April
30- "If a kid doesn't have character, you
don't stand a chance." Woody Hayes
PRESIDENT BUSH HAS PROCLAIMED MAY 2 AS A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER DIRECTIONS TO CLINICS
SCENES FROM 2002 CLINICS- ATLANTA - CHICAGO - SOUTHERN CALIF - BALTIMORE - DURHAM - TWIN CITIES - PROVIDENCE - DETROITCLINIC
LOCATION 2-16 HOUSTON
CYPRESS COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
3-2 ATLANTA
CROWN PLAZA ATLANTA AIRPORT - 1325 Virginia Ave - 404-768-6660
3-9 CHICAGO
RICH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL - OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL
3-23 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL - 525 S. Schaffer St.., Orange
3-30 BALTIMORE
ARCHBISHOP CURLEY HS - Erdman Ave. & Sinclair Lane
4-6 RALEIGH-DURHAM
MILLENNIUM HOTEL - 2800 Campus Walk Ave., Durham 919-383-8575
4-13 TWIN CITIES
BENILDE-ST MARGARET'S HS - ST LOUIS PARK, MN
4-20 PROVIDENCE
COMFORT INN AIRPORT - 1940 Post Rd, Warwick RI 877-805-8997
4-27 DETROIT
DETROIT MARRIOTT ROMULUS- 30559 Flynn Rd., Romulus 734-729-7555
5-11 DENVER
QUALITY INN SOUTH - Hampden Ave @ I-25 Exit 201 - 303-758-2211
5-18 SACRAMENTO
HIGHLANDS HS -NORTH HIGHLANDS, CA
6-1 PORTLAND/VANCOUVER
PHOENIX INN - 12712 2nd Circle, Vancouver WA 360-891-9777
6-15 BUFFALO
site tba
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LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: With the recent death of former
Supreme Court Justice Byron White, this man becomes the
highest-ranking jurist among living NFL alumni.- In terms of his achievements and public service, he ranks among the most distinguished men ever to play professional football.
- And did he ever play the game.
- A native of Canton, Ohio where he attended Central Catholic High School, he graduated from Notre Dame, where in 1966 he was an consensus All-American defensive end. He graduated in 1967 from Notre Dame, after having been made the number one draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings.
- He played 11 full seasons and part of another with the Vikings, then the remainder of that season and two more with the Bears. During his time with the Vikings, he played in eight pro bowl games, and as a dominant member of a famous front four, he helped the Vikings make it to five NFL championship games.
- In 1971, he became the first defensive player in NFL history to be named Most Valuable Player.
- In 1979, he became the first active NFL player to finish a marathon.
- But there was a lot more to him than great football ability. He found time to serve as a team player representative, and to attend law school at the University of Minnesota, earning his law degree before his playing days were over.
- Following his retirement from the NFL, he entered private law practice and served as a color analyst on TV.
- From 1985 to 1993, he served as an assistant attorney general, and in 1993 was elected associated justice of the Minnesota State Supreme Court, where he serves to this day.
- In 1981, he was named one of American's Ten Outstanding Young Men by the Jaycees
- He was named by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as one of the "100 Influential Minnesotans of the Century;"
- He was named by Sports Illustrated as one of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Ohio;"
- He was named in 2001 to the Academic All-American Hall of Fame;
- In 1988 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame;
- In 1993, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame;
- He has been active in numerous ways in encouraging minority youngsters to recognize the value of education.
- *********** The Detroit clinic was a great success, with more than 40 coaches, from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Canada attending. This was the first time two different Canadian high schools were represented. Suffice it to say that for me and a lot of other people in the Northwest, Detroit is going to be the focus of our NFL attention, now that the Lions have drafted Joey Harrington. I really love the kid. I don't think he has a downside. I really put him in the same class as Elway and Bledsoe, both, like him, born in the Northwest, and both, like him, coaches' kids. I think they had stronger arms coming in, and Elway in his younger days was a superior runner, but like them, Harrington is a winner. And what an opportunity - Detroit is a great sports town. If Harrington can ever work his magic in Detroit and help return the Lions to greatness, he will find out just how great. His family lucked out, too - Northwest airlines (my airline of choice) flies non-stop between Portland and Detroit. More about the Detroit clinic on Friday.
- *********** A coach in the process of building his football library asked me for a list of my favorite books. I hate to list or rank anything (my favorite sport when I was a kid was always the one in season; if you ask me at any time what my favorite place is - other than home - I'm likely to say, "Right here, right now"; and my favorite company, other than my family, is whoever I'm with right now), but there are many books that have made a difference to me in one way or another over the years. Although this is by no means my conclusive list, these books would certainly be on it:
In no particular order (except for #1) ---
AT THE TOP OF MY LIST: Nelson, David M. - Football Principles and Play - Ronald Press, 1962 - The absolute best book ever written on the thinking behind offensive and defensive play; although Dave Nelson is considered to be the father of the Delaware Wing-T, this book is general in nature and could be used as a coaching textbook.
Parseghian , Ara - Parseghian and Notre Dame Football - Doubleday & Co, 1971 & 1973 - Parseghian's adaptation of the Wing-T offense and his Split-4 defense - and a whole lot more
McKay, John - Football Coaching - Ronald Press, 1966 - The basics of the USC I-formation attack and his 5-2 Rover (Monster) defense - and more
Ellison, Glenn "Tiger" - Run and Shoot Football - Parker Publishing, 1965 & 1984 - An original offensive system written by the Ohio high school coach who devised it
Bryant, Paul W. - Building a Championship Football Team - Prentice-Hall, 1960 - The Bear's master work - includes his explanation of Bum Phillips' defensive numbering system
Evashevski, Forest and Nelson, David - Scoring Power With the Winged T Offense - Brown Co., 1957 - The original book on the Wing-T that took the football world by storm
Danzig, Allison - The History of American Football - Prentice-Hall, 1956 - A look at the men and their teams - and their thinking - that built the game we have today
Ecker, Tom and Calloway, Bill - Athletic Journal's Encyclopedia of Football - Parker Publishing, 1978 - A compilation of offensive and defensive ideas from top college and HS coaches
Tallman, Drew - Directory of Football Offenses - 1978 - incredible resource - pocket-sized diagrams of formations
Tallman, Drew - Directory of Football Defenses - 1980 - likewise
Caldwell, Charlie - Modern Single-Wing Football - Lippincott $ Co - 1951 - The first football book I ever got, given to me as a Christmas present when I was a kid. Very technical, it took me years to understand it, but his section on the wedge was a real eye-opener for me
Smith, Homer - Handbook for Coaching the Football Passing Attack - Parker Publishing, 1970 - The passing game at its very base - the fundamentals necessary for the simplest or most sophisticated passing attack
Blaik, Earl and Cohane, Tim - You Have to Pay the Price - Holt, Rinehart and Winston - 1960 - A coach's perspective on the game - the agony and the ecstasy of coaching
Royal, Darrell and Sherrod, Blackie - Darrell Royal Talks Football - Prentice-Hall - 1963 - Just some plain old coaching wisdom that I was badly in need of in my early days
Coach of the Year Clinic Manuals, any and all you can get your hands on (I go back to 1970 with them) - contact Earl Browning, PO Box 22185, Louisville, KY 40252 (telecoach@mindspring.com)
Pool, Hamp - Fly-T Football - Prentice-Hall, 1957 - I have to include this, because it first got me interested in coaching - it was my senior year in college, I was injured, and I was pressed into service coaching our intra-mural (yes, tackle football) team - Hamp Pool's Los Angeles Rams of the early 1950s put up incredible numbers because (1) he had one of the best assemblages of offensive talent ever put together on one team, and (2) he was light years ahead of other coaches in his offensive thinking. After four years of playing belly-T football, mostly from a full-house T backfield, I was awed by the stuff I saw in this book. And doggone if it didn't work when I tried it!
***********
KID-SIZED SHIELDS?
I have had many coaches mention
that while they do the blocking and tackling drills I
show on my tapes, they sometimes have problems because
their kids are so small.
As many of you know, I am a great believer in teaching blocking and tackling using hand shields. Unfortunately, the standard-size shield can sometimes make it impossible for a little guy to wrap his arms around it and "grab cloth," much less lock his arms. (Those of you who have my "Safer and Surer Tackling" tape will understand what I am saying.
As a result of a recent inquiry from a coach, I have been in touch with a manufacturer who tells me that if there is sufficient interest, he would be able to produce a "youth" pad about 15-20 per cent smaller in all dimensions: approximately 20 x 16 x 3, with two handles same as the adult size.
A company in the Northwest has produced a sample "fight shield" for me to take around to clinics. Its price is $40 each when you buy from 1-4; $35 each if you buy 5 or more.
The young fellow demonstrating the shield is Coach Dwayne Pierce's son, Xavier. He has told his friends that a "famous coach" took his picture and is going to put him on his web site.
*********** Our local newspaper ran a story Friday about a young woman, accused of murdering her mother-in-law, who just gave birth.
"Sofia Johnson, alleged embezzler and accused murderer, has a new title: mom," was how the story ran.
I wanted to say, "Mom, " my ass. I'm willing to bet that little kid will never call her "Mom."
This is a clever little trick employed by today's news media, using certain touchy-feely words that tug at our heartstrings. Want to make people sympathetic toward a young middle school punk? Refer to him as a "child." ("Neighbor Accused of Assaulting Child." Yeah - the same 14-year-old "child" that the neighbor slugged when he caught him trying to remove his car stereo.) Want to make that high school kid who's been in and out of the juvenile justice system sound like he's Archie Andrews? Call him a "teen." ("Alaska Teen Charged in Infant's Abuse Death."). Want to make everybody feel better about that 15-year-old who just gave birth and has decided to keep her baby? Call her a "mom." Better yet, a "Teen mom."
This "mom" business, when they really mean "mother," has been bothering me for some time.
"Mom" is not synonymous with "Mother." "Mother" is a biological term acquired by the physical process of giving birth; animals are mothers. "Mom", on the other hand, is a term of endearment. It is bestowed by the child. It can't be claimed by the mother or conferred by an outsider. Not even a newspaper reporter. It has to be earned. You can't give birth to a child, then desert it, and claim to be its "Mom."
Now, there is always a chance that that 15-year-old teen mother may actually become a Mom. But that depends on whether she earns the right to the title. Let's wait and see.
There is considerably less likelihood that that young woman accused of murdering her mother-in-law will ever earn the title.
True, "Mom" sounds a lot more comfy-cozy to a lot of the deadheads who just read the headlines and watch the talking heads on TV, but it's time the news media stop conferring the title on women who haven't earned it.
I am now taking orders for "PRACTICE WITHOUT
PADS," my latest video production. It is geared
primarily to the youth coach, but it will be useful
to high school coaches as well. It deals with
subjects ranging from the organizational details
that you must cover before you even start to
practice, to pre-season workouts, and takes you all
the way through a practice to the sort of things
you might want to cover when you're wrapping things
up at the end. In between are drills dealing with
flexibility, strength, form-running and agility, as
well as the basics of proper blocking, tackling and
ball-handling. It ends with numerous fun-type
drills that you can use to build competitiveness
and morale among your kids, and send them home
wanting more. And the best part of it is, although
you might see players on the tape performing some
of the drills while wearing helmets and pads,
and
although these drills are still plenty useful once
you're allowed to hit, they are drills that you can
do in the off-season, or in pre-season before
you're allowed to have any contact! The
tape runs approximately 1-1/2 hours in length and
sells for $49.95 - mail check or money order to
Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Avenue - Camas, WA
98607 WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT "PRACTICE
WITHOUT PADS" - Coach, I viewed your
tape last night and I want to commend you on
another fine production. It was great from the
onset and got better as it went along. There is a
ton of great information on the tape for youth
coaches such as myself who are always looking to
improve. My wife caught the tail-end of it, and
commented a number of times on how much fun the
drills looked (in the fun-time section). I'm always
looking for new ideas to add fun (with
conditioning) to the practices, and the tape has
loads of ideas. Plus, although you don't coach to
make the moms happy, it was nice that my wife could
look at it and recognize that the kids were having
fun (and that our kids will have fun with these
competitive drills this coming season). It never
hurts to keep the moms happy, since they are often
the ones who are unsure about whether their boys
should play or not, and are often the ones who have
to schlep the kids to/from practice, so I think
that it's great for them the see that the kids are
having fun (as well as learning and getting
fitter). If we get enough of a sign-up, I'll be
coaching a 7th grade team, and will finally get to
run the double-wing as it should be run. If I'm
fortunate enough to be able to be a head coach, I'm
determined to make the season a hugely successful
one for the kids in terms of learning the game,
gaining some skills, and having some fun. I'm
hoping that it will have a positive effect on the
program as well. Your tape will go a long way in
helping me achieve these goals. Thanks again for
your efforts, and I'll see you in Providence. Rick
Davis, Duxbury, Mass *********** Coach, Great job on the "Practice
Without Pads" video. I would recommend it for any
youth coach. It doesn't matter if you are just
beginning or have been around for awhile, you can
learn something from it. There are several things
that I will be implementing this year. Thanks. L.
E. "Stew" Stewart, Yuma, Arizona *********** Coach Wyatt, I received your
videos today on "Safer & Surer Tackling" &
"Practice without Pads". They complement each other. I heartily
recommend them both to any coach on any level. The
practice video explained the how and why of drills
that teach fundamental football. It explained how
they related to situations players would see in
competition. It expanded one drill to the next, to
the next, until a compete base of knowledge was
taught to players! I laughed watching the pulling drill with the
tubes!!!! I think I would have LOVED to have been
able to participate in that drill during my youth.
What a fun workout!!!! The tackling video taught me some tackling
teaching skills that I am ashamed to admit that I
had not learned in 8 years of coaching football. I
think I taught tackling "ok" before. Now I know how
to teach tackling in a safer, but more fun, more
physical and more exciting manner. In 2 hours of watching video, I feel I have
increased my ability to coach WINNING football by
300%. Wait until I can review it several times
again! I feel like I have received a BF (Bachelor's
of Football) from the U of W (University of
Wyatt). Sincerely, Marlowe Aldrich, Youth Coach,
Billings, Montana
*********** It's too late to do anything about the poor kids who've already been produced - and abused - by the dregs of our society, but we can still do something about the abuse victims yet unborn.
Anybody want to enlist in the Sterilization Squadron?
Should you choose to join up.... you will be deputized and given a rifle and scope, with a magazine full of darts spiked with a powerful contraceptive.
You may select from one of the following three assignments, first come, first served. They are all recent cases.
(1) In Portland, a little 8-year-old girl was stabbed to death when for some reason or another - perhaps to try to make peace - she stepped between her father and her knife-wielding half brother, who evidently were engaged in a violent disagreement.The half-brother, 33, evidently has a history of violence. He is being held in the child's death..
The little girl has three brothers close to her age. Her mother and her father divorced a few years ago, and the father has been raising the kids.
The mother, 33, now lives in Montana. When notified of her daughter's death, she was in the process of giving birth to yet another baby.
So let's saddle up. We've got work to do. We can't save that poor little girl, but if we can save just one more child from being born to people like that...
(2) In Vancouver, Washington, just across the mighty Columbia River from Portland...
Police responding to reports that a man had been beaten, arrived at an apartment to find a guy bleeding profusely from head cuts. He told the officers that two guys had entered the apartment at 3 AM or so looking for marijuana or - evidently the next best thing - money, and when he wasn't sufficiently forthcoming, they began to rough him up.
When his girlfriend's mother came out to see what the fuss was, they pushed her around, too. They then held everyone - including the girlfriend and her four children - at gunpoint before escaping. The guy, 25, did admit to police that there was a bit of marijuana cultivation in his past.
The newspaper article didn't say whether "mom" or "dad" got the kids up and off to school the next day.
(3) In Seattle, a 16-year-old guy (referred to as a "teen" in the newspaper headline) is being held in the beating murder of his 18-year-old girlfriend's six-week-old baby boy. The baby, who died Saturday in a Seattle Hospital, was first admitted to a hospital in Ketchikan, Alaska 11 days ago with bruises and brain injuries which Ketchikan police said were "consistent with physical abuse." He was airlifted to Seattle, where he was discovered to have what hospital personnel there called "multiple fractures."
Although it is suggested that you aim for the buttocks, where you hit your targets is really not all that important.
Readers
please, please
note: Over and
over, I am being asked by athletes for workout
programs - ways they can get bigger, stronger
and/or faster. I must remind everyone that this
site is intended as a service for coaches.
No
one on this site is going to tell an athlete how to
become bigger, faster or stronger. That is his
coach's job. My arrangement with Steve
Plisk,who is kept plenty busy in his day job as
strength and conditioning coach for all of Yale's
sports, is that he will answer, to the best of his
ability and to the extent that his schedule
permits, questions from coaches (including
youth coaches), especially questions that in my
opinion will be of interest to coaches in general.
He will not prescribe individual workouts, nor will
I. The question above is of such
a general nature, applicable to other athletes and
coaches, that I forwarded it to Steve for an
answer. Steve already has a full-time
job overseeing the strength and conditioning needs
of Yale's athletes in more than 30 intercollegiate
sports, and it would simply not be feasible for him
- or me - to prescribe personal training programs,
even if if we weren't opposed to putting ourselves
between any athlete and his (or her) coach.
In general I am not a big fan
of personal coaches - whether we are talking about
strength, speed, skills or psychology - for
athletes who are already participating in team
sports. As Steve says, "everyone is
looking for the magic training program - no
one ever seems to be satisfied with the one they've
been provided. We deal with the same thing
here, and in my opinion it's killing the
profession." I believe
- and I tell this to anyone who asks me about a
training program other than what their coach has
provided them - that it is important that any young
athlete learn to work with his (or her) own coach,
without "benefit" of outside advice.Football is not
figure skating. Football is not golf. Despite the
best efforts of some people, it is still a team
sport. I think the growing presence of outside
gurus is a major source of the problems faced by
today's coaches. If you're an athlete or a parent
and you're still reading this... LISTEN TO YOUR
COACH! Hugh Wyatt
*********** Three men were killed early Saturday in a
fight between rival motorcycle gangs in Laughlin, Nevada, a
desert resort on the Colorado River 80 miles from Las Vegas
where Nevada, Arizona and California come together.
The bikers had gathered in Laughlin for the 20th annual River Run, one of the USA's largest motorcycle rallies. According to witnesses, the fight started when one member of the Mongols encountered a group of Hells Angels at a casino bar.
"One of the Hells Angels guys pulls out a gun and pops him in the head, and after that, it's just pandemonium," according to a police officer.
The fight, which took place inside Harrah's casino, left at least a dozen others suffering from gunshot or stab wounds, and represents a flaring-up of a long-simmering feud.
So what's this got to do with football?
Permit me to introduce John Torres, who in his real life is a Double-Wing coach, but for relaxation and recreation serves as San Francisco Area Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Coach Torres says the feud's been going on a long time - "basically, since the late 1970's," he told USA Today.
Coach Torres has plenty of experience in dealing with these gentleman riders. Two years ago, the ATF arrested some 50 Mongols after a lengthy investigation.
Although things had been relatively calm until recently, Torres said, "lately we've seen an escalation," as the Mongols and other groups such as the Pagans, Bandidos and Outlaws have been provoked by what he called the Hells Angels' "very aggressive" attempts to expand into rivals' turf in the fight over control of drug distribution, prostitution and assorted other criminal activities.
After a day like that, dealing with parents who don't like the Double-Wing wouldn't appear to be much of a challenge. Actually, Coach Torres doesn't have a whole lot of problems in that regard anyhow - it doesn't hurt to have had the success that he's had as a youth coach, in Virginia, in Southern California, and now in Northern California.
*********** I am constantly amused by the number of guys who sound shocked when I answer the phone myself, as if I would have two or three secretaries to ward off callers. A guy called Monday and actually thanked me for answering the phone. "This is a miracle," he said. "I can't even get the air conditioning guy to answer the phone - all I get is his voice mail."
Well, I do try to answer the phone, but I wouldn't call that a miracle.
A miracle is seeing a paralyzed kid walk again, or seeing a young mother of four little kids beat cancer.
But the guy has given me an idea.
"Welcome to Coach Wyatt Worldwide Headquarters. For instructions in English, press '1'"(Without waiting to hear the lists of other languages, let's say you press "1")"For information on the Double-Wing, press '1'...
"For information on how to stop the Double-Wing, press '2'"
(Just for the hell of it, you press "2")"We're sorry, all our representatives are busy dissing other defensive coordinators. Please hang up and try again later."
*********** "One draft day tidbit I found funny was that after the Bears drafted Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern RB who rushed for 6,543 yards) and Janin (Wide Receiver out of Delaware) in the sixth round, Dick Jauron was telling the media that these guys put up astronomical numbers in college but it was mostly due to the system they ran. A reporter asked him to explain what he meant and he stammered that wishbone, double slot, veer, and wing-t offenses always produce huge offensive output but we will have to wait and see if these guys can be a part of a pro style offense. The radio commentator said that he didn't really know what a wing-t was but it sure sounded like a better offense than anything the Bears have been running over the last 14 seasons!!!" Bill Lawlor, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
************ Joe Soucheray, one of my favorite columnists, notes in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Minnesota State Senate, despite a lot of patriotic hoopla about "mandating" the weekly recital of the Pledge of Allegiance by students in Minnesota schools, didn't exactly do that. Instead, he says, what the Senate actually did was pass a bill that said, "Schools, you're saying the Pledge of Allegiance once a week - unless you don't want to."
As Soucheray says, that's hardly a mandate. It's a recommendation.
Meanwhile, while no one was looking, a State Senator named Mee Moua slipped a real mandate into the bill. Senator Moua, who leaves messages on her answering machine in both English and Hmong, is evidently concerned about the effect on new immigrants of asking them to show a little respect to their host country. She managed to include in the bill a provision that students be instructed once a year that refusing to say the Pledge doesn't make them unpatriotic.
Now, that's her opinion. Nothing more. It is not a fact. It is fair to say that Senator Moua and I differ greatly in our opinions, because I can't imagine anything more unpatriotic than a refusal to pledge allegiance to the flag and to the country for which it stands.
Regardless, teaching Minnesota's children that they have a right to refuse is now part of the bill and, unlike the saying of the pledge, it's a mandate.
*********** So you want to be a college coach... well, here's your chance!
Georgia State, located in Atlanta, is the second-largest college in the state of Georgia, and the largest college in the country without a football program. Someone is trying to do something about that, beginning with a non-scholarship club-level program that will play Division II and III programs and some Division I JV's. Coach Carl Lawrence is looking for volunteer assistants for all positions on the both sides of the ball. They are looking for people with college or large high school coaching experience. Obviously, the money is not there, but this could represent a tremendous opportunity for someone with ambition who can recognize a ground-floor opportunity to grow. Fax your resume to 404 765 6532 (and make sure to include on your resume phone numbers where you can be reached).
*********** I have had a couple of high school coaches come to me at clinics and say, in effect, "I didn't get back to you on the Black Lion Award because frankly, I didn't think we had anyone deserving of it."
Man, I really appreciated that.
The Black Lion Award is not meant to be a Good Conduct Medal or a Perfect Attendance Award, and I respect coaches who respect the Award for what it is meant to be.
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON... DON'T LET UP... IF WE CAN'T SAVE ONE GOOD MAN'S JOB, PERHAPS WE CAN AT LEAST SEND A SIGNAL TO SOME ADMINISTRATORS THAT THEY CAN'T TREAT GOOD PEOPLE THIS WAY AND THEN GO BACK INTO HIDING...- *********** I am pissed. Ozzie Osmundson got fired. Oh, not really fired. You know by now how administrators work. They just told him he wasn't going to be offered a new contract. Poof. Just like that, Ridgefield, Washington gets rid of a guy who has coached there for 24 years, the last 16 as its head coach.
- This is exactly the kind of crap I was talking about when I suggested, only half-jokingly, getting the Teamsters in to unionize football coaches.
- He has had losing records the last three years. I am in a good position to say why, since I coached against him one of those seasons, and I've seen his teams the last two years. It is quite simple. His kids, overall, have not been particularly talented. And he has been overscheduled - for the past three years, he has had to open against three of the top teams in his class.
- When he has had decent talent, he has won, and when he had good talent, he won a state championship. His 1994 team went 13-0 and is still the only team from Southwest Washington to win a state football championship in any class. That makes him the only high school coach in our part of the state to have coached a state championship football team.
- I coached with Oz for four years in the early 90's. I was his offensive coordinator, and I installed the Double-Wing at Ridgefield. Those are Ozzie Osmundson's Ridgefield teams you see wearing those orange pants in "Dynamics of the Double Wing."
- But now that Oz has had the misfortune of having had three straight losing seasons, his administrators - a principal who has never strapped on anything in his life, a vice-principal who fancies himself a football coach, a female superintendent in her first year on the job - tell him that he knows the game but can't teach it, and that his offense (the Double-Wing) is "predictable," and "it's time for a change." (Funny, LaCenter High, where I also coached, won Ridgefield's league this past season - running that exact same "predictable" Double-Wing.)
- Not many people know this, but there was a year when Ozzie worked for nothing. The district's budget levy went down to defeat, leaving no money for coaches' pay or bus transportation to away games, and there wouldn't have been football if Ozzie and I hadn't agreed to coach gratis. We car-pooled to away games, but doggone, we kept a football program alive. The booster club was gracious enough to pay us a nominal sum after the season, but if Ozzie hadn't stepped up, those kids wouldn't have won a state championship two years later.
- He is a wonderful person and a true friend, and he is getting the shaft. Big time. A person who has given of himself to Ridgefield's kids the way Ozzie has deserves to go out on his terms. If I could swing it, I would ask coaches everywhere to boycott the Ridgefield job, because unless it belongs to Ozzie Osmundson, it is stolen goods.
- E-mail the Ridgefield superintendent, Mary Vagner - mary.vagner@ridge.k12.wa.us - or the principal, Russ Roseberry - russ.roseberry@ridge.k12.wa.us - and tell them that you have seen tapes of Coach Osmundson's teams (if you've seen Dynamics of the Double Wing, or Dynamics IV, you have), and in your expert opinion as a coach, anyone who says Ozzie can't teach is dead wrong, and anyone who says the Double-Wing is predictable is an ignorant fool.
- And anyone who serves up a good man like Ozzie to self-serving parents, as they have done, is gutless, and has no business being in management.
- If you'd like to call and leave them a message, the phone is 360-887-0220.
- Light 'em up! But remember to sign your name. If they're like me, they'll ignore anything that's unsigned.
*********** Supt. Vagner:
It is with great regret that I find out that the "professional sports" psyche has invaded your school district. The idea of not offering Coach Osmundson a new contract is absurd. From what I know about the man, you are extremely lucky to have a man like him be so loyal to your district and its children.
You CANNOT have the past success that Coach Osmundson has achieved and not be able to teach the game of football! Whoever believes Coach Osmundson cannot teach has no business teaching any child anything!
Personally, I would like to know the backgrounds of the people responsible for making the decision to not bring Coach Osmundson back. Have they ever coached a sport in their lives?! Do they truly understand that coaching football entails much more than teaching X's & O's?! (Of which I know Coach Osmundson can do. I've witnessed the play of his team on videotape. The man CAN COACH and TEACH!)
All you have accomplished is to magnify the absurd idea that wins equals success. High schools don't have the luxury of recruiting players. You go with what you have from year to year, and it's not always the best talent level.
My last question is this: Will YOUR JOB be evaluated by the number of kids who score high on state standardized tests? If this kind of absurd "grading" is good enough for Coach Osmundson, then it certainly is good enough for you!
- Truly yours, Scott Lovell, Cherokee, Iowa
- COACHES - YOUR SUPPORT OF A FELLOW MEMBER OF OUR PROFESSION IS APPRECIATED, AND ONE MORE SIGN OF THE BOND THAT TIES US TO EACH OTHER, EVEN THOSE WE'LL NEVER MEET. IF BY SOME CHANCE YOU'VE ALREADY CONTACTED THE FOLKS AT RIDGEFIELD, PLEASE SEND ME A COPY OF YOUR CORRESPONDENCE. I WOULD LIKE TO ASSEMBLE IT ALL AND - JUST IN CASE THE PRINCIPAL AND SUPERINTENDENT HAVE IGNORED IT - DELIVER IT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.
*********** Joe Sullivan is on a roll. Two weeks ago I reprinted (with permission) his piece, "Too Bad Every Kid Can't Play For the 'Worst Coach Ever,'" from his weekly column in the Manchester, New Hampshire Union Leader, and back he comes with another one that coaches - and teachers - can appreciate:
Writing's a passion; teaching children is labor of loveBy JOE SULLIVAN
Union Leader Sports
For a short period of time in 1986, sports writing became my full-time job. After 20 years of teaching (19 of them in high school), I opted to switch careers.
I was fortunate enough to be elevated from part time to full time by this newspaper. My first night as a full-time sports writer, my editor sent me to the JFK Coliseum in Manchester to meet a youth hockey team returning from a national tournament. I talked to the coaches, to the parents, to the players and then wrote my story. I was off and writing.
Soon, I became immersed &emdash; full time &emdash; in the world of sports.
The Celtics won the NBA title in 1986, and I covered all the home playoff games, as well as two road wins in Milwaukee against the Bucks.
I can't be sure, but I believe Celtics substitute guard Jerry Sichting looked forward to talking to me after each contest. During one memorable playoff game at Boston Garden, Sichting appeared ready to come out at a critical juncture. He sidled to the bench area and waited to be replaced. However, I noticed that the player coming in became confused and short-circuited the substitution pattern. Sichting stayed in and Dennis Johnson came out. When Celts coach K.C. Jones realized what had happened, it was too late to reverse things. The ball had already been put into play.
The I-shouldn't-be-out-here Sichting scored the game's key hoop seconds later, and the reserve shooting guard became an instant hero.
After the game, I asked the man of the night about what transpired just before he won the game for the Celts.
"Weren't you supposed to be on the bench?" I asked.
He looked right at me and answered, "You noticed that, huh?"
Confused reporters from every other newspaper in the galaxy jumped in, asked questions, begged for an explanation.
After that one penetrating question, Sichting always took care of me, always gave me something he didn't give other reporters.
I liked my new full-time job, but I soon realized something was missing. Young people. Young people I would come to know and like.
Sure, there were still young people in my writing life. But they only dropped in; they never stayed. There was the boy who scored the winning run in a tournament baseball game and the girl who established a personal best in the javelin throw at a class track meet. We'd chat. I'd ask questions; they'd answer questions. I was friendly; they were friendly.
Then the questions and answers would end, and I'd walk away. They'd walk away. I'd write the story &emdash; and that was the end of the story.
I met athletes, talked to athletes, but I didn't get to know athletes, didn't get to make friends.
I remained in the newsroom for the spring and summer.
Then, I returned to the classroom for another 15 years, another 15 years of getting to know kids &emdash; really know kids.
The Union Leader was nice enough to return me to my previous part-time sports position. It's a job I've relished since my first shift back in 1973.
However, covering sports is not teaching children.
These events came back to me several days ago when I interviewed Concord tennis player Garrett Young. The Crimson Tide senior floored me with his wit and intelligence, his honesty and self-deprecating sense of humor. I kept him on the phone for too long for two reasons.
First, he made me laugh so hard so often, it slowed the interview process. Second, he was so much fun to talk with, I didn't want our conversation to end.
When I finally let him go, I didn't review my interview notes immediately, which I normally do.
Instead, I sat at my computer terminal and thought about the Concord High teachers who interact with Garrett Young five days a week. I thought about his tennis coach, Harvey Smith, who interacts with him almost every day during their season together.
I sat and thought about how lucky those teachers and Harvey Smith are.
I hoped they realize how lucky they are.
I do.
Reprinted by permission. This information is copyrighted and cannot be reused without permission.
- Joe Sullivan's column "As I See 'em" appears every Tuesday in The Union Leader
- *********** My friend Tom Hinger, who won the Silver Star for gallantry in combat in Vietnam (he will ticked at me for writing that), recommended some time ago that I read "We Were Soldiers Once.. and Young", long before it was made into a movie. He said that it was the truest representation of combat he'd ever read. In the book, the author, Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, mentioned a young Englishman - that's right, an Englishman serving in the United States Army - named Rick Rescorla. He is mentioned or quoted on 37 pages of the book.
- Call him a soldier of fortune if you wish. Rick Rescorla, a Cornishman (from Cornwall, in the farthest southeastern part of England) fought for the British in Cyprus and Rhodesia before joining the United States Army. As an American lieutenant in Vietnam, he is referred to in the book as a "battlefield legend." His platoon was known as the "Hard Corps."
- Once, as he prepared his men for an enemy assault, one of them remembered asking him, "What if they break through?"
- Calmly, he replied, "If they break through and overrun us, put grenades around your hole. Lay them on the parapet and get your head below ground. Lie on your back in the hole. Spray bullets into their faces. If we do our job, they won't get that far."
- Guys, we are talking real-life John Wayne.
- Yet the movie, "We Were Soldiers," mentions Rick Rescorla not at all.
- Thirty-seven years later, Rick Rescorla had become an American citizen, had earned a law degree in Oklahoma, and was serving as Vice President for Corporate Security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, whose corporate offices were in the south tower of the World Trade Center. When the first plane hit the north tower, official voices came over the loudspeaker system in his building telling people to stay put - don't leave the building - the area is secure, blah, blah, blah.
Rick Rescorla was on the phone at the time to his best friend. "You watching TV?" he asked. "The dumb sons of bitches told me not to evacuate," he said as he watched TV. "They said it's just Building One. I told them I'm getting my people the [expletive] out of here."
And so he did, and miraculously - on a day when miracles were few - he directed the evacuation to safety of 2700 of Morgan Stanley's employees. Only six of the company's employees perished. Rick Rescorla was one of them.
He is becoming famous, as well he should. NBC's "Dateline" devoted a major portion of a show a couple of weeks ago to Rick's story. Other than the fact that Jane Pauley kept lobbing "doesn't it just make you want to cry?" type questions at the people she interviewed, obviously pandering to that segment of the female audience that wouldn't sit still for a straight piece about (ugh!) a man's man, it was nicely done. Thanks to Cornwall native (and Double-Wing coach) Mike Kent, I even knew enough about Cornish tradition to recognize "Trelawny", the Cornish National Anthem, being sung in the background.
Now, many Americans who recognize the man's true bravery are calling on President Bush to award him the highest honor that can be bestowed on an American civilian.
HAVE YOU SIGNED THE PETITION ASKING THAT RICK RESCORLA BE AWARDED THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF HONOR? DO IT NOW, AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO IT, TOO! I was #3533. Bill Livingstone, of Troy, Michigan, wrote to tell me he was #4290. Mick Yanke, of Cokato, Minnesota was #4268; Greg Koenig, of Las Animas, Colorado, was #8192 - Doug Gibson, of Naperville, Illinois was #10,413 - as of April 28 the total was 10,430
EVEN IF YOU DON'T SIGN, GO TO THE SITE AND READ WHAT SOME OF THE SIGNERS HAVE TO SAY, AND YOU'LL FEEL A GREAT SENSE OF PRIDE http://www.petitiononline.com/pmfrick/petition.html
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Coach Wyatt, I am Robert Boyles from Blue Springs, Missouri. I had enlisted in the Black Lion Award earlier in the season and am writing to request that you issue my certificate in the name of TIVIS CARR. Tivis has played for me for two years, he is the type of player that probably could have played any position he set his mind to, although Tivis ended up playing right guard and tackle for our team for the past two years, he was within the weight limit of being a ball carrier but we needed a lineman, although he did ask to carry the ball he never gave up working hard at the position we asked. On the defensive side of the ball Tivis was probably our best lineman he liked playing nosegaurd or tackle and spent a few games at corner, he was quick and had great vision for the ball carrier, Tivis without a doubt was an outstanding player and great teammate! Robert Boyles Blue Springs, Missouri
Coach: We finished our season at 2-8. Not exactly great; but a lot of people had us pegged as going 0-10 after the hit by graduation last year. We will be having a December17th football banquet and wanted to know what I need to do about getting the Black Lion award by then. Our winner is JR WR/DB MATT MILBURN. Milburn started the year by being moved to WB. As a freshmen WB came along and learned, Matt went back to TE/SE without complaining-- knowing that he would go from 8-9 touches a game to about 2-3. What probable sums up his unselfishness best is this example. We were trailing 26-7 late in the game.There was probable only15-18 seconds left. We ran a reverse (with no timeouts). It worked, we fooled them & he broke down the sideline. On about the 3 yardline, someone had pursued into position to possibly make the play. Matt probably could have scored (he hadn't scored all season after catching and making several HUGE plays the year before); but he chose to get out of bounds and save the clock for the next play; which set up someone else to score. It would have been easy to try and score one for oneself, especially in a game that was "over". But I have not often been prouder of a player, he symbolized what I try to stress at all times --"Never give up and don't play for yourself". By the way, Matt has a 1100 SAT nad GPA of 90. I am hoping to encourage him to look into a military academy. In addition to football, he excels in basketball and baseball.Thanks. John Bowen, Glascock County HS Gibson, Georgia
We just voted on the Black Lion Award.. The winner is Shane McBurney #1.. Besides being a great QB, Shane is first and foremost a good character young man.. Shane is a natural leader and he leads by setting the right example.. Shane never had to be disciplined and never had to be told to do something twice.. We are all very proud of Shane and he is very deserving of this great award.. Thank you for your time..Coach Collin Bottrill - Phoenix, Arizona
Coach Wyatt, Danny Marland is Madison's Black Lion. He has been in bed with a broken leg since September 7th. His #1 concern has been our teams success. We are all hoping he recovers and has a great season next year. Coach Gordon Leib, James Madison High School, 2500 James Madison Drive, Vienna,Virginia
(BE SURE TO E-MAIL ME - coachwyatt@aol.com - AND ENROLL (OR RE-ENROLL) YOUR TEAM FOR 2002! (FOR MORE INFO)
SCENES FROM 2002 CLINICS- ATLANTA - CHICAGO - SOUTHERN CALIF - BALTIMORE 
***********
Maybe you saw players in the Army-Navy game
wearing patches in honor of various military
units. Winners of the Black Lion Award are
not only eligible to wear the Black Lions
emblem shown at left, they are all going to
receive one.- Concerning this particular patch and the regiment it represents, I will leave it to General James Shelton, USA Retired, a combat veteran who served with the men honored by the Black Lion Award, to tell briefly the story of the Black Lions, as it appears in his soon-to-be-published book about the Battle of Ong Thanh:
- The 1st Infantry Division, "THE BIG RED ONE", was and is a very proud U.S. Army division. It was the first of the U.S. Army divisions formed from the formal system of regiments during World War I where it established a reputation for organizational efficiency and aggressiveness. The first U.S. victory of World War I is claimed by the 1st Division when the 28th Infantry Regiment attacked and seized the small French village of CANTIGNY on the 28th of May 1918. The 28th Infantry Regiment later became known as the "Black Lions of CANTIGNY". The 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry "Black Lions", the U.S. battalion which fought the Battle of Ong Thanh on October 17, 1967, approximately 50 years later, was from the same proud regiment of the "BIG RED ONE". General John J. Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, said of the 1st Division: "The Commander-in-Chief has noted in this division a special pride of service and a high state of morale, never broken by hardship nor battle." These words have never been forgotten by the 1st Infantry Division. All military units seek to be known as special and unique - the best. The 1st Infantry Division has been able, over the many years of its existence, to retain that esprit, and most of those who have served in many different US Army divisions remember the special esprit which the 1st Division was able to imbue throughout its ranks.
- General Shelton, an outstanding wing-T guard at Delaware, insisted on personally signing every Black Lions Award certificate.
- Originally, Black Lions patches had to be purchased for $5, but now, thanks to the generosity of the 28th Infantry Association - the Black Lions - a sufficient number of Black Lions patches has been donated for each winner to receive one.
MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS
"Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Dave Berry
By the way... to make sure the record is correct... There is no "n" in "Holleder." The correct pronunciation is NOT "Hollander" - there is no "N".
It was common, when Don Holleder was playing, for announcers to mispronounce his name "Hollander," and evidently it was a sore spot with his former wife, since remarried who, when I spoke with her, evidently thought I'd said "Hollander," and was quick to correct me!
HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Doyt Perry was a head coach at just
one school, Bowling Green, and he was a college head
coach for just 10 years, but his teams were so dominant
that his 77-11-5 record ranks him fourth overall in
winning percentage among all college coaches, all-time,
all levels, who have coached 10 years or more (behind
Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy of Notre Dame, and Bob Reade
of Augustana College).
***********
Saturday's Providence clinic was a near sellout, with
coaches in attendance from Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, about evenly-divided between high school and youth
coaches. In attendance were coaches representing two high
schools that have won state titles running the Double-Wing -
Fitch High, of Groton, Connecticut and Boothbay Regional
High of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, as well as a national Pop
Warner finalist, the Chariho Cowboys of western Rhode
Island. Fitch High has been in the last four Connecticut
Class L (Large) state final games and won two of them. More
about Providence and more photos on Friday.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Jim Sweeney, the "Smiling Irishman,"
is a native of Butte, Montana. He won exactly 200 games
in his 35 years as a college head coach, and is one of
only four coaches in college football history to have won
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at four different
colleges.
***********
That place down at the bottom of the hill is sacred to me.
It's where my first team, the Hagerstown Bears, held its
practices our first year, 1970. It is Waterfront Park in
Williamsport, Maryland, about 10 miles south of Hagerstown,
and I must say it looks a whole lot better now than it did
then.
***********
I checked my e-mail on Easter Sunday morning, and received
some rather distressing news from a young coaching friend,
Kevin Latham, of Atlanta (he's the guy on the far right in
the photo).