offensive guy. But when the 1952 Rams lost their three exhibition games and their regular-season opener 37-7 to the Browns, Stydahar was let go, and replaced with Pool. Pool rallied the troops, and in his rookie season as a coach, the Rams won their last eight games to finish 9-3, losing to Detroit in the conference playoffs. (Those Detroit teams of Buddy Parker in the early-to-mid 50's are a whole 'nother story; Detroit, which also finished 9-3, defeated Cleveland to win the NFL title.) Pool's '53 Rams were 8-3-1, but he committed the then-unpardonable sin in Los Angeles of losing twice to the San Francisco 49ers, who finished 9-3. The Rams' only other loss was to champion Detroit. The 1954 Rams fell to 6-5-1, and in 1955, Hamp Pool was gone and Sid Gillman was their new coach. During the five years that Hamp Pool coached the Rams' offense, it averaged nearly 31.5 points and 416 yards per game, but he never became a head coach again. He worked as an assistant in the NFL and the CFL, and headed up the NFL's first scouting combine, made up of the Rams, 49ers and Cowboys.

What teams the Rams had back then! What players! What excitement! What glamour! Stars? How about the original Number 7, Bob Waterfield, a local UCLA boy, at quarterback? He could run and pass and he was the Rams' place kicker. Oh, yeah - and he was married to actress Jane Russell, a sultry brunette who at the time was considered Hollywood's Number One sex goddess (not that the term was used then). Or maybe you were one of the many L.A. fans who preferred Waterfield's alternate, Norm Van Brocklin, two years out of Oregon and strong of mind, arm and mouth. It is possible that no NFL team has ever had a more talented pair of quarterbacks. And, of course, with a pair of talented quarterbacks went a quarterback controversy. In fact, the term "Quarterback Controversy" may have been invented right there in Los Angeles in the 1950s, but while it may have seemed to be a problem in the minds of the fans and the news media, Hamp Pool never let it interfere.

It is also possible that no team has ever had a more talented group of receivers and runners than those Rams of the early 50's. The receivers included Bob Boyd, NCAA 100-yard dash champion; Glenn Davis, Army's "Mr. Outside," who caught 42 passes in 1950; Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, converted from running back to a Hall-of-Fame wide receiver in Pool's system; another Hall-of-Famer, Tom Fears, who once caught 18 passes in a single game.

Not that Pool's offense neglected the running game. Runners? There was fleet Skeets Quinlan to go with the big men, bruising runners and blockers dubbed the "Bull Elephant" backfield. They were Dick Hoerner, Paul "Tank" Younger, first in a long line of NFL stars from Grambling, and a hard runner from little Washington and Jefferson, Dan Towler, nicknamed "Deacon Dan" because he was also a Baptist preacher.

Hampton Pool left a permanent stamp on the NFL with his brand of football and the way it set the pro game apart from the colleges of that time. It was entertaining football and the fans loved it. As is so often the case in American entertainment, Southern California was way ahead of the rest of the nation: in the 1950's, while NFL teams struggled in some places, the Rams and Pool's exciting offense drew several crowds in excess of 80,000 to Memorial Coliseum.

(Coach Pool also wrote "Fly T Football," - Prentice-Hall, 1957 - which in some ways inspired me to become a coach. I was injured most of my senior year in college, and when I was asked to help coach our house's intramural team - believe it or not, we had intramural tackle football at Yale - I realized how little three-plus years of playing running back and defensive back had taught me about the rest of the game. I went to the library and grabbed everything I could on the topic of football, and Hamp Pool's book grabbed me right away. This was great stuff! It was wide-open, and it was exactly what the pros were running - so unlike the full-house-T stuff I'd been playing. So I absorbed the book, and installed a few of Hamp Pool's plays - and they worked! Only another football coach can understand the excitement of that first time you give a bunch of guys a play and then watch them run it - successfully.)

One final note: When opposing offenses began copying the Rams, Coach Pool applied his thinking to the defensive side, and came up with a solution: zone coverage!

One really final note: Coach Pool had to get a great deal of satisfaction from the 1955 College All-Star Game. In those days, the defending NFL champion met a team of college all-stars (in effect, the top incoming rookies) in a charity game in Soldier Field. Traditionally, the more experienced, more cohesive pro champions handled the rookies. But in 1955, all-star coach Curly Lambeau (the Lambeau in Lambeau Field), assisted by Steve Owen, Hunk Anderson and - yes - Hamp Pool, defeated the Cleveland Browns, 31-28. They did it running Hamp Pool's Fly T - with two weeks' preparation.

*********** Best time of year is finally here! Anyway, quick question, how much time do you recommend or have you used in the past with regards to chalk talk sessions. Do you find this to be helpful for youth teams (11-13 year olds) helping to diagram and explain plays? What are your thoughts?

Coach, Not all kids learn from those sessions, but some do, so to a limited extent they are useful in teaching. But I would keep them really short, and just try to get one or two things across to them, and then get them out on the field.

I find that "chalk talks" grow more useful as the kids understand more of what they're doing.

*********** Watch out for this bunch...Cascade Christian, of Puyallup, Washington (that's "pyew-OLL-up", home of NFL quarterbacks Billy Joe Hobert and the Huard brothers Damon and Brock) is a small school. It is Class 1-A, but because of travel considerations it "plays up", in a 2-A league. Still, in 2005, it finished 9-3 and made it to the state quarterfinals.

A lot of its kids are returning, which ought in itself to be enough to make Cascade Christian bear watching, but then there's this - a friend of mine who's an AD up that way told me that at one of their track meets this past spring, a fight broke out in the stands among team members.

The fight was over who'd been working hardest in the off-season to get ready for football.

*********** Coach -My Knowledge is basic Football 101, I pretend NOT to be a Hugh Wyatt, Matt Durgin,John Dibiaso, Jack Welch or Billy Hamor, but was that Maryland guy a complete F**kin A**hole Rag-timer ? I do think Im smart enough to figure out The basic Axioms of Football have Not changed in 100 +years, That Team that is better condition, the teams that Block & Tackle better,the team that is better prepared, and the team that will make the fewer mistakes will most likely win.

Why are A**holes like that Maryland guy so hung up and obsessed, On preparing kids for the "next level" ? If the young man is a good enough Athlete to play at that so-called "next level", I have great Confidence that the coaches at the "next level " be it 1-A,1-AA,II,III,JUCO will coach and prepare the kid properly to play in any Offense or defensive system they are running at the so-called "next level ", again this is the Sunday influence creeping in on the High School Level.

And again Not to Keep Bitchin, But What is Up with this B**LL S***T that Div. 1-AA wants their name changed because they feel inferior ? Don't they know they have a nice little niche and they have some-what of a brand name, that an entire generations of Fans have grown up with? Why Kill a Good Thing ?

Have a Good week Coach, I gotta go get my commemorative Big Dig Life-Jacket, Hard-Hat, scuba mask, and that 's just for driving through one of the Tunnels LOL !!!

John Muckian Lynn, Massachusetts

*********** Hello Hugh, Hope your season gets off to a great start. We've already put in one week of practice, Florida started on July 31st, and the team is looking very good.

I also wanted to share an update of our Black Lion Winner of two years ago, Steve Hehir, who you featured in the July 26, 2005 NEWS. Steve passed up several nice college scholarships (football and academic!) to instead join the US Army. Steve graduated from basic and has already gone through and graduated from Airborne school, getting placed in the famous 82nd Airborne Division. He is currently at Fort Bragg, North Carolina waiting for orders but stopped by our school recently to visit. He also gave me my own AIRBORNE T-shirt!

Steve was a great kid, a great leader, and a great player for us, and he has continued that same path as a young man. As a dominating Offensive lineman, Steve played at about 265 pounds but has sculpted himself into a rock hard 210 pounder who now jumps out of airplanes. As you know, General Jim Shelton and Steve Goodman present our Black Lion winner each year and both were very impressed when I shared Steve's accomplishments with them. As I said in his nominating letter a while back, he is certainly everything you think of when you hear the expression, "The Best and the Brightest." I also think Steve is a great example of the the quote frequently used to describe the men of the 82nd Airborne. It was said in answer to the question of defining Courage. Courage, it was said, those are the guys who were afraid to go, but they went anyway. Thanks for your part in developing the Black Lion award, and thank you for what you have done for our program and our players.

Your old Van Port Thunderbird receiver

Jake von Scherrer, Coral Springs Christian Academy, Coral Springs, Florida

*********** It was worth watching the Nascar 400 Sunday just to catch the BK Chicken Fries commercial.

*********** Hi Coach, Glad to have you back on the west coast. Were you home for the earthquake? My oldest son is going to school in Portland and called us. He went through two quakes here at home in the early 90's.

I hope the US team realizes how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to listen to true team players. It's obvious that what Coach K learned as a player and then as a coach at West Point are lessons that are for life. Maybe HR-C (Hillary Rodham Clinton) should have been part of the audience. Her lambasting of Rumsfeld on the tube was comical. Is she from Portland?

I have a comment about feeder programs. In my nineteen years of coaching high school sports the only thing I expected of my so called feeder programs was to teach the kids to be a team player first, respect each other, respect the opposition and respect the game officials. The greatest compliment for me was people expressing there appreciation on how my teams conducted themselves on and off the field or court.
Respectfully, Norm Barney, Chiloquin High School, Chiloquin, Oregon (Good points on the feeder program - just ask them to do what their parents haven't been able to do yet and teach them the three simple Bill Parcells lessons - 1. be on time, 2. pay attention and 3. work hard. HW)

YOUR NCAA AT WORK, STANDING UP EVERYWHERE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE UNDERDOG...

Like a classic bully, the NCAA, scared to death to take action in areas that really matter (such as the hundreds of "student-athletes" who make a mockery of higher education by taking (sometimes even attending) fluff courses, who collect pay for "working" at nonexistent "jobs," mysteriously manage, without any sign of a job or a rich daddy, to drive luxury cars, and terrorize campuses with their late-night thuggery), keeps distracting us by going after weaker victims. This time it's William and Mary, for - who could possibly make this up? - the two feathers on the above banner. Seems the NCAA sees them as "hostile and abusive."

"It boggles our minds that the NCAA would find objectionable what William and Mary does, and at the same time find acceptable what schools like Florida State University do," said William T. Walker, W & M's associate vice president for public affairs, referring to FSU's use of spear-wielding "Chief Osceola" during football games.

"Perhaps it is the absurdity of judgments like these that is causing the U.S. Congress to consider taking this matter out of the hands of the NCAA," Walker said. "The Speaker of the US House of Representatives and several of his colleagues have introduced legislation that would forbid the NCAA from regulating mascots and nicknames."

Here's how much I despise the NCAA - for once, just once, I actually find myself rooting for Congress. (Did I really say that?)

*********** Although life among the Libs can get aggravating out here on the Left Coast, it is not without its humorous moments.

Take the letter to one of our local papers, almost certainly written between drags on a silly cigarette...

"Can you imagine what an incredible amount of good could be done and what life would be like if the people of the world stopped fighting each other. celebrated our differences, and listened to each other?"

Why, yes, I can. I really can. And, oh - as long as you're here - let me show you the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

*********** Rayfield Wright impressed me when in his acceptance speech he mentioned a poem, "The Road Not Taken," that he remembered from eighth grade. He said it had served as a metaphor for his life. Actually, it did the same for the poet himself, and for many others of us whose lives have taken "less-travelled roads." The poet, not mentioned by Mr. Wright, was Robert Frost, one of my favorites.

*********** If the first NFL game on NBC is any indication of the kind of season we have to look forward to, expect the games to be mere backgrounds for the real stars - the broadcast crew and the sideline interviewers. We weren't even through the first quarter of the new NFL pre-season and already, Michaels and Madden were BS-ing in the booth about Mrs. Reggie White, oblivious to the action of the field, when a Raiders' interception jarred them back to the reality that there was an actual football game going on down there - and they actually had to stop and call a game.

Question: How do you expect to trick viewers into thinking that a game is worth watching when your own announcers obviously don't think so?

*********** Boy, for a guy who makes an incredible living speaking into a microphone, John Madden sure is a terrible public speaker, an even bigger blowhard when he's standing up in front of a crowd than he is in the broadcast booth.

And if I may make a special addendum to Al Davis' induction speech for the Great Gasbag...

"Thanks a lot, John, for selling your name for enormous sums of cash to a video game that transforms our sport from the bottom up by making NFL-style trash talking and celebration of self acceptable to millions of young American boys. Oh, and thanks too, John, for promoting one of the biggest reasons why kids don't take their fat asses outdoors any more and play real sports."

I actually heard him say, "I still consider myself a coach."

Nice try, John. Yes, you were a coach - once - and a good one. But if you still consider yourself a coach, how about proving it by not encouraging kids to taunt and trash talk in your f--king video game?

*********** I don't know who the Official Sculptor of the NFL is, the guy who did those Hall of Fame busts we saw Saturday, but with the exception of Reggie White's, they were so crude and unlife-like that they reminded me of three-dimensional versions of those pastel-on-paper portraits that New Orleans street artists will do while you wait. I was laughing at one particularly bad rendition, saying, "Who the hell is that supposed to be?" and my wife, laughing along with me, said, "Except for Reggie White, if you looked at the other five, I'm not sure you could put any of them with the right people."

(For what it is worth, the story is that the late Walter Payton too one look at his, and insisted on a do-over.)

*********** I guess it was a little cute the first time, when Madden mentioned in his acceptance speech that maybe, after the lights went out for the night, the Hall of Fame busts talked to each other. But then he brought it up again on TV the next night, the way some people, when they tell a lame joke and you didn't laugh at it, will tell it again, figuring it was so funny that the only reason you didn't laugh the first time was because you didn't hear it. So he kept telling it. And Al Michaels, to his discredit, kept egging Madden on. And after telling it a few more times, Madden began to sound as if he was serious, as if he actually believed in the ability of bronze busts to come to life. Funny the first time. Creepy after that. Is he sick?

*********** Don't know what you know about Communism and collectives, but watching the USA-China basketball game Monday night, I did think it kind of weird to see "State Farm" signs around the arena.

*********** Former Nebraska great Turner Gill is getting ready for his first game as a head coach, but as much as I want him to be successful, his fate appears certain, dictated by the Law of the Black College Coach. That law seems to state that while there will be Division I-A jobs open to black coaches, they will be the most marginal of jobs - Temple, San Jose State, New Mexico State, to name a few - where the odds are stacked against them, practically guaranteeing that they will not be moving up in the profession. In Turner Gill's case, the opportunity is at Buffalo, where, with Auburn, Boston College and Wisconsin on the schedule this year, his first year will be especially tough. They've added Penn State to the mix in 2007. Makes you wonder if somebody is out to get the guy.

*********** My wife and I caught "Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" during its first showing in Camas, and I laughed my ass off. It is essentially a sendup of the NASCAR stereotype - its redneck roots and its blatant commercialism - but not of the actual sport. Although I am not hard-core NASCAR, I am something of a fan, and I sense that there's enough in it for the hard-core folks to like, with some pretty good racing action. Best of all, from NASCAR's point of view, you don't have to be a NASCAR fan to enjoy it, and I suspect that it is going to do a lot to increase the sport's popularity. Will Ferrell is great as driver "Ricky Bobby," and British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his character "Ali G," does a great job as Jean Girard, a gay French (redundancy?) Formula One driver who winds up on the NASCAR circuit. I know that kids would love it, but it's fair to say that it is borderline acceptable on the basis of language and sexual content. On the other hand, based on most of the stuff I see on prime-time network TV, not to mention cable, it's downright wholesome, not even close to them in coarse language and suggestive sexual antics. I'm not going to ruin it for you by giving away funny lines or scenes, the way professional reviewers like to do, mainly because I wasn't taking notes.

*********** I have a hard enough time watching any all-star game under the best of conditions, but the latest fashion trend has pretty much clinched it for me - the one which calls for the players' helmets to look as if they've been hit by a tagger. Actually, they are covered with the assorted decals of their teammates, stuck on helter-skelter, to the point where you have no idea what his home school is. It's a practice that started a few years ago at some trivial post-season college all-star game, and now it's spread to high school all-star games.

I find the practice offensive on so many levels. First of all, not to imply that high school kids who play in these games don't take them seriously, but there are those of us who have seen enough of the annual is serious football.

And then there is the matter of who those helmets belong to, anyhow. Those kids in those all-star games are wearing their schools' helmets, lent to them for the occasion. Every player in the game won his all-star honors wearing his own school's helmet, one whose distinctive design often carries with it a great deal of meaning and tradition. It was a part of his team's uniform. Players owe it to their schools, and to the teammates who helped them win all-star honors while wearing that uniform, to wear one small portion of that uniform in the all-star game.

It is my strongly-held opinion that defacing the helmet with a random assortment of decals disrespects the school, the program, and the player's teammates.

*********** What assurances can the high school head coach give you that the positions your kids are playing as 11 & 12 year olds are the same positions they will be playing as 15-18 year olds?

Hugh, This guy is right on, and says it all.

As you know we coach Junior High kids. As a 12 year old 7th grader the player may be a Guard or End. When the same kid comes back the following year he may be your best running back.

This will be our HS coach's 3rd year, and it will also be the third offensive system he has run. I feel this bullsh-- of running the same O or D as the high school is just another excuse for not getting a job done. Teach the kids discipline, team work, how to block and tackle, and the rest will take care of itself. NAME WITHHELD

*********** I looked at the score - MLS All-Stars 1, Chelsea 0 - and I wasn't all that surprised. Not that I looked at the game, mind you - it was, after all, soccer - but the score told me all I needed to know about soccer's being a team game.

About football, too.

It could have happened in baseball. In pro basketball, too. In those sports, a team of individual stars will often beat a regular team.

But not likely in football.

So much of a team game is football that it is extremely rare for a collection of all-stars, no matter how talented, to beat a good team.

Take the late College All-Star game, once played in Chicago every summer from 1934 through 1976 as a charity game between the top college seniors from the year before (back then, everybody stayed in college until his eligibility was used up) and the defending NFL champions.) Those were truly college all-star teams, too - the best players played in that game. The top draft choices. The future Hall of Famers. Not only was it was a great honor to be selected, but for many years it was a rare chance for them to play on national television. (Not to mention in front of crowds of 110,000 or so in old Soldier Field.)

Up until the last few years of its existence, there were no agents advising players not to risk injury by playing. That would have been bad advice, anyhow, because with fewer NFL teams and much smaller rosters, making an NFL roster was no sure thing then, even for a first-round draft choice.

In the 42 College All-Star games played (the 1974 game was called off because of an NFLPA strike), the NFL champs won 33, the All-Stars nine.

And in the last 25 games, since 1951, the record was 22-3.

When the College All-Star game was discontinued following the 1976 game, various reasons were cited, including the teams' (and agents') reluctance to let their top rookies play,

But a major factor was the lack of competitiveness - the pros won the last 12 games in a row.

Only in football, a true team game.

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

Two Camps in the Heartland! (See"NEWS") Visits to Nebraska and Kansas State! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 4, 2006 - "One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been." Sophocles

*********** If your aim was to keep cool, Beloit, Kansas and Holstein, Iowa were definitely not the places to be last week. On the other hand, if your greatest joy is teaching the game of football to eager, hardworking young American men, coaching alongside enthusiastic fellow coaches, you couldn't have picked two better spots.

After years of visiting the Heartland and flying back home to tell my wife how neat it was and how great the people were, this year I drove, and brought her along. She stood out there in the heat with the rest of us, taping many of the drills, and came away as impressed with the area as I was.

At Beloit, Greg Koenig was starting out brand-new, after stints at Las Animas, Colorado and Colby, Kansas. Beloit, population just over 4,000, is a football town, with four state titles - including three straight in the mid-90s - to its credit.

Greg Koenig's hiring was a great fit, and it was an honor to be on hand to help him kick off his first summer camp.

In fact, I would venture to say that for a couple of days last week, the Beloit Trojans were the best-coached Double-Wing team in America. Helping Coach Koenig install the Double Wing were yours truly, plus Brad Knight, of Holstein, Iowa and Gabe McCown, of Piedmont, Oklahoma, two Double-Wing veterans. Add to that the returning Beloit staff members, who got on board and began coaching the offense faster than any first-time staff I've seen anywhere, and the teaching was impressive.

I was HOT, but one of the things that made the heat bearable was a homemade "mister," rigged up on the goal post crossbar to provide a cooling mist for the players to stand under.

Clearly, the Trojans will have a huge head start when formal practice begins August 14. After two-and-a-half days of work, they were beginning to look pretty sharp...

Almost as sharp as the Galva-Holstein Pirates, whose head coach, Brad Knight, has turned them into a western-Iowa power, with eight straight state playoff appearances.

After a morning workout at Beloit, Coach Knight and I hustled our butts over to Holstein, about six hours' drive east, for the kickoff of his camp. This was my fourth year working there with Coach Knight.

Numbers are down at G-H this year (there are only 6 boys in the 26-member freshman class, and only two of them are out for football), but Brad Knight has faced similar challenges in the past, and has always come up with a hard-to-stop attack. Having worked with this year's team , with a sophomore at the controls - the senior QB was off at an AAU basketball tournament - I was impressed enough to think that Coach Knight will surprise people with a ninth straight playoff team.

At both camps, we put extra emphasis on the fundamentals of stance and blocking - drive blocking, Double-teaming, wedging and scramble blocking (see "Virtual Clinic"), as well as pulling - and we saw some great things from the kids.
HOLSTEIN, IOWA - GALVA-HOLSTEIN HIGH - 8 STRAIGHT STATE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES!

The Galva-Holstein Pirates, taking the first step toward a ninth-straight playoff appearance

Coach Knight makes sure his TE and wingback know what call to make on Super-Power

Brad Knight (wearing his "Stones Tour" shirt) addresses the kids at the end of a hard, hot workout

An old coach with a QB of the future

Mark Cronin and Mrs. Wyatt. Mark's older brother was a Black Lion

The Galva-Holstein staff and one outsider

The back of the pressbox says it all!

BELOIT, KANSAS - A DOUBLE-WING COACH INHERITS A PROUD PROGRAM

The Beloit offensive linemen...

And the Beloit backs and ends

If you look carefully, you'll see the "mister" hooked up to the crossbar!

Getting ready to run a play - guys in the background stand under the mister

Coach Koenig and the man who made the mister

Coach Koenig introduces the players to his style of coaching

A little competition makes any camp fun!

That's four state titles up there on the press box wall!

The best damn Double-Wing staff in America - for two-and-a half days, anyhow.

*********** Hello Coach Wyatt, My name is -------. I purchased your Tackling video last year. I have a question for you. If my son's middle school football team is working on tackling drills, and the running back is running with his head down, how does the tackler make the tackle with his eyes up, while the ball carrier crown is coming right at him. Thanks

Number one- The tacker should be lower. Check his knees. If they are sufficiently bent, the runner would have to lean so far forward to hit with his helmet that he would fall on his face. Get down in a good breakdown position yourself and see how low a runner would have to get to hit you with the top of his helmet. Guaranteed he can't take three steps like that without falling on his face.

Number two- If your kids are making full contact, head-on, this is not a realistic drill. In actual games, most tackles occur at an angle, where the tackler is able to use his momentum and is not a stationary target. Few actual tackles occur head on, and fewer still where the tackler is a sitting duck, just waiting there while the runner is able to duck his head and deliver a blow. The purpose of tackling is for the tackler to deliver the blow, and this isn't going to happen if the tackler isn't moving into the runner. This does not sound like one of my drills. It sounds, instead, like a "Let's see who wants to hit" drill, whose purpose is not to teach better tackling but to amuse the coaches.

Number three- Somebody had better take that runner aside and tell him that if he continues to duck his head, his football playing career is going to come to an abrupt end - by the coach or, worse yet, by a serious head or neck injury.

In other words, I would watch those middle school coaches VERY carefully. My guess is that in their drills, neither of the kids knows exactly what to do, so they both duck their heads.

FOLLOW-UP----- Hello Coach Wyatt, I want to Thank You for your reply. The coaches at the middle school will put down some dummies where the ball carrier will have to stay inside the dummies making the drill head on causing the runner and tackler to duck their heads.Thank You

*********** I know you are busy, so I will make this quick. I am having trouble with the timing of the A-back and the B-Back on 5-x lead. The A-Back is getting to the Inside LB after the B-Back has hit the hole. How do I get the A-back on the inside LB before the B-back hits the hole?

The A-Back takes a small side step toward the B-Back with his right foot, not unlike his first step if he were running 56-C.

And the B-Back takes a big side-step to the left with his left foot, then goes when he's got the ball. (sounds like this might be your problem)

The QB takes the ball BACK to the B-Back. His first step is at 7 o'clock with his left foot, and then he stays on the hour hand - steps at 7 o-clock extended with his right foot - and hands off.

It does sound as if your B-Back needs to slow down a bit, and the big side step will do that!

*********** I would like your input on fumble recovery technique. I was taught the "scoop and roll" method. However at some of the clinic and training tapes (defensive) I see a lot of coaches prefer the "pick up", and try to advance method.  Their argument is that they turn a lot of fumbles into TDs. I still feel the "scoop and roll" is the more efficient and safest way to get and keep the ball. I will worry about advancing it with my O.

You and I are on the same page on this one. Call me conservative, but I have enough faith in my offense that all I want is the ball. I think it means we have a "punch a time card" rather than a "scratch a scratch card" philosophy, which would account for why we run the offense we do.

*********** The RB position keeps getting thinner in Seattle - JR Hasty may be academically ineligible and Kenny James has a broken arm, though he should be able to play. This could be real trouble. UW can't really rely on their overpowering passing game.

What I find amazing is how players keep getting themselves academically ineligible. I know going to college and playing football isn't easy, but with all the BS majors they have for athletes we're not talking about a West Point academic schedule. It's not like Hasty came out of a crappy high school in the 'hood.

Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California (It is essentially a matter of maturity - or should I say immaturity? Of course, with athletes' immaturity as a given, I have to place some of the blame on the University of Washington athletic department for not lining up enough compliant members of the faculty to assure athletes will pass their classes, whether or not they even attend (the way Auburn was doing until they got caught). Come to think of it, maybe because Auburn has been on a roll, its faculty members could be bribed with free tickets, whereas in Seattle, ticket demand for Huskies' games is now nonexistent. HW)

*********** John Schuhmann, on NBA.com, wrote about some very interesting motivational speakers Coach K brought in to speak to the NBA All-Stars he's assembled to be our "national team."

On Friday, Coach Mike Krzyzewski told his team that they would have a guest speaker at Saturday morning's team meeting. He didn't let them know who it would be.

It was actually four guest speakers. No, it wasn't a group of former dream teamers, imploring the current group to restore pride in USA Basketball. Instead, it was four members of the United States Army; three soldiers who had been severely wounded in battle and their commanding officer, Colonel Robert B. Brown [WP '81].

The Army recommended Colonel Brown speak to the national team because he played basketball at West Point in the seventies, but when it asked the Colonel to speak, the Army didn't realize that his coach at school was Mike Krzyzewski. And Coach K was more than his coach - he was the reason Colonel Brown was even in the military. A Michigan native, Brown had a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan and was planning on attending school in Ann Arbor. But Coach K saw Brown at Five-Star Basketball Camp and paid a recruiting visit to his house.

"I never even thought of being in the army," Colonel Brown said. But his father had been a Marine and seemed to like the idea of his son attending West Point. So, Brown visited the campus.

"When I did, I fell in love with it." Thus began what has been 29 years of service to date.

Captain D.J. Skelton is a West Point graduate and was an infantry platoon leader of the First Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Fallujah, Iraq. He was wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade and lost his left eye, while suffering major damage to both of his arms, his leg and his palate. He spent six weeks on life support at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. His experience, and that of his family, inspired D.J. to help other wounded soldiers and their loved ones. He is developing "The Hero Handbook", a guide for the process that occurs after a soldier is wounded, and serves as liaison to the Military Severely Injured Center in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "He's helping thousands of soldiers and their families every day," Colonel Brown said.
Captain Scott Smiley is also a West Point graduate and was a platoon leader as well. One day last spring, a suicide vehicle approached Captain Smiley and his Stryker vehicle. Scott stood his ground and fired several rounds at the vehicle, causing it to detonate before it could reach his soldiers. A piece of shrapnel hit him, causing him to lose both of his eyes. More than a year later, Captain Smiley still serves his country by speaking with soldiers and working on procedures for soldiers who are preparing to go to Iraq. He went through training to learn braille so that he could continue his military service.

"Even though he is blind, he wants to continue to serve his country so badly," Colonel Brown said. "That tells you so much about him."

Sergeant Christian Steele is a communications expert who was wounded by a suicide bomber. He took shrapnel in his neck and lost a finger on his right hand. While nobody expected him to return to duty, he was determined to do so. "I just wanted to be back with the team," Sgt. Steele said.

After three months of recovery, Sgt. Steele returned to Iraq and served another four months until his unit finished out its year-long tour.

"That's the whole selfless service to our country that you see every day in the great soldiers in our Army," Colonel Brown said.

Colonel Brown and his soldiers spoke to the players and coaches for an hour and a half. They told their stories and talked about being a team. Comparing sports with war is often discouraged, but Colonel Brown believes the comparison applies here.

"Of course, they got the greatest players in the world," he said, "but they're looking at the team and how they can make it the greatest team in the world."

The players heard the message loud and clear.

"It's incredible how you can compare what they're doing over there to basketball," Antawn Jamison said. "It's about teamwork, always having your fellow soldier or teammate's back and always uniting as a group."

Colonel Brown wasn't sure he'd have such a receptive audience. Before he came to Las Vegas, several people, aware of his audience, told him the millionaire NBA superstars wouldn't listen to his message; that surely these young players, without a care in the world, would rather be doing something else.

Not quite. The players were attentive and clearly moved as the soldiers spoke. They gave the Army members a standing ovation and hugged each one of them. And they have made a commitment to visit thousands of military personnel on their trips to Korea and Japan later this summer.

"We all know the importance of what our troops are doing," Jamison said, "but to actually hear stories that are so dramatic, it was definitely an eye-opener and something you take to heart."

"The people who said that they wouldn't care were absolutely dead wrong," Colonel Brown remarked. "I've talked to a lot of groups and the players were extremely attentive. They really listened and it really moved them."

After the team meeting, the soldiers accompanied the players and coaches to practice. Although the session was closed to the public and the media, they sat on the sidelines as part of an exclusive group allowed to observe Team USA at work. Colonel Brown, Captain Skelton and Sergeant Steele were able to watch, of course, but Captain Smiley got a special treat as well. NBA TV put microphones on Gilbert Arenas and Dwyane Wade and gave Scott a pair of headphones.

Throughout the practice, Arenas and Wade described the action to Scott, telling him about the dunk that LeBron had just thrown down or the hustle that Bruce Bowen had displayed in chasing down a loose ball.

In all, it was an uplifting experience for the soldiers, a chance to experience something that very few people in the world will ever be a part of.

"It was a big morale booster," Sergeant Steele said afterwards. "I feel really elated just to be here in their presence. It was a wonderful experience, something I never thought I'd be able to do."

If it weren't for Coach K, Colonel Brown would not have been in the military or in Las Vegas on Saturday. But it goes further than convincing Brown to attend West Point, as Coach K provided him with much more than a spot on the basketball team. He provided him with life lessons that have been applied and passed on to thousands of soldiers over the years. "Not a day went by -- where I was commanding 5,000 soldiers -- that I didn't use something that he taught me," Brown said.

And after 30 years and more than 700 victories, Coach Krzyzewski is still the same man who visited Colonel Brown at his Michigan home when he was in high school.

"He hasn't changed as a person, a wonderful human being and a great leader," Colonel Brown said. "I feel privileged to have had played for him, to have learned from him over these many years and to have him as a friend."

*********** Hi Coach, The comments in the last "News" on youth football as developmental for "the next level" is really a very sore point for me and a lot of other youth coaches. A variation on this theme of a youth program as a "next level feeder" for position development is an even sorer point that comes up with sad regularity on most football Forums - the issue of a varsity high school head coach wanting his system, terminology, etc. run on the youth level. Ironically, its almost always just the offense - very rarely do you have the same request for defense. When asked why the discrepancy, most high school coaches reply "Well, you don't see the offenses we do at the high school level", which to me is very justifiably answered by "Well, you don't see the defenses we do at the youth level."

The resulting "discussions" (to be polite) are usually very heated & passionate. The issue of youth coaches being volunteers and not financially compensated (below the 7th grade level that I am aware of) by the school district and/or varsity boosters invariable is mentioned. There are 3 basic assumptions about a program wide varsity system that render that argument worthless:

1) What assurances can the high school give you that particular head coach will be there in 3-4 years?

2) What assurances can the high school give you that particular head coach will be running the same system/philosophy/terminology in 3-4 years?

3) What assurances can the high school head coach give you that the positions your kids are playing as 11 & 12 year olds are the same positions they will be playing as 15-18 year olds?

If a feeder program sends aggressive, hard nosed kids with a strong foundation of basic football skills, who know how to sustain blocks fiercely, can tackle soundly and safely, plus have a winning attitude...a high school coach should be downright giddy.

If you are a high school varsity football coach and you are reading this, please, please know & remember:

"YOUTH FOOTBALL IS NOT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLAYERS FOR HIGH SCHOOL. YOUTH FOOTBALL IS FOR YOUTH TO LEARN, PLAY & HAVE FUN."

Todd Bross, Union, Maine (I believe that increasingly, youth football coaches are becoming proficient to the point where they know best what is best for their kids, not to mention that in return for all the work they put in, they are entitled to do a little coaching of their own, and not just be puppets of a high school coach.

I have been clear on this from Day One - send me kids who can block and tackle, who have good work habits and can take coaching, who love to play football.)

*********** My name is ---- -------, I am Eighteen years old and just graduated from ------- High School in Texas. I have played football for ten years now, four years in little league, two in middle school and four in high school. In addition to playing I have also coached little league for five years. Three in which I assisted and two which my dad took a head coaching position so I could run the show (due to my lack of age).

Last year my eleven and twelve year old all-star team was very successful in running various plays out of the Split, Wishbone and I Formations. However in every tournament we were dominated by the same team who seemed to be running your high powered Double Wing attack. In our best game we were outscored 45-18, always placing second.

I am now heading off to college were I have been giving an opportunity to be a student coach which will hopefully open up some doors afterwords. I am looking for a unique style of offense to keep in my back pocket for when I get out of college.  I am always trying to educate myself on both sides of the ball and the Double Wing Attack I ran into definitely struck my interest. My question is: Do you think the Double Wing will still be around with the same amount of success in five to six years? If so, Do you recommend buying every video or will your "Dynamics of the Double Wing Video and Playbook Combo" do the trick?

Nice to hear from you. It sounds as though you have plotted a good course to become a coach.

I can't say whether the Double-Wing is the "right" offense for you down the line, but it sure will teach you a lot of important principles of offensive football that most of today's young coaches never get, immersed as they are in today's pro-style offenses.

To answer your questions:

Yes, I believe the Double-Wing will be around in five years. It is not a fad, based as it is on some of the soundest principles of the game (such as Double-Teaming, Trapping, Misdirection). I have been running it in its current form since 1991 and I have seen it grow tremendously over the last 15 years. The best example of its growth is the number of guys - most of whom got started with my materials - now selling knock-off tapes of their own.

It will never be the Universal Offense, but it will be as effective as ever. What will assure its continued success is the absolute refusal of some coaches to take it seriously and find out why it works. Those are the guys who will be easy pickings for the Double-Wing coach.

I think you can get by with "Dynamics of the Double-Wing," the video-playbook combination.

*********** Arkansas' Best running back breaks his toe in a barfight in Little Rock at 4 in the morning. Some "student athlete."

The interesting thing to me is that these things we keep reading about are not "bar fights" in the old sense - in the sense that they are taking place in, or outside of, bars. They never happen at a place called Lefty's Bar and Grill. Invariably, we read that the "incident" took place in, or outside of, a "night club."

It has got to be an inner city thing.

I believe that the country boys go someplace to drink beer with each other, not to mingle with their posse.

(Actually, I can't imagine what kind of place would be open in Little Rock at 4 AM.)

*********** Watch out for Miami this year. The Hurricanes are back, Their arrest rate is nearly back to where it was in the Jimmy Johnson-Dennis Erickson days, when the Hurricanes were the motorcyle gang of college football. Rape, pillage, plunder and burn. And win.

*********** One of my grandsons, Wyatt Love, has turned out for football as a freshman at Jordan High, in Durham, North Carolina. This is his first shot at organized football - he's pretty much been a year-round baseballer - and he is loving it. He's been through summer camp and summer workouts, and he told me that the coaches have been very good about explaining things, and very patient with the young guys.

For those of you who might need another reason for eliminating hazing and working instead on developing a big brother-type of relationship between the veterans and the rookies, it didn't hurt my daughter's impression of the Jordan program when team captain Matt Little, a lacrosse teammate of Wyatt's older brother, Matt, stopped by their house and assured her that he'd look out Wyatt. Matt Little apparently is being recruited by the likes of Auburn, NC State, Florida and Tennessee.

Jordan had 133 players on the field for the first official practice Monday. 133 players! The large turnout can be partly explained by last year's 10-win season, in which Jordan made it to the third round of the state 4-A playoffs, but head coach Mike Briggs told the Durham Herald-Sun that a lot of the credit should go to the area's youth programs, specificaly mentioning the Durham Eagles, of which good friend and long-time coach Dave Potter is a major part.

*********** A Marine Corps sergeant under investigation in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha is suing Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania, claiming he defaming him in public comments about the case.

Lawyers for Sgt. Frank Wuterich, argue their that Murtha falsely accused Wuterich "of cold-blooded murder and war crimes."

The suit claims Murtha spread "false and malicious lies" about Wuterich and his squad that were "intended to serve his own private purpose and interests" and that Murtha's comments "have been reproduced by countless third parties throughout the world."

Said one of Wuterich's lawyers, Mark Zaid, "Congressman Murtha has created this atmosphere that has already concluded guilt. He's created this environment that really smells, and he's the only one who has done that."

I heard the obnoxious Rep. Murtha make those statements, and I would be happy to testify to that effect at the trial.

*********** Uh-oh. Sounds as if we may need some more sensitivity training... Apparently not all of the lefties' attempts to emasculate our soldiers have been successful. The lead paragraph in an LA Times-Washington Post Service news story on Thursday claimed that military prosecutors looking into the killing of three Iraqi detainees believe that certain of our unit commanders have "created an atmosphere of excessive violence." .Imagine. Violence. What do those commanders think this is, anyhow - war?

Why, I read, those insensitive monsters (males, no doubt), have encouraged this "excessive violence" through the use of "kill counts."

One commander is even said to have given orders to "engage and kill all miltary-age men."

On one bulletin board was posted the message, "Let the bodies hit the floor." Whew. Scary.

And one enlisted man, given immunity in return for his testimony, said he heard a Staff Sergeant tell soldiers who had just killed someone, "That's another terrorist down. Good job." Ohmigod

It's a shame that the Israeli Army is otherwise occupied. We would be a lot better off turning Iraq over to them and watching how an army fights when it doesn't have to answer to the likes of Ted Kennedy and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

*********** I have long known that most journalists are stupid. I mean, how can you know very much about the world around you and what made it what it is when you spent four f--king years majoring in something called "journalism" and then after graduation you became immersed in a career in which you are surrounded by others like you? It is not without good reason that "TV journalists" are referred to as "talking heads."

But even I was blown away by a replay of an interview with TV talking head Anderson Cooper, whose chief qualifications for his job seem to be that he is Gloria Vanderbilt's son, in which he said - no one could make this up - "what's been lost" in the coverage of the Middle East fighting is "just how anti-Semitic Hezbollah is."

Hezbollah? Anti-semitic? Now, despite all the rockets they;ve launched into Israel, who would have known they hated Jews?

Do you suppose somebody should tell Anderson Cooper that the Ku Klux Klan doesn't care for blacks?

*********** More derogatory stuff about rhe Double-Wing from a Maryland youth coach...

Seriously, I trash the DW because it is an offense designed in the same manner that AF's offense is designed. It doesn't take a lot of talent or a lot of time to implement and the hope is that defenses are not prepared because other teams don't run it. That is not football. I'm ready for Maryland football to take that next step and run offenses where you have to put in the time and where you have to get these athletes off the soccer field, lacrosse fields and basketball courts and get them playing football. If your high school running back runs a 5.1 forty, you have a problem. This aint Kansas fellas.

Funny that that a**hole braggart happened to pick Kansas. He's probably never been there, but It just so happens that I just spent a couple of days in Kansas, and even though it was at a small school, I'd like to take those kids to Maryland, to teach that guy a little something about respect. From what I've seen, those Kansas kids can hold their own anyplace. They will outwork - and hit with - any kids I've seen in any other part of the country. I suspect this guy's playing a reverse-racism game, since in the public's eye Kansas is mainly white, but don't anybody ever forget that Barry Sanders, maybe the best ever, is a Kansas kid.

*********** Rick Davis, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, writes that he's going to call his "strong right" formation "Reagan!" (Get it? Reagan- strong right?)

What a great way to honor the last American President with a real set of stones.

*********** Hugh, Are you kidding, farmers are every bit what you said and then some!

Given a choice, would I rather have a "metrosexual" flavor to my offense instead of a farmer? Definitely not!

Regards, Matt Bastardi, Montgomery, New Jersey

BTW, good show on the History Channel last night regarding the beer industry in this country. That and the heat here sure made me thirsty!

I never was very discerning about what brew I drank and since you're an expert, what's the diff between and lager and an ale?Interesting how the Germans brought beer to America. Pabst, Schlitz, MIller, etc..

The Germans revolutionized beer drinking in the US when they brought us lager beer, the light colored, light flavored brew which we now universally refer to in the US as "beer."

Before the arrival of the Germans in the mid-19th century, most malt beverages in the US were really what we would call ales, the malt beverages of choice in the British Isles, where most Americans then could trace their roots.

Only with the arrival of German beers (lagers) and the German beer-drinking culture (frowned on at the time by many still-puritanical Americans) did commercial brewing really take off. I'll wager that before the commercial brewing industry in the US was wiped out by Big Beer (Bud/Coors/Miller), ninety per cent of American brewing companies had German names.

Most brewing took place in northern climes, too, not only because that is where so many Germans settled, but also because in those days before refrigeration, ice on frozen lakes could be cut in the winter and stored year-round in insulated ice-houses. (Lager beer, even when the yeast has been filtered out or killed by pasteurization does not hold up well unrefrigerated.)

In general terms, malt beverages fit along a light-to-dark continuum - beer, ale, porter, stout. From the consumer's point of view, ales are heavier, darker, and higher in alcohol than beers (lagers), but not as heavy or dark as porters and stouts.

From the technical point of view, ales are made with "top-fermenting" yeast (yeast being necessary in the brewing process to convert the starches in the "wort" - the liquid made from boiling malted barley - into alcohol and CO2) rather than the "bottom fermenting" yeast used to produce beer.

Generally, too, ales are ready to drink almost immediately after fermentation, while lager (a word which appears to mean "to store") requires a longer period of time.

Confusing things even more is the term "Pilsener," deriving from the light, pale style of brew made famous around the city of Pilsen, in Czechoslovakia. In the US, "Lager" and "Pilsener" are used virtually interchangeably. (For what it is worth, Czechs put away more beer per capita than any other peoples, including the legendary Belgians.)

Living in "Beervana," (Portland, Oregon), I can go anywhere, even into neighborhood joints, and find at least a couple of local brews (usually ales) on tap.

The so-called "craft beer" (or microbrew) movement has spread from coast to coast, but by no means everywhere. In fact, the opposite is sometimes the case - in my trips to other places in the country, I often find that I not only can't find an ale - I can't even find a "regular" beer on tap. There will be Bud Light and Coor's Light, but not Budweiser or Coor's. In marketing terms, they have cannibalized their flagship brands, never a wise thing to do.

PHOTOS FROM A QUICK SWING THROUGH TWO BIG-12 STRONGHOLDS

FIRST - NEBRASKA'S MEMORIAL STADIUM

Above every entrance is the slogan,"Through these gates pass the greatest fans in college football"

When you've won FIVE NATIONAL TITLES, it ain't braggin' if you let people know

Outside the stadium, a tablet honors Devaney and Osborne, the coaches who built the NU program

Built in the un-PC days when America fought to win, and our armed forces weren't seen as equal-employment agencies

A statue honors not the three Nebraska Heisman Trophy winners, but a swarm of NU defenders - the famed Blackshirts

Trophies representing the three most recent National Championships

In the stadium lobby are trophy cases honoring Cornhusker greats, this one honoring Outland Trophy winners Dave Rimington and Dean Steinkuhler

The great Johnny Rodgers, first of Nebraska's three Heisman Trophy winners (1972), a member of the College Football hall of Fame

Mike Rozier, Heisman Trophy winner (1983)

Eric Crouch, Heisman Trophy winner (2001)

The great Bob Brown, 1963 Lineman of the Year, member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame

Will Shields, 1992 Outland Trophy winner and 2003 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year; Trev Alberts, unanimous All-American and Academic All-American, 1993

Grant Wistrom, two-time All American and Lombardi Trophy winner

Tommie Frazier, All-American (1995)

Former Cornhusker coach Frank Solich, on the cover of SI as a 170-pound fullback

A view of the field that would cost you thousands if this were game day!

NU just completed this $50 million addition to the north stands- 6,000 more bleacher seats, several luxury boxes, and what they claim is currently the world's largest TV screen - 100 feet wide

Inside a souvenir shop across the street - red seems to be the dominant color

The ultimate souvenir - a Nebraska manhole cover. It was100 degrees out and way too hot for me to try to take it, and besides, the athletic department has probably learned over the years to weld them in place

AND A SWING THROUGH MANHATTAN, KANSAS - HOME OF KANSAS STATE

A panoramic shot of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium, honoring the man who pulled off perhaps the best coaching job in history

Hey- there's the football office!

And there's the parking lot just outside the football office - two spots for the head coach, and two others marked "COORDINATOR"

The Wildcat logo - possibly the best in sports - is everywhere...

Even on Manhattan street signs

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

After Further Review... the Double Wing IS a Farmer's Offense! (See"NEWS") Division I-AA: the Super-Duper, Extra-Special DeLuxe Division! (See"NEWS")

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)

My Offensive System My Materials for Sale My Clinics Me

August 1, 2006 - "Success is never final. Failure is never fatal." Winston Churchill

*********** As I post this, I am in Idaho, on my way back from a couple of Double-Wing camps in the Heartland - Iowa and Kansas. Big-time farm country. And after my experiences there I can say without question that the guy I quoted a couple of weeks ago was right - The Double-Wing IS a Farmer's Offense!

Now, that guy meant it in a derogatory way, but after working with farm kids in farm areas, I now consider it to be the highest tribute anyone could pay our offense. Consider...

Farmers are tough. They are not easily discouraged. They deal with setbacks as part of the job, and keep plugging away.

Farmers are not fancy. They are not concerned about how something looks - only about how it works.

Farmers know what they have to work with, and don't waste time trying to do things they don;t have the wherewithal or the expertise to do.

Farmers are stubborn. They are in it for the long haul. They will stick with the tried-and-true, and won't change on a whim. They are open to new ideas, but first they have to be given very good reasons why they should change what's already working for them.

Farmers are aware of the need to weigh the benefits versus the costs of everything they do.

Farmers don't look for the quick, easy payoff. Instead, they place their faith in hard work.

Farmers understand their mission, and everything they do is geared to making a success of their venture. They remain focused on their jobs and don't allow themselves to get distracted .

Farmers work regardless of the weather.

Farmers don't cut corners. They know that there are things that simply have to be done - and done right - and they know that if they don't do them, nobody else will.

*********** Old friend Greg Meyers has just been hired as head coach at Poinciana High School, in Osceola County, Florida, and he is looking for an offensive line coach - a Double-Wing offensive line coach! He writes...

Hugh, I know you are a few miles away but I have a job opening at O line. I have a history opening, social studies certificate, right now. I know you are connected with many coaches so if you have a pipeline anywhere near me and have any candidate in mind, please drop me a line or at least spread the word. My principal is holding it for a coach .... doesn't that sound good!

This could be a great opportunity! E-mail me (coachwyatt@aol.com) and I will put you in touch with Coach Meyers

*********** Hi Coach, I was reading your tips from your website and have a question about which hand you ask your linemen to put down when getting into their stances. Your tip says, "there are are least four compelling reasons why we insist that our players put their inside hands down - and their inside feet back - with their inside hands directly in front of their inside feet." I have seen others that state that linemen should put the same hand down as the side of the ball they are lined up on, i.e., right hand down and right foot staggered if on the right side and visa versa. Even at a clinic for linemen at Wake Forest this summer, the coach instructed the linemen to put same hand down according to side of the ball. Is this an individual preference that you have based on the reasons you list in your tips? I am a line coach for a Pop Warner team of 12 to 15 year olds and would like to present the correct information. In the past, I have not made a big issue out of which hand to put down, but then again, I don't want the kids going away saying Coach ------- didn't know anything about football and never told us the correct way to do things. I look forward to your reply and/or advise on this issue. I like your website and all the information you provide. Thanks. The absolute number one assignment for a lineman in our offense is to protect his inside gap. This is much easier done with the inside hand down and (which goes along with it) the inside foot back. It is also easier to pull opposite, which we require our linemen to do, and it makes it easier to close down when wedge blocking.

Anybody who tries to do otherwise is free to do as he wishes, of course, but this means he evidently would rather learn the importance of all this from his own hard experience instead of getting the benefit of my experience. I deal with this in depth in my videos, including "A Fine Line." HW

*********** Hello Coach…..I am starting my first practice installing the DW next Monday. I bought & watched Installing the system, Dynamics and your Safer & Surer tackling. I've made my 3 assistants watch them too. I am really excited. I have read all of your "tips" from coaches writing in and have learned a huge amount. I worked with a couple of really poor tacklers for a moment on our team at a camp the other night and in five minutes I had them form tackling using your teaching techniques. My Dad is a huge Bud Wilkinson fan since he graduated from O.U. in 1956. I, on the other hand, graduated from O.U. in the Barry Switzer days. I have never heard the end of the Bud W. teams though. Robert Stafford, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

*********** George Halas died a couple of weeks back. Not the real founder and long-time coach of the Chicago Bears - he's been dead for more than 20 years - but Jack Warden, the actor who played Halas in "Brian's Song," the little movie about the premature death of Bears' running back Brian Piccolo.

*********** The NCAA, informed that certain of its members questioned their self-worth and felt demeaned because for the past 28 years they have been designated Division I-AA, is going to do something to salve their bruised feelings.

The word is that since the D-IAA label applies only to football, some schools felt that their other sports were stigmatized by the "lower class" label. What a bunch of whiners.

So the NCAA proposes to rename D-IA and D-IAA. D-IA will be known as the "NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision" and D-IAA as the "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision."

(I am not making this up.)

Hell, they might as well just go ahead and call Division I-AA The Super-Duper, Extra Special DeLuxe, Four-Star Division, if that will help their self-esteem.

But as someone who has spent his entire life down at the ass end of the alphabet, waiting my turn every time something was handed out in alphabetical order, I suggest they suck it up and deal with it.

On the other hand, if there's a good lawyer out there willing to take on my claim of Alphabetical Discrimination...

*********** Regarding the youth coach who ran down the Double-Wing because it doesn't prepare kids for the "next level" (the guy coaches 9-year-olds)...

For the 37 years of my school's existence, to my knowledge, they have never signed a football player to college, which by the way is the NEXT LEVEL... P U K E !!!! They have however produced 35 years of "Doormat Status"

Until I brought in my crude little offense this idiot was talking about. Now the kids are leaving our school, WINNERS, as they go into the work force, 'THEIR NEXT LEVEL" and if one happens to get an opportunity at a higher level, he'll damn sure know how to play physical football and what the game is about. He will however, probably get very disappointed in the higher level offense not rolling up the yards and scores he's used to.

When I read that article on your last News I just about hurled. I get so darn sick of that term, and I have yet to hear of a high school coach getting paid to prepare someone for the next level. What percent make it to the next level???? 1%?????.

If you are coaching your kids to get to the next level in football, you should be fired. You should be fired for neglecting and sacrificing the highest level of football that 99% will be playing. What an ABSURD COMMENT. And the coach was coaching 9 year olds! That kind of stupid ,like Ron White says, Can't be fixed. That obvious ass should be banned for being around kids with that kind of ignorance.

Kids that are good enough athletes, will make it to the next level, and the style of offense really has very little to do with it. I coached at a school that had 15 years of sub 500 seasons and always managed to sign 4 or 5 guys. They went through offenses like the changing of the guard. I'm close to a local huge high school that makes it to the finals or the final 4 every year for the past 15 years. They sign 3 or 4 on a good year. So….You next level guys, GET A GRIP! None of the coaches who really know what football and winning is all about, are impressed with your arrogance.

I feel better now!

As to your comment, "I have to laugh whenever I hear someone on TV say, "they can't run because they're looking at eight men in the box" - well, with the offenses they run, they really can't!

I'm laughing as well!

Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia

PS- IT HAS BEEN SAID: "Passing puts fans in the seats"

I have a new saying for that: "Passing may put fans in the seats but running the ball keeps my ass in the coaching chair"

*********** Coach, I coach for a midget team (10-11 yrs. Old) and we are running the double wing this year. The head coach insists on using 12 inch spreads between the center/guard, guard/tackle and 18 inches between the tackle/end. I have tried to get him to change all of the spreads to 0-6 inches, but he will not change. His reasoning behind the large gaps is to spread the defense out and run the middle. He believes that we will be unable to run the middle of the field with small or no gaps. Do you have any advice on how I could get him to change?

Coach, I don't have my database with me so I don't know whether you have my first tape, but if you do it's obvious your head coach either hasn't seen it or wasn't paying attention. I don't want to get into it with a guy who knows nothing about what we are doing, but...

My advice to people is to believe that I have a reason for everything we do, to be smart enough to learn from my experience instead of having to learn from their own experience, and to run my system right out of the can.

Tell your head coach that if he wants to deal with blitzes and run-throughs (we don't have to) and he doesn't want to be able to wedge successfully whenever he wants (we can and do) to go ahead and invent his own offense, and maybe he'll have as much success with it as people have had with mine, but I doubt it.

Sorry I can't be more encouraging, but if you use those splits, you will be looking at going through a learning phase that I put behind me 15 years ago.

*********** Coach Wyatt, After more than 25 years of wondering, you cleared up something that had always confused me. As an 18-year-old, I saw a movie called "Coming Home" about the effect of the Vietnam War on those at home. When returning soldier (Bruce Dern) finds out his wife (Jane Fonda) has been cheating on him with a former soldier (Jon Voight), Dern calls Voight a "Jody motherf----r." I was never able to figure out the term, or if I had even heard it correctly ("What's a Jody?") Anyhoos, your News explained to me the reference of "Jody." Now it all makes sense. As always, thanks for the education!

Sincerely, Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina (Thanks to Political Correctness, we won't have Jody to kick around any more. HW)

*********** I know your experiences with Video so I have a question for you. How can I take footage from a VHS and convert it into a MOV. file for my computer?

One way or another you have to convert analog (VHS) to digital video. If you don't have a converter, another way is to record from your VHS camera or deck into a digital camera. Then take the resulting digital video tape and import that into your computer.

If you have a Mac...The simplest way is to make a QuickTime movie (.mov)

First open iMovie and import the footage from your camera.

Then do any editing you want to do (and if you only want to save a portion of what you've imported, make sure to highlight it in iMovie) and when you are ready, go to FILE/SHARE and choose QuickTime Movie. Choose "Compress Movie" for your intended use (I usually use "Full Quality"). If you are not going to be converting the entire iMovie clips to QuickTime, but instead only the clips you highlighted, be sure to check the box that specifies "share selected clips only."

From there, hit "share" and determine where you want the new QuickTime movie to be saved to.

But if you don't have a Mac...

*********** Coach - As I prep for the season I took time to review your Virtual Clinic DVD. I must tell you "WOW"! This was a great clinic I missed (and thank you for the kudos at the beginning of the clinic). I picked up a few things that I want to implement and can go back to this DVD after the season starts as a refresher. I think this is probably your best product yet! Good work. John Torres, Castaic, California

*********** "I think this is the first time they've ever found any testosterone in France." Jay Leno, commenting on Tour de France winner Floyd Landis' positive test.

*********** Speaking of Floyd Landis... Perhaps noting that others before him have gotten away with comparing rather trivial offenses with monumental ones such as slavery and the Holocaust, Landis' personal physician tried to put Landis' positive drug test into proper historical perspective: "This is like when we rounded up Japanese-Americans and put them in concentration camps in World War II."

*********** Did anybody else get a little tired of hearing Michelle Wie, Michelle Wie, Michelle Wie all weekend? Gee, to think that she actually came close to winning a women's tour event this past weekend. Hard to believe that with all the pub she receives, she has yet to win on the women's tour.

Note to news media: I know you wanted her to win, but SHE DIDN'T WIN!!!! SOMEBODY ELSE DID!!!

Uh, is there something a little twisted about the news media's preoccupation with a 16-year-old girl who has yet to win a tournament on the women's golf tour yet continues to receive "sponsors' exemptions" allowing her to worm her way into men's tour events without having to qualify? Is the men's tour so hurting for spectator interest that it has to go along with this freak show?

If Michelle Wie is such an attraction on the men's tour (where she has yet to even make the cut), then wouldn't her playing on the women's tour, where she could become a consistent winner help women's golf - and her fellow female golfers?

*********** Bob Toledo went 49-32 in his seven years at UCLA, and at one point had a 20-game winning streak. At that time, UCLA, not USC, owned the Southland, and in one of his years, the Bruins averaged just under 74,000 a game in attendance.

And then the new athletic director, hired from a small college that didn't even have football, much less football of the big-time variety, fired him, in one of the most callous acts of dismissal I can recall.

It's hard to believe it's been four years, but it has. It was late 2002, and he was getting his team ready to play inn the Las Vegas Bowl, when, wham! he was told to clear out. Couldn't even coach his kids in the bowl game.

"It was the way they did it," he told the Los Angeles Daily News. "They bring me in, get me out of my office, and it's 'Go home. Don't talk to the team.' It took a week and I called every kid to explain what happened, and they wouldn't let me coach the bowl game.

"I couldn't go to the banquet. I don't want to say they treated me like a criminal, but I was really disappointed with the way they did it. If they want to fire you because your kids got in trouble and you can't beat 'SC, that's their prerogative. But do it right. I don't think they did it right. That was what was so disturbing."

It hasn't been easy since then. Oh, his life has been good, but when you're coach and you want to be coaching and you can't find the right spot, there's an ache in the gut that doesn't go away.

He went after jobs at UTEP and San Diego State, and finally resigned himself to the fact that if he wanted to come back, it would be as a coordinator.

So I'm happy to report that Bob, whom I worked with at Rich Brooks' camp when Bob was offensive coordinator at Oregon, is back in the game, hired as offensive coordinator at New Mexico by Rocky Long, who had been his defensive coordinator at UCLA.

"I wanted to go somewhere I could run the offense, and I didn't want someone looking over my shoulder," he said. "So it is kind of a great fit. I asked him, 'Do you want the playbook?' He said, 'Nope.' He didn't interfere with anything in the spring."

Said Long, "We expect to see things on offense we haven't seen here before," Long said. "He'll run the offense. He'll call the plays. I don't think he'd be happy being at a place he would be harnessed, and worried about what the head coach was thinking what was happening on offense, and whether he had to clear the plays with the head coach."

During Bob Toledo's last two seasons at UCLA, the Bruins averaged 28.8 and 29.8 points per game. Under his coaching, Cade McNown set school records for passing yards and total offense.

And there is always the possibility of a payback. Bob Toldeo knows about that.

Following the 1994 Cotton Bowl, he was fired as Texas A & M's offensive coordinator, thrown under the bus by R.C. Slocum. Four years later, his UCLA Bruins beat Slocum and the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl, 29-23. (Think that one didn't feel good?)

(2006 CLINICS)
CLINICS START AT 9 AM SHARP AND GO UNTIL 4 PM WITH A 1-HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH

CLINIC LOCATION

FEB 25
ATLANTA

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT NORTH - 1380 Virginia Ave - 404-762-8411

MARCH 11
LOS ANGELES

HOLIDAY INN-MEDIA CENTER -150 E. Angeleno, Burbank - 818-841-4770

MARCH 18
CHICAGO

ST. XAVIER UNIVERSITY - 3700 West 103rd St., Chicago

APRIL 8
RALEIGH-DURHAM

MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave - Durham - 919-383-8575

APRIL 15
PHILADELPHIA

HOLIDAY INN, 432 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA. - 215-643-3000

APRIL 29
PROVIDENCE

COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 POST RD, WARWICK RI - 401-732-0470

MAY 6
DENVER

WESTMINSTER HS - Westminster, CO (For more details call Coach Kevin Uhlig - 303-870-8582)

MAY 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS - LATHROP, CA.

JUNE 10
PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PHOENIX INN & SUITES - 12712 SE 2ND Circle, Vancouver WA - 360-891-9777

Attendees will receive a complimentary DVD breaking down, play-by-play, the Full-House Belly-T offense of the powerful 1953-1954 Army teams, coached by Earl "Red" Blaik, with Vince Lombardi as his offensive assistant. On the video you will see action clips of Army greats, including the immortal Don Holleder, whose memory is honored by the Black Lion Award. This DVD is not for sale. It is provided by the Board of the Black Lion Award in the interests of furthering football and the Black Lion Award itself.

Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America...

BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM

GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!

Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners

BACK TO HOME PAGE

Copyright © 1998 Coach Hugh Wyatt. All rights reserved. Do not redistribute or publish in any form without permission from Coach Hugh Wyatt. All content, graphics, logos and backgrounds are the sole property of Coach Hugh Wyatt and may not be redistributed or published in any form without specific permission to do so.