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JULY 2005

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 29, 2005 - "You can't believe things are better when cursing God is constitutionally protected speech, but saying nice things about Him violates the same First Amendment."Columnist Cal Thomas   TODAY'S NEWS IS DEDICATED TO MY BUDDY TOM "DOC" HINGER, WHO WAS TO HAVE BEEN MY ROOMMATE AT THIS WEEKEND'S ARMY FOOTBALL CLUB GOLF OUTING AT WEST POINT. YOU'LL BE MISSED, DOC. *********** For the third year in a row, I spent a couple of days at a Double-Wing camp in one of my favorite places - Iowa. I'm not kidding. Let Paris Hilton mock the simple life, but there is a lot to be said for green, rolling farmlands, and beautiful little towns with big white houses on tree-shaded streets, where people still leave their keys in the ignition switches and little kids can ride their bikes to the town pool. Traffic is nonexistent and crime is almost unheard of. And the golf is cheap. Oh - and for the price of a run-down fixer-upper in California you can buy one of the best houses in town. So what's wrong? Only one thing - the people are moving away. How come? Chalk some of it up to the loss of jobs to overseas - Maytag, one of Iowa's largest manufacturers, is the object of a takeover attempt by at least two companies, one of them Chinese. Either one of them will likely close down Maytag's Iowa factories and shutter its home office in Newton. And chalk some of it up to the decline of the family farm, as agribusiness takes over American agriculture. There simply aren't the opportunities for young people to carry on the generationsold tradition of family farming. It is happening all over the heartland, and it is America's loss. The impact on Iowa's schools is apparent in their names. The roster of schools in the states small-school divisions, A and 1-A, is made up largely of schools with hyphenated names. Like married couples who try to retain some of their original identities, small schools give up trying to go it alone, and merge with each other. Galva-Holstein High, which hosted the camp, represents such a merger, a consolidated high school created when the towns of Galva and Holstein decided it was no longer feasible for them to run two separate schools. And already there are signs that even more changes lie ahead - this past year, G-H graduated 50+ kids, but its incoming first graders number less than 30. It is apparent, the G-H superintendent tells me, that it may not be too much longer before declining enrollment could force G-H to look for another marriage partner - possibly another consolidated school.   In the photos above: Upper Left, the Galva-Holstein seniors pose before the morning workout on - what else? - a pickup truck; Upper Right, in a scene duplicated all over the heartland, daybreak in Galva, Iowa, finds the farmers' pickups parked outside the local breakfast spot; Bottom Left, the sign on the scoreboard proudly proclaims the run of seven successive playoff appearances (98-04) since Coach Brad Knight got the Double-Wing cranked up. After the loss of last year's great senior class, the locals are saying that this could be an off year for the Pirates. I rather doubt it.   Another emerging power at the camp was Alta, Iowa, where under head coach Kevin Hammer and offensive coordinator Rory Payne the Double-Wing should be in high gear. Coach Payne's son, Brad, will be the quarterback. He has the skills and the understanding of the offense that comes from experience in running it.   There were a few G-H players missing from a camp session or two, but they had Coach Knight's blessing - they were playing in the state high school baseball tournament. Really. On July 20. In Iowa, the high school baseball season doesn't start until school ends - a blessing for high school track programs, especially in small schools - and it doesn't wind up until the end of July. Sadly, the G-H Pirates lost in district play, but now their players - and their coach, Eric Myrtue, who also coaches the G-H linemen - can turn their attention to football.   Coach Knight and his defensive coordinator, Bryan Winkler, dropped me off at the Omaha Airport before heading to Ames, home of Iowa State, for this past weekend's annual all-star game (G-H had a player in the game). Bryan's dad, now at West Marshall High, is a coaching legend in Iowa, with three state titles to his credit.   *********** Celebrity update - after Brad Knight met me at the Omaha Airport last Monday, we headed for our annual steak dinner at Gorat's, a family-run steakhouse in Omaha. Since my last visit there a year ago, I learned that Gorat's happens to be the favorite restaurant of Omaha's best-known citizen, Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men (if you don't believe me, check out the price of one single share of Berkshire-Hathaway. Mr. Buffett owns, uh, several shares - he is the Berkshire-Hathaway's largest shareholder). Naturally, as we were paying, I had to ask the manager where Mr. Buffett normally sits. Was there a private room? I asked. Oh, no, she said, and pointed to a table just beyond a partition in one of the main dining rooms - in fact, the same dining room we had just sat in. We were no more than three tables away from where Warren Buffett would have been sitting, if he had been there that night!   *********** Many thanks to all those who took the time to write me about my new job.   *********** To read a great tribute to Jim Parker and what he and his Baltimore Colts' teammates meant to their city...   http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-md.olesker22jul22001544,1,1088869.column?coll=bal-sports-football *********** Hanoi Jane Fonda anounced in Santa Fe, New Mexico that she plans to embark on a cross-country bus tour to call for an end to US military operations in Iraq. For those of you too young to remember, or who perhaps have never been around a Vietnam vet when her name came up, Ms. Fonda, daughter of famed actor Henry Fonda and herself the star of a few movies and a series of exercize videos, showed her opposition to the Vietnam War by travelling to Hanoi, the capitol of North Vietnam. The war was still raging, and North Vietnam was the enemy. There are those of us who consider her a traitor for that act. Who knows what encouragement the visit of a famous American provided our enemy, all the while American fighting men were being shot at, and American prisoners of war were being tortured (and we are not talking about panties being pulled over their heads) by their North Vietnamese captors. In answer to a question from her audience in Santa Fe, Fonda said that "war veterans" she's met on a nationwide book-signing tour (she's got a book out which I ain't about to publicize) have encouraged her to "come out" and break her silence on the Iraq war. I thought, "War veterans, eh?" Well, perhaps Grenada. Maybe the Gulf War. Maybe the War in Iraq. But not Vietnam. I rather doubt that she'd have "met" any Vietnam vets on that tour. Certainly not "met" in the "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Fonda," sense of the word. I guarantee you that if a Vietnam vet showed up at a Jane Fonda book signing, it wouldn't be to get her autograph.   *********** Coach don't know if you saw President Bush's introduction of his nomination John Roberts for the Supreme Court, but the Pres made it a point to point out that he was Captain of his HS Football team, I knew this guy was a Great American !!! John Muckian, Lynn, Massachusetts   *********** Hugh, That was a really "tough" article about the Shore, but "Yo Man"!, there ain't no "l" or "d" in "Wiwood." Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey (next town down from Wildwood) *********** Coach, Congratulations on being named head coach at Madison High School. The boys are in great hands and will be better men for having been associated with you. I'm looking forward to hearing updates in your news section. There was one query from a coach in Texas about not having a QB on his 9/10 year old team that I would like to throw my 2 cents worth in. I agree that one approach is to run a direct snap offense, I've run this before and if you can find a reliable center (which you should be able to do with enough reps and using the easy end-over-end snap that you've taught), you're on your way. I guess one other way would be to try to find a kid who would make a good DW QB and coach him up. I was in a situation a few years ago where my 9-10 team's QB quit after game 2. I didn't really have a good back-up so I had to find someone and train them QUICKLY! I basically picked a kid who I thought would be a good candidate, got him and the center to meet me after school one day before the start of practices for that week, and worked with them for about an hour or so. I was able to teach the basic footwork for the SPs, Cs and wedge and the center snap as well (I played wing back for the pitches, etc.). I did this before the start of practices for the week b/c I wanted the new QB to come into his new situation with at least a minimal level of confidence at his new position, both for himself and his teammates who were going to be looking to him for reassurance/leadership. He turned out to be a great little leader, and had we had the Black Lion award that year, he would have been the winner hands down. It wasn't the ideal way of picking the QB, but now that I think about it, I've picked almost all of my QBs b/c they were good unselfish kids who didn't have some misguided fantasy about what a DW QB is (a fullback after the pitch on the SPs!). Of course, I've always had the benefit of knowing the kids a bit before making my choice: this coach might not know his players yet, which will make it a bit more difficult. Again, congrats on being named head coach. Best of luck this coming season. Kind regards, Rick Davis, Duxbury Youth Football, Duxbury, Massachusetts   *********** … any tips on how to get 9 and 10 year-olds to keep from raising out of stance when ball is snapped? I would spend a lot of time "bird-dogging" - taking just one step and freezing in place while you evaluate and correct. I would spend a lot of time getting them in their stances then having them bear crawl. Another good drill is to get them in their stance, have them run forward and touch a bag maybe three yards in front of them, then backpedal and get back into the same stance they started out in. Time them. After repeating this several times, they will begin to understand that if they "stay in their stance" as they go forward, it'll be easier to return to their stance when they backpedal.   *********** Hi Coach. My name is ----- ----- and my son -----, who just turned 7, is playing in his first year of Pop Warner ball in -----. I have volunteered for assistant coach and it is likely that the offense will be mine. I played only four years of high school ball and most of that was on defense in the "monster" linebacker spot. When I played on O, I was the fullback in a fullhouse set. As a linebacker, I know how confusing it can be to call the right defense and to read counters, reverses and traps. That's what intrigues me about the DW. Can you recommend which videos and playbooks would be best for first year players? The head coach wants to try to run a "spread" offense to open up the gaps. Since that's almost the opposite of the double wing, what can I say to convince him to go with this offense? Any help or advice you can give is greatly appreciated. (By the way, I'm also a rookie football coach...uh oh! I'm a little late in preparation since I just found out I would be an assistant, but I love to study formations and plays.) I should warn you that if the head coach wants to run a spread offense, there's not a lot you're going to be able to do about it. At the youth level, the only advantage of spreading it out that I can see is that you do create two "must play" positions (the two split ends). Otherwise, you are better off keeping those kids in tight and letting them learn to play the game. Without doubt, the thing you must have if you want to run my system is the "Dynamics of the Double Wing" video-playbook combo. It will get you started right - provided your head coach wants to do it. PS - A word of caution - don't high-pressure sell it. Then you could conceivably find yourself coaching with people who would just as soon see it fail just to prove you wrong! *********** Should I have my best guard and tackle on the left side or the right side.  I was thinking left because of the power plays.  What do you think? I ALWAYS put my best guard on the right because I am "right-handed"- he is often the point man on my wedge, and he makes the key blocks on 6-G, 88-g-Reach, 47-C and 38 black O-X, which I run far more than their left-handed counterparts. Compared to the importance of having a good right guard on those plays, teaching the pull on the power is nothing. Right tackle is more important to me than left tackle, because if we had to, we could leave the left guard home on power plays (and run super-O), but that left tackle has to be able to block on the playside on powers, and pull left on counters. *********** Congratulations on being named the Head Coach at Madison High! I know the kids could have no better person to take the slot 'for the right reasons' and that you will do a great job. I hope all goes well for you there this season. We have been training all summer in the weight room and running preparing for our upcoming season here at Providence. The kids' attendance has been good, but not great. I liked your response earlier in the summer to the coach that wanted some rules about attendance for his workouts. I think it was right on target in having them make-up their workouts without removing them from the team or 'painting the coach into a corner'. We play a JV schedule and a separate Jr. High schedule before making the jump next year to a Varsity team. Emory Latta, Providence Christian School, Dothan, Alabama   *********** Fair and Balanced, eh? Not wanting to say that our local newspaper, the Vancouver Columbian, slants left or anything, but over the AP story Thursday about the President's having to postpone his visit to the Boy Scout Jamboree because of the threat of thunderstorms and high winds, the headline read "PRESIDENT STANDS UP BOY SCOUTS."   *********** I saw on TV last night that the US lost the 'World Cup' of softball, to Japan. I laughed like a bassturd, after the cheap gold medal they got in the Olympics. Although it was cool to see Jennie Finch actually pitch - and she's damn good - after over a year of hype and pictures. An Anna Kournikova who can play. Sports media is so entwined with base male appeal these days that almost any straight female athlete will be turned into a sex symbol. Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California   *********** GO TO - www.usma.edu/Class/2009/CBT/CBT05.htm   There, you'll find a bunch of photos taken at West Point's Cadet Basic Training (the course that all recent high school graduates go through - it used to be called "Beast Barracks"). You might see pick up some ideas for summer conditioning. I did.   *********** For four years, back in the 1960's, we lived in the pleasant little city of Frederick, Maryland. Frederick was immortalized by the poem, "Barbara Fritchie," by John Greenleaf Whittier. The Civil War was raging and, as General Stonewall Jackson marched his Confederate troops through the streets of Frederick, legend has it that 90-year-old Barbara Fritchie ("bowed by her four-score years and ten") dared to hang an American flag from a window of her home. A Confederate marksman shot the flag down, but almost as fast as it fell, "Dame Barbara" picked it up, and - I'll let Whittier take it from there.   "'Shoot if you must, this old gray head - but spare your country's flag', she said"   Shoot Barbara Fritchie? Not a chance. Stonewall Jackson was a Southerner and also, therefore, a gentleman.   "'Who touches a hair on yon gray head - dies like a dog! March on!' he said."   Now, Deanna Wallace is 46 years old, so she's a lot younger than Barbara Fritchie, and Tacoma, Washington is not Frederick, Maryland, but there are certain parallels in the stories of the two women. Back on July 20, Deanna Wallace got a note from the "community manager" of the apartment complex where she lives. "Dear Deanna Wallace," it read. "It is important that I speak with you as soon as possible. Please stop by the business office or call me no later than Friday, July 22, 2005, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m." Being a tenant in good standing who doesn't do anything to annoy the neighbors, she immediately responded. She was told ther flag had to go. Her American flag. The one flying from her tiny balcony. "They told me to remove my flag," she said. "They said remove it, or move it back where it can't be seen. It's not uniform with the building." Now, Tacoma, with Fort Lewis nearby, is an Army town, and Wallace, who comes from a military background herself, has a 20-year-old son serving in Iraq and a boyfriend in Afghanistan. She believes in flying the flag. "To me it means freedom, courage, dedication... " Allied Group, Inc., of Renton, Washington, the property management firm that runs the apartment complex, insists that the flag must come down. Deanna Wallace says she's not taking it down. Stand tall, Deanna Wallace. Barbara Fritchie would be proud of you. And as for you fools at Allied Group, Inc., of Renton, Washington.... Stonewall Jackson would know how to deal with you.   *********** Coach Wyatt, I hope you are having a great summer. We started evaluating players using the criteria you mentioned on Your latest "news". I think you are correct about character and other intangibles that make kids good players even if they don't fit the mold as to what a football player should look like. Unfortunately We are required by our county to keep a graded evaluation on each player because our board of ed was getting too many complaints from parents. So our evaluations are more to CYA than anything else. I can't tell a parent that his son is lazy or refuses to follow directions. Therefore the grade sheet is the only justification I have to cut players. Evaluating talent is as much an art as it is a science. I try to get to know a lot about our players before they come out to practice. I want to know what kind of students they are and if they stay out of the office for discipline reasons. Our team last year had good athletes, but I think we were successful because we had a core of leaders who worked hard and expected all the players to do the right things on and off the field. Dan King Evans Ga. (Teaching is an art, too, and it really ticks me off the way "educators" think that anybody can teach - just give 'em enough "education" courses, hand 'em the standardized curriculum, and turn 'em loose. What they will wind up getting with their homogenized approach to curriculum and teaching is a bunch of mind-numbed robots, boring kids to death. HW)   *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 26, 2005 - "Attack, follow the ball, and beat the hell out of anyone else trying to get to it."Bud Wilkinson's advice to his team, when he was assigned to coach soccer at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. (His team won the All Navy Championship.)     *********** Coach Wyatt: Congratulations on being named the new Head Coach at Madison! I'm sure I'm not your only former "player" that feels you're going to do a great job! Although I'm guessing I might be one of the few regular readers that can say I actually played for Hugh Wyatt in the 70's (1979 Van-Port Thunderbirds!). Go Senators!   Here is a photo of our 2004 BLACK LION Award winner, Steven Hehir. For his award, we created a custom frame using the certificate along with a reproduction of the Sports Illustrated cover of Don Holleder from 1955 (available at SI.com). We think it came out very nice!   Thanks again for using our nominating letter for Steve as one of your web-site submissions. When I noticed the letter a few weeks ago, I passed it on to Steve's parents (who had never seen it). Upon reading it they were very expressive in their gratitude. One of those great days when you know you're in the right calling.   Regarding Steve, he passed up several very nice scholarship opportunities to play college football to, you guessed it &endash; join the US ARMY! He is that rarest of young men who is an outstanding scholar and athlete, while also being a man of high character and loyalty. We are also blessed as a school in that Steve will still be involved with us for the upcoming season as an assistant varsity football coach. After4 years of excellence as a player he'll be coaching our O-line and D-line! He's also already been involved with our summer conditioning program. Steve is one of those kids &endash; young men &endash; that truly brings to mind the phrase "Only the Best and Brightest!"Thanks again for all you do!   Stay Faithful and Finish Strong, Jake von Scherrer, Coral Springs Christian Academy, Coral Springs, Florida   PS &endash; I noticed you don't have a clinic scheduled for Florida. If you need a school to host the clinic at (as well as a house to stay at!) we would humbly offer Coral Springs Christian Academy and our home as the location for a South Florida clinic site.   *********** Tom "Doc" Hinger passes along his thanks to everyone kind enough to write to him. He's home now, having taken the first big step to recovery.   He said that thing that's amazed him most has been the outpouring of support from the Army Football Club, the association of Army football letterwinners - guys who know him only as a fellow soldier and a Black Lion. What amazed him, he told me, was that while he was hearing from former Army football players, he wanted to stop them and say, "you're talking to a guy that got sent home his first day of freshman football practice (at Latrobe, Pennsylvania High School) because they didn't have a uniform small enough for me."   For quite some time now, whenever I'd be a little late getting my NEWS page up, I've been able to count on a phone call from Tom, bitching me out.   I am tempted to post today's NEWS a little late, just to see if he's really back in the groove yet.   *********** One message I thought you'd appreciate....   Doc   Just a quick message to wish you well in the treatment you are currently undergoing. As a yearly participant in the annual golf gaggle at West Point, I was looking forward to you being with us to honor the memory of a soldier and ex-teammate at Army. Don Holleder was special and I should know, since he had his hands up my rear end his whole senior football season. I was the center on that special team that beat Navy and stood next to him under that lamppost when he told Blaik he would not have to walk across the football field after the game. I was also in the Big Red One in Vietnam ,just months before that sad day you held him on the battlefield. God Bless. Ed Szvetecz Cl '57   *********** Madison resport = we start officially on August 22, and today (Monday) we had 14 kids at our workout. Believe it or not, that's our largest turnout of the summer. Call me nuts, but I am encouraged. *********** I am trying to set up a standard evaluation and rating system for our youth football program. My goal is to use this procedure to create a rating system for all levels (ages 7 to 14) in order to provide common information to all coaches as we move players around during the evaluation process. This is important to our organization since we have only two weeks (1 week no pads & 1 week in pads) to evaluate our players and place them on the appropriate teams. Since over 80% of our program now uses your double wing system (more converts are expected this year) I was wondering if you have any tips to setup a system, set of criteria or a form you use for rating your players.   In answer to your question, I have always tried to avoid objectively rating players. I think it is a cop out, to somehow get around the need for sound judgment in evaluating talent.   I have had too many good players who might have been considered "too slow" or "too small" if people were just going by a set of measurements.   Obviously, athletic ability is very important, and you want to be able to observe such things as quickness, agility, coordination and strength.   I do believe, though, that because football is a true team game in which the whole can be made greater than the sum of its parts, it is every bit as important to be able to observe the intangible characteristics that will make a player successful - character, coachability (being able to take instruction positively and make needed corrections quickly), ability to learn, work ethic, dependability, ability to work as a team member, and overall hustle and enthusiasm. These are the things I would be looking for during tryouts, while others are looking at their stop watches. I believe you win with character, not characters.   *********** An article over the weekend reported an increase in HIV being transmitted by homosexual acts in public bath houses. So let's see if I got this right... we can't smoke in public places because it's a health hazard, to us and the people who inhale our second-hand smoke... companies are refusing to hire smokers because they are more likely to become a drain on the companies' health plans... motorcyclists have to wear helmets because if they get injured, they might be a drain on public health facilities... and if a state trooper noticed that I haven't buckled my seat belt, well, "click it or ticket" - it's going to cost me almost $200, because if I should be in an accident and get thrown free, I could be seriously injured, and I might become a drain on the public health system, blah, blah, blah.   And so it goes, as nanny nation looks after us all.   So maybe somebody can tell me why there is no move to shut down public bath houses.   *********** Hugh; Have you looked at the new issue of Gridiron Coach? Mine arrived Friday and lo and behold there is a giant article about the double wing by a middle school coach. It is not your system and he has tapes to sell. Isn't it amazing when you start something good other people come out of the woodwork doing the same thing with a system of their own? Nothing beats the original! David Crump, Owensboro, Kentucky *********** I started to read a D-wing article in the Gridiron Coach Magazine. I don't like calling my lineman Fat / slow or not overly bright. First I was a lineman and I take it personal, and second any kid that plays this game doesn't need to be referred to in that way. I think as a coach I have been the one slow or not bright at times! Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** Off the Web - THE NEWSPAPERS WE READ  1. The Wall Street Journal is read by people who run the country. 2. The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country. 3. The Washington Post is read by people who think they should run the country. 4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country, but don't really understand the Washington Post. They do, however, like their smog statistics shown in pie charts. 5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could spare the time and didn't have to leave L.A. 6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country, and they did a far superior job of it, thank you very much! 7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care, as long as they can get a seat on the train. 8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country either, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated. 9. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it; but whoever it is, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped, minority, feminist, atheist, or dwarfs, who also happen to be illegal aliens from ANY country or galaxy, as long as they are Democrats. 10. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country, but need the baseball scores to check their bets.   *********** How do you signal the plays to the huddle? I like the coordinate system, but how do I get the play, formation,etc.. to my QB if he is on the other side of the field without sending a different player in every play? Last year I had my QB running all over the place, which I would like to avoid this year. I know of no safer, surer way to get the play in than to call it (vocally) to my QB, who comes close enough that he can understand exactly what the coach is saying. I can't think of any negatives to doing so. If I thought it would wear them out, it would bother me, but these are teenage boys. My last four QB's (the ones I've employed this system with) have all been two-way players, and I don't believe it ever affected their play on either side of the ball. The main thing is that we eliminate and chance of error in transmission - one missed hand signal or one mistake on the part of a messenger can cost you a game.   *********** I was lucky enough to get a 9-10 year- old football team here in ---------, Texas. As in most youth sports,there  is always politics. I was informed at the first tryout that I would have a team. By that time ,the established coaches already had "frozen" the best running backs prior to the draft ,which will occur this Sunday. As I do not have an established Q.B. or tailback frozen, I have thought about using the Wildcat offense or single wing with an unbalanced line to maximize our strengths on offense, minimize turnovers with no Q.B. center or handoff exchanges,and basically run 88, counter, wedge ,option pass. I would appreciate your input. I enjoyed the opportunity of meeting you and Connie in Atlanta. Best to both of you ; good luck this season…   Your predicament sounds a lot like mine. Some time again it became apparent to me that our best chance was with a direct-snap Double Wing, the next step in our evolution from Wildcat. I didn't have a QB anyhow, and since it would take me a lot of work just to develop someone into even a mediocre quarterback, I figured that I could get more usefulness out of a good athlete a whole lot faster using our direct snap. Not only that, but I would be able to fill in at "QB" very quickly in an emergency.   So I agree with your solution, except that I don't believe I would commit to an unbalanced line as my base offense. When you do, you lose the advantage of forcing the defense to balance up, but even more important, with defenses will become very unpredictable and you will find yourself something of an orphan, with greater difficulty in getting help from other Double-Wing coaches (including me).   Which doesn't mean that if you copy a good unbalanced single-wing attack, say Dr. Ken Keuffel's, you can't be successful. I just think that the Wildcat approach, occasionally unbalanced to take advantage of the element of surprise, is simplest   *********** Dear Coach Wyatt: You may recall we had a conversation by email a little over a year ago. I was asking about purchasing some of your videos for the team I help coach in England.   Despite my input and sugestions my head coach is sticking with his Wing I formation and as I know your views on the subject while it would be not my choice of offence I am fully supporting the system and work a great deal with the linemen.   He has however given me a virtually free hand on defence and to improve our tackling I am enquiring about your Safer & Surer Tackling video. Is it also available on PAL? If so, could you please supply me with a cost to deliver it to a United Kingdon postal address in Chelmsford in the county of Essex?   When you supply the price would it be possible to pay by Western Union money transfer? I will slightly overpay to compensate for any currency changes perhaps you can put any excess in the church collection.   Tackling is one of the areas in the game here that is truely overlooked. I played defensive line to a reasonably high standard and don't think I truely learned to tackle until I became a coach. I think there is an assumption that beciause the majority of young men play some rugby in school that there is an inate ability to tackle. What few players, and also very few coaches, in England realise that the two sports have a different approach to tackling. The only line that rugby players do not want the ball carrier to cross is the goal line, everything else can be tidied up. As we know every inch will eventually matter on a football field.   Many Thanks in anticipation, Graeme Saint, Defensive Coach, APU Phantoms, Chelmsford, England   *********** I watch my share of HGTV, and I enjoy the "makeovers" they do on peoples' houses. And I have been caught at least once watching one of those TV shows where they swoop in someone - usually one of life's losers - and give her a "total makeover."   I was reminded of this when I watched the British Open last weekend, and got caught up in the sentiment of Jack Nicklaus' last major.   How many people, I wondered, remember "Fat Jack?"   In his early days, he was a bit rotund, and although he was a fantastic golfer, he couldn't possibly compete for the public's affection with the "Pennsylvania Strong Boy," Arnold Palmer. Palmer was definitely working-class, the son of a greenskeeper, and he was built the way we'd all like to be built. Nicklaus, the son of a pharmacist, grew up in a country club atmosphere, and he was, to put it mildly, chubby. Compared to Palmer, it wasn't close.   Something had to be done about that "Fat Jack" tag, and that's where - I'm guessing - Mark McCormack came in. Probably the first of the great sports agents, McCormack was the first to see the individual athlete as a profit center surrounded by any number of ventures.   Undoubtedly, it was Mark McCormack who decided to rename Nicklaus "The Golden Bear," and saw to it that it was repeated so much that few of us now even remember "Fat Jack."   *********** Coach Wyatt, Thank you for the remarks about Jim Parker. It was a powerful and eloquent tribute. I was born in D.C. and lived as a tiny tot in Silver Spring and, as you know, grew up eating and sleeping Baltimore Colts football. I've never recovered from the demolition of Memorial Stadium, Indianapolis' pilfering of the team (or even the loss in Super Bowl III, for that matter), but whenever I look back on my heroes, these legends, I get chills and manage to shed a tear, as well. My cousin was visiting Baltimore about a year before the demolition took place. He was able to stand in the middle of the field, looking up and around, imaging what it must have been like, and knowing that I would have given anything to stand there myself. The people in Green Bay have the right idea. They respect their history and lore. I wish the city of Baltimore could have done the same. To destroy a landmark that was not only a tribute to our veterans but was also full of the ENTIRE history of the Baltimore Colts (and was the roots of the Orioles, as well), shows an amazing lack of respect for what came before. We can never walk through those turnstiles again to see where Johnny U. threw to Raymond Berry, or to see where Brooks & Frank (Robinson, to you outsiders. HW) hit home runs. You and I both know there was never a town (and fanbase) who felt about their team the way Colts' fan felt about theirs. Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina   *********** There is a reason why the predecessor of the Philadelphia Eagles was a team called the Frankford Yellowjackets. You couldn't find Frankford on a map nowadays, because it's a section of Philadelphia - a once-booming area proud of its many factories and proud of its professional football team. Once, nobody in Philadelphia said that he came from "Philadelphia." Philadelphians came from sections, which were further divided into neighborhoods, and that's how they identified themselves. If you came from the Germantown section, and people asked where you were from, you'd say "Germantown." People would then ask, "what part?" and you'd say, "Mount Airy." And since Philadelphia was once heavily Catholic, neighborhoods were further subdivided by parishes. Once you said you lived in Mt. Airy, anyone familiar with the neighborhood would ask, "Holy Cross or Little Flower?" Few of those people ever said they were from "Philadelphia" except when identifying themselves to outsiders, which was seldom, since few outsiders ever visited their neighborhoods, and few Philadelphians went anywhere else. Why would they? they would ask. Who would ever want to go anyplace else? Except, of course, in the summer time, when they go "down the shore" - to the Jersey Shore, which, with the exception of Atlantic City consists of a string of tiny communities nearly deserted in the winter and jam-packed in the summer. (A Philadelphian never says he is going to "the coast," or to "the beach." Or even "to the shore." He is going "down the shore.") Not that the Jersey Shore even now is what you would call a getaway exactly - Philadelphians go "down the Shore" to mingle with the same people they see every day back in Philly, because people from the same Philly neighborhoods tend to summer in the same Jersey Shore resorts (South Philadelphians to Wildwood, for example). Other Philly quirks. Convenience store clerks tell you to "Have a goo' wun." Oldtimers still call their tavern the "tap room". If you want to lose money, you should invest in a Subway franchise in Philly or South Jersey. People in those places know what a real sub (called a hoagie in Philly, a sub in South Jersey) is, and they ain't gonna buy the Wal-Mart version. Philadelphians eat scrapple and could care less what it's made of. (Uh, mostly corn meal and the bits of meat left on a hog's head.) Philadelphia is the home of delicious pastry snacks made by TastyKake. A TastyKake was a key part of every Philly schoolkid's packed lunch. I've always liked their butterscotch krimpets the best. A Philadelphian also invented the soft pretzel. Vendors sell them on downtown street corners.(Actually, Philadelphians don't go "downtown" - they go "in town" otherwise known as "Center City".). A "pretzel" is a quite acceptable quick lunch for a busy office worker. Out west, scruffy guys stand at busy intersections and highway on-ramps and beg ("Please Help. God Bless."). In Philly, scruffy guys stand at busy intersections and highway on-ramps and sell soft pretzels. PS - They have to have plenty of rock salt on them, and you have to put mustard on, too. "Yo!" was once a purely Philadelphia colloquialism, mostly as a means of getting someone's attention. Rocky made it a part of our national discourse. Philadelphians do NOT say "youse" or "youse guys." That is definitely New Jersey (North Jersey, actually) or New York. Philadelphians say "yiz" as in "Yo! Where yiz goin'?" They couldn't care less about college football (pronounced "fuh' bawl"). Philadelphia is a pro town, and Philadelphians love the Iggles. And they desperately miss their Flyers. They are deeply divided over whether to give Terrell Owens whatever it takes to make him happy (and keep the Eagles winning), or send the bum packing. No matter what, though, at the first sign of slacking off, it will be unanimous. There is a bit of interest in the Arena Football team, the Soul, because after all, it is football. And the quarterback is named Graziani. Tony Graziani. It is definitely an advantage to be an Italian on a Philadelphia team.   For that, they will wait until your second bad game to boo you.   *********** Got any words of wisdom on getting my running backs ready? My goal is to have a 3000 yd backfield.   I think the biggest things you can teach your running backs are   (1) There is no excuse for fumbling. Work hard on fumble prevention and establish an atmosphere of zero tolerance for fumbling.   (2) I think I do a good job on the fumble-prevention, but I need to do a better job on teaching faking. We all do.   (3) Anybody can run, but in our offense, everybody blocks. EVERYBODY.   (4) Selfishness will kill a team. We call our plays based on what we believe will give us the best chance of winning this game. There is nothing personal involved. We are not trying to showcase anybody.   Those are four things that most coaches don't really harp on enough.     *********** I saw the following letter in Ivan Maisel's ESPN.com column and the name rang a bell:   As a former Air Force player who played for DeBerry, I take exception to your suggestion that we in a "military environment" are less likely to think for ourselves. I come from a Catholic background which is probably about as foreign to Fisher as Zen Buddhism, and I got out of that program with my theology unaffected by Fisher's faith. What he did do which stuck with me was encourage us to call our parents every Sunday and let them know we love them. He taught us to treat women with respect. Yes, he encouraged us to find a place to worship on Sundays, but he never specified a certain religion. And most of all, he guided a bunch of marginal Division I players to a lot of wins. Trust me, there are a lot of coaches out there influencing their players in ways that should concern us a lot more. Go pick on those guys. Joe Lombardi, Erie, Pennsylvania   Joe Lombardi is Vince's grandson. The reason I'd heard of him before is because according to my knowledge he is Seattle Prep '90, a senior for the first year of my coach Rollie Robbins' tenure. Prep never had many really great players, but Rollie's eleven years there saw two kids play ball at Air Force (the other is Bryce Fisher) and one at Navy (starting defensive end Alex Murray.)   Joe Lombardi is now the OC at Mercyhurst College in Erie. I shot him an email to say hello from a fellow coach and Seattle Prep Panther.   Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 22, 2005 - "Self esteem is not something that can be given.  It must be earned." John Silber, Chancellor of Boston University and nationally-known expert on education   *********** To all who have been kind enough to wish us well at Madison High this year, I send my thanks, and a simple request - why can't you just drop what you're doing and come help us coach?   *********** Well-wishers write to Tom Hinger...   Coach, Please forward my sincerest wishes for a speedy and full recovery to Doc Hinger. I have been fortunate to exchange emails with him regarding the Black Lion Award, and I know what a great American and a fine person he truly is. I am praying for a quick recovery. God bless! Greg Koenig, Colby, Kansas ------------------------    Doc Hinger: I was sorry to read about your current medical condition on Coach Wyatt's web page. I'm hopeful your surgery did the trick and I hope your convalescence is speedy and with minimal suffering. I hope to see you and your bride at an Army football game in the near future. My family and I are praying for you to ensure this happens. God Bless you! Keith, Aileen, and Melissa Babb, Northbrook, Illinois --------------------    Doc Hinger, This is Melissa Babb-Renta. you probably dont remember me, but I am the daughter of Keith Babb (a friend of Coach Wyatt). We visited West Point this past November and you did so much to make my visit amazing and very informative. Thank you again for that!! Since that trip I attended the Summer Leadership Seminar and have started my application to West Point. : )   I felt I needed to write you because you have impacted my life greatly. You are the type of person I want to become. I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling your best, but I do hope you recover fully. And I'd like to let you know that we are thinking of you in Chicago.   Get well soon, Melissa Babb-Renta, Northbrook, Illinois   --------------------   Doc, Thank you for your service, sir. God Bless you for your sacrifice and service to our Nation... it is my sincere prayer that God would strengthen you and give you peace and a full recovery. You are a great American.   "...We few... we happy few...."-Shakespeare, Henry V   Shawn Powell - US Army - Iraq 90-91; 2003   ---------------   Coach, I had no idea Doc Hinger was in the hospital for Major surgery. I knew he had some pretty serious health problems over the past year or so, but did not know about this. Please pass on the following greetings from the Umatilla Bulldogs and I will be trying to get in touch with Jane to monitor his recovery. I will also try to visit him as soon as she feels it is appropriate.   To Tom "Doc" Hinger: Hey Doc, this is not the right time of the year to be in the Tampa VA recovring from surgery. The football season will be starting here in Florida in less than 5 weeks and if you don't get going on a speedy recovery you will certainly be missed by many teams here in Central Florida, expecially the Umatilla Bulldogs. Since you have been an annual visitor to at least one of our games over the past 5 years, not being able to make that trip would certainly leave us feeling empty. We will most certainly put you on our team prayer chain and I will be contacting Jane to monitor your recovery and see when she thinks you might be well enough to have a visitor. I know that I echo the sentiments of many football players and "Black Lions" who wish you a full and speedy recovery. I knew I had not heard from you since you emiled me about the Coach Ross letter on his trip to Fort Sill this summer, but now I know why. Your seats in our reserved section await the return of you and Jane as soon as you are fully recovered and able to attend.   May God's healing power be with you.   Black Lions, Sir!   Ron Timson, HFC, Umatilla Bulldogs, Umatilla, Florida   -----------   Mr. Hinger, Best wishes to you for a healthy and speedy recovery.   Thank you and God Bless,   Lee Griesemer, Chuluota, Florida   -----------   I was sorry to learn of your recent surgery and projected lengthy recovery. I hope all goes well. Although we've never met in person, you learned that I would be attending a football game at West Point and were thoughtful enough to arrange for my wife and I to sit in the Commandant's viewing area for the pre-game parade on the Plains. We felt like real VIP's. Sorry about beating Army that day. It was clear to us how highly you are thought of at West Point and throughout the Army, and deservedly so. You are a true American hero, and I thank you for your service to this country. We are planning another game trip to West Point on October 1st as UConn plays Army again at Michie Stadium. I'll be thinking of you and wishing you well. God Bless. Alan L. Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island     -----------   To Doc Hinger,   Dear Sir, My name is Mike Foristiere and I saw on Hugh's web site that you are coming off a lengthy surgical process. First and foremost I wish you well in your recovery. Second three years ago you e-mailed me some words of encouragement when I was going through an 0--for season. I will never forget that. I also want to say as long as I stand in a class room the sacrifices of our military will not be forgotten with my students whose memories are not what they should be. I want to thank you for your sacrifice and others in Vietnam and what now continues in Iraq and Afganistan. Once again thanks for those encouraging words a few years back and God Bless your recovery and all that you have done for this country. Sincerely Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho   -----------   To Tom"Doc"Hinger.Get well soon. Prayers for you. When I first joined the military after quitting college(football)etc.I joined in what supposedly was a military in shambles. I finished high school in 1977.I got in at the tail end of Pres.Carter.All my DI's, Infantry training staff,Plattoon Sgts and a lot of the squad leaders were Vietnam Vets, Pretty much all the Sr NCO'S,Officers were Vietnam Vets. Loyalty to each other and Country no matter what was real evident. It erased all the things that I grew up with about the Vietnam Warriors. I always will be one who will be forever grateful to Vietnam Vets. Get well soon "Doc."I'm in the medical proffesion.It is still hard for me to hear MD's being called Docs. I reserve that name for guys like you. Forever will. My prayers are with you. Armando A.Castro,Roanoke,Virginia   -----------   *********** It is with great sadness that I note the passing of Big Jim Parker, an all-time great college and NFL lineman. He was named all-pro eight straight seasons, and in 1973 became the first offensive lineman elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Woody Hayes, who coached a good one or two at Ohio State, called him "the best offensive lineman I have ever coached" in presenting him at his induction.   Although few of today's 300+ pound offensive linemen could have played in Parker's day without losing 50 pounds or more, Jim Parker would have been a star in any era. He played at 6-3, 275, but he could run. And - never forget - under the rules of that NFL game, he couldn't hold. Blockers were required to keep their hands against their chests when blocking - even in pass protection. There was no extending of the arms, no grabbing the breast plate, no "hands inside the frame" or any of that crap. What passes for "blocking" in today's game is a joke by Jim Parker's standards. If Jim Parker held a defender, he was called for holding.   Jim Parker will always be special to me because he was a Baltimore Colt. God, what I would give to stand in Memorial Stadium one more time, as the Colts - Unitas, Moore, Berry, Donovan - run out of the tunnel. And Jim Parker. He was loved. Baltimoreans took him to their hearts.   And he was respected. Looking back, to me the best thing to me about Jim Parker was that he was the right man at the right time - a black man who was a very, very good football player and a very, very good man, with a wonderful disposition. In a still-segregated southern city, a city with definite red-neck ideas of what a black man's place was supposed to be, Jim Parker came as close as any man could have come to surmounting such deep-seated prejudice. Yes, it was incongruous that the vast majority of whites could condone unequal treatment of blacks while lionizing Jim Parker, but in my view, it was a start. For many, Jim Parker was their first experience with colorblindness.   Big Jim played his entire career in Baltimore, and he lived his entire adult life there, somehow able to deal with the contradiction of being accepted as a Colts' hero while knowing how deeply Baltimore's racial prejudices ran.   He was well-paid, but not by today's standards, which meant that there were no gated communities for those players. They had to live among the rest of us. Jim Parker did. To supplement his pay in the off-season, players held down jobs. Jim Parker started out selling for a liquor company, and eventually opened his own liquor store.   Jim Parker was an invaluable bridge between whites and blacks, and it was through Jim Parker's efforts that a young Baltimorean was awarded a scholarship to prestigious Riverdale Country Day School in New York City, established by Seagrams to provide opportunities for inner city black youngsters.   This particular young Baltimorean distinguished himself academically and athletically at Riverdale, and went on to star at Yale. As a surprise draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys, he became the NFL Rookie of the Year, an All-Pro member of America's Team.   You may not remember Calvin Hill. He hasn't played in 30 years. Maybe it would help if you knew he was Grant Hill's dad. Either way, when you think of Calvin Hill or Grant Hill, or both, you should know that they are part of Jim Parker's legacy. *********** Coach Wyatt ... While doing a little web research on Santa Clara athletics I ran across your page (http://www.coachwyatt.com/Mar01.html) which included an article about Tim Johnson ...   I would like to "continue" to use your excerpt in a post on Tim and his role in starting up football at Avilia U. on SCUfans.com an un-official fan site for Santa Clara University sports fans I help administer.  I think it is a very "uplifting" story of how a few people can make a difference when it comes to playing football for the right reasons.   Santa Clara has an mosty quiet, but illustrious ( back-to-back Sugar Bowls wins over LSU, and beating the "Bear" in the 50th Orange Bowl) football history but the administration felt compelled to cancel football (for a second time) about 13 years ago because of  supposedly the combined effects of Title IX and "BCS" schools pressuring the NCAA to not allow "D-1" schools to play D-II ball and the "domino effect" that had on small West Coast D-I/Small College (D-II) schools' program viability.   This action caused a deep divide among many alums and even spawned a website www.letthemplay.com .   I would like to hope that stories of what folks who may have had even the smallest connection to Santa Clara football have done might help direct the discussion sometime in the future.   Please check out http://p066.ezboard.com/fscufanscomfrm12.showMessage?topicID=6.topic and let me know your thoughts about referencing your material ...   Thanks, ZIG Wiedemann, SCU '70   ps/ as a former infantry guy myself ... and MUCH more of a team player than a star I LOVE the Black Lion initiative ... thanks ...   You may feel free to use my materials in any way that might help the cause of Santa Clara football.   You might also be interested in knowing that I spent the 1979 season at Portland Central Catholic High as an assistant to one Steve Stanich, who I understand was a pretty good player at Santa Clara, back in the Pastorini days. (Steve now runs the family restaurant/taverns - Stanich's - in Portland. For years, a Santa Clara football schedule poster with Steve's picture on it has adorned the wall of their Fremont Street Tavern.)   Many thanks for the nice note about the Black Lion Award. Bring back Broncos' football!   *********** This is so sad... it's an e-mail I got - I think it comes from a European -   It started out, "I am a great fan of  Football in other words NFL..." and asked me a question.   I answered the question the best I could, but I couldn't let that "Football in other words NFL" business go.   I added, "It so happens that I do not consider 'NFL' and 'football' to be synonymous, any more than I consider "Budweiser" and "beer" to be synonymous. If you consider "NFL" and "football" to be one and the same, you are missing out on the best our sport has to offer.   *********** Coach Wyatt, Congratulations on being named head coach! That's as it should be and I'm glad it all worked out for the best. Your kids are the real winners in this deal.   Now, as far as bragging rights are concerned, yes I would like to congratulate Wyatt for having an outstanding season. This is an all-star baseball team and you aren't selected unless you can really play the game. The team is STILL playing and STILL winning and haven't lost a single game in the post-season.   However, allow me to brag a bit myself, if I may. Also in the team photograph is Alex Raburn (holding the banner, front row, second from left) and Joey Mangili (also holding the banner, front row, on the right). Alex just happened to be the starting Quarterback of our Durham Fighting Eagles for the past three seasons. Alex led us to 3 consecutive C.F.F. Championships, scored 28 touchdowns, was our all-time leading scorer with 201 points and this year completed 73% of his passes. Alex was also inducted into our Academic Hall of Fame. Joey Mangili (who was inducted into our Academic Honors program) was our Center for these past three seasons and together Joey and Alex went the entire 2004 season without one single fumbled exchange. As a matter of fact, they only had one fumbled exchange during the entire 2003 season. Joey & Alex have gone 319 consecutive snaps from scrimmage without a fumble and we only had three fumbled exchanges in 844 consecutive snaps. Not too bad for Jr. Peewees. There, I feel better now.   Again, congrats on being selected. The cream always rises to the top and this time was no different. Good luck this season!   Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina (My daughter Julia Love, Wyatt's mom, added, "Wyatt was thrilled to see his team's picture on your website. FYI, not a single one of those kids is a baseball-only boy. Four play football (Two played for Dave Potter and are Durham Eagles while two others play for their middle schools), 4 of them played basketball, 3 play soccer, 1 does cross-country, 1 has a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do. They probably do more, that's just all we're aware of! HW   *********** Dear Hugh, Hows it going? Read you are now a head coach again!!! Sounds like the kids really wanted you. Best of luck, I know you guys will do great. Sorry it has been so long since we have communicated. Lots of things have been going on. Let me back track to May 26th we had our spring game and we won or lost depending on who you talk to. Let me explain... the first half we were supposed to play our first teams in a game like condition. After half time, we were to play our first team and maybe a few real good back ups in 10 play series. each team would get two 10 play series. we would then turn off the score board and just exchange 10 play series with our younger players(JV). Well it didn't work out exactly as planned. At the end of the third quarter we were winning 18 - 13 and were basically kicking their ass on offense. We ran 40+ plays and only lost yardage on a sack. They never stopped us. Ran a wedge for 32 yards. Anyway, we put in our third teamers, and of course they didn't and in the last series their first team offense scored on our third team defense. End of game 19-18 they win. So much for gentlemens agreements. I still felt real good about how we played on offense. We played a bunch of kids on defense and while didn't do as well still got some good things on film. Well now for the big news!!! as of yesterday, I am no longer the Head Coach at Goleman. On June 22nd I had an angioplasty, with three stents put in to open up my Left Anterior Descending artery which was 90+ percent blocked. I was 38 years old, I made it to 39 thank goodness on July 8th. According to the doctors the bottom apex of my heart was starved for oxygen for so long there was at least some tissue death. How much they don't really know yet, the hope was some of the tissue would revive at some level because it may have gone into a hibernative state. I really don't totally understand all the doctor lingo. They said that my heart was working at 35 and a healthy heart works at 55-60. That was enough for me.   Anyway, I had some serious thinking to do, about how i was going to deal with this situation. I don't feel bad but was told not exert my self etc. until I took another stress test and did some follow up. I go in the 25th for the test. The bottom line is could I deal with the stress and all the BS that goes into being a head coach, and was I really willing to with my health being in question. It was an agonizing decesion. I really didn't know what to do. Finally, however I have to put my health and my family first. I wanted to be sure everything is ok before I go back on the field. Jeff, has agreed to step in as the interim Head Coach, and I can take the job back at the end of the season if I want it. In this day of out of touch administrators, I can't say enough about how I have been treated. We have a new principal, and he has been superb. I mean you here horror stories about situations like this. This guy is great!!! In fact everyone has been very supportive.   I hope all my tests come back ok and Jeff, wants me to try and help out as much as possible. Hugh, to be honest I want to come back but not until I know my situation. I don't manage my stress well at all. This has been a huge wake up call. I have to fight this heart disease for the rest of my life. I'm on about 10 pills a day for blood pressure, choelesterol etc. Anyway thats where we stand right now. I will of course be in touch. Hope all is well and good luck in the up coming season.   Leonard Patrick, Miami, Florida (After a close call with Coach Kevin Latham of Atlanta a few years ago, it hurts to see another vital, young coach hit hard with a potentially life-altering event. Coach Patrick has been my host at Goleman, where he has done a near-miraculous job of turning a perennial loser into a playoff team. Fortunately, the team is in the capable hands of Jeff Rogers, who has had head coaching experience in upstate New York as well as Miami, but the main thing is getting Leonard Patrick back into fighting trim. Say a prayer for his speedy return to coaching. HW)   *********** Knowing what you do now, how do you feel about having an option play as part of your offense?  I am talking about a double option where the only read is for the QB to either pitch or keep based on the DE, not the veer option.   We have team speed and a QB that can do it and we have done it in the past.  I wanted you opinion on the option versus outide plays like the power sweep, rocket sweep, and true QB keeps.   I think that is is useful to have a simple little option, not only to take advantage of a QB who can run, but to give defenses an extra headache. I find for me that knowing a team can and will run an option causes us to be careful about using certain packages. The key word here is "simple." We try to do it using simple modifications of our power and G blocking.   *********** Dad: Hope the Iowa clinic is going well. Just saw a great (6-7 minute) piece on Sportscenter on Herman Edwards. He's been giving free, five-day football clinics for the past 10 years near Monterey, CA. He grew up there &endash; Dad was in the service, Mom was a German war bride! - first at Fort Ord, then in the city. Really good story, great grabs from Edwards talking about his parents, his upbringing (his Dad said race, religion, etc was never to be used as an excuse &endash; 'the only thing people owed you was an opportunity'). Edwards' Dad died in a 1978 in a car crash, but his Mom still lives in the same house. Excellent stuff. I always liked Edwards, but now I'm even more of a fan. Love, Ed (Wyatt), Melbourne, Australia   *********** When I attended the Army's Jungle Warfare School as a First Lieutenant in 1962 in Fort Sherman, CZ, the thing that impressed me the most during that six-week stint in the jungle(it came in handy five years later in Vietnam) were the four NAVY SEALS who were in the 220-man class.They did everything better than any of us.A bunch of us were from the 82nd Airborne Division and we thought we were about the best that there was, but these guys, ALL FROM YALE, ran rings around the rest of us. On the Escape and Evasion Exercise toward the end of the course it took most of us 2 1/2 days to reach our destination wandering through the jungle. The four NAVY SEALS, as a team, RAN the entire course through the jungle and made it in less than a day, I think something like 12 hours. These guys were in shape. And now a former Black Lion Award winner wins the NAVY SEAL AWARD at the Naval Academy. No wonder w've got our work cut out this year at the ARMY/NAVY game.Congratulations to Austin Barnes and his greatest fan, his DAD. Congratulations, Scott! Jim Shelton, BG,USA(Ret) Honorary Colonel 28th Infantry Regiment Black Lions. (Yes, Hugh. ALL Yaleees)   *********** I was asked about the "Starburst" kickoff return, and the answer was right under my nose, as reader Mark Rice of Beaver, Pennsylvania points out. It's an article by another faithful reader, John Torres, of Castaic, California, and it's found at http://www.fbforyouth.com/starburst.htm (Coach Torres says he doesn't mind if you e-mail him on this: coachjt@comcast.net)   *********** I read with interest the discussion about the rule changes by the NCAA. New England Prep School Football uses N.C.A.A. rules. I agree with you and Coach Davis. The rule uses the word and which implies the block must be low and behind the opponent. Therefor, the "shoeshine" block remains legal because it is in front of the defender's legs. Below is the Rule   Clipping. Changed all references from "legal clipping zone" to "rectangular area." Added subsection (a) in the first exception to read: "A player in the rectangular area may not block an opponent with the force of the initial contact from behind and at or below the knee (Exception: Against the runner)." Rationale: Clipping is extremely dangerous and must not be legal at any time. This changes the rule to allow contact from behind, but only above the knee. Chuck Reid, Concord, New Hampshire. For those of you with a good player who could possibly use an extra year of preparation before entering college, Coach Reid adds...   I was offered a faculty position and the head coaching job at an independent boarding school called Proctor Academy in Andover, NH. Even though I was very happy teaching at Concord High School and running the defense at The Tilton School, this was too fantastic of an opportunity to turn down. My family and I will be moving on campus next month. Football camp doesn't start until September 6th. We do accept a limited number of Post-Graduates, so please keep us in mind if you have any good candidates in the future.   *********** A youth coach who briefly considered running a spread triple option took some of my comments to heart, and decided to stay with the Double-Wing. He writes...   Thank you for your comments regarding the triple option.  I had similar concerns.   In our league we have a strict minimum play participation rule and to makes thing easier I would like to employ the double wing using 2 wideouts in place of the TEs - We usually have 20 kids on our team with 15-16 of them being RB weighted and about 5 of them are very, very light.  Having 2 wideouts would help us in getting the much smaller kids in where we could minimize the safety risks and teach how to play wideout.  I antiicipate that we will have big and physical A and C backs to block down on the DTs and take on the Ends once in awhile.   For the powers, in a wide set I am anticipating only pulling the backside guard.    Can you recommend the best plays to run out of the spread formation with a running QB? Also, I would like to employ the Wildcat series as well. Can you recommend the best plays to run out of that?   Here is what our personnel in the backfield will look like:   A - Big Physical and Fast, B - Big Physical and Great Blocker, C - Tall and Fast, QB - Very Fast and Very Quick   Thanks for your help.   I hope you understand that I did not in any way intend to pre-empt your right to decide what is best for your kids.   A short answer is "Yes, you can run most of the offense from spread formation."   You can't run 6-G or 7-G, but you CAN run 4-X and 5-X almost as effectively.   Yes, instead of running "Super POWER" you have to run "Super-O." That isn't too big a problem.   One problem you may run into is with your tackles. When they are covered (as in tight formation) they don't have to be very good. But when you split the end and the tackle is uncovered, he has to be a bit better. That has been my observation.   We haven't run a lot of Wildcat from "Spread" formation, but essentially you would do anything you'd normally do with tight ends except run 6-G and 7-G. This would be a better way to involve your QB, because just by adding the word "follow" to a play (as in 4-X follow) he does not hand off but instead follows the intended running back, and by adding the word "keep" he becomes the runner (as in 3 trap 2 Keep or 47-C Keep or 88 Power Keep).   We are actually looking at a modified gun package, drawing on our experience with Wildcat. HW   *********** I know you've touched on this before, but I can't find my notes on it.  What side do you prefer to run wedge to?  We tend to be more right handed than left with super power, so I assume that would influence things.  My thoughts are to run it to the back side (1) to allow slanting TNT's and cheating linebackers to take themselves out of the play.  Your thoughts?   That is a good question. I have always made the right side my side of choice, I suppose as much as anything because I usually have my best guard at right guard, but that doesn't make it the final word on the subject, and it does make some sense to run a 3 wedge as part of a buck series (38, 3 trap 2, 38 Black). *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 19, 2005 - "The only easy day was yesterday!" Navy SEALS' motto     *********** At 6-8, 200, Kyle Singler was an outstanding tight end at South Medford (Oregon) High last season as a sophomore and he's projected to play quarterback this fall. His dad, Ed, was a QB at Oregon State, and his Uncle Bill, who played at Stanford is now his head coach at South Medford.   He's also a pretty good basketball player. A very good one, in fact. This summer he's been playing on a Nike-sponsored Elite team.   He says that for basketball his choice of college right now would be Duke, Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, Washington or Oregon. For football, it would be Oregon or Oregon State     "I love both sports," he told the Portland Oregonian. "I'm not sure which one I'm going to pick. I might play both."   Maybe so, but boy - with all that basketball potential, and two years of high school still to go, I'll bet there have been plenty of people telling him he ought to give up football. (After all, he could get hurt.)   Well, sure enough, the thing everybody fears most when a basketball player insists on playing football happened to Kyle Singler this summer - he tore up his knee.   He did it playing basketball at the Nike All-Star camp in Indianapolis.   *********** I tried to make this short, but I couldn't... As of Friday, I am the head coach at Madison High in Portland, Oregon. Tonight it will be two weeks since the former head coach, Tracy Jackson, told our kids he was leaving for another job.   It's been a tough time for those kids. Some have bounced back better than others, but they loved their coach, and the news was a blow.   I tried to stay away from the speculation ("Are you going to be our coach"), because I really didn't want the headaches of being a head coach, so when the kids would ask me what my plans were, and I said I wasn't sure, it began to occur to me that I might be giving them the impression that I didn't care enough about them to take on the job.   It was when I was asked for maybe the hundredth time "Does this mean we're going to have to learn a new offense?" "Does this mean we're going to have to learn a new defense?" that the impact of a coaching change on these kids really hit me. Yes, they would not only have to learn a new coach's way of doing things, but they'd have to learn a new offense... and a new defense. If nothing else, our kids - those of them with football experience, at least - are comfortable with what they've been doing.   I began to waver, and I told my wife so. She has been our "cameraman" for the last two years, and she knows and likes those kids, too. She didn't exactly push me, but it is fair to say that she let me know she'd support my decision either way. We went back and forth - our life is good, and there certainly would be negatives - but it always kept coming back to a sense of responsibility to those kids. At our age, we both know by now how fast a football season slips by, and it came down to not wanting to look back at the end of the season feeling I'd let them down. Win or lose, I owed it to those kids.   Not that Portland Public Schools made things easy. I was originally told that if I was interested, I'd have to interview along with everyone else. I thought that because I'd been an assistant at Madison for two years, and they certainly knew what I could do, and I was the only candidate with Portland ties, they might have approached me directly with a job offer, but that's not the way things work. Interviews were scheduled for Friday, I was told, and that was that.   A little prayer for strength and wisdom didn't hurt, and finally, on Thursday afternoon, as the deadline neared, I decided to submit to the bureaucracy - I swallowed my pride and asked if I could get in on the interview process. The AD said he'd call me Friday morning and let me know.   That afternoon, I told the seniors - those few who were at the workout - that I'd decided to ask for an interview, even knowing that nothing was certain, and they seemed to give their approval.   Friday, I was told at 10:30 AM that if I was interested, they could interview me at 1:15. The interview went well. It really was comfortable, since I knew three of the four members of the panel and was on good terms with them, and I had all my stuff ready. I was especially ready for the BIG question. I mean, I am 67 years old, and I knew they'd ask me something touching on that, and when they shot me the question about how long I planned to be around (or some such wording), I answered, "the best way I can answer that is to say that my coaching inspirations are Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Rich Brooks and Bobby Ross - and they're all older than I am."   Friday night, when I got back from what could have been my last workout with the kids, I got the call from our AD, asking me if I wanted to be Madison's coach. Yes sir. I said.   So here we are. We have one starter returning on offense (our B-Back), and two on defense (one of whom is our B-Back, who also plays linebacker). From end-to-end, we have two kids with any significant varsity football experience; in the backfield, we have only two players (including the B-Back) who have ever carried the ball in a high school game, and none who has ever thrown a pass. We have a few promising newcomers to fill the backfield spots, and we look as if we could be okay at tight end (even after losing those 6-5, 250 bookends), but with the exception of one senior guard, it looks as if we're going to be mostly sophs along the front.   On defense, linebacker should be a strong point. Defensive line will take a lot of work, and we've got to find some athletes to play in the secondary.   We are undermanned in the coaching area as well, but I am in no hurry to fill spots. (Most of you who are familiar with me know that I believe that a weak assistant is far worse than no assistant at all.) Only one other member of last year's varsity staff, Ryan Miller, returns, but he is a very good man with exceptional work habits. He's been a head baseball coach at two different high schools, and I have a lot of faith in him. I have also asked an old friend who's now coaching his son's youth team if he'd consider coming out of retirement and working with our line. He is an excellent coach - a former high school head coach himself - who is also a man of good character. If he decides to come on board, we will be rock solid, and then we'll look at a few other candidates. (Anybody else out there interested?)   The irony is that I have yet to meet the kids in my new official capacity. As I write this, I am off to Iowa (via Omaha) for our third annual Galva-Holstein Football Camp, a commitment I made long ago, and I won't return home until late Thursday. I'll miss a couple of days of workouts and Tuesday night's weekly 7-on-7 against three other schools, but no matter. Between Ryan Miller and my wife, we'll be able to transport enough kids (is that a great coach's wife, or what?), and they'll be in good hands with Ryan.   Selfishly, the best part of it is that when I get back, I have a job to do. I hated the thought of being out of coaching, even for one year. (Hell, I don't know how many years I have left.) So I'm blessed - I love to coach and I'm fortunate enough to have a place to do it, with a bunch of kids I enjoy coaching.   ***********I mentioned last week that Tom "Doc" Hinger, highly-decorated Vietnam medic, had undergone major surgery at the VA Hospital in Tampa.   Tom survived the six-hour operation - nice of him to wait until it was over to let me in on the rather frightening fact that some 20 per cent of those undergoing the procedure never get up from the table - and now he's feeling a lot better. "I'm on the road back," he told me. True, it's going to be a long road, but he's encouraged by the doctors, who tell him he may be able to return to his home in Winter Haven as early as this Wednesday.   HIs wife, Jane, has been a great source of strength throughout this ordeal, making the daily 1-11/2 hour round-trip to be by his side. When I asked Tom the first thing he saw when he awoke from surgery, he said, "Jane - just what I hoped I'd see."   Tom marvels at the treatment he's received. He said he "can't say enough" about the quality of the people and the care they provide.   Tom has been the constant recipient of calls from well-wishing former comrades-in-arms, who have kept the emails abuzz with their frequent updates on his condition. These were men who fought together nearly 40 years ago, and then went their separate ways. Most of them stayed out of touch for more than 20 years. Yet, once reunited, they realized that they were, indeed, a Band of Brothers, and they maintain almost daily contact with each other.   I constantly marvel at the strength and durability of the bonds forged in combat.   Several readers have been kind and thougtful enough to e-mail me with kind wishes for Doc. He is not going to be up to answering e-mail, but I guarantee you he'll be reading Friday morning's NEWS, and as this Black Lion begins a long recovery (I'll know he's getting stronger when he's able to be call me to give me sh-- if my page isn't up), I think it would be great if those of you out there who have had good experiences with the Black Lion Award program would add your good wishes to the ones we've already received. Send e-mails to me - coachwyatt@aol.com *********** Dear Coach, as I promised here is a german DW success story.   I took over the United Dragons last november, their HC just abandonded them and they were in a process of a total renewal. Last year they were 4-4 and ran the I-formation, so to speak standard german football with a 5-2 defense on the other side of the ball.   The defense was properly coached but offensively it was kind of a mess. The team was known for their wedge or better to say what people in germany think is a wedge. Because of our big bruising center they made quite a lot of yards with a Qb sneak that they called a wedge.   Then I was confronted with something most DW coaches have experienced: " You can´t run this. You won´t move the ball. We got to pass...... bla,bla,bla."   .......Yeah right.   Well to be honest even now their are people who don´t believe in the system. And that´s a point I feel I have to point out the success we´re having right has not so much to do with me beeing a good coach its the system and you. Yes you are right you are a big part of our achievements, I would have never been able to bring them here without the countless phone conversations and emails.   But to get back to the facts its season break right now. We are 4-0 so far with 154-25 points.   We only need to win 2 more games in order to make the play-offs and I feel we will.   And coming back to the wedge, after 8 practices of only practicing wedge its our most successful play now. At least 10 td´s come from it.   On defense we run a 30 stack now, lots of pressure lots of fun.   I attached some pictures please feel free to use the ones you like. Coach Thanks so much for your outstanding work   Mathias Bonner, HC BUD, Bremen, Germany   P.S.: Their is a lot of DW info out there and I will listen to everybody but in the end if I say DW I mean Wyatt.   P.P.S.: In case you find some bad typos or terrible use of the english language please fell free to correct me.   *********** "I find it funny that Oklahoma, after two years of leaving in Jason White to run up the score, is disappointed with the development of his backup and may start a younger player." Christopher Anderson, Palo Alto, California   *********** Hi Coach: Brian Haack here, formerly of the Semi Pro Fajardo Giants of Puerto Rico.  I'm coaching in Texas at a small private college now and wanted to get as many articles and cut ups as I can find demonstrating a kick return play that has been referred to as the "Starburst" kick return.  Do you know of it?   In case  you know it by another name, this is a return where the kicking team members that are not on the front line, form a huddle, hand the ball off to another member inside the huddle, and then burst from the huddle in different directions (all acting as if they have the ball).    I saw the Salem Sun Devils (Virginia Beach Virginia) run this very effectively, but can't seem to get an answer from them to provide any info.  Would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks. Brian Haack, San Antonio, Texas (P.S.: I worked with Mike Emery on his Fitch High School team in Connecticut. I recently did a little follow up and you know, about 6 kids from that team went on to division I programs. Purdue, Northeastern, and Villanova and others. They've all done really great for themselves after getting started at Fitch, while Coach Emery was using your Double wing. Just thought you'd want to know.)   Coach, I have seen it, and I have seen it diagrammed, but I wouldn't know where to tell you to go to find it. I'll post something on my site and maybe someone will respond. HW   Hard to believe that it all started with a mouse named Mickey. Follow me closely... Walt Disney begat Mickey, and Mickey brought in millions, which enabled the child-friendly company Mr. Disney left behind to become a sports octopus, staging various sports events at its Walt Disney World, and acquiring ABC and with it, ESPN and the concept of continually crossing over the solid white line between sports and entertainment.   In a startling move, ESPN has acquired, so to speak, a Pennsylvania high school football team, to star in a reality show it plans on running this fall.    I am not sh---ing you.   The school board in Montour, a Pittsburgh suburb, came to an agreement with ESPN to exploit its football players and their coach in return for ESPN's bucks.   What they will get in return for allowing their kids to be part of a sham in which Dick Butkus plays their coach: a new scoreboard, new uniforms for the football team and the cheerleaders, and "state-of-the-art field maintenance equipment." There's probably more.   What they will also get is a reputation as the something a good bit lower than $20 hookers.   What they have agreed to do is allow ESPN cameras free rein of their practices. Oh - and allow Butkus, who will move for the season from his home in Malibu, has never coached a God's-blessed team in his frigging life, to be the head coach. (This is reality?) The real head coach, Lou Cerro, will be Butkus' "assistant."   Quite a surprise for Coach Cerro, heading into his first season after being hired away from a local Catholic school. He wasn't consulted on the ESPN deal, even though it went down after he was hired. Presumably, even though at his last place he went 33-5 over the last three seasons while winning two WPIAL titles, it's too late for him to go back there.   The show, to be called, "Bound for Glory -- The Montour Spartans," will run for eight weeks for an hour on Tuesdays at 10 PM beginning September 20.   The laugh, writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Smisik, is on ESPN.   R.J. Cutler, the executive producer of the show, described it as "a very simple idea about a school and town where football is in many ways the lifeblood of the community."   Writes Smizik, noting that Montour has been consistently bad over the years, "Someone gave Cutler some bad information. If he wanted a community where football was the lifeblood, he should have looked at Aliquippa." (Aliquippa, hometown of such Hall-of-Famers as Mike Ditka and Tony Dorsett, is the real deal. Of course, it is possible that the football-nuts people in "The Quip" would not have agreed to the distraction of a weekly show on ESPN.)   Smizik observed that the real potential ugliness in all this is that ESPN isn't going to be interested in a "reality" show that is real. You know, boring practices, same old drills, etc. There's going to have to be controversy, and what better source can they find than tension between Butkus, the phony "head coach," Cerro, his "assistant."   Of course, points out Smizik, the Butkus-as-head-coach farce does offer some delightful possibilities:   Butkus, a legendary tough guy, deals in his own special way with meddling parents.   Butkus deals in his own special way with meddling administrators.   Butkus deals in his own special way with snotty senior quarterback.     *********** Sorry if you consider this a misuses of my NEWS page, but I do get to brag on my grandkids occasionally. That's my grandson, Wyatt Love, of Durham, North Carolina, standing farthest left, without the hat - the big kid with the catcher's shin guards on. The photo was taken in Fayettevile on Sunday, after his team just won its District Championship. Next week, they play in the state tournament, held someplace near Winston-Salem. (I think it's in Clemmons.)   *********** On a positive note I found a coach to help me with my offense. A young man by the name of Steve Bothwell from my 98' team. He was my QB. Ran into him at the grocery store and I asked if he remembered any of our DW plays and he said "yes". I asked if he remembered my favorite play and he said "wedge!". I asked him if he wanted to help coach the backs since I will be coaching O-Line? Coach Wyatt, it looked like I just offerred him a million bucks with his reaction. He said "Do you mean it...absolutely coach!" So now I am at that point when I have former players returning to help me out. Getting old sucks but on the other hand, experience is a killer trait to have!!! LOL. John Torres, Castaic, California   *********** (Coach Wyatt, I suppose you better leave my name off of this one if you choose to use it.......) Coach Babb wrote: "the primary purpose of youth football is to teach the fundamentals in an enjoyable way so that the kids sign up next year." I would say "right on" to that statement. Unfortunately in our area, the local high schools get involved and the primary purpose shifts to " teach fundamentals and force the HS system on the players and coaches so that the HS benefits in the future".   I still fail to see how this benefits the HS, but this attitude is becoming way too widespread. It is driving many good youth coaches out of the game they love.   *********** A cool letter sent to me by Armando Castro, who, you may remember, wrote a nice tribute some time back to his former coach, Archie Cheslau...   Armando, Are you the Armando Castro that wrote that great tribute to Archie Chesnau, found here: http://www.coachwyatt.com/apr05.htm ? If so let me tell you that I too attended Aurbundale during those years graduating 6th in 1968 so I'm three years your senior. Archie Chesnau is still my -personal hero- for all the reasons you stated and my eyes watered big time reading your words.   There is probably an army of us out there that feel the way we do. I'm going down to Miami at the end of the month to celebrate my Dad's 80th. I don't even know if Mr. Chesnau is still with us, but I'd sure like to find out, even if it is to point his family to the above url and to tell them what he meant to me and my classmates. I cc'd Tony Ferrer who attended Auburndale with me from 2nd to 6th grade and who also shares the love for that larger-than-life coach.   I've been Google'ing for Mr Chesnau's name for years and I finally got a hit with your letter. Amazing.   Regards, Paul Hernandez   *********** A very successful Double-Wing youth coach finds himself under pressure from the local high school program to teach the high school system (he didn't say how good the high school program is)   I find myself in a situation where I need to use more of the I-right and I-left formations this year.   Have you always strictly used these out unbalanced?   Do you think it is possible to run "power" out of these formations or just "super power"?   (my intentions are not to tinker, but just to adapt......)   This is not tinkering. It is, as you say, adapting. I think the system is flexible enough to allow you to adapt.   Yes, I have run from Tight I-Right and T I-left, and you can run power or super power in both cases. You will also be able to run it to the "short side" (as 77 or 66), just the same as if you were running "Special Power". I think that power will be tougher to time up, and without the QB's block, there is no way to account for the playside corner - but I suppose the high school coach doesn't want his QB's learning how to block. Might as well start coddling them when they're young.   You will only be able to run "G" in one direction, and the same with Counter, but you'll be okay.   You know enough by now to make whatever adjustments are necessary.   *********** The same sort of litmus testing that creates the liberal-brainwashing that passes for American universities is apparently creeping into business as well. I read an article recently about a personality test that some companies are said to be giving job applicants. (Remind me not to invest in those companies.) The test purports to measure "Five Key Traits": (1) Extraversion: high scorer knows how to captivate people; low scorer keeps in the background... (2) Aggreeableness: High scorer accepts people as they are; low scorer gets back at others... (3) Conscientiousness: high scorer gets things done right away; low scorer does just enough work to get by... (4) Emotional Stability: high scorer is not easily bothered by things; low scorer is often in the dumps... (5) Openness to New Experience: high scorer believes in importance of art; low scorer tends to vote for conservative political candidates.   *********** Has anybody even dared suggest tube-tying? An Oklahoma woman split a case of beer with her boyfriend shortly before giving birth last month, and now she's facing felony child neglect charges. The 37-year-old mother of seven had a blood alcohol content nearly four times the state's .08 limit, and the baby, a girl, had a blood alcohol content reading of .21. The woman reportedly drank a case of beer a week during her pregnancy, and a friend told police that she asked the woman what the girl was going to be named, and the woman replied, "Maybe Milwaukee's Best."   *********** While we're still tying tubes... How about the T-ball coach in Western Pennsylvania who's accused of offering to pay one of his players $25 if he'd hit a less-talented 8-year-old teammate in the head with a baseball?   See, the league has a "minimum play" rule, requiring every kid to play at last three innings, and the coach figured getting this one kid, (who, according to a state trooper investigating the case "wasn't that talented"), out of the lineup would improve his chances of winning. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the youthful hit man went for the deal, and hit the victim near his left ear and in the groin area, rendering him unable to play in that night's game.   For some reason, the injured kid's mother smelled a rat, and questioned the other player, who told her about the coach's offer.   The coach has been charged with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment.   I couldn't fund out whether he ever paid the kid his $25. Or whether they won the game that night.   *********** I'm on the East Coast with the family right now -- just picked up (our son) Austin from Annapolis today, and drove down to Va. Beach -- Listen -- The former Black Lion award winner (Austin) just received Navy Seal recognition!! The kids were broken into platoons (It's a Navy Seal Wrestling Camp). After their "Red Flag" session today, in which all parents were in attendance, they awarded a "Navy Seal" award to one member of each platoon. The award was based on the member who best exemplified those qualities that they look for in Seal team members. Character, Leadership, Physical Strength, Committment, Self-sacrifice for the good of the team -- those things that sound familiar to you...Austin received the award for his platoon!! Man, I just about cried!! That kid works so hard, it's amazing. I'm so proud of all of my kiddos..we are so very blessed. Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas   *********** While our President ponders amnesty for illegal aliens (sorry - undocumented workers) whose first official act upon setting foot on American soil was to break our laws, I suggest we consider honorary citizenship for Aage Bjerre.   He's a Dane who ran a pizza shop on Faroe Island. He was just sentenced to eight days in jail, after being found guilty of discrimination for refusing to serve French or German customers. His shop was vandalized, and he has since sold the business. Given a choice between a $900 fine and the eight days in jail, he chose jail, saying, "eight days is a small price to pay when American soldiers go to Iraq and risk their limbs and lives."   So wherever you are, drink a toast - with something American - to Aage Bjerre, a great American - even if he does live in Denmark. Nathan Hale couldn't have said it much better.   ********* Hi Coach, I saw the discussion on your website about the new NCAA clipping rule.   I've been meaning to check it out, and maybe I'm interpreting this incorrectly, but I take it that you can't clip in the legal clipping zone (now called the rectangular area) below the knee. You can only clip in this zone above the knee. I don't see how this rule change will affect the shoeshine block, so long as you are not clipping. At the youth level, the DTs never made it across the LOS quick enough to be clipped when we shoeshined. In fact, a number of times the DTs were jumping backwards to avoid getting shoeshined, so they weren't even touched by our TEs....Below is the explanation from the NCAA site.   Thanks, Rick Davis, Duxbury Youth Football, Duxbury, Massachusetts   Rule 9-1-2-d Clipping.   Changed all references from "legal clipping zone" to "rectangular area."   Added subsection (a) in the first exception to read: "A player in the rectangular area may not block an opponent with the force of the initial contact from behind and at or below the knee (Exception: Against the runner)."   Rationale: Clipping is extremely dangerous and must not be legal at any time. This changes the rule to allow contact from behind, but only above the knee.   Coach - you appear to be spot-on We don't teach clipping anyhow, and if our end is aligned correctly, takes the correct first step, and throws his backside arm across the knees of the defender, he will be "shoeshining," (blocking low at shoelace-level), but he will not be clipping. HW *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 15, 2005 - "Some things can't be fixed... so don't break them!" Dr. Laura Schlesinger   *********** He wouldn't want me to do this. Tom "Doc" Hinger, like all true heroes, avoids attention.   He would never say so, but I will - he is a great American   Tom was awarded a Silver Star for his heroism in Vietnam as an Army medic while the men all around him, Black Lions, were being cut down by an enemy ambush. Wounded himself, and under heavy fire, he was the first to attend to Major Don Holleder, the former Army All-American who had been hit by a sniper's bullet. Major Holleder died in his arms.   Now, Doc is in a Tampa VA hospital, recovering from major surgery. He will be there another week to ten days, followed by a lengthy recovery at home.   I know that there are many of you who have heard of him or had contact with him. He's been one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Black Lion Award program, and he epitomizes the self-sacrifice that the Award recognizes.   I would ask you to send "get-well" e-mails to him, except that he is not going to have the energy to respond, so I'd ask instead that you send your messages to me - at coachwyatt@aol.com - and I'll print them on this page. I know he will read them, because whenever my page is late getting up (as it was today), I can count on a phone call from him, giving me hell.   I ask you to think about a guy who nearly gave his life for others, and do a little bit to cheer him up and wish him a speedy recovery.   *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, Read with interest your information on the belly series. As you know, I was taught this series by my high school coach Bill Wood and as you also know he recently passed away. We are going to have a wake for him in August at his home on Whidby Island in Washington State with his family and a few close friends. He would not want a sad farewell, but a party and celebration so that is what we are going to do. As part of the celebration I have been trying to get some memorabilia together of his life. So I was looking for College of Pacific items from the 1949 and 1950 season on the internet. I just wondered if you had run into a website called footballvideos.com. It is run by an ex-football player from a small college in Pennsylvania and what he has done is gone out and collected a bunch of college game films. I found a some games films from COP's season at this sight which I have since purchased and will show them at the wake and give to his son. I am anxious to view them as they will show in the '49 season Eddie LeBaron running the Belly Series. Should be very interesting. Any old players who want to see themselves on tap can contact that website and get a film our two from their season. The guy who runs the site has access to a truly amazing collection.   The Old Line Coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California   *********** Coach Wyatt, In your last 'News' item on Tuesday a youth coach wrote about the possibility of having to split into 2 teams. Because there are a couple of kids on the wait list, he's concerned about accepting them. I have a couple of thoughts. First, the primary purpose of youth football is to teach the fundamentals in an enjoyable way so that the kids sign up next year. Playing time is a big part of that enjoyment, so splitting into 2 teams should help all kids find more playing time. Second, adults lose sight of the fact that wins & losses don't matter to kids under 12, after the season is over. Only parents with visions of being youth football's Vince Lombardi put more emphasis on winning than is necessary. In most cases, a coach with 31 kids on his team has an advantage over a team with 16 players on it. But when there are kids on a wait list, I smell a rat -- namely one of those coaches who is more interested in his W/L record than promoting the game to more youths. Based on how we built participation in the youth programs I've participated in, youth coaches should never wait list anyone and should welcome the chance to increase the number of teams participating. When doing so, make sure the talent is evenly distributed. Having one strong team and one weak team will cause kids to re-think football when sign-ups come around the next year. I hope all is well with you and yours.   Regards, Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois   *********** Coach -I am thinking of trying your policy of minimum summer workouts for next year.  In general we have not had much of a problem with this, but we do get the occasional kid who just doesn't seem to show that much.  My policy has always been that those who show the most get the first crack at the positions - with the others starting at the bottom and having to work their way up.  Still - it seems like every year we get 99% participation except for the one kid who thinks he is so good he will simply get his position.  My biggest fear with your way though - is that I won't get the administration to support it (even if I come from the health and safety angle).  Our administration is very touchy feely and our parents tend to be vocal protestors of that which they don't like. Nonetheless I have talked to a few kids about your policy and they seemed to like it - I think the kids would go for it more so than parents and administration.  What do you think??  Also - what do you do with those with no equipment during team and hitting drills.   I wouldn't want them to get a "free pass" and sit around for much of the practice.  I thought about giving them pads, but telling them they can't start until they make the workouts up (but that sort of conflicts with the whole safety angle).  Also we already lift 3 times a week during our official summer practices.  What would makeup workouts consist of. (running, pushups, situps, tire flips etc.????)   I've never had a kid who didn't have all his summer work out of the way by the end of the third day of formal practices (we are allowed to put on full gear and have contact on the fourth day). We'll set up a mini-circuit (stairs, lifts, jump rope, pushups, sit ups, arm hangs, etc - you get the idea - ) and make the person work for 30-40 minutes solid, followed by however many sprints everyone else has worked up to (usually about 20-40's, with 30-30 seconds rest in between).   We will have a workout before and after every practice, and there are no excuses. These are mandatory practices.   What we told our kids last summer was that if they did the amount of summer work agreed on, we would not have two-a-day sessions. For them. I persuaded our head coach that this had always worked for me - I haven't had two-a-days since 1981, since our kids were already in great shape when we started. Our kids bought in and did the work, and we kept our end of the bargain and held one long session, roughly 8:30 to 12:00 (with appropriate breaks in between).   *********** Coach, I need your help in persuading our head coach not to switch from your D-Wing system to Navy's Spread Option. We have most of your tapes and the playbook. I am the assistant head coach, so I have to support him regardless of the choice he makes, but while we are still hashing it out, I would appreciate your thoughts on running a spread triple option at the middle school level.    We have won two straight league championships using your system and our record is 18-4.  I say if it ain't broke why fix it but he insists the Spread Option will better utilize our QB who is the fastest player in our 8 team league.  I remind him we also have the biggest lineman in the league who also happens to be the next fastest player in the league and who could annihilate the opposition when he pulls on the powers, counters, or G plays.  We also have returning our C back who is the league's leading returning rusher from last year.   I believe we have a great returning D-Wing nucleus.  I think a triple option offense needs to be run at an extremely high degree of execution in order to be successful.  I just don't think a group of middle schoolers with three weeks of preparation, plus a new system for the coaches, will be able to successfully implement this offense.  I see turnover city provided our talented QB doesn't get hurt in the process.  Your help shepherding a straying D-Wing coach back into the flock would be most appreciated.   Coach, As you know, one of the perks of being the Man With the Whistle is that you get to decide what you're going to do and how you're going to do it.   HOWEVER... having the title of head coach does not relieve a man of the responsibility of running what his kids can run best and what his coaches can coach best. Sometimes coaches get carried away, and make their decisions based on other factors than what will best enable their kids to be successful. That, boiled down to its essence, is our mission.   It is not important to me that you run the Double-Wing or not. There are lots of ways of being successful, so long as what you do is what is best for your kids.   So I'm not going to argue for the Double-Wing, but I think I can argue rather persuasively against a spread option, at least in this case.   I personally do not think that a spread option is an appropriate offense for youngsters. There are reasons why the only major colleges where this sort of offense is being run are Air Force, Navy and Rice. All of them are colleges that admit fairly smart kids. In addition, Army and Navy are doing it with kids who have a great deal of discipline in their lives. And, finally, NCAA rules permit blocking below the waist under most conditions (just watch Air Force some time). The inability to do that has badly hurt the effectiveness of any triple option attack at the high school level or lower. You are right about turnover city - if defenses can force you to pitch the ball, you will see it on the ground a lot.   And you are also right about this being a very quarterback-intensive offense. If your #1 guy goes down, you will probably have quite a fall-off, because #2 probably is not as good, and he almost certainly won't have had nearly as many practice reps as #1.   I can't say that you ought to run the Double Wing - that's not my call - but I can say that if you do to a spread option, you are probably not making the wisest choice of an offense for middle school kids.   *********** Coach, When you install plays without pads in a camp situation do you have the offense hit bags or just use them as landmarks?   Where possible we have "defenders" holding shields (not bags). I don't feel we get much out of going against air, but if numbers prevented us from putting any live people over there, cones or bags (or inverted plastic trash cans) would help somewhat.   If we have a few defenders, I like to put what few defenders we have in key positions - such as the 5-2 DT, DE, Playside LBer and corner (in that order) when we are running Super Power. We would move them around, depending on the play.   *********** Hello Coach, Well, it's official.  We got our new NCAA Rule book in today, and the "shoeshine" will not be allowed anymore.  As you are aware, we follow NCAA rules in Texas, as opposed to the Federation rules.  We are going to start looking at it and decide how to handle this adjustment.  Any input is welcome and appreciated.  Still can't wait to introduce the DW as our full-time offense in this, our third year here. Didn't look too bad in spring ball.   Hope the situation at Madison stabilizes soon.  Not sure why the administration hasn't already announced Hugh Wyatt as the new HC.  (If interested.)   Good luck Coach.  Thanks for everything.   Don Davis, Head Football Coach, Martin High School, Laredo, Texas   Hi Coach Davis-   I think that I would approach this in one of four ways:   (1) Pulling the guard and tight end (and not the tackle)   (2) Having the tight end "pull-hinge", which is what we have our tackle do when we run "Super-O"   (3) Running "Super-O" and having the tackle pull-hinge, which enables you to release the tight end (or split him or move him to the other side)   (4) Against any odd front, blocking down along the entire front, so that the center gets that #1 defensive lineman backside   Truthfully, I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem. Let me know what you think.   *********** From the Internet - World History   History began some 12,000 years ago. Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains in the summer & would go to the beach & live on fish & lobster in winter.   The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer & the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer.   These were the foundations of modern civilization & together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct sub-groups: Liberals & Conservatives.   Once beer was discovered it required grain & that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can was invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.   Some men spent their days tracking & killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement."   Other men who were weaker & less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's & doing the dishes, sewing, fetching & hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.   Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girleymen.' Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy & group hugs & the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat & beer that conservatives provided.   Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.   Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, & French food are standard liberal fare.   Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men.   Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood & group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.   Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat & still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, athletes & generally anyone who works productively outside government. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.   Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers & decide what to do with the production.   Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. Originally, liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. Those who are here now crept in after the Wild West was tame & created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing. *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 12, 2005 - "Give me a choice between an outstanding athlete with poor character and a lesser athlete of good character, and I'll choose the latter every time." Tom Landry   *********** It was July 6, two days after the Fourth, but close enough - my wife and I attended a party at the Ridgefield, Washington home of Mike and Vicky Snowden, to honor their son, Joey. Joey's a former student of mine, and possibly you've seen his photo on this site, because he went on to West Point, and on all my recent visits there we've been able to hook up.   Now, though, he's a recent West Point grad, USMA Class of 2005, and he's Second Lieutenant Joseph Snowden, US Army. At the time this photo was taken, he was getting ready to head to Fort Benning Georgia, where he was expected to report at 0900 Monday the 11th (yesterday).   (Notice the beard on Joey. He figured it would be his last chance to wear one for a long time!)   It is fair to say that the Snowdens are a patriotic family. Dad Mike is a retired Army colonel, and in our county, which ordinarily turns out maybe one West Pointer every ten years or so, Mike and Vicky are the proud parents of not one but two West Point grads. Joey's older brother, Mike, a First Lieutenant in the Army, flies Apache helicopters. He's now stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, but he's already seen combat in Iraq, and he hasn't been back to Ridgefield since Christmas, 2003, which explains the "Freedom Tree" in the background - topped with a yellow ribbon, it won't come down until Mike returns.   The real irony is that Mike and Vicky, natives of Meridian, Mississippi and graduates of Mississippi State, now find themselves all alone in the Northwest, while all three of their kids are in the South, within a couple of hours of each other - sons Joey at Fort Benning and Mike at Fort Rucker, and daughter Tory in Birmingham, where she's an elementary school teacher.   Braggin' time - I was Joey's geography teacher, and I don't think I've ever felt prouder of anything I ever accomplished as a teacher or a coach than I did when Joey told about a geography class at West Point where the instructor asked if anyone could go to the board and draw a map of the Middle East and identify the countries. When Joey was able to do so, the amazed instructor asked him where he learned all that, and Joey said, "In high school." *********** America has pretty much zero appreciation for history in general, and the trend in sports reporting is to make it seem that unless something took place in the last year or so, it simply never happened.   And, of course, there is the undeniable fact that major league baseball players tend to be dolts.   Combine those factors, and what you have is a total lack of appreciation of the history of baseball by the people who play it.   For evidence, I submit a recent Bob Costas interview with Washington Nationals' manager Frank Robinson.   When Costas asked Robinson if his players had any appreciation of baseball history, the 69-year-old Robinson replied, "I've had two or three players on this club ask me, 'Did you play?'"   Gag me. For the record, Frank Robinson's 586 career home runs place him fifth on the all-time list, and he's one of only 12 men in the history of the game to win a triple crown.   *********** I would have thought there'd be something about it in the papers, but yesterday - July 11 - was the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the US Air Force Academy. Before moving to its current location in Colorado Springs, the AFA was housed at the former Lowry Air Force base, outside Denver. Happy Birthday to a great American institution.   *********** I'm not like some people who believe that sending more billions to Africa to fight AIDS (rather than waiting for people to wise up and figure out that they're killing themselves) is a waste of money, since it'll only wind up in the hands of corrupt politicians, rather than where it's needed.   Oh, no. Not me. My feeling is that even if the money doesn't get to the AIDS victims, if it gets into the hands of even one Nigerian spammer and allows him to retire to a life of luxury so he can stop sending me e-mails, it will be worth every dime we send over there.   *********** By the way... the "Year of the Bull" ad at the top of this page is NOT a paid ad. It is just my way of making you aware of a rather startling, true-to-life documentary about a high school kid in a high school program in possibly the most high-intensity high school football area in the country - Miami, Florida. I was first told about it by Leonard Patrick, coach at Miami's Barbara Goleman High, and after ordering a copy online and watching it several times, I would recommend it to anyone - provided you can handle vulgar language. (I would not, by the way, ever spend a nickel to watch any "football" movie Hollywood makes.)   *********** "I feel one person, the president of the IOC, a person from Europe, has taken it upon himself to ruin the lives of millions, actually billions of women." So said Lisa Fernandez, U.S. softball team pitcher, on hearing the the International Olympic Committee had decided to drop softball as an Olympic sport.   Tsk, tsk, tsk. Ms. Fernandez, welcome to the rest of the world, where Title IX is not yet the Supreme Law of the Land. Not to dispute your numbers or anything - "billions" does seem a trifle high - but to put your "tragedy" in perspective, your comments came on the same day the lives of a few other women - persons fom Europe - were a bit disrupted, if not ruined, by terrorist bastards in London.   *********** Love your system...went 7-3 with championship berth last season. Highest scoring team in the league to boot.   Only from an interest point (won't use anything but DW now) do you know where I can get a very basic copy of a Belly-T playbook. Again, this is purely informational, I love the history of the game. Someone mentioned that is really a precursor to the more modern Wing-T...is this correct? In advance, thanks for taking time to answer my question.   Although certain aspects of the belly-T have been nicely incorporated into the wing-T, the two offenses are not related. They developed in completely different ways. The Wing-T is a direct descendant of the single-wing, adapted to the T-formation center-QB exchange, while the Belly-T derived from experimentation by various T-formation quarterbacks.   It may have originated at the University of the Pacific (then known as College of the Pacific) and a coach named Larry Siemering. Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech, who popularized it in the early 1950s, indicated as much in his autobiography, "Dodd's Luck."   It was while Dodd was coaching the College All-Stars in the summer of 1950 (for years, the College All Stars would play a charity game in Chicago against the defending NFL champions. Player agents put an end to that.)   Dodd had a chance to work with Pacific's Eddie LeBaron, whom Dodd described as "just a great quarterback," and he recalled, "Eddie and I were out there fooling around, which we'd do every once in a while. Hiding the ball, talking about different things. And he told me they had this play at Pacific which they got a lot out of, called the belly series. I said, 'Show it to me.'"   Dodd liked what he saw.   "Anyway, he showed me the belly series and I immediately knew it was good."   And the rest is history.   In the belly series can be seen the seeds of the wishbone, which came on the scene in the late 1960's.   As a resource, I'm not sure what is available now, since in these days of wide-open football, it is considered an obsolete offense, but Jordan Olivar's book, "Offensive Football," covers it as well as anything I've seen.   Sorry I can't be more helpful.   *********** Yesterday I asked about what to do on a power play when the Defensive end lines up outside the Wing Back. You said to read page 21 and that should do it. Unless I am missing it on page 21 it shows what to do on a 9 technique, but on a 9 technique the DE is lined up in between the Tight end and the wing. What I am asking is...what if the DE is lined up outside the wing? Should the Wing just block him towards the sideline and the back run inside the block?   Coach, if the DE is outside the wing it is Christmas coming early. You don't see any provision for that on my page because it is a very unsound alignment, and an open invitation to run off tackle. You are free to do as you wish, of course, but I strongly advise against ever having your wingback block out on a power play, because it is a major job as it is convincing your wingbacks that they are part of the inside wall, and to carry out that assignment consistently, and once you start changing up their assignments, they are likely to lose the discipline to always do the same thing. And, too, you are also going to have to mess with your fullback, rather than leaving him with his one consistent assignment.   *********** When Pulitzer-Prize-winning author David Maraniss was doing research for his book on Vince Lombardi, "When Pride Still Mattered" (helluva read), he happened to come across Coach Lombardi's Bible. Inside were two prayer cards, for two West Point cadets he'd coached who'd been killed in action. One of them was Don Holleder.   Later, when David was preparing to write a book on anti-Vietnam War protests at the University of Wisconsin, his research into what was going on at the same time in Vietnam led him to the Battle of Ong Thanh, and the fact that Don Holleder was one of those killed in the fighting.   What resulted from his research was his best-selling book "They Marched Into Sunlight," in which he masterfully moves back and forth between the activities of the protestors on a liberal college campus and the ordeal of young Americans thousands of miles away in the jungles of Vietnam.   *********** Can the party of the President really be so numb that it can't see the elephant in the living room?   I got a solicitation for money masquerading as something called the U.S. Republican Senate Leadership Survey. What a crock.   Part one is "General Questions," and it asks, "which issues are most important for President Bush and the Republican Party to focus on this year?" It lists Economy, Jobs, War on Terrorism, Social Security, Education, Health Care, Abortion.   Nothing about the elephant in the living room.   Nowhere in the entire survey is the elephant - illegal immigration - even mentioned.   *********** "... about the coach using the pancake drill. I use that a couple of times a week for the last 5 years for tackling during summer camp. We start with a fit, then we start 2 steps away and finish it into the bags, yes this is done without pads and when we are in pads it is done live with a shield in front. So for 5 years the players like it and and there are very little mishaps, such as a knee to the groin or thigh. Otherwise it teaches a great tackling technique and the players have some fun." Mike Foristiere, Boise Idaho   *********** I read recently about a very with-it Episcopalian clergyman who bragged that you could look all through his "church" but you wouldn't find a prayer book or a hymnal. Or a Bible. Didn't want to scare people off with all that sacred mumbo-jumbo, don't you know?   And then I read an article in Sunday's paper about local "clergy" who market their "churches," featuring "contemporary worship," avoiding "stodgy Sunday services," and giving today's young people, as well as "those impacted by popular culture," something they can "relate to."   And part of their pitch, in order to get those people in off the street, is choosing a name that won't drive them away instead. Main Street Methodist? Middletown Presbyterian? Forget it. Names like that, say today's swinging pastors, conjure up images of "lecture-like sermons," a real no-no. Sometimes, we are told, that's enough to keep someone from church.   Today's short-attention-span crew, raised on MTV, would walk on Billy Graham or Martin Luther King, Jr. Bo-o-o-o-oring.   No, newer churches around here carry names like"City Harvest Church" and "Journey Community Church." Says one local pastor, "We wanted something that would attract people who don't go to church. (I thought immediately of "Free Beer on Sunday," but I digress.) "A name like First Baptist Church," he went on, "communicates a lot to those who go to church, but it means nothing to someone who doesn't."   Yeah, right. Suppose I were to tell you his church is called "Compass." That's all. Now, That means a lot.   He went on to say, "People are realizing that in order to reach the current culture, you have to do something different." So the "services" themselves tend to feature guitars and keyboard music, PowerPoint presentations, coffee breaks (breaks from what? I wondered) and lots of group hugs. And, of course, a minimum of "lecture-like sermons."   The late Flip Wilson couldn't possibly have realized the one day his "First Church of Jesus Christ of What's Happenin' Now" routine would be the norm.   Said the pastor of Community Harvest Church, "Culture changes, and what's meaningful to one generation is not to the next."   So what to do? Trash the old stuff.   People don't want to come to your church? Don't go out and knock on doors and take the message to them, the old-fashioned way - instead, do what modern-day marketers do - change the package... change the label... and, when all else fails, change the taste.   As long as they're lowering the bar, so to speak, sugar-coating their product and making it easier to take, if I were a marketing adviser to one of these modern, up-to-date preachers, I would have a few suggestions...   THE BIBLE - It's got to go. Have you ever read the thing? It 's hard reading, man, even if you get the Cliff's Notes version. And then there's this "Ten Commandments bit." Commandments? For today's kids? Good luck. I mean, nobody tells these kids what to do. You ever tried? And try telling them they can't do something - it's guaranteed they'll go right out and do it.   GOD - Look, I know the Guy made heaven and earth and all that, but He needs to lighten up a bit. I mean, sheesh - talk about judgmental. Does everything have to be so black-and-white with Him? And you know how uncomfortable young people are with strong male authority figures anyhow - we need to get God to come down off His high-and-mighty throne once in a while, and give them a little input. I mean, just because God knows everything doesn't mean He can't listen. What's so wrong with empowering young people?... asking them what they think occasionally?... letting them think that they run the universe, too? After all, it's their lives.   MARY - She stays. I like her. A young woman who gets pregnant, and the real father is nowhere to be found? Happens all the time in today's culture. The old guy, Joseph, would be more believable as her father, because kids will relate better to a single Mom.   JESUS - Obviously, He has to stay, because He is the star - but man, talk about a guy in serious need of a makeover. I think I'd do something about that hair - maybe shave his head. And how are kids supposed to understand a guy walking around in a long white robe? I think clothes - in pastel colors, of course - tailored to emphasize his lean masculinity would attract young women but also help draw in young males struggling with their sexual identity. I think I'd consider an earring and possibly even a tattoo on His neck. And a little bling-bling, too - a diamond-studded cross on the end of a silver chain necklace. (I know He doesn't believe in having riches on this earth, but what kid today is going to identify with that? Besides, as much good as he does for others, He's entitled to a little something for Himself.) He's got enemies, which makes it a great story, so He ought to have a bodyguard with Him wherever He preaches, and maybe even a pit bull. Oh- and He's got to cut down on the length of those sermons.   12 APOSTLES - They stay. Instead of "Apostles," though - nobody knows what that means - we'll just shorten the name to the "'Postles," and in no time at all young people will be calling them The Posse. I do think, though, that the Posse could be a little more diverse. And would it hurt if one or two of them were female?   PARABLES - What's with the riddles, anyhow? Prodigal Sons? Good Samaritans? Camels going through eyes of needles? You expect kids to figure that stuff out? Come on - put it in a way kids can understand. Maybe cartoons.   PRAYER - Today's young people are going to have trouble with the idea of having to get down on their knees for anyone. And why should they have to ask for anything, anyhow? If God's all-knowing, He should already know what they want - and if He's all-powerful, why can't He just give them everything they want?   HEAVEN - I would make it more inclusive. And instead of Hell, I think today's young people would be far more receptive to "time out." Maybe even community service. One thing I would definitely ease up is this eternity business. I mean, forever? Isn't that a little long? Gimme a break.   SIN - Shouldn't it be up to the people themselves to decide what's a sin and what isn't? Who are we to decide for them?   MIRACLES - Helping a blind man to see, helping lame (actually, I prefer to say "handicapable") people to walk, walking on water, changing water into wine, feeding the multitudes... these are all great, but what do they mean to today's young people? How about a complete makeover for the homely young girl who can't get a prom date? Or a .5 second improvement in the fat kid's 40-yard dash time at the Nike Combine? Or a high enough score on the SAT to get the slacker into MIT? And "Feeding the Multitude?" Feeding a large group with loaves and fishes? Yeah, right. I was thinking more in terms of Pizza and Mountain Dew? (Oh - you say that's what your church already has for Communion? Never mind.)   Here endeth the lesson. Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church, as they used to say (if you can believe that.)   *********** You think you've got headaches... a while back, a friend of mine resigned his post at a private school. Part of the reason, according to another friend, who served as his assistant, was "the not so subtle insinuation from the school president that it was his fault that one kid left because we wouldn't switch him from defensive tackle to defensive end and that it was (his) fault that the school had lost $40k in tuition money becasue of kids transferring."   *********** If you have little children in your house, please use caution in letting them read this...   In Hood River, Oregon last week, two 19-year-old babysitters were injured after they had to jump off a train trestle to avoid being hit by Thomas the Tank Engine. (If you have ever had little kids or grandkids, you know Thomas the Tank Engine.)   Both of the young women suffered scrapes and scratches. One injured an ankle and the other complained of neck and back injuries.   Neither of the two boys they were babysitting was injured, although one of them had to jump 15 feet into the Hood River.   The trestle is a popular place for young people to sit and sun themselves. "We see people out there all of the time but it's obviously not a good place to play," said Hood River County Deputy Sheriff Pete Hughes.   At the time, Thomas was pulling into the Hood River Railroad station, hauling several passenger cars carrying children and their parents and grandparents on a special excursion celebrating the 60-year anniversary of Thomas and Friends stories.   *********** Speaking of Thomas the Tank Engine... The National Railway Historic Society held its annual convention in Portland last week, and part of the festivities was an excursion up the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge on a train pulled by not one but two steam locomotives - a double-header, in railroad jargon. It was billed as the first steam double-header in the US in more than 50 years, and being something of a train buff, I was there, cranking away with my video camera when the train came across the bridge over the Washougal River, just east of Camas. It took just a few seconds for the two locomotives to pass - the black one is the Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700, and the bright red-and-orange one just behind it is the Southern Pacific 4449 - but it was a rush I'll never forget. The throaty sound of the whistle of a steam locomotive is guaranteed to give anyone a chill.   *********** "I am constantly asked, 'What was Vince Lombardi like, or how could Bobby Dodd do what he did at Georgia Tech? Was Don Shula really brilliant when he was so young? Who was better, Starr or Unitas? Why was Homer Rice able to rescue Georgia Tech athletics in the early '80s?'   "Nobody asks about my high school coach. He was Bill Badgett, of College Park, Georgia. Without him, I would never have met any of the others." Bill Curry.   *********** Coach, What would you do? Our league requires us to split when we reach 32 kids. Our little league team ( 9 and 10, I coach 7 and 8) is right on the bubble. They have 31 with a couple on the waiting list who signed up late.   Would you go ahead and bring these kids on and split? (16 kids each.)   My personal feeling is that you should recognize the inevitable and split. I don't think that 16 is enough - scrimmaging is difficult - but on the other hand, 32 can be a lot when you're trying to teach little kids the game. HW *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW) More From Representative Gerber: Dear Coach, One of my staffers just showed me the posting on your site re: my CD/DVD drive for the troops. Thanks so much. I want you to know that your help several years ago has turned into a double wing tidal wave in this area. My organization, the Ambler-Whitpain Trojans, as well as several other organizations in the Philadelphia suburbs and in the city are running some form of your offense now. I was unable to coach last year because of my campaign, but I look forward to getting back into it someday. Our mutual friend, Jack Turner, is doing great. His son, Michael, is also doing well, having won the Inter-Ac two years in a row. I hope all is well with you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Mike  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 8, 2005 - ""Eight seconds in the arena are better than a lifetime in the stands." Bumper sticker in rodeo country (on a pickup, of course)   *********** I asked this question on September 12, 2001, and even after the bastards set off bombs in London on Wednesday, I find myself still asking it ...   WHERE IS THE RAGE? The terrorist attack on our country is a great national tragedy, possibly the greatest in my lifetime (and I was alive in 1941), and maybe even in our entire history. It is also possibly the greatest outrage in my lifetime. But I was home all day Tuesday, and what I seemed to see on TV as the news began to sink in was mostly expressions of grief and fear. But no anger. Yes, it's sad. Unbelievably sad. It's awful thinking of those innocent people whose lives were snuffed out, and of their families. And of the brave, dedicated rescue workers and firefighters who also perished. And, yes, there is some reason for all of us to be afraid. But where, I thought, is the anger - where is the rage? I don't think I saw a single person interviewed on TV who appeared angry - really angry. Where was the anger at the kind of scum who would fly planes full of innocent people into buildings full of innocent people? Where were the people, like the ones I talked to and the others I heard from, ones who sounded ready to suit up right now if that's what it takes to rid the world of those bastards? Have we turned into such a nation of eunuchs - such a bunch of sensitive Alan Aldas - that we'll wring our hands and hug and cry, and worry about what to tell the children, and try to figure out what could possibly make people so angry that they'd lash out at us like that? This was not the way Americans reacted to Pearl Harbor. Are we going to let our leaders get us involved in some do-nothing "coalition" with our gutless European pals, the ones who love to have us defend them in return for the right to criticize us? Are we going to sit passively and listen while the peace-at-any-costers tell us that violence on our part will just beget more violence? While politicians babble about bringing the perpetrators to "justice?" Bringing them to justice, you say? You mean the way we brought the killers of the Marines in Lebanon to justice, or the bombers of the USS Cole? Justice, you say? American justice? The kind that allows a foreign court to deliver a slap on the wrist to the Lockerbie bombers? The kind that leaves no stone unturned in its search for an excuse for the most heinous of crimes, and turns proven killers loose on technicalities? The kind that does everything it can to deprive society of any chance to display its outrage? Isn't anybody else, finally, angry?   *********** They haven't forgotten Greg Biffle in his hometown of Camas, Washington.   Don Chaney, now the town's police chief, told the Portland Oregonian of the days when a younger Greg would do burnouts out in front of Camas High School, and noted that Biffle picked up enough speeding tickets back in his younger, wilder days that the police posted a photo of his yellow Pontiac Firebird on the stationhouse wall. Chief Chaney, laughing - now - at the Subway commercial in which Biffle is pulled over for speeding and gives the cop a sheepish grin, said, "I've seen that look before."   Now, Greg Biffle, a kid from a small town in the last major part of the country still waiting for a NASCAR event of its own, has a chance to become the first driver ever to win the NASCAR Triple Crown of Craftsman Truck, Busch and Nextel Series.   He now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, epicenter of stock car racing, but he made a personal appearance in his hometown Wednesday, and, boy - did they show up. There's not a NASCAR track within a hard day's drive of Camas, but at 11 AM on a work day, at least two thousand people, young and old, male and female, lined up at Westlie Ford, in Camas, Washington to meet the local kid who's been making good.   They carried hats and tee shirts they'd bought at the site - everything was gone by noon. They carried car flags. Steering wheels. Tires. One guy carried a door with "16" (Biffle's number) painted on it. And they all stood in line - a l-o-o-o-ng line - hoping to get those items autographed. Some of them were old-timers who talked about racing against him when he was just a young pup. For the most part, they sounded very knowledgeable about the sport. And despite the long line in front of them, the peoples' mood was festive as they waited for their moment with him inside the showroom. They were not disappointed.   If Greg Biffle is typical, it's true what they say about NASCAR drivers - they have the touch. They are not too big for their fans. Not yet. None of this blowing off autograph seekers or shoving hands in front of cameras. They still seem to know where their bread's buttered. Biffle seemed to have something to say to everybody who came by, so what was billed as an 11-to-1:30 appearance went on to 3:30, until the last dog was dead.   True, it was one small incident, but on the strength of what I saw, if I were a stockbroker I'd call NASCAR a Buy.   The demographics were impressive, too, covering all age groups. There were lots of kids and a large number of women.   The men were not, I might add, what you would call Metrosexual. I don't think I saw a single guy wearing eyeliner. I think, if I'd asked, most of them could have quickly supplied me with several better ways of fighting the War on Terror than what we're doing at present. (A wild guess: none of them would have involved trying to understand the terrorists, the better to get at the root causes of their anger.)   In fact, I came away from the event with a brilliant idea for phasing out Guantanamo: transport maybe 20 or so "detainees" every week from Gitmo to the site of that week's NASCAR race, and release them in the middle of the infield just after the start of the race. Any of them that make it out of the infield crowd would still have to cross the track; and those that made it across the track would have to get over the fences and through the crowd in the grandstands and out of the parking lot. Any of them making it all the way out would be given a free agent contract with an NFL team as a running back.   *********** It's been seven or eight years since I first met Ernie Martinez on a trip to Denver. Ernie is a Denver police officer who was coaching youth football at that time, and then moved up to assist at Regis Jesuit High. That's Ernie at my 2002 Denver clinic, with his son, Josh, then a freshman at Regis. Ernie and I have stayed in touch off and on, and it was pretty exciting to hear from him Thursday with news about Josh...   Dear Coach, It's been a long time since I have corresponded with you. However, I have kept up with your "News You Can Use" every week. Good luck this upcoming season, I have every confidence in the world that your staff and the team will be successful in more ways than one. I wanted to inform you that I am taking a needed break from coaching football (after 12 straight years). My loving wife is very happy. She, as all football wives (and all coaching wives for that matter), has been a true partner in all aspects, with using vacations, and other leave time for coaching.   I wanted to let you know about how proud we are for our son, Joshua. I attached a recent article for you to read (published on July 4th), along with some photos we took of I-Day (Induction Day) last week. The banner photos are posted in Dahlgren Hall, and I know that you would appreciate them. By the way, we recently received the 1st letter from our son today, and he is doing well with "Plebe Summer." He noted to us that former Navy QB Aaron Polanco is his Company Commander!   Take Care Coach, all the best!!   Ernie Martinez, Sergeant, DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT, Deputy Commander, Front Range Task Force   (In the photo below, taken at Annapolis, that's Josh ("Tito") in the middle, with proud parents Ernie and Gloria   Going places: Regis grad sets sail with Navy   By Mark Wolf, Rocky Mountain News July 4, 2005   Tito Martinez is beginning a journey to defend the freedom Americans celebrate today.   The 18-year-old Regis Jesuit High School graduate was inducted last week into the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.   "In the end it came down to the Air Force Academy or Navy," said Martinez, whose first name is Joshua but who has been known as "Tito" since childhood. "The older I've grown, the more I've come to love this country and everything it stands for. There's nothing I'd rather do than defend it."   His impact at Regis spanned the classroom (a 3.7 grade-point average and membership in the National Honor Society), student government (student body president his senior year) and the playing field (the Rocky Mountain News' All-Colorado catcher and an all-league selection in football).   His term as student body president came as Regis is converting to co-education.   "It (being student body president) meant a lot to me, especially with the circumstances (of going co-ed). A lot of students were coming to us saying 'Why this?' and 'Why that?' We talked to a lot of people. It was a lot of work," he said.   Martinez hit .470 with five home runs and 36 RBI for the Raiders, who advanced to the state 5A semifinals this year.   "As a catcher I'm always in the game; there's never a dull moment. I get to exercise my leadership abilities and work one-on-one with the pitcher to help us win. I love blocking pitches, being in the dirt," said Martinez, who will play baseball for the Midshipmen.   Off the field, he was one of 12 Colorado winners of the Branch Rickey Humanitarian Award, given for a combination of athletic success, academics and community service.   He is active in Regis Christian Life Community; is a youth religious education instructor at Our Lady of Notre Dame Catholic Church; volunteered at Whitman Elementary School and Compa Food Ministries; and participates in the Colorado Anti-Defamation League.   Through the Robert B. Sturm Youth Leadership Mission, he was one of 20 Colorado students chosen to attend the Holocaust Museum Anti-Bias Symposium in Washington, D.C., last summer.   After graduation from Annapolis, his plans include a career as a Navy pilot. "You turn on the news and not a minute goes by without hearing about the conflict in the Middle East," he said. "We need brave men and women over there to protect and serve. I can't imagine myself doing anything else."   Joshua "Tito" Martinez   * Favorite band: "I love all kinds of music."   * Favorite TV show: ESPN Sports Center   * Favorite book: The Pillars of the Earth   * Hero: Jesus   * Advice: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice a gift. "   * I really like to: "live life to the fullest, take everything one day at a time."   *********** (Regarding summer workouts) Just to update you on what approach I have taken, good or bad it is what I decided I needed to do. I sent the players a letter letting them know that they needed to get 24 workouts in before the start of practice.  I let them know what a workout entailed & I let them know what will happen if they don't get their 24 workouts in.  I decided to follow your lead & not issue equipment to those players that do not get their workouts in.  They can get their workouts done before practice & after practice, so a player that does not work out all summer will still be able to get his workouts done - however, he might not be able to get his equipment in time for the first game.  I have received only positive response so far from parents & players. It is early yet, but I think my message is getting out & hopefully it is received in a positive manner instead of a negative one.  I am hoping that this will pay off for long haul. I know that in the short term this could be a rough road to go down, but I am willing to do it because I believe it is a necessity to getting to the next level.  Thank you again for your insight & if you could offer some thoughts I would greatly appreciate it.    Sounds like a good approach. You have let the kids know what you expect, which I think is the first indispensable step, and you have let them know what the consequences are, which is the second indispensable step.   Now, kids know what is expected, and they can choose to make it smoother for themselves, or choose to take the hard route, which will make it rougher for everybody, but when crunch time comes and they don't like the consequences, everyone will know it was their choice.   And it may be a pain in the ass this year, but consider it an investment in your future - if you can stick to your plan this year, kids will know next year that you mean business!   *********** From the Internet (Moral: Never lie to your mother) Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help noticing how beautiful Brian's roommate, Stephanie, was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between Brian and Stephanie, and this had only made her more curious.   Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Stephanie than met the eye.   Reading his mom's thoughts, Brian volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, Mom, but I assure you Stephanie and I are just roommates."   About a week later, Stephanie came to Brian saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she somehow took it, do you?" Brian said, "Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure."   So he sat down and wrote:   Dear Mother:   I'm certainly not saying that you "did" take the gravy ladle from the house, or that that you "did not" take the gravy ladle; But the fact remains that ours has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.   Love, Brian   Several days later, Brian received a letter from his mother that read:   Dear Son: I'm not saying that you "do" sleep with Stephanie, or that you "do not" sleep with Stephanie; But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.   Love, Mom   *********** The old saying goes that if you want to give God a good laugh, tell him all about your plans for the future. Read on.   The following article appeared in the Portland Oregonian last Thursday...   Offseason workouts help Madison's football team not only get past hurdles, but also get ahead   Thursday, June 30, 2005   DAN MOONEY - The Oregonian   Tracy Jackson knows about fighting uphill tussles. As the football coach at Madison High School in Northeast Portland, it's part of the job description.   Dwindling enrollment, low turnout and many players with little to no football experience are hurdles Jackson faces.   Jackson's equalizer? Hard work, starting in the summer.   "We really won a lot of games last season in the second half," Jackson said. "That mentality started with our work during the summer."   In 2001, Madison went 0-9. Jackson arrived in 2002 and Madison went 1-8, winning its final game . In 2003, the Senators were 2-7.   Last fall, the summer sweat started paying dividends.   Before the 2004 season, Jackson said his goal was a winning record. But the Senators easily surpassed that, going 7-3 and playing for the Portland Interscholastic League title on the final night of the season.   Now, the Senators are back. This summer, they are already working to keep their position as one of the best teams in the suddenly revived PIL. For years, the 10-team league struggled in the playoffs. Last season though, Lincoln and Grant, which shared the league title, both reached the state-playoff quarterfinals after winning two playoff games each. Madison, which finished third, pushed South Medford in its playoff opener before falling.   Beginning early this month, Madison has been working out four times a week.   "We are not a conventional team as far as our training goes," Jackson said. "It is tough, however, and (that) was a factor in our improvement last year."   Weight training, deep in the bowels of the school along Northeast 82nd Avenue, is a large part of Madison's summer regimen.   "We hope to always be very physical and will gear our training for that," Jackson said. "The weight room is one of those places where we develop our work ethic."   One of the areas where summer football has helped a school like Madison is with a large number of inexperienced or no-experience players.   "In 2003, we had four kids who were seniors who started for us who had never played football," Madison offensive coordinator Hugh Wyatt said. "Never. That's something that's unheard of at most schools."   "With that said, we do a lot of just introducing football to kids. We get a lot of first-year players."   Wyatt is the brains behind Madison's run-oriented double-wing offense.   "The summer is the time when we are really learning how to play football," said Damaien Young, one of Madison's top players. "It's where we start getting our techniques down."   Young is scheduled to be one of four starters returning for Madison. A 5-foot-10, 205-pound rising senior, Young was a second-team all-PIL selection last fall at linebacker and is penciled in to be a two-way starter for the second consecutive year.   Beyond bulking up, getting in shape and just being able to do "a lot of talking and getting to know everyone," according to Jackson, the Senators also get to work on other parts of their game this summer.   In July, Madison will be part of a Portland-area-passing league. In itself, that might sound out of character for the Senators.   After all, last season Madison focused on running the ball. The Senators piled up 3,011 rushing yards on 551 attempts. On the flip side, Madison attempted 37 passes the entire season.   But Wyatt says the passing league helps.   "Believe it or not, we get a lot out of the passing league," said Wyatt, who runs his own Web site (www.coachwyatt.com) on the double wing. "It's a great team activity. And it's a good time to work on our pass defense."   During the 2004 passing league, Madison also discovered two players -- Eric Werner and Alex Nalivaiko -- who "could really catch the ball," according to Wyatt. Those former linemen were both moved to tight end.   Besides toughness and their ability to run the ball, the Senators have also developed another characteristic under Jackson's watch.   Last season, Madison games were usually filled with a lot of hugging.   "Coach Jackson has really brought a family atmosphere here," Young said. "And that's started during the summer."   Dan Mooney: 503-221-8161; dimooney@earthlink.net   Yes, things were progressing rather well this summer, until... Talk about irony - on the day this article appeared, Tracy Jackson was contacted by the people in Hood River, Oregon, whose coach had just left them. By Sunday, he was formally offered the job, and on Tuesday night, he notified the kids at Madison that he had accepted the Hood River job and would no longer be their coach. Hood River is about an hour and a half away, and I am doing what I can to keep things together at Madison, holding workouts until the school district decides what they're going to do about a replacement, but at the present time, this is a family in disarray.   ***********  Hope your summer is going well. We get started in 3 weeks. Our league has grown tremendously and will now field 3 teams at the 10 y/o level. There will be evaluations so the kids can be put in divisions that best suit them. Luckily I get to keep my coaching staff and their kids on my team. I have my QB, B-back, C-back, TE, OT and Center returning. I will be looking for quick guards and tackle and also the A-back. I get 1 look at the kids running 6 drills. 1. Blocking Dummy   2. Tackling dummy  3. 40 yd dash  4. Basic agility  5. RB agility and 6. Pass catching. What are the best drills to draw players from?   I don't see anything in there about Heart, Intelligence and Attitude, which is what I'd want to see, because it's all about Kids That You Can Coach, but based on those drills, I would put agility and speed near the top.   Given the basics, you can (and should) teach kids anything related to "Blocking Dummy" and "Tackling Dummy," and if a kid has "Basic Agility" you can certainly improve his "Running Back Agility."   I'm not so sure how much weight I'd put on "Pass Catching Ability" at that age. Of course it's useful, but there are other things you'd want first.   While kids are going through the drills, I'd look for certain "knockouts" (disqualifications) as regards heart, intelligence and attitude. I'd pay special attention to how quickly they can pick up what it is they're asked to do, and how they react to coaching - and I'd be alert for whether they have fathers who seem, uh - "unusually interested" in their sons' performances (if you know what I mean).   *********** "I don't like what's happened to the game. The teams don't run as much. The offensive line play is just legalized holding. They stand up and grab. They're just a bunch of steroided, milk-fed, 3.2-beer-drinking, holding sons of bitches." That was former Packer guard Gale Gillingham, an 11-year vet and member of the Green Bay Packers' Hall of Fame, talking to another great Packers' guard Jerry Kramer. That was 1985. Wonder what he'd say now.   *********** We recently attended the annual air show sponsored by the R.I. Air National Guard at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, RI (featuring the Blue Angels). One of the many military aircraft on display was an F-16 fighter from the Vermont Air National Guard, with "The Green Mountain Boys" emblazoned on the aircraft's tail.   I joked to my wife that they probably had to recruit in New Hampshire in order to find guys with the stones to fly it. Now you go and make the case that some Vermonters may actually have said stones. I'll believe it when I see with my own eyes. In the meantime, my view of Vermonters shall remain suspect.   Alan L. Goodwin, Warwick, RI   *********** Could you offer me some advice on what double wing plays you would install first?  I have your Dwing video and the installation video and really want to make an impression this year using the double wing.   Thanks for taking the time to help us new coaches.   The first play I introduce is "88". (Just "88".)   I line the kids up and explain the numbering system and what it means in the calling of a play.   Then I tell the kids we're going to run a play called "88," and I ask them a lot of questions about what the numbers mean.   And then, because the natural teaching progression is "Talk it, Walk it, Run it, Rep it," we will walk through the play. It is just a basic play - everyone on the front blocks straight ahead except for the "8" man, who because he is the man "at" the point of attack, blocks "down" (we explain very early what "down" means).   Next, we speed things up. Maybe 1/2 speed (we call it "teaching speed") or maybe 3/4 speed. If you want to get a puzzled look on your kids' faces, tell them you want them to run it "13/16ths speed." They will look at you like you're nuts.   (BY the way, this is a good time to get across to your kids that the only time they are NOT to run ANY play or drill at FULL SPEED is when you say otherwise.)   Now, we tell them that there is a better way to run the play - there is a way that we can bring more guys to the fight than the defense can. We show them what adding the word "Power" after "88" ("88 Power") will do. And we walk through that. And then, when we are confident that we can do so, we increase the speed - in stages - until we can run it full-out.   Finally, we show how we get the QB involved in the blocking by showing them what it means when we say "SUPER Power", and we walk through it. And when the kids are ready to do so, we begin to pick up the tempo.   Next, we will explain that every play has a left-handed twin, which leads us into "99" and eventually to "99 Super Power," teaching it the same way.   Now you have two plays (actually, it's just the same play right and left, but you can now attack two at two places.)   Notice that I haven't brought motion into the picture yet. I believe that you can waste a lot of time in the early going trying to time-up the motion, letting it interfere with the basics of the play. Actually, if you never used motion with the power plays, you would be okay.   Another thing that I find wastes a lot of time in the early going is bad snaps. So in teaching a play in the early stages, I dispense with the center snap. I simply tell the QB to assume his position while already holding the ball. The center simulates a snap, but he doesn't have a ball. My belief is that we can work on the snap mechanics a better time, when we are not tying up the efforts of nine other guys every time we fumble a snap.   Next, I would teach counters (Rip 47-C and Liz 56-C). Now is a good time to introduce the concept of motion and a snap count that accommodates it. (If your motion on these plays is too long or too short, it won't affect the plays one way or the other.)   That's two more plays - four total.   Next, I would teach the concept of the Wedge. That now gives you a power to each side, a counter to each side, and a fullback play up the middle.   Depending on time available and on your talent, you might cut down your teaching time by teaching power only to the right, and a counter only to the left. It is better to just run two plays well than to run four plays half-assed. *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW)  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 5, 2005 - "What you want is a few second of pure hell - but you also want it to be eight seconds long." Saddle bronc rider Johnny Hammack, from Redmond, Oregon   *********** Hope you had a great Fourth. Although, along with Thanksgiving, it is a truly American holiday, some of my most memorable July Fourths have been spent out of the country. When I was coaching in Finland, we would try to arrange for as many of the American coaches and players as possible, scattered as they were in towns and cities all over the country, to meet in a relatively central location to celebrate the Fourth. Usually it would be in the city of Tampere (pronounced, approximately, "TOM-peh-ray") at the Hotelli Rosendahl, a lovely place. With the summer sun not going down until around 11 o'clock, and then only fading into a sort of twilight that lasted until sunrise (at around 3 or so), the parties could go late. Finns enjoy a good party as much as any people I've met, and many of our Finnish players came along with us and had as good a time as we did, even singing "God Bless America" along with us.   *********** Thanks to its civil unions and its metrosexual ex-Governor Howard Dean, Vermont often takes a beating from outsiders who aren't aware that the Green Mountain State has a long, proud history of red-blooded manliness. Take, for example, Matt Sheftic, of Essex Junction.   Sheftic is - was - a 6-8, 260-pound basketball player for the University of Vermont, a former Mister Vermont Basketball, who chose to pass up a sixth year of athletic eligibility to accept an ROTC commission as an officer in the US Army.   From the time he was a little kid, he told Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record, he's wanted a career in some form of law enforcement, and when the Army offered him an opportunity to go into military intelligence this June - an opportunity it could not guarantee if he waited until after next season - he seized the moment.   "It was too good of an opportunity to pass up," he told McMillan.   "It's a tremendous feeling to salute the flag, pause and think about what the veterans have done for our country, plus the firemen and policemen on 9/11. It feels good to stand there and think about that. Realize we're playing a basketball game, and there are people who have died for our freedom. It's a great situation we have here in the country. People take it for granted." *********** I was about to ask the same thing when John Levesque of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer beat me to the punch: "Sick of Lance Armstrong yet?"   *********** Dear Coach Wyatt; Nearly wet my pants when I read the joke about the marine and the insurgent today. It was hilarious. Great way to start my morning after standing watch all night!   There have been several things from your "News" I've wanted to sound off about in the last couple of weeks, but I haven't had the time. I had to mention something about your conversation with Scott Barnes about pleasing the supervisor, though.   I wrote a little bit about this in an essay on why team sports is important for one of my coaching studies classes last quarter. I won't bore you with the entire essay, but I think one of the main reasons that people see trying to please the boss as "kissing ass" is the simple fact that some people are completely unprepared for any type of leadership position. It's bad in the military, but it's MISERABLE in the private sector. Reading some of the comments from the employees section of the website www.bestbuysux.org gives literally hundreds of examples from employees that were used and abused, just to cite one readily available source from a national retailer.   Some of the employees are obviously nursing grudges, but there are a large number of highly articulate, well-trained, and intelligent people that were ridden hard and thrown away wet by pathetic leadership, nepotism, verbal abuse, and inconsistency in management.   The entire thesis of my essay was this: the self-help/management leadership business averages about $14 billion a year. This includes books, videotapes, seminars, consultants, etc. Now, my belief is that this number is going to continue to grow for two main reasons: 1) Fewer and fewer managers today have experience with athletics, especially team-oriented ones, that teach leadership and followership. This number is going to continue to dwindle as team sports enrollment declines and individual "sports" like skateboarding gather numbers while video games steal children from the playgrounds.   2) More and more women are entering the workforce in management positions, attempting to use "knowledge" gained from college classes instead of experience gained on football fields. While I'm not stupid enough to think that females cannot be managers or should not be in the workforce, my personal experience is that I have never, EVER worked for a female that was competent as a leader; not as a civilian, and not as a member of the military. Generally, the ones that I have worked with have had to, or FELT LIKE they have had to, bust balls to get anything handed to them. The result is that they became impossible to please and eventually the employees simply stop trying. (This can also be taken as a thinly-veiled argument in favor of letting women play football. You know how I feel about that!) These were the BEST of the female supervisors I've had. The rest were inconsistent or had other less-then-sterling qualities.   There are hundreds of factors that might influence why women seem mostly ineffectual as leaders, but I think one of the largest is the lack of true team sports for women. Softball, volleyball, and soccer are the largest sports participated in by women in high school, and none of them offer anything close to the coordinated team atmosphere of football. (Please excuse my preaching to the choir here.)   In all seriousness, the idea of the responsibility of command seems to be largely lost on the civilian leaders that have forgotten, or never learned, that loyalty is a two way street, and it ALWAYS goes DOWN before it comes up. Respect is the same way. I'm amazed and a little frightened by the number of junior personnel that come to me with class issues, questions about advancement and promotion, continuing education questions, and even financial counseling instead of going to their class advisors, all of whom are not only higher in rank, but are also specifically charged with assisting the students here with those very issues. When I asked a student why he came to me instead of to his class advisor I was told, "Because I know you'll try to help me." Somehow I got this reputation, and I barely interact with those students, since I teach an advanced school and most of the junior personnel are here for introductory schooling. While it's a good thing to know they trust me, I'm also left wondering why they DON'T trust their class advisors.   This is not meant to sound like I'm accusing Coach Barnes of this ineptitude in any way. I strongly doubt that he's making the mistakes that many managers and supervisors in the rest of the world make. I am, however, continually amazed at the antics of managers around me. The E-6 giving a personnel inspection in a uniform that looks like he slept in it; the McDonald's manager reaming an employee out in front of me (a customer) for being three dollars over on his drawer; the Best Buy senior verbally attacking the employee that I found helpful and courteous, for failing to offer me a Product Service Plan I'd already turned down... I can't help but wonder, if more of these no-talent ass-clowns had spent some time on football fields as kids, might they not have a few more skills when it comes to getting their people to pull in the right direction? Most of them seem to think that their employees are sheep. I try to think of my subordinates as goats.   (A quote from my favorite author, Terry Pratchett: "The goat herd walks in front of his flock, the shepherd behind, for sheep are stupid and must be driven. Goats, however, are intelligent, and need to be led.")   Very Respectfully to you and Connie; Derek A. Wade, US Coast Guard, Petaluma, California   (I think that we suffer from a dearth of both leadership and - as you have called it - followership.   West Point, whose sole purpose is building leaders, understands the importance of learning how to follow - its idea of building leaders consists of spending the first year teaching cadets how to follow, then the next three years teaching them how to lead.   I submit that many of these piss-poor "leaders" you describe never learned to follow. A couple of years in a good football program would have made a hell of a difference. For the record: I am all in favor of girls playing football. What I am NOT in favor of is girls playing football with boys. HW)   *********** Speaking of leadership... how many other college coaches could write a letter like this on by Army's Bobby Ross? Come to think of it, how many other college coaches would be anywhere close to Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the summertime, unless they'd been paid $15,000 to make a speech?   An Open Letter from Army's Football Coach   July 1, 2005   WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Dear Army Family,   Normally I would not write a personal note on our Web site, but I felt it was my obligation to do so this time. I just recently returned from a two-day trip to the state of Oklahoma. No, I was not recruiting or speaking at a football camp. I was visiting Fort Sill. At West Point, as part of the military program, our players go out to the U.S. Army for a period of time to learn about the different types of jobs they could have and to actually serve with soldiers. Since many players from our squad were conducting this training at the home of Field Artillery, Mr. Kevin Anderson and I decided to make the trip. I saw our players but also saw so much more!   As a former Army officer in the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, I had been to military bases and had conducted military training but what I saw over the two days while I visited Fort Sill has given me a totally new appreciation for what our soldiers, sergeants and officers do every day. I was humbled.   From the ceremonial cannon used by the horse drawn Half Section to the most sophisticated computer simulations, cannons and rockets, we saw it all. It was impressive. Not that there was ever any doubt in my mind, but I now know first hand that our Army is the best equipped and trained in the world.   As impressive as the technology was, it was the people that really made the trip so special. I was impressed by our cadets who had temporarily traded in their football helmets for Kevlar helmets and briefed me at each training site on what type of training "their" unit was conducting. Right beside them were "their" sergeants and officers who have accepted them as "their" own. We watched a basic training unit running the obstacle course in 100 degree heat. They were having a run-off between the platoons for bragging rights. The excitement and energy at the course was no less than that of the Army-Navy Game or the Super Bowl!   A four-man team per platoon ran the course for time and without prodding the rest of the 40 soldiers in the platoon ran next to "their" team. After the first run through, I met a soldier who had just finished running for his platoon. He was 39 years old! The majority of the soldiers going through the basic training were 18. I had to ask him why he joined the Army. He replied with the truest sincerity, "To Serve My Country, Sir." I was overwhelmed and did something out of instinct that I had not done in over 40 years -- I rendered the hand salute that I had learned so many years ago and said, "we salute you!" It just seemed right.   At the next training site we watched the Bayonet Assault Course. Another grueling test of skill and stamina, the new soldiers who were training in the same 100-degree heat were so motivated. It was inspiring. As we were leaving the course, I heard someone call my name and when I turned around there were two soldiers standing there with a group of six more a few paces behind. My attention was immediately drawn to the soldier who I assumed called my name. He had to have been six-feet-five inches tall and I thought to myself, "I wonder if he had any eligibility left?"   He had boldly asked his drill sergeant if he could meet me because he, too, was a coach. It turns out he was a high school teacher and coach in the state of Alabama. He was 33 years old! I had to ask him why he joined and without hesitation he too replied that he wanted to serve his country. He said he had two sisters that lived in New York near the World Trade Center and he wanted to protect them and do his part to make sure nothing like 9-11 happened again. I was overwhelmed. The soldier next to him was his battle buddy. They always stick together and the group behind was their squad. They were an inseparable team and it was my true privilege to meet them.   I saw so much more than our players at Fort Sill. I saw why our nation and our Army is so great. Teamwork is my business and I have been on many teams but I am more proud than I have ever been to be on the ARMY team and part of the ARMY Family. My sincerest thanks to all of the soldiers, sergeants and officers who made our visit to Fort Sill so special and thanks to all of the Army Family all over world for what you do every day to keep us all safe and free. Happy Fourth of July! GO ARMY!   *********** Howard Dean chose to quote from the Bible the other day. BIG MISTAKE for a guy who doesn't seem to have much appreciation for the Bible; HUGE mistake for a guy who often talks faster than he thinks. At first, when he blurted, "Let he who is without stones... ", I thought maybe he was referring to coaches who didn't have the necessaries to run the ball, but then after realizing that he'd tripped over his tongue, he corrected himself - "uh, sin - cast the first stone."   *********** I had to laugh at the idea of holding concerts to end world poverty. What a f--king joke. I mean, if people want to go to a concert, that's their business, but I really don't think they ought to act as if by going they're somehow doing something humanitarian, like travelling to Haiti with Habitat for Humanity. Hell, after seeing shots on TV of the litter those a**holes left behind after the Philly concert, plastic bottles a foot deep, I'd have to say that the money spent on bottled water at the Philadelphia concert alone would have fed half the population of Somalia for a year.   *********** Back in 1996, Bucky the Badger, Wisconsin's mascot, was arrested for crowd surfing in the student section at a football game. When he was asked at the police station to spell his name, he responded, "Badger. B-A-D-G-E-R."   *********** Somehow, I can't imagine an NFL team ever drafting a high school quarterback and raving about his passing ability as if it is going to turn the team around. So it shows how far the NBA has degenerated when the Portland Trail Blazers, choosing third in the draft, selected a Seattle high school kid, Martell Webster, and raved about the kid's shooting ability.   Wow. A little over three months ago, the kid was playing Washington Class 3-A (second largest) high school ball, and averaging 27 points a game - not exactly Pete Maravich numbers, for a 6-7 kid with the kind of shot that's going to light 'em up in the NBA. Granted, he's also played a lot of Audition Ball (AAU basketball), but wouldn't you think the NBA guys might want to see him play a year or two against slightly better competition?   Well no, apparently. Now the NBA geniuses are rationalizing the fact that they've been paying enormous sums of money to teenage kids who aren't ready play, saying that it is easier for them to mold a kid to fit your system if he isn't yet familiar with any other system.   "Sometimes you can get a guy from a very strong college program," said NBA personnel man Mark Warkentien, "and he thinks that's the only way to play. You can avoid that with a high school kid."   Yeah, right.   I challenge that on four counts: (1) A lot of "learning the system" consists of learning how to learn. They will learn that better in a college program, where teaching still takes place. Regardless of the college system, a kid is going to get more coaching with his college team - the pros are simply not geared to teaching youngsters; (2) The key to learning is maturity, and most teenage kids will do a lot more maturing in the discipline and structure of a "very strong college program" than they will signing a huge NBA contract, and then living in their own apartment, eating fast food four meals a day, and learning the work habits and behavior of a bunch of thugs wearing NBA uniforms; (3) you could sign a kid out of high school and wind up "molding" him to a "system" that won't be the same anyhow, should the coach whose system it is get fired prematurely; (4) "System?" in the NBA? That's a joke, right?   *********** I like tennis and I appreciate great players, and I have to say that this past weekend, at Wimbledon, Venus Williams and Roger Federer proved to be among the very best. Venus Williams showed what a tremendous competitor she is by outlasting Lindsay Davenport, and Roger Federer showed that he may be one of the best of all time by the way he put away Andy Roddick, despite the fact that Roddick, by his own admission, played about as well as he could play.   *********** In the same simple-ass way the networks require NFL announcers to inform us that later Sunday evening there are exciting things coming up "Touched By An Angel," or some damn reality show, or some such thing that couldn't possibly be further from the interests of football fans, tennis fans watching the Wimbledon finals were given "A reminder that at 4:30 Eastern Time, we'll have beach volleyball..."   *********** A friend of mine applied for a head coaching job some time back, and when he was called in for an interview, he took a day of leave and drove the 200 miles or so at his own expense to meet with the people. He must have interviewed well, because shortly after, he was told that he was one of two finalists for the job, and that he'd be notified one way or the other by such-and-such a date (a week or so later).   When the date came and he hadn't heard anything, he called the school's AD, and got only his voice mail.   He left a message, but his call was not returned.   A day or so later, he called again; once again, he got the AD's voice mail, and once again he left a message. Once again, there was no return call.   He repeated this process several times over the next several weeks - weeks! - until one day he overheard a couple of the coaches at his school (who didn't know that he was a candidate for that job) saying they'd heard that somebody-or-other had been hired to fill a coaching job - the one that he'd been waiting to hear about.   He still hadn't heard anything.   And sure enough, a few days later, the paper in that town announced the other guy's hiring.   He still hadn't heard anything.   That was over a month ago.   Saturday - two f--king months after the school said they'd notify him, one way or the other - he got a letter in the mail, thanking him for his interest.   Just thought you'd want to know how things are done in Twin Falls, Idaho.   *********** Coach Wyatt,   Happy 4th of July coach!   With a little free time today I was reading some of the info on your site.   I liked how you slammed the guy who sent you those play diagrams. Before I even read what you wrote, I was thinking the same things…. Trap and G's!   And for a little variety, maybe a little Wedge action too! You know just for a little change up. Maybe even have the "A" back and "C" back switch with the fullback on Wedges just to give him a breather.   Coach, excuse me for a moment as I talk about something other than football. I think you'll like this, being the history dude that you are.   I was recently hired this summer on to a "Summer Paint Crew" for my school district. I thought it would be a great way for me to stay busy plus make a little extra jingle this summer.   Anyway, I work mostly with some older fellow teachers who are going to be retiring in the next few years. And when we go into the classrooms which are to be painted, they constantly put on the "History Channel" as we paint the classrooms. (Remember, there is a TV set in every classroom in our district.)   Well, at first I thought that simply listening to the radio or something would server us better for our "painting enjoyment." Boy was I wrong! Thanks to my crew members, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm hooked! The History Channel has some of the best programming on TV I've ever seen!   (I know you're probably thinking why is he telling me this.) Well take this weekend for example. On my own time, I watched a program on the History Channel Called "The Truth About The Bridge On The River Kwai".   Wow!   What an unbelievable story! (And I'm not talking about the movie which was made that, evidently, is as about as far from the truth as you can get!)   What those British, American and even Australian POW's had to endure under such merciless Japanese rule was just awful.   Unbelievable, in fact.   So on a weekend that celebrates our country's freedom, we should all just take a moment to be thankful and certainly appreciative for the rights and freedoms we all have in this country.   And for those who are not as appreciative, then perhaps they should watch a little of the History Channel themselves.   Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you. Have a great holiday weekend coach.   Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania   PS- I'm a big fan of "American Chopper" too!   *********** Joe Sullivan, of the Manchester, New Hampshire Union Leader, is one of my favorite writers on high school issues, and a recent column of his, on an issue that confronts all of us - in sports and in our daily lives - really struck hit the mark. Read it and tell me that this isn't just one more thing for us coaches to be teaching...   ETIQUETTE seems to be a foreign word to too many of today's sports fans.   In the past two weeks, I witnessed etiquette gaffes at nearly every sporting event I attended.   Maybe he didn't see the sign. Maybe he saw the sign but couldn't read. More likely, he saw the sign, read the words and just didn't care.   The sign, hooked to the chain-link fence in front of the bleachers abutting the baseball diamond, read, "No standing along fence."   He stood along the fence, obscuring the sign and obliterating the view of several fans watching the game from the bleachers. They started to move, to look for a clear sight line. "You're not supposed to stand there," I said to the young man. He turned and looked at me, didn't move. "You're not supposed to stand there," I repeated, "because you block the view of the people in the bleachers."   He glanced into the bleachers, gave me a strange look, then grudgingly moved out of the way.   The same thing happened at Concord's Memorial Field softball diamond. Late arrivers simply walked up and planted themselves along the fence in front of the bleachers down the first base line. They never looked behind them, never checked to see if they were blocking anyone's view. Which they were.   Another breach in etiquette occurred during a high school tennis match, of all places. During a key singles' match that drew a large crowd (all other singles' play had concluded), someone yelled to one of the participants, "Way to go, (name), make the fat boy run."   The words were so out of place, so hurtful, that I jotted them down, thinking that I might address them in a future column. As I looked up from my notebook, I saw a woman turn and stare at two teenagers standing behind her. The words had come from the area in which they stood. One of the two had uttered the callous remark.   She knew that and she told them how classless the comment was. They immediately denied uttering the words. She told them that not only were they poor sports but that they were liars as well. And cowards.   "I know one of you said it," she said.   I believed her.   She then let it go, returned her attention to the tennis match. They didn't let it go. They kept talking, making snide remarks about the woman and her accusation. Finally, she turned and told them to leave her alone and to leave her immediate area.   They balked.   She persisted.   Apparently, the boys wore the team trappings of one of the schools participating in the match. The woman told them that she was going to find their coach and report their words and their behavior to him. That did it. The two teens left the area.   Later in the week, I stood along the fence (not in anyone's way) at Concord's Memorial Field with Jim Adams, athletics director of Conant High in Jaffrey. Prior to the start of the first Class I softball semifinal game, we discussed several topics, though the erosion of sports etiquette was not one of them.   Then the public address announcer asked everyone to rise and remove their hats for the National Anthem. We removed our caps and looked out to the flag on the pole adjacent to the tennis courts.   As the anthem played, people entering the sports complex continued to walk, to talk. They ignored the anthem.   Adams didn't ignore them. "A lot of people have no idea about etiquette any more," he said. "It's sad."   And true. Everywhere.   My brother Frank recently visited a race track in Detroit. He handed his ticket to a seated ticket-taker at the facility just as the anthem started. Frank stopped and removed his cap, stood at attention.   The ticket-taker never rose, never removed his hat. When the anthem ended, my brother looked at the man and said, "You could have at least taken off your hat."   "Yeah, I suppose you're right," he answered.   No suppose about it.   Oh, and thank you for reading.   By permission - JOE SULLIVAN, Union Leader Sports (www.theunionleader.com) Joe Sullivan's "Column as I see 'em" appears Tuesdays in the New Hampshire Union Leader. His e-mail address is jsullivan@theunionleader.com.   *********** Humor from the Internet...   An elderly Italian gentleman who lived on the outskirts of Monte Casino went to the local church for confession.   When the priest slid open the panel in the confessional, the man said, "Father .. during World War II, a beautiful woman knocked on my door and asked me to hide her from the enemy. So I hid her in my attic."   The priest replied, "That was a wonderful thing you did, my son! You have no need to confess that."   "It's worse than that, Father," the man said. "She started to repay me with sexual favors."   The priest said, "By doing that, you were both in great danger. However, two people under those circumstances can certainly be tempted to act that way. If you are truly sorry for your actions, you are indeed forgiven."   "Thank you, Father," said the man. That's a great load off my mind. But I do have one more question ..."   "And what is that?" asked the priest.   "Should I tell her the war is over?" *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW)  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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

NO MORE 2005 CLINICS 2005 Clinics (UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) July 1, 2005 - HAPPY FOURTH - "If the present-day news media were around in the 1770's, the United States would never have won the Revolutionary War." David McCullough, historian and author of the best-selling "1776"   *********** I just read a little bit about Stanford's downsizing of Stanford Stadium from 80,000-some to 50,000-some (evidently an admission that they have no intention of ever being very good in football again). Stanford, among the wealthiest of schools, has decided to save money on the project by not going with nationally-recognized stadium architects, staying instead with the local folks who re-did Maples pavilion, their basketball venue. (I have not heard many raves about the Maples redo.)   I'm not sure where, exactly, the Hewletts and Packards and other Stanford grads who made Silicon Valley what it is will sit, but maybe Stanford doesn't want them there anyhow (just send us your money) because in keeping with Stanford's anti-capitalist bias, there will be practically no stadium luxury boxes.   Best of all, just as they had to evict the Stanford basketball team from Maples while it was undergoing renovations, the football team will play its "home" games in 2006 in San Jose State's tiny Spartan Stadium. To think that they once played a Super Bowl in Stanford Stadium. Now, should the Bay Area ever get another one, Stanford Stadium will be far too small, and the game would likely be played in the stadium of the hated Cal Golden Bears.   Truly, there are times when I think that the Stanford athletic powers-that-be are so full of themselves over winning the AD Trophy for overall athletic excellence without even having a good football team (they have a hell of a water polo team) that they wouldn't care all that much if football just went away.   (Christopher Anderson, sports columnist for the Stanford Daily, writes, "*sigh*. Stanford Stadium still has a chain-link fence between the field and the stands - from when they played World Cup (soccer) games there. Talk about killing the atmosphere. What does it say about a sport or a society where the fans need to be penned, gulag-style?   *********** "It looks as if the regular wing-t guys are trying to copy the double wing power sweep. I thought that you would find this interesting. Knowing you, it has probably been run by you already."   That play is not at all what we run.   The first time the backside DE runs the play down from behind, they will blame the Double-Wing. In that situation, as you know, we would make an "O" call. I don't know who runs a defense like that, but if we ever saw that, our fullback would make Player of the Week. (1) If my playside guard can get onto the backside backer like that, we could run traps until the cows come home. (2) If anybody ever played me with a 4-4 and lined the DE on the outside of my TE (in a "9" technique) , so the TE could release onto the inside LBer, they would see a lot of 6-G.   I wish them luck.   *********** From the Web...   A Marine squad was marching north of Basra when they came upon an insurgent soldier badly injured and unconscious. Nearby, on the opposite side of the road, was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state. The Marine was conscious and alert. As first aid was given to both men, the Marine was asked what had happened.   The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the highway and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent. Seeing each other we both took cover. I yelled to him that Saddam Hussein was a miserable low-life scumbag, and he yelled back that Teddy Kennedy is a rich, good-for-nothing fat drunk."   "We were standing there shaking hands when a truck hit us."   *********** I was sitting flipping channels the other night and made the mistake of NOT going extra-fast past Nightline.  Well, I sat and watched and discovered that administrators at the Air Force Academy (gasp) dared to encourage cadets to watch a screening of  the movie "The Passion of the Christ."    "the ...horror..... the... horror... - How dare those guys try and instill those pesky values in those young, impressionable minds?   Forget the fact that many of those young cadets will have to lay their lives on the line in the pursuit of their calling. Forget that in tough times character, values, honor, and love of the guys fighting beside you are all you really have to hang on to. Yep, forget all that and just focus on what's important - a few "individuals" who might feel "uncomfortable" when faced with the feelings and desires of the majority of the other cadets.   Man, you start falling over backwards concerning "individual needs" in a fighting unit, or a football team, or on any kind of team, and you are just asking for trouble. I think the cadets who DON'T have a problem affirming their faith in the company of other like-minded people should not be forced to hide this for the sake of a few.   Now, those few shouldn't be harassed for not believing exactly the way the others do. And if they are treated with respect and understanding concerning what they believe, then I would hope they would do the same.   Just my opinion, Coach Steve Smith, Middlesboro, Kentucky (I never dreamed I'd see what I'm seeing - the boldness with which the left, aided by the Mainstream Media, attacks Christianity, and how powerless Christians seem to be to defend themselves and their faith. HW)   *********** The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette reported Sunday. that 60 percent of cadet wing at the Air Force Academy is Protestant, compared with an average of about 35 percent at the US Military Academy and the Naval Academy. Roman Catholics outnumber Protestants at both West Point and Annapolis.   Nearly two of three Air Force cadets are Protestant, roughly the same as in the regular Air Force, where 58 percent are Protestant. (The United States is about 52 percent Protestant.)   *********** Coach Wyatt, Dan Polcyn writing from Gallipolis, Ohio.   I was vegging out on my coach one Wednesday night and I saw something on which I thought you would certainly have an opinion.   Have you happened across the SPORTS KIDS, SPORTS PARENTS show on Bravo on Wednesday nights? (10 p.m. eastern) It's one of those reality shows where they follow people around with cameras through their daily lives, not the kind of thing I usually watch, but one particular segment fascinates and horrifies me, so I have tried to watch it when it is on.   There is a parent in California who is pushing his eight year-old son to get him ready for the NFL. This seems to include 5-7 training sessions per week, often including a family friend who plays semi-pro football (nothing against semi-pro football, entering my 7th year of it), who helps run the kid on stadium stairs, receiver drills and light contact drills. These drills are sometimes performed to the point of putting the little boy into tears.   This kid's old man is a psycho. He spreads the kid's equipment out for him on the floor on game day. He screams like a nut on the sidelines. He complains that they don't get his kid the ball enough (he seems to play WR and FS) even though he's "the fastest kid in the league." He insists that he works a series of small jobs rather than a time-consuming career which would keep him from being there for his son's football. He takes the kid to a chiropractor for weekly adjustments. Have I painted this in a bad light?   Sure, this kid's dad is probably the most extreme case they could find, but what a poster boy for everything that is wrong with youth sports. I have watched the little bits of football clips they show, and not to fault the kid, after all he is only eight, but it doesn't seem as if he likes contact all that much.   I know they call them dreams for a reason, but how about a little dose of reality, which brings me to another point about kids' sports and the like.   Coach Wyatt, you spent some time in Europe coaching so maybe you have a thought on this topic. Is it me, or are more Europeans (English, Scandinavian, Slavic folks) likely to do some kind of competing in some sport after their school days are through? I wonder if the fact that so many kids in the States are encouraged to play sports as a way to get a scholarship and get a free ride burns them out on staying active - after all sports aren't for fun. Why would you keep playing after you can't get paid for your efforts?   I guess that this idea has been reinforced to me every time somebody finds out I still play football at age 31 and they ask, "And you don't get paid for that?   Thirty years ago Gallia County, Ohio (pop. 30K) had enough men who were eager to play football as adults that the town supported a respectable semi-pro team. Now, there are approximately five guys who live in a four-county area (pop. closer to 100K) who play as adults, and they have to travel to bigger cities to do it (I travel to Charleston WV to play). In the 1920s, before professional football became huge, it seems as if EVERY working class town had a team. Here in Southeastern Ohio we had the Ironton Tanks and the Portsmouth Spartans, both of whom were major players in the annals of football.   Where the hell did it all go wrong?   Dan Polcyn, Gallipolis, Ohio   First of all, I think that if I were to watch that show, I would be tempted to shoot my TV set. I try to confine my "reality" TV to "American Chopper." It is a guy show, featuring real men and no bitchy females. And even though there is squabbling, it is basically about teamwork, unlike most knife-in-the-back "reality shows."   I did find that in Finland at least, men especially were into participant sports. Of all the players I coached, on three different teams over seven years, no more than two or three had played (American) football before graduating from high school, and those two or three had played it as exchange students in the US. The football we played was comparable to what we would call semi-pro here, although the European version was by no means as good a brand of football - it was not uncommon to find guys in their late 20's and early 30's taking up the game for the first time. So they were anything but burned out on football. In fact, they couldn't get enough of their newly-acquired sport.   Of course, Finns are so into sports as a means of national identity that before they surrendered their autonomy to the EU and adopted the Euro, they actually had the face of an athlete - Paavo Nurmi, the great distance runner - on their 10-markka bill, their most common piece of currency.   Finns, like most people outside the US, have no formal high school sports, and although there are club sports, by the time kids get to high school age they have been concentrating on their sport of choice - soccer, ice hockey or pesapallo (Finnish baseball) - for some time, and all but the best have fallen by the wayside. Those are the ones who become football players. They are plenty athletic, and plenty tough, but in terms of organized soccer, ice hockey and pesapallo, they are usually rejects.   Football has its obstacles there - equipment is very expensive, and grass fields are hard to find, but on the other hand, lack of health insurance is not a problem - everyone is covered by their socialistic health-care system - and their lawyers are far too busy doing other things than to file lawsuits every time someone gets injured.   I think that in addition to other factors working against football, I think the waning interest in football is a metaphor for the softening of our nation that has resulted fron its feminization.   Consider the "family." When there is no man in the home, Mom must make all the decisions, and Mom more often than not will not want her little darling playing football. But even when there is a male in the family, today's male is often so p-whipped, so "in touch with his inner female," that Mom will still make the decisions. (You have no idea how many times a guy will tell me that he wants his son to play football "but my wife won't let him." I grew up in an age when no sself-respecting man would be caught dead admitting that to another man.)   And, of course, their is the feminization of our schools. Actice boys are seen as problems in need of medication. From the time they are young, kids seldom get to compete, balls-out, in any school activity, and they must NEVER fight, not even to defend themselves.   Take a look at the way we are trying to pursue this so-called "war" on terrorism, and ask yourself if this is a masculine nation - one truly protecting itself and going after its enemies with all the means at its disposal - or a feminine nation, always concerned about offending this person or that. I wish I could sound more optimistic, but I think that the softness resulting from our feminization dooms us.   *********** Tip for videotaping practices - Get yourself a decent-sized step ladder - I bought a good, used 10-footer for $120. It is light enough that I can carry it on top of one of my cars and take it and set it up anywhere, any time we need to tape. It is high enough for taping practices from behind, and with our tight formation, we only have to go back about 15 yards and we can get everyone in the picture.   And considering the fact that many youth games are played at places where there are no grandstands and have to be taped at ground level, in many cases it would not be a bad investment for taping games, either.   (Gabe McCown, from Oklahoma, suggested buying a portable deer stand. They come as tall as 16 feet, and I have found one online for under $200, but they don't appear to ship, and since no one out here hunts deer from stands, I can't find anyplace local that sells them.)   *********** I wrote, "The secret to getting what we want in life is finding out what other people want, and doing that."   Scott Barnes, of Rockwall, Texas, who when he's not coaching football or wrestling is Vice-President of a major corporation, wrote back,   It's amazing how many people think this is "sucking up"..just had that discussion with a guy who was pissin' and moanin' about his boss.  I counseled him on the fact that it is "his" job to get along with his boss and understand what it would take for him to be successful.  The guy said "I'm not sucking up to anyone"...I tried to talk him through the fact that, as employees, we are paid to accomplish the mission we are given by our employers.  Even if we are "self-employed", we generally have customers and we have to do what they want or we'll get fired.  That's not sucking up, it's doing what it takes to be successful in a competitive market.  And as long as the employer isn't asking you to do something illegal or immoral, then it's our job to do what they ask.  I dunno..old fashioned thinking, I guess! I responded,   I think that the tendency to call it "sucking up" when it is really nothing more than trying to pelase the person you work for is part and parcel of the "Question Authority" crap and "You're just fine the way you are" nonsense that continues to be fed to our young children, to the point where we have now raised a couple of generations that truly believe they can do whatever the hell they please without having to give a thought to how that affects anyone else.   Regarding my comment "I would be really careful about any high-impact drills without protective equipment, although I suppose you might be able to start the "blocker" in the "fit" position, right up against the shield, and on signal drive the "defender" backward until they're both pancaked on top of the bag. That might be fun, without much risk, but you'd want to check it out carefully first!"*   Scott added, "That's exactly how I do it - and it works great!"   *********** Coach, what is meant by "Bubble?"   In football terminology, a "bubble" is a place anywhere along the line where there is no defensive linemen lined up on an offensive lineman (as with a guard in a 5-2). There may be a linebacker opposite the offensive man, but the fact that he is not covered by a defensive lineman creates what is called a "bubble."   *********** The city of Boca Raton, Florida appears poised to try to outlaw smoking by its employees. Anywhere. Smoking any time or any place by a city employee would be grounds for firing.   This means that in a country whose Supreme Court has found somewhere in its Constitution a right to sodomize, so long as it's behind closed doors, there is no right to smoke.   This latest demonization of smokers will no doubt be cloaked in language implying that it is in the best interests of the taxpayers, a cost-saving matter, since cigarette smoking can lead to various illnesses, etc.   Funny - we all know that AIDS is a very costly disease to treat, and we keep hearing about how the government (the American taxpayer) needs to come up with ever more money to "fight" it. Yet even though everyone knows by now how AIDS is transmitted, you can bet no one in Boca Raton would even dream of suggesting outlawing certain deviant sexual practices. After all, the Supreme Court says sodomy's okay.   *********** Hi coach, I want to run something by you.  As you know I have been running your double wing for three years at the middle school level.  The other day the high school coach asked me to come by and watch his summer practice.  It seems they are trying to run a form of the double wing.  It looks like they are running the veer out of the dw.  The lineman splits are 3 feet.  From what I learned from you, you can't run the dw offense with large splits.  Will this work for the High School?  Do you think that I should say anything?  I'm at a loss.  Any advice you can give will be appreciated.  I dont want to step on anyone's toes.     Coach, If they intend to run the veer from a Double-Wing, they definitely should run it with wider splits than we have.   But they shouldn't expect to be able to run much of our stuff, and run it at all well, with 3-foot splits.   Of course, if they are going to be running the veer, they really won't have the time to work on the veer and on our system, too.   Simple as that. Just like I couldn't run our system while at the same time trying to run veer and do a presentable job of either.   Of course, anybody can line up with two wingbacks and call the formation a "Double Wing" (which is true enough) but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be running anything close to what we're running.   Maybe you can present it somewhat like that.   *********** I'm used to seeing the names of certain of my former students in the local papers for this or that misdeed, and I can't say that I am often surprised. I mean, good kids don't usually turn bad, and bad kids have a way of staying bad.   So when my wife read that a former student of hers was nailed for hit and run. I asked her what kind of kid she was, expecting her toi say, "Trouble." Instead, she said, "Good kid."   Uh-oh, I thought - good kid does something bad. Not a normal thing. But then, she makes things far worse by running and hiding.   Our local paper noted in an accompanying story that while overall accidents in our county (400,000 people) are down, hit-and-runs are up. It would appear, it seems to me, that we are seeing a diminished ability to face the music.   Gee - I wonder why that might be? Might it be because most of these people have never had to? Could this be what we get when parents always jump to the defense of their kids, no matter what? Could this be what we get when we cave in to these parents whose kids are never wrong?   Could this be what happens when we teach our kids it's always the fault of the (fill in the appropriate answer) teacher, coach, cop, principal?   *********** Coach, I hope your summer is going well. It's hot and dry in Illinois. Our turnout for weightlifting has been great, though, so I don't mind so much.   A few months back I bought a copy of Bud Wilkinson's Oklahoma Split T Football on e-bay (1957 edition). I pick it up from time to time and read a few pages. Amazing stuff. What a difference in philosophy. Tons of weight on the hand and shoot out as hard and fast as possible. No worries of going right or left, because they go forward. Anyway, I was reading the section on the center/qb exchange (the "boring" stuff that one might skip, I guess), and it seemed eerily familiar to me. Low and behold, it's the way you teach it! I got a good chuckle out of another example of old, outdated stuff that somehow seems to still work (even if it's not "sexy"). So, if anyone asks, I'd say Bud Wilkinson is a pretty good reference for that exchange.   I started a 10 week course on leadership for my captains this summer. It's based on Jeff Jansen's Team Captain's Leadership Manual. It occurred to me that, after we graduated three captains, I was putting a new group in there and just expecting them to know what to do. I'm much more comfortable now that I'm learning what they know and can do, and they know what I expect. I recommend the book, but recommend the idea of teaching captains leadership skills even more.   Sincerely, Todd Hollis, Elmwood/Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** I got an unsolicited e-mail from one Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Gerber, who represents an area in Montgomery County, not far from where my wife grew up. I don't know the guy, and I don't know what his party affiliation is, but I greatly admire what he's trying to do: I participated in a Little League opening day ceremony with another soldier who had served in Iraq. Again, his bravery and selflessness humbled me. This soldier, U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve Staff Sgt. Joe Renner of Conshohocken, thanked me for supporting the little leaguers and in the same breath, said he was headed back to Iraq. His care for others, modesty and selflessness struck me and made me realize that I was doing nothing to say "thank you" to those in service. With the guidance of a constituent, Beverly Hahn of Whitpain, I am organizing a collection of new or used CDs and DVDs to be sent to our troops serving overseas to let them know people back home are appreciative and care. We chose CDs and DVDs because Staff Sgt. Renner explained to us that many soldiers have CD and DVD players and like the escape the music and videos provide. You know, I'll bet there are guys over there who would even enjoy looking at your highlights DVDs. (Most of them that I've seen are quite well done.) Send them to 20 E. 11th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428 ---- Rep. Gerber's office phone number is 610-832-1679 (I wrote for permission to post this on my site, and I heard back from Rep. Gerber's office. Turns out I do know the guy. This is sort of freaky - a couple of years back I got a call from a Mike Gerber, a youth coach in Pennsylvania, who purchased some of my materials. One thing led to another, and it turned our that we'd gone to the same school - Germantown Academy - although many years apart. We probed further, as usually happens in cases like this, and it turned out that his close friend and classmate, Mike Turner, was the present coach at GA, and Mike was the son of a former longtime GA coach - and a classmate and teammate of mine - Jack Turner. Mike played football at GA and at Penn, and like so many of you, despite having a real life, he was hooked on coaching youth football. Completely off the wall came his e-mail, and it turns out that that Mike Gerber, the youth football coach, and this Mike Gerber, the state representative, are one and the same! Also turns out, by the way, he's a Democrat. What do I give a sh--? He's a football coach, isn't he? And he's a damn good man to be doing something like this. HW)  *********** BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND... 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