(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) 
August
31, 2004 "Only the most deluded among
us can doubt the necessity of this war." Senator John
McCain, of Arizona, August 30, 2004
2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> 
<<----------- Click HereA LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS
*********** ARMY FOOTBALL: In case you didn't know, Coach Bobby Ross inherited a huge turnaround job. His predecessor, Todd Berry, tried to implement a pro-style passing attack at a school long-known for power football, but his efforts, to say the least, were unsuccessful - he was 5-42 in four years - and he was let go at the end of last season. Army didn't win a game last year, and won only one game the year before. That's 1-24 over the past two seasons, and Army's current losing streak of 15 is now the nation's longest. The 2004 season starts out tough, with the Cadets opening against powerful Louisville, picked to win Conference USA.
Things are going to get better, I know, and if you are a Black Lion team and you or your kids would like to send a good luck message to your their Big Brothers at West Point, you can e-mail it to -ARMYFOOTBALL@usma.edu - Mention that you are a Black Lions team. Major Bill Lynch, the football operations officer, will see that your message gets to the team.
*********** Report from Australia, where my son, Ed, covers sports for the SBS Network: "People were pretty excited here about the Olympics. As I said to you on the phone this is the country the event was made for. Overachieving, competitive, interested in all sports, willing to invest time and money, etc. Australia won 49 medals, 17 gold, which was behind only the US, China and Russia.
"The US gold medal tally was interesting &endash; nearly half of the gold medals came from mens swimming and mens track and field. While the women's TEAM sports did well, the individual women did not.
"Another note &endash; I'm not sure if there was a more important team athlete than Lisa Leslie. She played great defense, rebounded phenomenally, put herself in good position on offense and wasn't afraid to take it to the hole."
*********** No argument from me about Lisa Leslie, but I did gag at her post-game interview, in which she told all the little girls out there, "If you believe it, you can achieve it." Yeah, right. And be sure to grow up to be 6-5.
*********** Said the Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Marriotti. about what he called the "Bad Dream" team - "A heartless, aimless, pulseless collection of soft, whiny, overpaid players have embarrassed their nation."
"I can't even explain it.'' said Stephon Marbury.
"I can," answered Marriotti. "This will be recalled as the team that exposed NBA ball as flawed, shoddy and lackadaisical, not nearly as sound and beautiful as other nations play it. The object of the game is to shoot an orange, pebbled ball through a round basket, something our pros can't do well after spending their formative years perfecting dunks and other forms of showboating. The rest of the world hasn't ascended to our level; we have descended to theirs."
*********** Anybody else notice what a girlieman Olympics this was? Any time you turned on the TV, it was either a women's sport, or it was a smoothbody man's sport - gymnastics, swimming, water polo, volleyball.
Didn't see much of the grunt sports, the hairy-body male contests, like wrestling, or weight lifting, or boxing.
And then there was that "National Anthem" of ours that some foreign girlieman came up with. When it got to the rousing "Rockets' Red Glare" part, some composer/arranger tried to castrate an entire nation - or at least its national anthem - by bringing in what sounded like it was played by Montovani, or the Melachrino Strings.
*********** Jerry Brewer, Orlando Sentinel --- The Olympic Creed has been ignored. By the way, it states: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."
Perhaps there should be a new creed. Few are obeying the old one.
*********** Still from the Orlando Sentinel - "By the way, the USA basketball team has spent the Olympics staying on the Queen Elizabeth II, which is considered the most luxurious cruise ship in the world. After getting thrashed by Argentina and eliminated from gold-medal contention, I think they should have to come home on the Minnow... And I'm not saying women's beach volleyball is overly salacious, but the only thing missing from their "uniforms" were the garter belts stuffed with dollar bills. . . . Can you believe there are still tickets remaining for the Florida State-Miami game next week in the Orange Bowl? Let me see if I've got this straight: You're playing your biggest rival in the opening game of the season and the inaugural game in your new conference -- and Miami still can't sell it out. One word: Pathetic... " Mike Bianchi
*********** Just my opinion, but... There once was a time when the public would have taken the word of a person of John Kerry's stature as the truth, and few would have paid much attention to what some of his detractors had to say about an incident that occured more than 35 years ago. I mean, he's a United States Senator, right?
But these are different times.
Call it the Clinton effect. Ever since the former president lied under oath - committed perjury - and his Democrat buddies rallied to his defense (well, yeah, he did lie, they admitted, "but it was just about sex") there exists a substantial number of Americans who tend to be skeptical about the truth of anything a Democrat says. It's just the chickens coming home to roost.
*********** What's with this Tropical Storm "gas-TOHN" sh--, anyhow? Knock off the phony French accent. You're in America, pal.
It's GASS-ton. I oughta know. Gaston (GASS-ton) High, in Gaston (GASS-ton), Oregon (population 563) was my first high school coaching job.
Those folks out there in the foothills of the Coast Range would have thought I was a little, uh, "funny" if I'd come in there calling their town "gas-TOHN."
*********** John McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday night was one of the most stirring I have heard in years. He has certainly set himself up for 2008, in which case I say, "strap it on, Hillary baby. It's gonna be a rougher ride than you thought."
*********** We have our first scrimmage tonight. Any thoughts on how to structure the event? Recommended play calling lineup? Punts?
You didn't say whether this was against another team, so that's what I'll assume.
Typically, you will each go for, say, 10 plays at a time for a couple of series. Following that, you may want to have a couple of drives under game conditions - using chains, four downs to get 10 yards, etc.
It's not a bad idea to try to have some officials on hand. Good for the kids to see that the rules you've been talking about are not something that you invented just to harass them. And good for the kids to learn the right way to conduct themselves with officials (I'm assuming you coaches will show them.) Also a good chance for the officials to get back into the swing of things. Not bad PR, either.
Expect a lot of offensive miscues, because there are a lot of factors involved that will distract kids, including sheer terror in some cases.
Keep cool and treat it as a chance to teach, not test. They are not ready to be tested yet. Tell them it is just a chance for you all to find out what you have to do to keep getting better.
Don't get discouraged. It is in the natural order of things for defense to dominate the offense in the early stages.
Good luck.
*********** I had already selected my center &emdash; told the boys this was one of the most crucial positions, so I needed someone who would be at practice and games. I had a kid jump up and say he's played center 2 yrs. So I took him over, and yep &emdash; snaps the ball like a champ! and LIKES to do it. Guess who didn't make practice Wed. night because of "homework" and won't be at practice Saturday because he's going to Six Flags? I'd just like to have the right to kick the sh-- out of certain parents!!! NAME WITHHELD (You poor thing. Get this - I am close - very, very close - to a high school coach who was told by a kid, after the first day of practice, that his parents were going camping that night, and taking him with them. No ifs, ands or buts. The kid - who had been pencilled in as a two-way starter, missed the next six days of practice. So don't expect youth football to get any better when the reality is that in too many places, high school football is acting more like youth soccer all the time. HW)
*********** Coach Wyatt: Any great advice on how to handle/approach being ranked #1 in the state to START the season? We are going to be #1 in the DM Register and in the AP Poll on Sunday. We honestly would lose an intersquad scrimmage right now. My 2 defense beat the crap out of my 1 offense last night in team period. ABSOLUTELY man handled us. Any words of wisdom?
I think what you should say is something like this: "Somebody has to be picked number one, and obviously it's a great tribute to our community, to our kids, and to our program. Our kids have worked hard and it's nice to see them get some recognition for their efforts. But at the same time, it puts a target on us everywhere we go. But we don't kid ourselves - we know this is just somebody's opinion anyhow, and nobody's really Number One until they've won the state championship. That's the only Number One ranking we care about. "
*********** Coach, My name is Hector Soto and over the last 6 months or so I have been studying your Double Wing Offense. I coach Pop Warner in Brea, Ca. and have installed the double wing with my team.
As I was going through your website, I came across the Black Lion Award. I think that is a great award to present to someone who lives those values and attitudes! I firmly believe in not only creating better football players but better people! I feel my coaching style does that.
I not only coach football but I also serve in the Army Reserves (10years active- Desert Storm-82nd Airborne Division, 2nd Infantry Division-Korea, 25th Infantry-Hawaii, 11th ACR-Ft. Irwin, Ca). I had just returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom in October '03 and was at Fort Lewis, WA to have my shoulder repaired from injuries (non-combat related). I serve as a platoon sergeant for a medical company which provided medical support and evacuation throughout Iraq and Kuwait. While deployed one of my medics was KIA when his Ambulance was hit by an RPG-7( he was attending to a patient in the back of his ambulance when the rocket hit). The driver, another one of my medics, continued to drive out of the ambush, while suffering from shrapnel wounds and 2nd and 3rd degree burns over his face, neck and arms. Although Spc Nakamura died, Spc Carranza's actions saved the patient in back and his own life as well. Spc. Carranza was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor device. I don't mean to babble on, but that is part of the reason why I feel the Black Lion Award is so important. Spc Carranza is doing well now, but his actions are a prime example of how I wish to continue to develop my soldiers as well as my football players.
I have talked to my players (Jr Pee Wee Division, 9,10 and 11 years old) and they are starting to understand what I preach out there. They are working hard and I would love to Enroll my team so that I may nominate a player to be part of something GREAT! This award is important to me because it not only hits home but it epitomizes my coaching/mentoring philosophy.
Since I do coach "Pop Warner" they strongly discourage awards for "MVP" or Best player awards of all types. But if they have a problem with this type of award then they must seriously rethink their priorities. I think this would be a great way to end our upcoming season-with honoring a new-BLACK LION!
Thank you for your time Coach Wyatt! Hector Soto, Head Coach, Brea Jr Pee Wee Bengals, Brea, California
*********** Coach, what is your best suggestion for running 29 G.O. to a "short side" (guard, tackle , wing) of a formation. Against a 4-3 defense.
Defense has a 3 technique and a 9 technique on backside and a M linebacker over center . Playside has 1 technique (inside shoulder of guardd) and a 5 technique (outside shoulder of tackle).
I personally wouldn't run that against that defense because my center can't reach a "3" tech. (I am assuming that you are talking about 29 g-o-reach.) But we sure can trap the crap out of a "3" because our shortside guard can get onto the Mike backer, and so can our shortside tackle. They should expect to see a lot of 2 trap at 3
What makes them tough against the sweep makes them vulnerable to its complementary play.
The gut trap (what we call "Liz 2 Charlie") would hurt that look, too.
5-X lead is also good.
Not to give our opponents any advice, but I think it is nuts to play us with a man in a "3" technique unless you have a man on the nose.
*********** Hugh, Apparently Jawn 'Yawn' Kerry referred to "Lambert Field" on a trip into Wisconsin. What an ass. Christopher Anderson (new address) Palo Alto, California (He may be able to fool people into thinking that he's going to be a great defender of our nation, but he can't fool a sports fan. Anybody seen the big blueblood girlieman try to throw a football? At least he got a baseball to home plate at Fenway Park on one bounce. HW)
*********** Let's see - if we wage war on the terrorists, we'll just get them angrier, right? Can't we all just get along? So said the appeasers, conveniently overlooking incidents such as the USS Cole bombing and the first World Trade Center bombing, which took place before we started pissing them off. Meanwhile, in the past week, terrorists have blown up two Russian airplanes, and now Middle East a**holes are holding two Frenchmen hostage. The same French who urged us to go slow in Iraq. Man, they really pissed off the terrorists - they told Muslim girls that they can't wear scarves over their heads in school.
*********** We got killed on Saturday. One of the problems was the other team had a a pair of big athletic Defensive tackles who shot through the holes left by our pulling linemen and pulled the ball carrier down from behind. Any thoughts?
It sure sounds as if your backside TE's are not "shoeshining". It is their responsibility to cut the defensive tackles at or below the knees.
We face big tackles, too - it is all relative - and my Tight Ends love cutting down those big guys. (And the big guys hate it.)
*********** Indications are the other coach is teaching his kids to hold on the interior. Not sure how to handle it. I don't want to act like sour grapes since we lost the game.
Further, their #1 back cheapshotted our end on the opposite side of the field from the play and then stood over him when he was down. I'm trying to figure out how to deal with this stuff since this is the first time I've been involved in this type of play and coaching from the opposition.
I'm not sure what you personally can do about people who teach cheating and condone dirty play. I guess about all you can do is use people like that as part of the lessons in sportsmanship that you teach your kids, and let those other guys serve as examples of how not to play the game.
Win or lose, your kids should be able to take pride in playing the game the way it was designed to be played.
This was my quote of the day on August 24 - "The rules of sport define what you are doing, and if you break those rules knowingly, you're not playing the sport you claim to be playing." Andrew Edgar, Director, Center for Applied Ethics, Cardiff University, Wales
*********** I'm currently coaching 10 and 11 year olds in Quebec, Canada. On the Power plays (88 & 99) how far back from the line of scrimmage do you like the wing back to be in motion when he receives the ball?
With motion we tell our motion man to aim for the heels of the B-Back, and he isn't in motion more than a step or two before we snap. So he isn't very deep at all. We tell him that after he catches the toss, we want him to get his inside hand on the back of his tackle and push him through the hole, looking for a cutback.
*********** I only get 1 1/2 hours a night with my team to practice and lately rain has cancelled practice. We've our first game next week and really haven't been able to scrimmage much. This whole week is nothing but rain and the league keeps canceling our practices. I even wanted to practice inside just to run plays but they pulled the plug on that. Any suggestions for the game with such little time?
Drastically limit your offense.
Find out exactly what plays your kids can run and work only on them. Don't even attempt to run anything else.
If all you can run is a power play one way, a counter coming back the other way, and a wedge, and your kids know what they're doing, you will be a lot better off than if you try running a bunch of things and the kids don't know what they're doing.
*********** After watching his kids battle valiantly in a narrow loss to a stronger team, Coach Marvin Garcia, of Albuquerque writes, "I think that I read in one of your articles awhile back that one of the reasons our will and determination as a country (especially our military) is so strong is because of football…I agree 100 per cent." (It's sure as hell not because of synchronized diving. HW)
*********** MISSISSIPPI - We started the season tonight with a 33-7 win over East Central. Next week we play New Orleans DeLaSalle. They should have a strong club this year. It will be a challenge! Steve Jones, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
*********** ILLINOIS - Coach Wyatt, The Alton Redbirds opened the season last night with a 21-6 victory over Quincy High School. Both teams were playoff teams in illinois last year in big school football. We ran for over 260 yards and passed for another 75. We have had success on all levels to a tune of 22-6 varsity, jv, and freshman levels. We ran for over 2800 yards in ten games last year. I will keep you posted. Coach Brad Hasquin, Alton HS Redbirds, Alton, Illinois
*********** ILLINOIS - Ridgeview 42, Heyworth 6 - Coach, Ridgeview is now 1-0 on the 2004 season. Rushed for 502 yards and passed for 52 yards in a 42-6 win over a much improved Heyworth team. Scored on 88 Super Power, 99 Super Power, 6G, 47 C, 49 Brown O. Junior A back Patrick Schick had 224 yards on 21 carries while junior C back Levi Heimer rushed for 169 yards on 12 carries to pace our attack tonight. Next we are at home to face Streator Woodland. Mike Benton, Colfax, Illinois
*********** ILLINOIS - Hello Coach Hanover Park Hurricanes 100# gold team defeated the Hinsdale Falcons 24-6 in the annual Hurricane Bowl. Aaron Tabateau got things going on Lead XX 56C from 60 yards out. 29 G-O reach got a score for Javon McDonald. 2Wedge got another and 47C later in the first half. Canes totalled 350 yards in the first half alone and scored on their first four pocessions. Second half was alot of wedges and superpowers....everyone on the team got carries. John Urbaniak, Hanover Park, Illinois
*********** GEORGIA - Nathanael Greene Academy 32 Monroe Academy 12 - Hugh, These kids are something else!!! You talk about buying into a program, they have done just that, and they are running with it. Another big offensive night of 370 rushing yards with 5 passing yards, but we really can throw. We just haven't had the notion much. Monroe was a very good looking group of strong physical types with a very confident persona. I was really worried after they stuffed us good on our first series and then bombed us on a 50 yard TD pass to go ahead 6-0. The kids never worried, they just took the ball and drove it 80 yards to go up 8-6. From then on it was our "D" totally squashing a very good Wing-T team and giving up only two long TD passes. Offensively, it can only be described as a bitter barrage hitting their tough defense and beating them down for 4 quarters. It was a beautiful thing. We have now beaten two AA teams (We are A) and are going to try for a third on Friday VS Curtis Baptist. Hope to have more good news. Hope all is going great for you! Coach Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia
*********** Coach Wyatt, I just wanted to thank you for sharing your version of this offense with us via your instructional tapes and play books. I can now say that as an offensive coordinator, I have finally convinced my head coach that this is an awesome offense and that it can be run by young athletes. I know he had doubts but he trusts my judgement and now admits that he never dreamed that we could pull 2 linemen at once. We just finished our first season game, (11&12 year olds), and completly destroyed another double wing team, 34-0 (33 point mercy rule). I don't know who's version of the DW they ran, but they missed out on all the advantages your version gives. Bad or no pulling, lined up on the ball, and holding the ball up for all to see, really hampered their ability to run this offense. NAME WITHHELD (PS - Those opponents were not necessarily running anyone's version of the Double-Wing. Anybody can line up in a formation and run plays from it, which is probably what they were doing. Big mistake. As anyone who runs our system - or any good system - knows, there is a lot more to an offense than a formation. HW)
*********** Everyone is stacking the line on us - 6 down, ends crashing. I know that is what everyone is going to do. I say wedge,wedge reverse,3 charlie or base,rocket,lazer,reach. Anything else you can add?
Not sure what you mean by "six down, ends crashing".
But if you mean that the two outside guys on that six man front are the ends, then I would double that crashing end (your tight end cuts him at the knees and your wingback topples him - it's legal if the TE hits him first) and then take the super power out to the corner.
Run tight rip Red-Red (keep your backside end in to hinge) and have your B-Back kickout on the End while your A-Back comes around outside the DE and gets him in a vise, and you QB will be outside with the option of running or throwing to the C-Back (corner) or TE (flat). Or you can change up the routes. This is especially good if your QB can run.
Don't forget trap at 4/5, as well as rip 5-x and lix 4-x.
And then, when you really want to f--k with their minds, get into slot and run those two plays and watch what happens. And then see where they line up their DE, because wherever it is, he will be wrong.
*********** My head coach, Tracy Jackson, was good enough to lend me his copy of "When the Game Stands Tall," by Neil Hayes. It's about the football program at De La Salle High of Concord, California. If you didn't know, De La Salle's win streak is now an unbelievable 151.
It's a look at what obviously is a great football program, but it doesn't deal all that much with the football itself, and I must admit I frequently find myself gagging at some of the other off-the-field stuff.
Off-the-field stuff such as the claims that coach Bob Ladouceur recruits athletes - they're "answered" in the same way John Kerry denies ever personally calling George W. Bush a coward. No, he doesn't personally do it, but he has no control over alumni who might want to tell kids about the value of a De La Salle education, or maybe even help them pay for one.
And as for cutting minority athletes some slack in the admissions process and in the classroom - why, when a poor kid from the other side of the tracks wants to come to De La Salle, he has to meet with an admissions committee that doesn't even have anyone from the athletic department on it. The folks at De La Salle want to make sure that he really wants to come there for the academics, and that he can do the work. See, all they care about is giving a minority youngster a hand up.
Hmmm. You'll excuse me if I have my suspicions that there aren't a whole lot of minority kids from the rough parts of the Bay Area attending De La Salle other than premier athletes.
But that's understandable. Obviously, it's a lot easier to spot athletically-gifted minority youngsters than it is to go out looking for high-achieving minority kids who don't play any sports.
But DeLaSalle's claim to high academic standards for all students, even athletes, took quite a hit, I felt, when last week the University of Oregon revealed that one of its incoming freshmen could not meet NCAA minimum eligibility requirements. He was a 2004 graduate of De La Salle.
Now, this kind of thing happens all too often to graduates of public high schools, but it's not what one expects from an elite private high school that boasts about its high standards. Makes you sorts wonder what might actually be taking place at De La Salle to (1) get certain talented kids in and (2) keep them eligible.
*********** Yes-s-s-s-s. College football is back. Teams actually trying to win. Players who actually care about their teams and their teammates. Fans who are there as much to watch the game as to watch (or be a part of) the spectacle.
And I thought USC and Virginia Tech gave us a good game. What'd they give us - four touchdowns?
Don't get me wrong - I don't particularly care for USC - but the Trojans did come out of the gate like national champions, beating a very good team in front of a large, hostile crowd in the kind of hot, humid early-season weather that westerners aren't accustomed to. (Hint: bet the farm on LSU when they open against Oregon State Saturday. In Baton Rouge. In the afternoon, for God's sake. Ever spent any time in South Louisiana? In the summer? What fool in the Oregon State athletic department agreed to that?)
*********** I had the USC-Va Tech game on the TV on the left, and the Patriots-Panthers game - the Super Bowl Matchup! - on the one on the right. The contrast in brightness was startling. You have to watch college football and pro football on side-by-side sets to actually realize what a drab, washed-out visual production an NFL game is, thanks largely to the Darth-Vaderizing - the darkening and dulling - of so many NFL team uniforms (for example, Eagles, Seahawks, Rams, Patriots, Bills), or the trend of so many newer teams to adopt wussie teal as one of its "colors." Either way, where is the brightness? New England against Carolina? It looked like a return to the days of black-and-white. Oh, well - the NFL never does anything without careful study of its marketing implications, so League focus groups have evidently determined that the young boys who buy Official NFL shirts want their colors dark - the darker the better.
*********** After tiring of the NFL game on one of our side-by-side TV sets, we took a cue from ESPN and switched to ESPN2, and a feature called "College Football Behind the Scenes." While we watched the USC-Virginia Tech game itself on ESPN, ESPN2 allowed us to follow the production and direction of the game; the USC-Virginia Tech game was shown on a picture-in-picture, while the rest of the screen (and the audio) was devoted to following the work of the people "behind the scenes" who actually make the broadcast possible. Having done a couple of years of TV play-by-play and color myself (strictly minor-league, you understand), I have always marvelled at the ability of the director to coordinate the efforts of all sorts of people in a wide variety of jobs, and do so under great pressure. The teamwork involved behind the scenes in televising even a small-college game is something to behold, and in view of the vastly greater scope of an ESPN national telecast, I was doubly impressed with the work of this director and crew. In the event that ESPN2 should try doing this again, I will definitely be watching.
*********** Is there any way to toughen up your kids? Mine were intimidated our first game, and some ran away from the play. We were beat 44-6, yet the other team fumbled 8 times and we did not recover any. To me this shows a lack of desire. What can you suggest?
Although some would say that kids are either tough or they're not, we'd all be dead if we depended totally on those kids who are born aggressive. I do believe that you can do things to make not-so-tough kids tougher.
Part of the solution is building their confidence in their ability to handle rough play. They should be given the basic skills, and taught them in such a way - slowly at first - that they are very confident in those skills when they are thrown into a contact situation.
And they should be given ample opportunities in practice to prove themselves in front of their teammates - whether it is one on one drills or West Point drillls (West Point drill is described in my list of TIPS). Most normal kids will perform better when they know that their teammates are looking on.
*********** "There's a storm brewing." "There's a storm coming." "There's a big storm on the way."
A typical voice-of-doom said something like that, then showed us some apocalyptic scenes. The sound track was ominous.
And then they showed us some football scenes! A football storm! And it's headed our way!
What kind of football can this be? I wondered. Should I buy jugs of water? Extra batteries? A generator, even?
Naah. Just when the suspense was building to fever pitch, Fox told me - next Saturday, it's.... (are you ready for this?)... Alabama versus UTAH STATE!
*********** Nice to see that the NCAA - or at least the SEC - has begun dealing with that obnoxious practice of passing teams lining up their tackles deeper than the quarterback, so deep off the line that they have in effect already pre-formed a pocket for the QB. It is a clear violation of the rule that requires the offense to have seven men on the line of scrimmage, and thre is no question that it is being taught - which, if I read the AFCA Code of Ethics correctly, is also a clear violation of coaching ethics.
Ironically, the rule's original purpose was to take some of the power out of the running game - eliminating such old-time formations as the "guards back", designed to put extra interferers in the backfield, and resulting in brutal plays like the "flying wedge." (Think of wedge blocking by your front five, with two of your guards - plus two or three backs - lined up five yards back of the line in front of the runner, leading him on a play up the middle.)
"The
Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton,
subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the
Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available
through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois.
to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/
and click on "Publications and Products")
Or contact me if you'd like
to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give
you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General
Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now
serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All
profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions
and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of
the Black Lion Award).- I have my copy. It is
well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains
in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and
"Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all
those military terms, so that guys like you and me can
understand what they're talking about.
Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW
--- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS
SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003
"NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST"
inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois
BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM
THE BLACK LION AWARD
Additional
highlights of my recent trip to Alaska... Shown at
upper left are two of the US Customs and Border
Protection's finest: Tracy Clarke, left, and
Richard Cropp. Richard is one of the coaches of the
Ketchikan High football team, and Tracy and his
wife, Rebecca, were our hosts at their B & B. A
major part of their job is interdicting illegal
drugs, and Tracy is the keeper of Britt, the "drug
dog." Britt, as nice a dog as you'd ever want to
meet, has, as you would expect a keen nose. In the
middle photo above, he's lying down, to show that
he's onto something. (Too bad you can't see his
tail wagging.) What he smells is a tiny, tiny
residue of marijuana, left inside a covered metal
box that Tracy placed under the truck. What he
thinks he smells is a toy, which has been
treated to smell like drugs. His "reward" for
"locating" his missing "toy" is being presented
with the toy, and at upper right, as his payoff, he
and Tracy engage in some rough play with it.
FOOTBALL
IN ALASKA...Top Row (L-R) An old coach meets the
KayHi Kings; the KayHi coaches meet with the
officials; KayHi head coach Blaine Ashcraft
addresses the Kings; Second Row: Take a good look
at the Ketchikan "playing surface" and be grateful
for grass; Third Row (L-R) The Kings run 88 Super
Power against the Ketchikan Police and Firemen; The
victorious Kings allow an outsider and his wife to
crash a team photo; Fourth Row (L-R) That's me with
KayHi coaches Blaine Ashcraft and Richard Cropp; me
with Coach Ashcraft - that's his son, soph QB
Chris, in the middle; the scoreboard reflects the
first win and the first shutout in KayHi history,
as well as the first offensive TDs in over two
years; Fifth Row: Tough kids? Saturday evening, he
played center and defensive tackle in the game;
Sunday morning, despite an injured shoulder, he was
up bright and early, loading 50-pound boxes of
salmon and halibut on the 7:56 flight to Seattle.
(No, I didn't receive any payment from Catch-a-King
Charters - but it does look as if they can find
fish for you.)
***********
No more of the modern, flashy look at West Point. At the
instigation of new coach Bobby Ross, Army's football
uniforms this season will go "retro," taking on the classic
look of the great Army teams of Coach Earl "Red" Blaik in
the 1940's and 1950's.
***********
A trip to Holstein, Iowa isn't complete without breakfast in
nearby Galva, just seven miles away.