|
Kansas
State's Black Lion Scores in The Cats' Win Over
Texas!
(See"NEWS")
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|
The
Hamburg Pioneers are Champs!
(See"NEWS")
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"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and
knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better
than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are
not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses
10-11)-
 October
2, 2007 -
"Peace
is an armistice in a war that is continually going
on." Thucydides-
- ALL
NEW!
CST's
Feature Story on the Black Lion
Award
-
Back in the spring, following the Chicago clinic, I took
part in a "Ride-along" with a team of plainclothes
Chicago policemen. Click on the "Chicago Police" seal to
read more about it and see some exclusive photos, shown
only on "News You Can Use"-
-
- *********** I recently
launched a free e-mail newsletter, aimed specifically at
those of you who love and respect the game the way it's
seldom seen on TV these days, and still believe that it's
possible to play football other than the way the NFL
plays it. The third issue is due out next week. To get on
the mailing list, e-mail me your name, location and
e-mail address at:
oldschoolfootball@mac.com
(your information will never be given to anyone
else)
-
- *********** You
have GOT to see what Kansas State has done to note their
affiliation with the Black Lion Award!
-
- http://inside.kstatesports.com/football/blacklions/
-
- *********** It's a good thing
that our ceilings are high and I can't jump the way I
once could, or I'd have knocked myself cold jumping up
and down with excitement when Kansas State's Black Lion,
Ian Campbell, intercepted a pass and ran it back 48 yards
for the Wildcats' second touchdown against
Texas.
-
- Immediately following the big
win, K-State coach Ron Prince fired off the following
e-mail to LTC Pat Frank, Battalion Commander of the Black
Lions, in Iraq...
-
- LTC Frank, On behalf of the
K-State Wildcat football team, I am pleased to inform
yourself, Capt Wright and the men of 1st/28th that the
Black Lion brotherhood is alive and well.
-
- Today was a landmark victory
for the Wildcats. It was the 1st road win over a top
10 ranked team in K-State football
history.
-
- Chaplain Col. Geary gave a
chapel service last night that honored our fallen
teammates there in Iraq and strengthened our resolve
even more to go into Austin and achieve this win on
behalf of the people of the state of Kansas and the
Black Lions.
-
- Please give our band of
brothers my very best.
-
- Black Lions,
Sir.
-
- Go State!
-
- Ron Prince
-
- Head Football Coach, Kansas
State University
- *********** After one of
K-State's two kick returns for scores, Coach Prince
couldn't hide his excitement on the sidelines. He was
jumping up and down with his players. I wrote to tell him
how much I enjoyed seeing that, and he wrote back, "We
train our players so hard and with so much detail, when
they do well we must celebrate and enjoy with them. It's
a game."
-
- *********** With
this Saturday's K-State-Kansas game taking on major
importance in the Big 12 North race, ESPN Game Day is
said to be preparing a piece on the K-State/Black Lions
pertnership to be aired this Saturday!
-
- *********** In his
fourth year as a Double-Wing coach, and his first season
as head coach of the Hamburg (Germany) Pioneers, my
friend Mathias Bonner, is a championship coach. You may
remember my story back in March of my visit to Hamburg to
help Mathias get started. Building a team from scratch,
with a few veterans (including a 38-year-old quarterback)
but a majority of players who had never played the game
before, he taught the basics, installed the Double-Wing
and my defense, and patiently - and single-handedly -
built a powerhouse. Sunday, his Pioneers took the league
championship with a 19-18 win over the Bremerhaven
Seahawks, finishing the season with a 10-2 record.
Because European sports all employ the "relegation"
model, the Pioneers' win means they will move up and play
in the next higher division next year. Mathias' English
is good, so I'll let him tell it...
-
- Good morning coach, a few words
about our game yesterday.
-
- After clinching our playoff
berth by winning the division title 2 weeks ago, we
played the Bremerhaven Seahawks, a team which due to
monetary reasons had to move down 2 divisions last year,
in the final game for the Verbandsliga Nord championship
this sunday, in pouring rain.
-
- They were exactly as tough as
we pictured them to be. Huge and mobile defensive line
with a couple of pretty good outside
linebackers.
-
- We scored on the second play of
the night with Omaha 88 G Reach, PAT fail.
-
- They never figured out that we
were unbalanced in the first place, just as
planned.
-
- So of course we kept splitting
wood. 88 and 99 superpower and a steady diet of 88 G
Reach loosened them up enough for our 38! year old QB to
score with 88 G Reach Keep left.PAT fail.
-
- I mean you know Oliver " Jenne
" Jennerjahn - would you expect him to run the ball?
("Jenne" is the 38-year-old QB whose intelligence ,
toughness and leadership made him an invaluable part of
the championship effort. But no, I wouldn't have expected
him to run the ball. HW)
-
- On top Jenne broke his right
index and middle finger in the first play.
-
- After a 8 minute drive we
scored again with 88 Superpower and this time we made the
PAT.
-
- So at halftime we were up 19-6,
but my starting center and right tackle were out due to
injury. And from then on we had to beat 2 teams, because
as you know nobody is better at stopping us, than we
are.
-
- So 88 G Reach for 12 yards but
hey why don´t hold the OLB and move back 10 yards.
And so we went on the entire second half moving the ball
just to get it carried back by a zebra.
-
- BTW zero penalties against us
in the first half. Chuckle,chuckle.
-
- Luckily our defense was in top
shape that day, but without a lot of help from our
offense, Bremerhaven managed to scored twice in the
fourth quarter.
-
- After a sack it was 4 th and 15
with 22 seconds on the clock. A 48 yard fieldgoal. Well
short .
-
- We win 19 to 18. Leaguechamps
2007.
-
- Coach what a great season. And
don´t forget we had 27 rookies. Guys 20 to 30 years
of age who never played football before. But with your
logical system and the priceless info you offer we made
them go all the way to the top.
-
- I appreciate the fact that we
became friends but for anybody looking for the Ultimate
Double Wing System here is my advice.
-
- Don´t look any further.
Get a system which proved successful all over the world
and enjoy the best of this product. The best service and
professional advice you could ask for. Use your brain, in
business would you rather listen to the CEO with 40 years
of experience or to the mail clerk with 3 years of
experience.
-
- All the best to you and
Connie
-
- Mathias Bonner, Hamburg,
Germany
-
- *********** "You can't make
this stuff up," wrote Rich Golden, of Montville,
Connecticut about something he'd found on the
Web:
-
- The Gay World Cup of Soccer
... Welcome to the 21st century of sports. For some
countries, the fact that the International Gay and
Lesbian Football Association World Soccer
Championships is holding its "Gay World Cup" may be no
surprise. But to the mostly-conservative Latin
American population, this is big. For the first time
since it's inception in 1991, the Gay World Cup is
going to be held in a Latin American City: Buenos
Aires, Argentina. Buenos Aires has become a very
gay-friendly city, most recently announcing that they
have legalized gay civil unions. The final game in the
world cup is Saturday, Sept. 29
-
- Personally, I probably won't be
attending, since I don't like soccer that
much.
-
- *********** Coach, The Giants
put four DE on the line, pinned their ears back and told
them to go for the sack every play and the Eagles have no
answer for this except to keep trying to pass???
Both ends were flying up the field at the
snap. Andy Reid, ever hear of an off-tackle or trap
play? I guess they felt they had to pass
after getting into that huge 7-0 deficit with only 3
quarters of football left to play-or maybe it was the
failure of the times they did run, averaging a mere 5
yards per carry ( without Brian Westbrook).
-
- I saw them run a tackle trap
play with Runyan and they gain 10 yards. Never saw
it again. Wouldn't you as a coach just salivate
knowing how aggressive their Dline was playing? If
you were going to pass, how many sacks from the blind
side does it take for you to decide to help out an
inexperienced left tackle? I guess 6 sacks allowed
by one guy wasn't enough to convince Reid to move a tight
end there. It's simply mind boggling.
BTW, we won our game 13-6. Scored both TD's on 47-C
and ended the game on their 7 yard line. Power and
Super-Power really started to click for the first time
this season. Kids are finally getting it. The
best thing about coaching 10-11 year olds is seeing the
progress from the first game to the last game.
Thanks coach!
-
- Chris Dikos, Reading,
Pennsylvania (It is sad that the one-dimensional NFL
offensive thinking is so geared to a minimalist running
game to go with the passing game that the Eagles had no
answer for what the Giants did. That was about the
ugliest offensive performance I've ever seen. Even on an
NFL field. HW)
-
- *********** Ken Goe, in the
Portland Oregonian, writing about Oregon State's
godawful-looking attire: "Those black home uniforms
really set off the fluorescent orange bar motif. Not that
those of us in the People's Republic of Portland have
anything against cross-dressing. We honor
diversity."
-
- *********** Coach
Wyatt-
-
- Thought I would give you an
update on our team. We are now 6-0 running the
double wing and have scored 142 points. This
averages nearly 24 points a game for 5th and 6th
graders! In our last game, the defensive coach kept
telling his players to "hurry up and find the
ball". They had no idea where the ball was until it
was too late. We have 2 more games to play.
The program has never gone unbeaten in its 3 years of
existence, but that is our goal this year. I hope
to let you know in a couple of weeks if we reach that
goal.
-
- When will you announce the
dates and places of your 2008 clinics? I would love
to attend one if you come to
the southeast!
-
- Brooks Rawson
Alamo, Tennessee
-
- *********** I wrote: Good
coaches hold kids accountable - even if it means sitting
them down when they miss practice or break team rules.
Unfortunately, this can mean losing games. And that can
mean getting fired.
-
- Lousy coaches don't bother
with stressing discipline or character, or preparing
their kids for the lives ahead of them. They overlook
rules infractions and sometimes even scrapes with the
law. Nothing matters except fielding a powerful football
team. They use their players for their own gratification,
without regard for what awaits them in life. But because
these coaches win games, and that's all the public knows
to judge them by, they are widely hailed as "great
coaches."
-
- Admit it, people - it can't
have been a secret to those who knew him, including his
coaches, that Michael Vick had, um, "character issues."
Is it possible that if one of them, years ago, had had
the stones to deal with this highly talented youngster,
instead of just using him to win games, he might have
straightened the kid out?
-
- Coach Wyatt,
-
- Thank you for this. On my
team, we are very strict in terms of academics and
behavior. I suspended my starting Fullback the week
of our first game of the season (he had brought home a
few "F's" on his progress report). Without him, we
scraped by an opponent with similar talent to ours,
winning 13-12. Going into this Saturday's game, we
play an undefeated team that played for the Pop Warner
national championship, last year. A heck of a time
for another one of my starting players to be acting the
fool at school. However, this one got himself
suspended from school for 2 days. His mom said I
could handle it however I wished. (Nice to have
parents who trust you.) The young man practiced
with us all week by running the hill, bearcrawling the
hill, backpedaling the hill, rolling the field, as well
as spending time at the younger Mitey-Mites practice and
the even younger Tiny Mites practice. The 5 and
6-year-olds surely had to wonder what a 120 lb.
12-year-old was doing at their practice. He will
attend our game Saturday, but will not participate.
He will carry water bottles and equipment for his
teammates. His teachers have noticed a more humble
demeanor at school. I have noticed it as well, at
practice. We run the tightest ship I know of and I
will never allow any of our players to embarrass this
team (or themselves) without taking immediate and strict
action. We talk about "jobs" everyday. Your
"job" at school, your "job" at home and your "job" on the
football field. You must perform ably at all three
to be able to play for us. Anything less and you
will be removed. Our players get one "mess-up."
After which, there is a game suspension and some
sort of make-up work. There is not a second chance.
-
- Dave Potter, Durham, North
Carolina
-
- PS - I know Dave Potter.
I've worked with kids he's coached. And I've seen a
videotape of his academic awards ceremony. So I know that
what he says is true. Coach Potter works with
lower-income kids - at least 90 per cent of them minority
- and consistently turns out Academic All-Americans. And
winning football teams, too.
-
- Last year, he had nine
Academic All-Americans on his Durham Eagles squad of 25
players; more than a third of his players had an average
overall grade of 96 or higher for the entire school year.
Yet since 2001, his teams have won 97 per cent of their
games.
-
- So please don't say it can't
be done. He does it. So do a few other coaches in similar
circumstances.
-
- But there's no sense in
kidding ourselves - it takes work, and it takes stones.
It takes a coach who's willing to be a father - a
real father - to his kids. The sort of father who
has high expectations for his son, and holds him to those
expectations. Not the sort of father who hands his kid a
can of beer and the keys to the car. (Come to think of
it, there aren't nearly enough real fathers with the
stones to hold their kids accountable.)
-
- Unfortunately, far too
many coaches (and fathers) like to tell others how tough
they are, but when the chips are down, they cave. When
the kids fail to live up to expectations, they
rationalize about it so that they won't feel guilty about
not imposing any consequences, and the kid skates. When
the big game comes and the star player needs to be sat
down for the good of all concerned, they rationalize -
the say,"the team needs him") - and the kid plays,
instead of teaching him (and his teammates) an important
life's lesson. It doesn't take too many incidents
like this for a kid to learn that the rules don't apply
to him.
-
 ***********
Hi, Coach- The recent injury to the Buffalo Bills' Kevin
Everett has been the subject of considerable discussions
in the news media and radio talk shows around here
(Buffalo, NY) for the last few weeks. As you might
imagine, some of the comments range from very insightful
and on the mark to downright scary. I'm sending along a
photo of a local youth league (7-9 year old)player
demonstrating what is described as the "proper tackling
technique" in the accompanying Buffalo News article.
-
- Coach, my grandson plays in
that organization. Two years ago, I volunteered to help
coach his team. One of the reasons I wanted to help was
my concern about some of the techniques including
tackling, that I had seen being employed by most of the
coaches there in previous years. Please don't get me
wrong, I wasn't interested in "taking over the team", and
these are pretty good coaches who do a great job with the
kids. But most, if not all of them ascribe to the "put
your helmet on the ball, drive your shoulder into his
waist, wrap your arms around his legs, lift, and then
drive him into the ground" school of tackling. I think
the attached photo says it all.
-
- When I started last year I
asked the head coach - a real good guy, been coaching
with this organization for 10-15 years - if I could teach
tackling. He agreed, but I was in for a surprise. First
day, the kids (again, 7-9 year olds) and wearing shorts
and tees were lined up in single file. A tackling dummy
was set up 10 yards away. Coach said to all of us, "Now
we're gonna' find out who wants to hit." All the other
assistants grew what I determined to be sadistic smiles
on their faces while I began to get just a little
concerned. The kids were told how they were to perform
their first contact drill - "Run full speed at the bag,
drive your shoulder into the center and tackle right
through it."
-
- Three days later, the kids got
their equipment. Now they were ready for some "real
hitting" according to one of the other assistants. True
to his word, Coach allowed me to teach tackling while he
and the rest of the assistants stood back and watched. I
should point out here that I'm a firm believer in your
tackling technique. About 50 parents were also watching
from about 30 yards away. I had about 15 minutes worth of
individual time to get 35 little kids ready for their
first live tackling drill. I knew I not only had to teach
the kids, but also had to convince the coaching staff and
all those parents that what we were doing was indeed a
"Safer and Surer" method of tackling.
-
- After this, the kids went into
the team's tackling drill. That's the one were two kids
lie on their backs helmet to helmet and 10 yards apart.
One of them has a football. The other is told to make the
tackle. Coach blows the whistle, the kids scramble to
their feet, spin around and charge at each other. Ugly
and scary.
-
- My 15 minutes of teaching went
up in flames. Coaches were shouting, "Drive your shoulder
into his waist! Wrap his legs up, he can't run if you
take out his legs, but keep your head up!" And you can
just about guess the rest. But this is what most of the
coaches have been doing for years. It's what they were
taught by their mentors. And it's what I was taught by my
HS coaches half a century ago.
-
- I decided to give up coaching
youth football. My grandson still plays, but I stay away
from practices. I'm still coaching HS ball, and we are
fortunate to have a head coach and other assistants who
teach "chest plate" tackling. They had learned this
method of tackling a few years earlier at a Penn State
coaching clinic. By the way, we must be doing something
right, we're currently riding a 21-game winning streak,
we're the number 2-rated small school in the state, and
we've given up just 14 points over the last season and a
half. Well, I guess I got a little carried away here. I'm
just wondering how much that photo set back any real
progress in the teaching of safe tackling around here.
Chuck Ciehomski, Buffalo, New York (Extremely
important observations from a career HS coach. Let's face
it - we may tell the kid to "keep the head up," but it
does no good if at the same time we're stressing other
techniques - shoulder in the abdomen, hands around the
legs) that make it nearly impossible physically for him
to keep his head up. Look at the photo - do you
think that this kid has his head up? You do? Then
I don't want you coaching my grandsons. Can't you see
that it's only a matter of inches from this position to
one in which he's actually leading with the top of the
helmet? (Not to mention the fact that if the tackler
misses, he's going to wind up as "dead wood" - lying on
the ground, and of no further use to his team on that
play.) Only when his hands and elbows are high, when he's
got his "eyes to the sky" after contact, can you be sure
as you can be that he's keeping the head out of the
tackle as much as possible. I think that in teaching
tackling, people put too much emphasis on taking the
runner to the ground by any means possible, which often
runs counter to the players' first learning safe
techniques. I believe that in all tackling drills you
must make the tackler use his feet, and drive the ball
carrier for a specified number of steps. He won't be able
to do this unless he has his head, hands and elbows up. I
also believe that way too many coaches proceed to full
speed tackling long before their players are completely
confident in what they're doing. That isn't teaching. How
many of those same coaches would have howled and screamed
bloody murder if they were back in school and had to take
the final exam after the first couple of days of class?
-
- That's essentially what
they're doing with their kids.
-
- It's been 30-some years
since I heard the great Bud Wilkinson - one of the top 10
college coaches in my lifetime - address a group of youth
coaches on the subject of teaching the game to young
kids. I've still got the notes I took, and many of the
things he said have become a permanent part of my
philosophy.
-
- Here's one thing that really
stuck with me:
-
- "Approach teaching the game
like teaching swimming - progressively."
-
- If these bloodthirsty fools
whose idea of "teaching tackling" consists of "trying to
find out who wants to hit" were to teach swimming the
same way, we'd have to drag the bottoms of our pools
every half hour.
-
- http://homepage.mac.com/coachhw/Tackling/iMovieTheater13.html
-
- *********** Hugh - just after I
emailed you I saw a vicious leading with the head hit on
a Wisconsin receiver by a MSU DB. The announcers said it
was a good hit... until they saw the replay. Nonetheless,
they don't make a real big deal out of it. He gets up and
they laugh it off and act like it didn't even happen. I
can't believe that kids hit like that - it is ridiculous.
This stuff happens way too often - and I can't believe
that more kids aren't paralyzed. John Dowd (I hold the
sports media responsible for cranking up the "good
hit" mentality.What pisses me off is the way they call it
a "tackle" when a DB leaves his feet and launches himself
at the chest-shoulders-head of a defenseless receiver.
HW)
-
- *********** Halfway through the
third quarter against Purdue, and Notre Dame finally
scores against Purdue. On Fourth and goal from the five.
And how did the Great Offensive Genius do it? How else -
FROM THE DOUBLE WING!
-
- If he weren't so full of crap,
he'd probably get away with telling reporters he thought
of it.
-
- *********** Give Charlie
credit. He replaced Jimmy with the backup QB and the team
caught fire. What's that? You say he only did it because
Jimmy got hurt? Never mind.
-
- *********** To think that
Charlie threw his team under the bus because he fell in
love with Jimmy Marinovich - sorry, Jmmy Clausen
.
-
- *********** It took ND three
tries to kick an extra point.
-
- *********** I hate
USC.
-
- Not to say USC plays cheap and
dirty ball, but 160 yards in penalties?
-
- Nobody is more disgusted than I
am with the ticky-tack sideline fouls that QB's often
seem to be luring defenders into committing as they
prance out of bounds, but the first time Washington's QB
ran out of bounds, he was hit with a high elbow to the
face head - by a guy who had already positioned himself
out of bounds, waiting to take the shot . Both of the
defender's feet were planted solidly in the white area
when the QB stepped out of bounds and pulled up. No
comment by the a**holes in the booth.
-
- Later, asked about the
"throwback" jerseys the Huskies wore - honoring
Washington's 1960 National Championship team and destined
to be auctioned off for charity - Washington coach Tyrone
Willingham slyly said he wasn't sure what sort of
condition they were in - they'd been held so much all
night.
-
- *********** Many people this
year sending in signals so obvious that you pick up their
plays immediately. Is it cheating to tell my defense what
the plays are?
-
- Get this. In my last game,
defense was bear crawling into the gaps and my guys were
just laying on them. Ref called holding on us 3 times
before I called time out and asked what the hell was
going on. He said I only had 5 seconds to lay on a guy
before I had to get up. WTF? Even if this is true, the
play was over before 5 seconds.
-
- You mentioned the "coach, it's
the wrong ball play" in your news. I can't find it. I
contend it is a false start on the center since it was
not a "quick and continuous" motion Also, wasn't there a
rule change regarding "spirit of the game" this
year?
-
- It isn't cheating to steal
the other guy's signs. It was cheating for
Belichick to violate a league rule prohibiting
videotaping the other team's sidelines for the purpose of
recording their signals (for later side-by-side
comparison with the game tape).
-
- I don't know of any
five-second rule, but it would seem to me that it is a
fundamental principle of the game that a player shouldn't
stay down during a play, and so I would say that once
your kids have effectively squashed their opponents, they
should get up and get back into the game.
-
- The Wrong Ball play is all
over YouTube, and as I wrote, it appears to be covered by
the "travesty of the game" clause (which also ought to be
invoked against people who teach
holding).
-
- PS- Incidentally, I happened
on a youth game at our local high school field
yesterday. There was an injury timeout as coaches
tended to a player. Two coaches helped him off. A
third coach walked back to his sideline and,
hands carefully concealed from the officials by his body,
looked back at his players kneeling on their side of the
ball and flashed a clandestine series of hand signals to
them. That's cheating. When you come onto the
field during an injury timeout, you're not allowed to
communicate with your players on the field. Great example
for the kids. Ironically, they were running the
Double-Wing on offense, and I was tempted to talk to
them, but after I saw that, I thought, f--k it. I want
nothing to do with them.
-
- *********** Speaking of "Wrong
Ball"...
-
- Coach Wyatt, the Mid Valley
Sundevils kept their season rolling with a great 36-8
victory over the Halcones in Mexicali Mexico on
Saturday. TD's were scored on 88 superpower, Red
Red, 56c, and the defense had a fumble recovery for a TD,
as well as the opening kickoff was run back for a
TD. Unfortunately for our defense their consecutive
shutout streak was ended in the second quarter when the
officials let stand the "wrong ball coach!" trick play
and subsequent 15 yard penalty, righteously earned
by this head coach, allowed the Halcones enough
field position to reach the end zone on a long pass play,
it was a great catch. We continue to improve our
double wing and are looking forward to this Saturday's
game against Brawley, the only other undefeated team in
our league. Thanks again, Matt Marrs, Imperial,
California p.s. the wedge was wide open all day, used it
to keep them honest inside.
-
- *********** I realize that the
Heisman people and the networks will have to reshoot all
those commercials they shot last spring, promoting their
idea of who the Heisman "pre-season finalists" should be,
but screw 'em. It's time to get Kentucky's QB Andre
Woodson in the picture. The guy has been near-perfect
this year, as the Wildcats, under Rich Brooks, have moved
to 5-0 and their first appearance in the top ten since
1977. THIRTY YEARS!
-
- Against Florida Atlantic
Saturday, Woodson completed 26 of 33 for 301 and 5 TDs.
BUT - he threw an interception. His first of the season.
That will probably cost him the Heisman.
-
- If you haven't seen Andre
Woodson yet, check him out on ESPN Thursday night against
South Carolina.
-
- *********** The WTF
Poll...
-
- Maybe somebody can explain how
Kansas State can kick the living sh-- out of Texas, in
Austin, yet in all the polls, Texas still rates higher
than K-State. But I doubt it.
-
- Meanwhile, maybe somebody can
also tell me what sort of magic keeps Virginia Tech, with
its blowout loss to LSU, and undistinguished wins over
East Carolina, Ohio, William and Mary, and North
Carolina, in the top 15.
-
- After losing to Maryland
Saturday, Rutgers is now 3-1. With one loss, and wins
over Buffalo, Navy and Norfolk State - Norfolk
State! - they're still ranked ahead of the likes of
Clemson, Purdue, Kansas State and UCLA. Undoubtedly it's
the New York media influence.
-
- And then there's Hawaii.
Probably because every season has to have its BCS-buster,
Hawaii, which has played nobody - and struggled to win
against Louisiana Monroe - is ranked higher than any of
the teams I've mentioned. Except for Virginia Tech, of
course.
-
- *********** Hi Coach; I hope
you are well. I need your thoughts on a subject that I am
struggling with. As you know we run your version of the
Double Wing and it has been very successful. We are 3-1-1
this year, we are not a great DW team, but hold our own
within our division. We are working on all the things
that need constant work to be a good DW team. In my third
year of head coaching this year, the 2nd year of the DW,
I have ran across an issue this year that I have frankly
never had with any team I have ever coached albeit,
Football, Baseball or other sports I have coached. As my
previous emails to you have explained I have moved up to
the Midget level-Pop Warner-age group-13-15 year olds. I
know the age group is a challenge, for the mere fact of
all the changes going on for these young men. The issue
is with the commitment from a few players who while good
athletes- not great- have been coddled, I feel, within
this organization. They are starters, however, given the
fact I have only 3 days practice per week, they will not
show up, come late and more often only give a half ass
effort when there. I have struggled with starting these
players or going with a less experienced and frankly less
of an athletic (player) however, one who shows up every
day. I have parents who think their kids are the best
thing since slice bread. Granted, there are only a few of
them but, it has caused me to question which direction as
a head coach to take. Go with a player who is not as good
in that position and we are talking about running backs
and a couple linemen, and perhaps lose the game and the
entire team suffers because of a few kids or play the
better player, have a better shot of winning but, know in
your heart this is not how to win. I am sure this issue
of all the years you have coached has come up-perhaps
numerous times. I try and seek advice from those that
have been there and get their thoughts on this subject.
We all want to win-but, my gut tells me if kids can't
come to practice and parents can't commit themselves as
well, those that can make it to practice and give me an
effort will play. Given the fact we are over the halfway
mark in the season this may cause our team to lose a few
games we would not lose if I kept these players as
starters- which will cause parent grumblings. What are
your thoughts on this subject and what have you found as
a head coach and advisor to other head coach's
suggestions to rectify this situation. Thank you for all
your advice.
-
- Let me say right away that
your inclination to make them sit - or walk - if they
don't practice is the correct one. Real coaching is
about a lot more than winning games by any means
possible.
-
- One of the main things that
kids should derive from football is that it is a team
game and the entire team works together for team
success. And that rules are established for the
good of the team and must be applied equally to all team
members.
-
- What in the world do their
parents think that letting their kids play after missing
practices is teaching them?
-
- Do they think that these
kids will keep their jobs if they are on a creative or
management or production team and they miss meetings
while everyone else does the work?
-
- Do they think that if their
kids own their own business someday and they fail to show
up for appointments, customers will keep coming
back?
-
- Do they think that it will
always be this way? That their kids will always be
so good that coaches will bend the rules for them?
Do they really think that a high school coach, or a
college coach will tolerate this? Mommy and Daddy
aren't going to be much help then.
-
- These kids need to be
hammered. Right now. Or else their lives are going to be
f-ked up for real.
-
- I would tell those kids that
the next practice they miss they will sit out the entire
game, or as many plays as your league
allows.
-
- And if they do it again,
they will play minimum plays, and at the position of
your choice.
-
- I'm quoting a highly
successful high school coach in Illinois: "No player
is more important than the team... no assistant is more
important than the staff... no game is more important
than the season... no season is more important than the
program."
-
- Now, realizing that
hindsight is 20-20... this is definitely an issue
that needs to be dealt with pre-season, including
specifying what the consequences will be when a kid
misses practice. In the real world, when you don't
show up, they hire someone else, and things get done
without them.
-
- Best of luck. It's not
easy coaching in this permissive society, but somebody in
these kids' lives has to have the stones to say
"No."
-
- *********** You had to figure
this one was coming, considering it happened in New
York...
-
- A New York Jets season-ticket
holder filed a class-action lawsuit last Friday against
the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick for
"deceiving customers."
-
- He is seeking more than $184
million in damages for Jets ticket holders, based on the
fact that they paid a total of $61.6 million to watch
eight "fraudulent" games, between the Jets and Patriots,
and under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organization Act (RICO), they're entitled to triple that
amount.
-
- *********** I know that LSU and
Tulane were wearing special jerseys to be auctioned off
to benefit victims of Katrina, but LSU wearing white
helmets? WTF?
-
- *********** The Beloit, Kansas
Trojans are 4-1 after a 48-12 road win over previously
unbeaten Ellsworth. The Trojans' Double Wing
offense continued to dominate with 44 carries for 453
yards and 5 TDs and 3 of 4 passing for 52 yards and
1 TD. Junior wingback Cas Spangler had another
outstanding performance with 18 carries for 288 yards and
4 TDs on the ground and 2 receptions for 42 yards and a
TD.
-
- *********** Damn, I hate cell
phones. I am sick of people on cell phones making last
minute exits from the far left lanes when they suddenly
realize this is where they get off, or alternately
slowing down and speeding up in front of me. And it
pisses me off no end when I'm at some place where
someone's speaking - such as my clinics - and someone's
phone goes off.
-
- Which brings me to why Rudy
Giuliani is an a**hole. He's a guy, if you didn't know,
who says he wants to be the Republican nominee for
President, but he picks the damnedest ways of showing it.
Last week, he was addressing the National Rifle
Association (NRA), a group that is, to say the least,
staunch in its support of Republicans witha lot of money
to spend supporting the Republican candidate.
-
- The NRA is understandably wary
of Giuliani, a candidate from New York City, where gun
ownership is not considered to be a constitutional
right.
-
- So there he was, addressing the
gun guys, whose support and cash he will need, when right
in the middle of his talk, his cell phone rings.
-
- And, instead of sheepishly
pulling it out of his pocket and apologetically turning
it off - he answers it!
-
- Well, whaddaya know? It's his
wife - and he talks to her! On
stage!
-
- As his audience sits there and
squirms, Mister Big exhanges pleasantries with the Little
Lady.
-
- Are you kidding me? Couldn't
they just text-message each other?
-
- *********** A fan ran onto the
field at one of the NFL games I had on (for the
background noise, mainly) and I heard the announcer
mention it, and say, "We usually don't show this stuff
because we don't want to encourage others..."
-
- This stupid nanny league policy
overlooks the fact that if "others" saw a guy being
slammed to the ground and saw his ass being dragged out
of the stadium, they wouldn't exactly feel "encouraged"
to do the same.
-
- Meanwhile, they don't seem to
worry about others being encouraged to copy tackling with
the head down... dancing in celebration of even the most
trivial of accomplishments... trash talking... carrying
the ball loosely and away from the body... pants pulled
above the knees... I could go on.
-
- *********** Maryland won over
Rutgers, but they could have blown it. Late in the game,
with a 4th and one at the Rutgers 40, the Terps went for
it. They lined up in the I, and gave it to a runner who
lined up seven yards deep - and they got
stuffed.
-
- *********** Those f--king
sideline interviews! At the same time, as I watched on
two side-by-side TV sets, on the left, at the Kansas
State-Texas game, they were interviewing A.J. Foyt IV,
while on the right, at the Oregon-Cal game, they were
interviewing Oregon's new baseball coach.
-
- *********** Unless you get
ESPNU - if you do, that'll make maybe two of us - you
probably haven't heard Larry Coker yet. I've heard him a
couple of times now, and he's pretty good.
-
- *********** I know it's only
pro football, and I know he's a multimillionaire, but I'm
still happy for Daunte Culpepper.
-
- *********** The Oregon Ducks
lost a last-second chance to tie their game with Cal
thanks to a selfish, video game-inspired move by a
receiver who wasn't content with merely giving his team
the ball at the one-foot-line from where they could punch
it in, kick the point, and send it to overtime. Oh, no -
as he headed for the corner, and a collision with a
defender, he just had to hold the ball away from his body
in his two (gloved) hands, the better to make
SportsCenter with one of those famous
flying-ball-over-the-pylon moves. Result: a
collision, a fumble into the end zone and a touchback,
correctly confirmed "upon review." I doubt that Madden
(the game, not the blowhard) says anything about
protecting the football, because that would be a
fundamental, and players can't be bothered with such
things because they're bo-o-o-o-ring.
-
- *********** Hi Coach, Trinity
H.S. 41- Bow H.S. 6
-
- We rushed for 416 yards on 46
carries in the victory last week to up our record to 3-1.
We used 12 different backs to carry the ball. New
Hampshire now goes to running time when a team is up by
35 points so time really moves. This was my first time
using option 88 and 99 and it worked very well. Of course
there is no option. Take care. John Trisciani,
Manchester, New Hampshire
-
-
|
 All
football programs are invited to participate in
the Black Lion Award program. The Black Lion
Award is intended to go to the player on your
team "Who best exemplifies the character of Don
Holleder (see below): leadership, courage,
devotion to duty, self sacrifice, and - above
all - an unselfish concern for the team ahead of
himself." The Black Lion Award provides your
winner with a personalized certificate and a
Black Lions patch, like the one worn at left by
Army's 2005 Black Lion, Scott Wesley, and at
right by Army's 2006 Black Lion, Mike Viti.
There is no cost to you to participate as a
Black Lion Award team. FOR
MORE INFORMATION
|
|
- ALL
NEW!
CST's
Feature Story on the Black Lion
Award
|
|
BECOME A BLACK
LION TEAM
GIVE THE BLACK LION
AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR
PLAYERS!
|
|
|
Will Sullivan, Army's 2004
Black Lion wore his patch (awarded to all
winners) in the Army-Navy game
|
(FOR
MORE INFO)
|
The Black Lion
certificate is awarded to all
winners
|
-
- Take a look at this,
beautifully done by Derek Wade, of Sumner,
Washington --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yy6iA_6skQ
|
***********
Coach Wyatt,