February
28, 2003 - "This is
not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But
it might be the end of the beginning." Winston
Churchill
SCENES FROM 2002 CLINICS- ATLANTA - CHICAGO - SOUTHERN CALIPH - BALTIMORE - DURHAM - TWIN CITIES - PROVIDENCE - DETROIT - DENVER - SACRAMENTO - PACIFIC NORTHWEST - BUFFALO click here for info ----->>>>> 
<<<<<-----click
here for info
THIS PAST SEASON'S WEEK-BY-WEEK GAME REPORTS FROM ASSORTED DOUBLE-WING TEAMS ( "WINNER'S CIRCLE")
AS PROMISED.... READERS' FRENCH JOKES (updated as we get them) 
- A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Born in Tennessee, Charlie Tate
played his high school ball in Landon, Florida and his
college ball at the University of Florida.
After service in the Navy in World War II, in 1946, he started coaching at Miami High School and was its head coach from 1951 through 1955. At that time, high school football in Miami was big. Really big. (I sound like William Shatner, talking about Priceline.) In his five years there, Miami Senior was 46-5-1, and won four state titles.
After a year as an assistant at Florida, he moved to Georgia Tech as where he assisted Bobby Dodd from 1957 through 1963. Coaching the Tech defense his last three years there, he helped take the Yellow Jackets to five different bowls (at a time when there was no Fiesta Bowl - only the four "majors" plus the Gator Bowl).
In 1964 he became head coach at AD at Miami, remaining through 1969. His overall record was 33-26-3, with two bowl appearances.
His best season was 1966, when the Hurricanes were 8-2-1 with a Liberty Bowl win over Virginia Tech. Only a 7-7 tie with Tulane and a a pair of three-point losses (to LSU and Florida State) kept Miami from going unbeaten.
The Hurricanes that year defeated powers such as Colorado, Georgia, Southern California, Iowa, Pittsburgh and Florida.
His best-known player was linebacker Ted Hendricks, the tall, lean "Mad Stork," now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Two games into the 1970 season, with the Hurricanes
1-1 after a win over William and Mary and a loss to
Georgia Tech, he "quit in disgust," and the "Canes were
coached the rest of the way by long-time assistant Walt
Kichefski.
He worked as an assistant with the Saints, and from mid-season 1974 and for as long as it lasted in 1975, served as head coach at Jacksonville in the World Football league (Sharks in 1974, Express in 1975).
Correctly identifying Charlie Tate - Joe Daniels- Sacramento... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Dave Potter- Durham, North Carolina... John Muckian, Lynn, Massachusetts... Norm Barney- Klamath Falls, Oregon... Alan Goodwin- Warwick, Rhode Island...
***********"Guatemala-born and South Florida raised, Ted Hendricks, nicknamed The Mad Stork became one of the most feared pass rushers in college football. He became the school's first and only three-time All-American (1966-67-68), and the late George Gallet, UM's sports publicist for more than four decades, rated Hendricks the greatest player in the University's history. (" http://hurricanesports.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/043002aaa.html )
- Hendricks was born in Guatemala? Adam Wesoloski, Pulaski, Wisconsin
- *********** A sad good-bye to Fred Rogers, a truly good man.
- *********** I wrote Tuesday about the passing of Harry Jacunski, who in his 33 years on the Yale staff touched a lot of lives.
In his stint as freshman coach, he provided the introduction to college football for a number of future pros - Calvin Hill, Brian Dowling, Don Martin, Dick Jauron, Gary Fencik, Greg Dubinetz, John Spagnola, Jeff Rohrer, Rich Diana and Joe Dufek.
Lou Orlando, of Boston, who played football at Yale long after me, was kind enough to share a few of the remembrances that some of Harry's former players began e-mailing to each other when they heard of his passing.
Wrote one, "I'll take Coach Jacunski's speech about 'errors of omission and commission' with me for life. The latter is okay once in a while. The former, inexcusable, especially for a Yalie."I still tell kids I coach today that they should never be afraid to make a physical mistake; that's part of the game. When you try not to make one, you invariably do. And you never want to play inhibited by the fear of failure. Wayne Gretzky stated it another way: 'I missed 100% of the shots I didn't take.'
"A mental mistake, on the other hand, is unforgivable. Thanks, Harry Jacunski. Without you, some of us wouldn't have even made it through the fall semester."
Wrote another, "One of my favorite Harry stories is after beating Princeton on the last play of the game and kneeling on the extra point, Harry's first words to me were, 'O'B, why didn't you stick it to them?' That's when I realized the rivalry was something more than special.
"My other favorite is when a fight broke out in practice freshman year between -------- and somebody. Harry called us together, not to talk about sportsmanship, but - somewhat in disbelief that he would even have to tell us - to tell us that if you were going to hit somebody in the head with your bare hand, you should rip his helmet off first! That's when I realized Coach was something more than special.
"I can see him now, on a Fall afternoon, ambling across that practice field, wearing the coaches' sweater, Y baseball hat, nose going in 3 directions.... what a good man."
Wrote a third, "My favorite Harry line to our frosh team in '75 - '...don't worry about that other team guys...they're big but they're fast.....'"
- Finally, Mike Cavallon, an All-Ivy end from back in my day, told the New Haven Register, "When I was playing, I wasn't playing for my girlfriend in the stands or my father in the stands or for dear old Yale. I was playing for Harry Jacunski. He was the one who made it fun."
*********** Coach Wyatt, again you prove to be a "phenomenal" historian of our great game with that "bio" on Coach Jacunski, to add a footnote ,I believe he was Coached by one of the "Four Horsemen" well at Fordham Jim "sleepy" Crowley,and the Line Coach of the Seven Blocks was the Legendary Frank Leahy. - see ya Friday , John Muckian, Lynn, Massachusetts (from the state that has produced the great U.S. Representative Marty "Osama-Bin" Meehan)
*********** Coach, At the clinic this past weekend, there was reference to a new cut rule that will be implemented this season. I tried to find it last night online but could find it. Are you aware on any? I'm wondering if it affects our shoeshining? Thanks, Jason Clarke, Millersville, Maryland
As far as I can tell, this is what you heard:
2-17-3 Clipping is permitted in the free-blocking zone when the following conditions are met: a. by offensive linemen who are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap; b. against defensive players who are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap; and c. the contact is in the zone.
This does not affect us in the slightest, and if anything clarifies the legality of what we've been teaching our TE to do.
- The complete list of 2003 High School Rules Changes can be found at - http://www.nfhs.org/sports/football_rules_change%202003.htm
*********** Coach Wyatt, I'm writing to clarify the date for the Raleigh/Durham clinic. On your website, it is listed as April 5th, however, on your newsletter I received today, it's listed as April 12th. Looking forward to the clinic! Bo Berry Chapmanville, West Virginia
Coach- My site is correct- as carefully as I proofread that doggone brochure, I got the Phila and Raleigh-Durham dates reversed! Raleigh-Durham is on April 5 and Philadelphia is on April 12. Sorry!
***********Hi Coach, Just received your clinic pamphlet in the mail and noticed that your Phila. clinic date is April 5, 2003, on your web page it has your Phila. clinic as April 12, 2003. Could you please let me know which one is correct.
Thank You, Chris Galloway, Elverson, Pennsylvania
Coach - The brochure is WRONG
The Web site is RIGHT
My face is RED
*********** Kobe Bryant has just been dumped by his second shoe company. First it was adidas, now it's Reebok.
Forget the fact that he's one of the greatest basketball players in the game today, probably one of the greatest ever to play the game. Forget the fact that he scored over 40 points a game his last nine times out on the court, a feat accomplished only by Jordan and Chamberlain. (He was "held" to 37 on the night they "stopped" him.)
Kobe's problem, you see, is he lacks "street cred."
That's short for Street Credibility. Acceptance by the dudes on the street.
To me, lack of street cred means he's welcome in my living room, but to a shoe marketer, it's disastrous, because the gang on "the street," the "ballers" who spend the better part of their lives playing basketball and deciding what to wear next, are the fashion trendsetters of our age. And to them, Kobe may be a good basketball player, sure - but he's not one of them. To put it in sociological terms, the dudes on the street feel "culturally estranged" from him. Man, he's a kid from the 'burbs. In a sort of reverse racism that's somehow acceptable, he's "too white."
Wow. Guilty as charged. I mean, the poor bastard had no shot - he grew up with a loving mother and a strong father. He's even lived in Europe - he spent his early years in Italy while his dad played pro basketball there. Not only can he speak English - he can speak Italian. In fact, he once spoke Italian in an adidas commercial (which is held against him by the ballers - sound a little like the downward peer pressure that holds back so many inner-city kids?)
Oh - and his dad and mom, for some strange reason, chose to pursue the American dream, spending their hard-earned money on a nice home in a nice suburb with good schools, instead of living in the inner city and praying that their kids would live to see graduation day.
Maybe, now that he's fresh off his nine-game run, it's not too late to salvage the Reebok deal. Maybe they'll take Kobe back if he'll only promise to undergo a makeover.
Here, with my compliments, are a few suggestions for him:
Don't know what you're driving, Kobe, but if it's not an SUV, go get yourself one. A BIG one. An Escalade or a Navigator. Or a Hummer.Place a small quantity of marijuana in a ziploc bag and put it in the glove compartment. Now, pour some bourbon all over the rug of the car, and then go out and drive 120 mph on the Santa Monica Freeway. With a taillight out. Once you've got the cops' attention and they give chase, don't pull over right away. And when you finally do, and they ask for identification, ask them "Do you know who I am?" Refuse to cooperate.
Stop referring to your wife as your "wife." From now on, she is your "fiancee." If anyone asks, you and she were never married.
Have her call 911 and frantically report that you have roughed her up and she is afraid for her life. While she is on the phone, stand behind her and throw things around the room. Holler "Bitch!" several times. When the police arrive, have her indignantly deny that anything has happened, and refuse to press charges. Make sure, though, that her hair is disheveled and she has marks on her face (use a Dobie pad).
Tell the news media that the child that you and your fiancee is raising is actually your third - that you sired two other kids back in high school. That you pay child support and you and their mothers "remain close."
Surprise the babysitter. Really surprise her. Come home unexpectedly when your wife is away. Expose yourself and make a few suggestions.
Acquire an entourage - a posse, if you will. Try Central casting. Specify long rap sheets.
Wear a stocking cap any time you go out in public. Even in the middle of July.
Buy an assault rifle and a handgun. Fire away at targets in your backyard. Put the word out that you're packin'.
Wear an enormous bejewelled cross on a gold chain around your neck.
Make up a lot of stories about growing up in the projects. Tell one about a boyhood friend who was killed in a drive-by shooting. Tattoo his face on one biceps, and his name - in Chinese - on the other.
Refuse to go into the game when Phil Jackson sends you in. Sit down on the other end of the bench and wave him off.
While on the bench, spend your entire time in your own world, with a towel over your head.
During timeouts, while Phil is talking, look up at the crowd. Or the Jumbotron. Anything but him.
Occasionally refuse to come out of the game when Phil subs for you. But be unpredictable - on other occasions, storm off the court and head straight for the lockerroom. If possible, walk past him on your way. Make sure their is a sneer on your face.
If you make a nice play, be sure to stick your face into a TV camera and glower. If you are too far from the camera, thump your chest (to show you've got heart) or point to the sky to acknowledge God as the only being who really belongs on the court with you. (If you prefer, thump and point, both.) If you make a bad play, be sure to sulk, and loaf getting back up court. If you are called for a foul, roll your eyes skyward in disbelief. Approach one of the refs, your arms at your side and your palms open, beseechingly. If someone fouls you, immediately assault him.
Miss an occasional team flight. Treat all practices as optional. Sleep through morning shootarounds.
If Jackson ever says something that pisses you off, glare at him. Give him the silent treatment. If he keeps it up, tell him you'll kill him.
Refuse to talk the press. Better yet, give them the ole 'Sheed treatment: 1st REPORTER: "How'd it feel tonight, Rasheed?" RASHEED: "It was a good game. They played hard." 2nd REPORTER: "Good to be back, Rasheed?" RASHEED: "It was a good game. They played hard." 3rd REPORTER: "Think you can beat the Kings Thursday?" RASHEED: "It was a good game. They played hard." Etc., etc., etc.
If you have something to say to the public, say it through your agent. ("Kobe regrets that the public misunderstands...")
If by some chance you do speak publicly, be sure to say something about the lack of respect people show you, and always use the third person. Instead of saying, "it's all about people showing me more respect," say. "It's all about people showing Kobe Bryant more respect."
Otherwise, though, drop that "Kobe" business entirely. That's a city in Japan, for God's sake. You need a nickname - I'll leave it up to you. "The Answer" is gone, and so is "The Truth," but you've got the idea.
Make a rap CD. What's that? You say you already tried that? And it flopped? Never mind. Scratch that.
*********** Kobe Bryant's streak of 40-plus games ended at nine. That ties Michael Jordan, who did it in 1986-87. But then, out there by himself with a record on the order of DiMaggio's 56-straight games with a base hit, is Wilt Chamberlain. He had a 10-game streak and two 14-game streaks in which he scored at least 40 points. The two 14-game streaks came in the same season - 1961-62, when he averaged 50.4 points per game. (Did you read that? I still have trouble believing it. That's 50.4 POINTS PER GAME FOR AN ENTIRE NBA SEASON.)
*********** It's been a blue winter here in Little Rhody, cold and snowy like the winters of my youth (before "global warming"). I live 2 miles from the Station nightclub in West Warwick, and although I don't know any of the 97 souls who died there last Thursday night, friends of mine do know some of them. The fire and its aftermath seems to have darkened my mood and that of just about everyone else around here. We sure could use some sunshine and warmth! Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island
*********** General Jim Shelton's son-in-law, Juan Garcia, is seriously ill in a Tampa Hospital. If it's your way, please say a prayer for Mr. Garcia, a veteran of Vietnam action.
*********** Just a word about the young lady exercising her 1st Amendment Rights. Do it from the stands. I once coached a kid who didn't feel it important to stand and honor our flag. He had two choices, sit and be a spectator or stand and be allowed to play. Thanks, Norm Barney, Henley High, Klamath Falls, Oregon
*********** Speaking about the little basketball-playing witch from Manhattanville College who couldn't bring herself to face the flag before the game, Joe Daniels from Sacramento sent me an article in which Geno Auriemma, outstanding coach of the UConn women's basketball team, was quoted as saying that that he wouldn't allow one of his players to do that.
"The flag is a symbol of what we stand for," Coach Auriemma said. "Anybody who does (that), they have the right to do it, but to me it's disrespectful and, as a coach, I would have that right not to have that person on the team. Then they can sue me and say, 'You're denying me my rights.' "
Joe went on to write, "Hugh I have to add, there have been times as a Black Man( I don't use African-American...too touchy feely and besides BLACK is BEAUTIFUL) I don't like what's going on in the U.S. historically and here and now. I may not always sing the National Anthem, or say the pledge...but I will always stand quietly facing the flag , WITHOUT A HAT, and give the country and those that fought(Like my Dad) and or died in service to this country my respect. My daughter can play for Auriemma anyday!"
Naturally, I told Joe, I understand his dissatisfaction with some very important parts of America. I feel the same way myself about certain things. What Joe and I are dissatisfied with may differ in their nature and in their intensity, but if we don't at our very core respect our country, we will all wind up fighting over a bone with no meat on it.
To me, Eddie Robinson says it well. It is not for me to say that he speaks for black Americans, but I do listen to what he has to say because to me he is one of the great Americans of my lifetime, and he has always espoused love of his country and pride in being an American.
People may call him an Old Uncle Tom, but they do so at their peril, because God knows Eddie Robinson saw prejudice, and maybe even hatred. He never kissed anybody's rear end, so far as I know. He did the best he could with what he had, and in so doing created better lives for hundreds of the people he worked with. And there's no question that he softened a lot of hearts as well, paving the way for better human relations. And he did it in the segregated Deep South.
In his book, "Never Before, Never Again," published after he retired in 1999, he wrote,
"People
have called me a 'great coach.' Some have called me a 'great
black coach.' All my life, I have simply wanted to be a
great American. If football helped me to achieve that, then
I am once again grateful for this wonderful game.
"That is why I am, in the end, writing this for America. I know that probably sounds a little crazy for a man who has spent fifty-six years on an almost all-black campus to say. Before meeting me, some people expect me to be bitter or angry. They talk about the racism I experienced as a child; about being raised poor, about winning so many games and only getting one feeler from the NFL about a job there, no offer for a head job from a Division IA school (the predominantly white colleges with big football programs), being paid a fraction of what some other coaches get.
"How often have I heard a young man ask, 'Coach, do you hate white people for the hard road you had to go down?' I tell them, 'Son, I am the luckiest man in the world. No way that all white people hate all black people. I have met too many who may have been taught to hate or thought they should. But I had the chance to meet them as equals.In the end, most of them treated me just fine, treated me like a man.' Maybe it's easier to hate and to blame. It's a lot healthier to love and forgive. .But you have to live by your principles.
"This is what our 400-plus wins really mean. In America, we can do anything, overcome any hurdle, and win - whether it be games, respect, or civil rights. It is our destiny as a people and a nation. We need victories on all three fronts. I hope my life helped move us ahead and I will continue to do so in the years before me."
*********** We have reached the end of the "sweeps" period, that time when TV audiences are officially measured. That's what accounts for the Michael Jackson and Robert Blake interviews and the Bachelorette making her choice - among the more normal things seen.
Televised idiocy reached a critical mass with Baghdad Danny Rather's interview, from the Presidental Palace, of His Excellency Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq. Nothing, absolutely nothing, topped - or maybe I should say crawled underneath - Baghdad Danny's performance (unless it was CBS's decision to interview Saddam in the first place. I mean, think of how much more effective Tokyo Rose would have been on television.)
Rather, who like his counterpart Peter Jennings over at ABC all but marches in the streets to demonstrate against the Bush administration, was at his unctuous best. Golly, Gee, Mr. Saddam, Sir, you don't seem like such a bad guy to me. Since your normal means of spreading propaganda hasn't been very effective, we thought maybe you'd appreciate the chance to get on a major American network. Is there anything you'd like to tell the American people to persuade them that their President is wrong?
Thank God we didn't have TV, CBS and Dan Rather in 1941, or Americans would be looking at each other and saying, "You know, now that I've actually heard what he has to say, this Hitler guy doesn't sound all that bad to me. I mean, he says he doesn't know what happened to all the Jews in Europe, and you know what? I believe him. Besides, our fight's with the Japanese. What did Hitler ever do to us?"
*********** Two weeks ago I stared at a photo of Rod Paige as a young assistant at the University of Cincinnati, and thought that he'd make a good "Legacy" question. I mean, here's a football coach who went on to serve in the Cabinet, as Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige. Glad I decided to wait, because since then it's become obvious that those two round things that once served him well as a football coach have been surgically removed since the photo was taken. Either that, or they've been rendered useless by massive doses of Administerium.
After all the to-do about the "Blue Ribbon" committee he set up to investigate Title IX, Dr. Paige, in the grand cover-your-ass tradition that allows an educator to reach a cabinet-level position, announced that now that the committee's work is done and its report is in, he will take action only on those recommendations that the committee approved unanimously.
Are you kidding me? At least a third of the committee was made up of strident advocates of the feminist cause, so lotsa luck getting unanimous approval of anything they disagreed with.
So, in the true spirit of democracy as administrators know it, if you can't please everybody - don't act. Which means that a vocal minority - headed by soccerwitch Julie Foudy - has triumphed.
The way those females whined and played to the media about the committee's "turning it's back on our little girls," and the way the media attempted to influence the work of the committee by taking up their cause, makes one marvel all the more at the work of the members of the Constitutional Convention, back in 1787. (It also makes one appreciate the wisdom of keeping all the doors and windows closed, even in the heat and humidity of a Philadelphia summer.)
So "proportionality" will remain the major means of demonstrating that a school is in compliance with Title IX. And walk-ons will continue to be counted in the male totals. And available - but unused - spots on women's teams will not be counted on the female side. These revisions were recommended by vote of the majority of the committee, but opposed by a few dissident female members.
And it will not be possible for men's sports that would otherwise be dropped to be supported by private funding. This, too, was opposed by a minority, who claimed that it would open the doors to "slush finds" for men's sports only.
Bear in mind that none of this Title IX nonsense is "Law" as the constitution defines it - as something passed by both houses and signed by the President. What we are dealing with is a very simply-worded law, left open to all sorts of mischief in its interpretation. The "Title IX" as we have come to know it is merely an executive order, a transmutation of the law passed by Congress which originally said only that there shall be no discrimination in education on the basis of sex. It was later, under pressure from feminists, interpreted by Democratic administrations as meaning that school sports teams must achieve what Clinton-appointee Norma Cantu invented and called "proportionality."
To achieve that bizarre goal, it has often meant scouring the campus for non-athletic women to fill spots on newly-hatched women's teams, while at the same time reducing male numbers by eliminating men's teams. In the latter case, "minor", non-revenue-producing sports such as baseball, gymnastics, swimming, track and field and wrestling have been hardest hit.
What Secretary Paige's gutless decision means is that the Carter/Clinton interpretation of Title IX has essentially been ratified by the Bush administration, a Republican administration for which so many of us had such high hopes. "Proportionality", a mere order put into play by liberal presidential appointees, now might as well be a constitutional amendment.
And the good Dr. Paige, like most modern administrators, is able to put a gloss on his cowardice by pointing to the "work" of the committee. What a worm.
I must say, I consider the surrender on Title IX to be a serious violation of trust on the part of our leader.
You'd think, with all the weenies marching in the streets against him, he'd remember who elected him.
Hell, Al Gore could have given us the same damn thing.
*********** (Can you believe these peace protesters - Especially the Hollywood crowd).I heard Sheryl Crow say that it is bad KARMA.Can you believe this crap. Armando Castro, Roanoke, Virginia.
*********** So the Hollywood types held a "Virtual March" on Washington, telling all their lame supporters to call the White House and jam the switchboard, to e-mail it and fill its mailboxes. Hey - all you Hollywood people who say that America had it coming because of our vile culture - has it ever occurred to you that if the Islamic fundamentalists hate America and everything it stands for, most of what they know about us - the filth and degeneracy that they are certain permeates our entire culture - is based on what you export?
As for the rest of you - had enough of Hollywood? How about A Virtual Finger?
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, at Noon Eastern Time (9 Pacific, 10 Mountain, 11 Central, etc.) Friday, February 28, face Hollywood (that'll be west, for most of you) and shoot the bird. That's all. Then go right back to whatever it was you were doing. (You could get some interesting reactions, especially if you are teaching a high school class at the time.)
Tell 'em you just took part in a nationwide protest. A peaceful protest, at that. It's your constitutional right.
*********** There seems to be a problem in some Maine public schools, but since there also seems to be some question as to the extent of the problem, I'm not going to treat it as fact until I've heard more. But the story as it originally hit the radio stations was that certain elementary school kids in Maine were going home crying because in discussions of the Iraq situation, their teachers had been saying that the war was unethical and so were the people who fought it. The kids were crying because their parents were Guardsmen who'd been called up.
The state superintendent of education, or whatever the hell his title is, called for "sensitivity" in dealing with those children.
A few questions (regardless of the extent of the problem)...
Are elementary kids in Maine so skilled in the basics, their teachers so unencumbered with pressure to prepare for statewide tests, that there is time for their teachers to engage them in intelligent discussions about the situation in Iraq?
Or, as I suspect, are their teachers carrying out the mission for which so many of them have been so well prepared by the commies who teach in our colleges? For a couple of generations now, they have come out of colleges indoctrinated in leftist ideology, and, posing as "educated," they have infiltrated our public schools. Then, safely tenured and on the public payroll, they have been free to push their politics on our kids. Small wonder that there is an army of well-fed, sheltered young people prepared to tell you what is wrong with America, and ready to "protest" at the drop of a hat.
Finally, what is this "sensitivity" sh--? These are not kids with AIDS. These are kids whose fathers - and, in some cases, mothers - are going to do the work that others shrink from. These kids should be honored. The superintendent should be calling for "support."
*********** "I heard a great speaker (Courtney Messingham new head coach at Upper Iowa University) at the clinic. He spoke of play action passing game. He talked about how blocking scheme needs to disguise pass to look just like a base run play. He spoke of aggressive frontside (to mimic run and hold backers and maybe db's) and HINGE blocking on the backside. Seems to me like we have been doing that since I changed to the Wyatt DW 2 years ago. I know you have done it longer than that. He was a very good speaker (and happens to be a very close friend of mine, college teammate although we never actually played together...he graduated the year I redshirted). He will outwork almost any college coach in Iowa (at the smaller schools). He had been the OC at Southwest Missouri State University." Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa
*********** Coach, Interesting take on the big clinics in Tuesday's news. Monday night I was going over a list of resources that have helped me in coaching. Like a lot of coaches I have spent a lot of money on books, tapes, and clinics that have not given me any ideas at all. These are some books that I feel can help any coach. If they can ever help someone you work with that would be great.
Coaching Football Successfully. Bob Reade, Retired, Augustana College.Coaching Team Defense. The late Fritz Shurmur. Not a scheme book, but very helpful to coaches in setting up a defense. It was very beneficial to me when I became a defensive coordinator.
Complete Linebacking. Former Illinois Head Coach Lou Tepper. Best position book I have seen. Will apply to any scheme and have a lot of info on general defense and practice organization.
Our program uses a lot of ideas from each of these three books. They are aimed at high school and above, but have a lot of ideas to help the youth coach. John Bothe, Head Football Coach, Oregon HS, Oregon, Illinois
(I know that John Bothe played for Bob Reade at Augustana, but I would say this anyhow - I think Coach Reade has just about the best overall approach to coaching that I've ever come across. Few coaches can match his credentials when it comes to advising high school coaches - he was a great high school coach and he was a great Division III coach. Yes, he had good players in high school - Geneseo, Illinois, where he won several state championships - and he had good players in college - Augustana, where he won several NCAA Division III titles - but the effect of coaching is much greater there than at higher levels.
Back in 1986 a few of us got together and brought him out to Portland for a one-man clinic. We were all Delaware Wing-T guys, and frankly, I didn't get much from his version of the Wing-T.
Nevertheless, it was money well spent, because he talked a lot about football in general, and I take very good notes, and over the years I have kept going back to those notes. In reading his book, I wasn't surprised to find him talking about the same things he talked to us about in 1986. HW)
***********
For years, General Jim Shelton, one
of my Black Lions friends, worked on a book on his
experiences in Vietnam, with special emphasis on the
bloody Battle of Ong Thanh, in which so many Black Lions
died, Don Holleder along with them. It is now in
print.- It is entitled, "The Beast Was out There," by James M. Shelton. Its subtitle is "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" and it is published by Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") All monies after costs go equally to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, (sponsors of the Black Lion Award).
- General Shelton is shown at left at West Point, at a book signing. (He does a lot of autographing - he personally signs every Black Lion Award certificate.)
- You can get an autographed copy of General Shelton's book for yourself or for a friend - send him a check for $25 per book, and tell him who the books are for, and he'll personally autograph them and mail them back to you. His address is General James Shelton, 6610 Gasparilla Pines Blvd #118, Englewood FL 34224
- 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.
THE
PHOTO AT THE LEFT is what the Black Lion Award is all
about - connecting outstanding young men of today with
the men who've served. Shown here is Cody Allen, of Las
Animas High in Las Animas, Colorado, and Mr. Ernesto
Vargas, a Black Lion. Las Animas coach Greg Koenig
contacted Mr. Vargas, who was happy to take part in the
award ceremony. Mr. Vargas, by the way, was awarded the
Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. On the left front of
his jacket, from bottom to top, are badges of the Black
Lions (28th Infantry Regiment), the Big Red One (1st
Infantry Division) and the Combat
Infantryman.- YOU WANNA SEE SOMETHING COOL? http://www.jackson.army.mil/228th/index.htm
|
|
HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO START SIGNING UP 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 |
|
THE BLACK LION AWARD |
 |
ARE YOU A BLACK LION TEAM? |
***********
That's the Yale coaching staff in 1960. The entire staff.
Back in the days of two-way players, that's all it took.
From left to right, they are line coach Jack Prendergast,
ends coach Harry Jacunski, head coach Jordan Olivar,
offensive backs coach Jerry Neri, and defensive secondary
coach Art Raimo. Coaches Prendergast, Olivar and Neri are
gone, and last I heard Coach Raimo wasn't doing well. And
now we've lost Harry Jacunski. He passed away last Thursday
in Branford, Connecticut at the age of 87.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Don't like the empty sets, the
four-receivers-to-a-side, the 50+ passes a game, the
hurry-up/no-huddle offenses that so much of football has
become? Blame some of it on Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley. In
that respect, he was a true football innovator.
RARE
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY! Throwback shirts for Unitas, Erving,
Musial, etc., are being resold on eBay for thousands. Get in
on the ground floor - this could be the investment yoou've
been looking for! Authentic "Wyatt" throwback jersey, as
worn on 1956 Yale freshman team - the very same blue worn by
such football greats as Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pudge
Heffelfinger, Walter Camp, Larry Kelley, Clint Frank and
Calvin Hill. This is not a replica!
This is the real thing - a genuine Spalding
("Standard of Quality for Over 60 years"). Notice the unique
"buttoned at the crotch" feature, designed, as best as
anyone can figure, to keep the shirt tucked in. One only -
when it's gone, it's gone. Your price, just $495.
Autographed by the wearer, $695. Act now!
(Just joking, guys, just joking.)
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY- Lee Roy Selmon is a
member of one of football's greatest
brother acts. He played on some of the
greatest college football teams of all
time and some of the worst professional
football teams.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Born in Detroit,
Chuck Fairbanks played his high school
football in Charlevoix,Michigan and his
college football at Michigan State,
where two of his teammates were Frank
Kush and Earl Morrall. Under coach
Biggie Munn, the Spartans won the
national championship his sophomore
year, and in his junior year they won
the Big Ten title and the Rose
Bowl.
***********
At their recent banquet, the Lower Cape
May County Raiders, of Cape May, New
Jersey presented their Black Lion Award
to Willie Lent. Here's what his coach,
Frank Simonsen wrote, in nominating
him: