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JULY 2004

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 30, 2004 -   "I never have and never will use any hard drugs." Ricky Williams, former NFL player (italics mine) NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** Coach Wyatt - Quick question....How much importance should I place on the linemen having their inside hand down and their inside foot back.  Right now we have our left hand down on the left side and the right hand down on the right side.  Thanks again.  The practice without pads, implementing the system and the Clovis highlight film have been a tremendous help! NAME WITHHELD Coach- To me it is very important for a number of reasons, primarily because the number one thing people must not be able to do to you is penetrate your inside gaps, and with the outside hand down, it is going to be more difficult to step into the gap to prevent penetration. I'm not saying you can't do it your way, but the first time that you run, say, a 6-G, and your playside tackle isn't able to block down fast enough to prevent the guy over the guard from penetrating and blowing up the play, you are going to be searching for answers, and you may find yourself thinking back to this e-mail. It's a matter of giving yourself every possible legal, ethical edge. HW *********** I'm an hour away from Boston but still too close for my liking, what with the Dems holding their convention up there. And it's hard enough to be a Red Sox fan without John Kerry showing up to bounce out the first ball against the hated Yankees. Had he not had a soldier play catcher while he took to the mound, he probably would have been booed even more than he was. I guess most of the Democrats were on the Teddy Kennedy booze cruise on Boston Harbor that night instead of at Fenway. And how about the possibility of the creature Teresa Heinz Kerry as First Lady? She'd make Hillary look like June Cleaver. I have a theory that she may be the deciding factor in this election, with more than a few undecideds voting for the President just to keep Swamp Thing away from 1600 Pennsylvania. Can you picture her at a state dinner, all liquored up while entertaining the prime minister of wherever. On a brighter note, only 39 days until the UConn football season kicks off. With 7 home games this year my weekends will be busy. On top of those home games we're going to Atlanta for the UConn-Georgia Tech game, and as a concession to Mrs. Goodwin we are planning a visit to her alma mater for the UNC-NC State game at Chapel Hill. Finally, I received my Army ticket order form in yesterday's mail and find that I can squeeze in the Army-Air Force game on November 6, a bye week for the Huskies. Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island (I can never forgive Theresa - that's "Ter-AZE-uh" - for bascially serving as the conduit that directed the hard-earned (Republican) Heinz family money to John Forbes Kerry and 1001 Democratic causes. HW) *********** Hi Coach, Last night we completed our second night of a four day pre season camp . We have aproximately 70 of our guys and another non DW team in attendance. I heard an interesting conversation the other night that I'd like to share with you. COACH #1 to COACH #2 " I was hoping that we could get together and run some pass skelly against each other this week." Coach #2 " We don't pass but maybe you'd like to line up in a phone booth with us and we could kick the sh-- out of you! A couple of weeks ago I was at a camp at the University of New Hampshire leaning on the fence when a very nice man that I had met once asked me the following question." Why do you guys run that compressed formation that I saw you run against XYZ school (when we put 50 on them and beat them for the first time in 25 year) last season? The one with no splits and everybody bunched up." I replied that on our field we have lots of rocks,holes and sprinkler heads sticking up out of the ground, and when it rains there is no drainage and we have to practice in a small area - if we are lucky enough to find a safe area. Therefore we like to keep everything tight. My new friend asked, "Don't you ever split anybody out?" I replied,"yes we do sometimes. We put two guys way out there and we run a trap up the middle." RULE #1 Things were not moving very well early on our first night of camp. Given the opportunity to address the boys on this subject. I stated. " Someone is paying to send you here to have the opportunity to become a better football player. Many of them actually have to work to earn that money. Therefore, rule #1 is for you to move your ass! Even if you forget the rest of the rules you'll be heading in the right direction." Tonight I asked the student athletes if they remembered rule #1. Not only did they remember but they proudly recited the rule and it's benefits. I do not approve of swearing on the field, but I have been informed by people smarter then I that ass is not a swear! A DOCTOR WITH STONES Recently I was diagnosed with a lump in my throat called an enlarged thyroid gland and sent to a specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. There I met Dr. Randal Gaz who informed me that it had to be removed and that he would do it and was very good at it. Dr. Gaz informed me that it was normally a two-hour surgery but mine was so big that it would take four hours. Dr. Gaz then asked me if I had any questions. I explained that I had a small window with football camp coming up and practice two weeks later. Looking at his schedule Dr. Gaz stated, "My wife will kill me but I will operate on Saturday morning and if things go well I'll release you on Sunday." Well, Dr. Gaz had to adjust his game plan because his opponent was a little larger and tougher then expected. The surgery actually took 9 hours (5 hours of overtime) and my wife greeted me when I got out of the recovery room Saturday night. On Sunday morning Dr. Gaz came to my room at 10 a.m. and checked out his work. Pleased with his effort, he said he would release me and that I could take the service elevator to his office because the building was closed on Sunday and that he would remove the stitches and put on the sutcures. I would then be free to leave and I didn't have to return to Boston and miss football and deal with the Democratic convention traffic to have the stitches removed . Thanks to Dr. Gaz (A DOCTOR WITH STONES) I had a 9 hour surgery on Saturday and was at football camp coaching on Monday night. I will never be able to thank the good doctor properly. Thank you Dr. Gaz. John Trisciani, Manchester Memorial HS, Manchester, New Hampshire *********** Bill Cowher was just given a contract extension. He is only the second coach the Steelers have had since his predecessor, Chuck Noll, was hired in 1969. In that same time, the Colts have had 16 coaches and the Chargers 14. *********** We've seen Evangel Christian play De La Salle on national TV, and many of us are aware of De La Salle's having gone to Hawaii to play Island power St. Louis Prep. A Colorado team has gone to Pennsylvania and taken the measure of one of their top teams. And now the idea of high schools playing distant opponents has spread to Minnesota. This year, Hastings High will host perennial Colorado powerhouse Mullen of Denver on September 3. And Cretin-Derham Hall of St. Paul, which has won to the point that it has had difficulty finding a league to play in, will end its season at Evangel Christian in Shreveport, Louisiana. *********** Coach, Just read about the Michigan all-star game that the wing-t team won. Same sort of thing happened in Illinois a couple of weeks ago at the Shrine Hospital All-Star Game. The East team went four and five wides. The West team ran (and I mean RAN) the I, although they went to four wides a couple of times. Everything was even at halftime. In the second half, though, the West rolled up and down the field. I chuckled as all of the big-time receivers and qb's on the East grew frustrated while the West grew stronger (partly on the shoulders of a small-school running back). As a side note, double wing coach Mike Benton, who coached a quarterfinal team in 2003, was fortunate enough to be selected as an assistant coach for the game, responsible for his team's running backs. Unfortunately, he coached for the East. His running backs didn't have to do a whole lot of running, at least not in the way they were used to (they had to run routes EVERY PLAY!). I hope Coach Benton enjoyed himself. He deserved to be there. I just wish he'd gotten the chance to install the double wing... Todd Hollis, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois *********** Dear Coach- I have a player who is our star running back. He had a great Jr, year taking the team to our first playoff experience in 8 years. Now he is a Senior and isn't sure he wants to play, and has said, "I am just not having fun and I want to take a year off."  Its his Sr. year and a year off for what?   This is it!  He is 6'2 215lbs Tailback, runs a 40yd in 4.43Sec.  he has Colleges looking at him.  I have called him, his team mates have called him, and he still says he just doesn't find football fun anymore. I have been his friend, his harshest critic and now I am just throwing my hands up.  What would you do with this type of attitude?  I really need him on my team, as I just have Sophmores moving up to take his place. NAME WITHHELD Coach, Young men nowadays don't "need" football the way they once did, in order to validate their manhood, or be a part of mainstream society. There are lots of temptations luring kids away from the drudgery of football, and there are no consequences to be paid for quitting, as there once were. I know that it will drive you nuts to read this, but my experience has been that if he comes back, it will be on his terms, and that means your season may not be a pleasant one. The first time he has to do something that he doesn't particularly wish to do, he will begin reflecting on how nice it would have been to have the season off. I once had the best athlete I've ever coached walk away from football three days before practice. He was a 6-5, 215 pound wide receiver (this was back in my passing days) who could run me a 4.5 any time he had to, and he called to tell me - the Friday before we were to start August practice - that he was not going to play football. He was going to concentrate on baseball. Interestingly enough, we wound up having a better team that year than I had expected, and it was because of the nature of the game of football - the rest of the kids realized that it was going to be up to them, because other than the big guy, we had only average talent, and there weren't going to be any quick touchdowns. But they were tough kids who worked hard and pulled together. Maybe the chemistry wouldn't have been the same with a star on the team. This could be the case with you. Kids will often surprise you when they are challenged. Kids tend not to be "judgmental" these days (that's the 11th Commandment) but you may find that the other players on the team think that this guy is a prima donna. A great coach in Illinois, John Neff, has always had this as the centerpiece of his philosophy - "No player is more important than the team." I believe that with all my heart and soul. I wouldn't kiss any kid's rear end. At this point, he would have to convince me why I should let him play. But I'm not coaching your team, so I wish you the very best this season. I'm sure you'll do what's best for your team. PS - That receiver, by the way, was the first draft choice of the White Sox the next spring. *********** Not for nothing did Howie Carr dub him Thomas "Mumbles" Menino. Not to mention Kerry referring to 'Manny Ortez' with a short e. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** (Regarding John Forbes Kerry) "he is, uh, different from most Americans. " I had this discussion with my daughter this weekend. She's "thankfully" asking questions, and I can understand (thanks to the media) that she thinks Kerry is cool. She said he seems real "normal". I told her he spent his youth in private boarding schools in Europe -- didn't even grow up here -- then led a spoiled life in the Ivy league (sorry Coach) -- and THEN -- when he joined the military he rented an apartment OFF-BASE during officer training so he could "surf" - didn't even live with the rest of his guys during training. (You didn't even point that one out, Coach! Maybe THAT'S why he didn't play football..he's not into the "team" thing..). She hadn't heard ANY of this stuff...So I ask her -- how can he relate you you and your values? Just something to think about...She'll think, and hopefully make the right choice when the time comes. Also something you didn't mention about the baseball game -- did you see who they staged as his catcher??? What a show. I am sick of these media circus clowns -- I don't trust any of these a**holes, nor do I believe anything they say -- it's all hollywood anymore. Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** Coach - Some quick background...I am the HC of a small co-op school in Washington State (Easton-Thorp) that joined together in 2003 to play 8 man football (We got school board approval in July 2003) and neither school had played football for over 40 years. We also had NO athletes. Our combined basketball team records for the previous three years stood at a combined 10 wins and 110 losses. This is not a misprint. (I was not the basketball coach for either school but it does illustrate our lack of athletic tradition here). Thus when we started looking for an offense I selected the DW base on the fact that it was pretty rare and helped teams without good athletes to stay in the game. This described us in a nutshell. We had a turnout of 14 players and lost 5 of those a month into the season due to disciplinary and drug matters. Of those 14 original players only one had ever played before. We were very much in the "this is how you put your pads in your pants" mode etc... So what happened? We went 3-7 last fall. That may not sound like much but given all the above was much better than I had hoped. DW proved to be a pretty basic system and if you were just starting out like we were it was fairly easy to master those basics. It really was useable even without good athletes (we were a prime example of that) and gave our kids a system that they could believe in. Your tapes and playbook were a big help. We will definitely use DW again this fall. I am now writing to see if I can get a copy of your 8 man cutups tape that you mentioned in your current column. I would love to see another 8 man team doing what we are and compare the two. Last fall I purchased your playbook, Dynamics I,II, III and A Fine Line but have never seen the 8 man tape mentioned. Could you let me know the price? Thanks. Phil Derrick, Easton-Thorp Wildcats, Easton, Washington *********** ON THE SUBJECT OF LINEMEN FIRING OUT LOW... Coach Wyatt, This was my major emphasis coaching linemen, keeping low. I always talked about this in every drill, every time we blocked, every offensive period. Every lineman that ever played for me knows these letters F F P. This stands for Fundamental Football Position. I used to tell my linemen that we were asked to do extra special things because we had to learn to play our sport in the FFP. I told my lineman that when college scouts looked at film they always watched for how long players played the game in the FFP. And I told them that winners played the full four quarters in the FFP. When I would see one of my lineman walking around at school I would always say FFP and they would snap into the FFP. The FFP is bent knees, head up, neck bowed (bull your neck), explode your eyes open on contact, feet shoulder width apart, toes forward, same leg same shoulder, toe of foot of striking shoulder ahead of other foot, toe to instep relationship, back flat. When you are in your stance you are like a coiled spring and if you are drive blocking at the snap count your head does not come up, but you spring out and catch yourself with your same leg and shoulder as you make contact just before you would fall to the ground if you didn't bring your leg up. As you make contact with the man you pinch with your neck and shoulder and use your forearm rip up into the man and bring your hips. Maintain your FFP and drive your feet with short choppy steps and don't get your feet close together (no panties in a bunch). Widen your base. I used the hit progression drill on the Crowder sled emphasizing staying low. Also always got the lineman in perfect position everyday to teach muscle memory. This is where you get in perfect blocking position against a partner, both right shoulder and left shoulder. I also broke down each aspect of the shoulder block and taught blocking in reverese, i.e. First get in perfect postion. second from FFP and one step into man, third from stance one step into perfect postion, Fourth from stance one step into perfect postion, drive for three steps. Fifth 3/4 speed. Sixth full speed. Defensive man always catches the block. This is for the offense so offense always wins. Again you must teach keeping low everyday all the time. Best regards, Brad Elliott, The old line coach, Soquel, California *********** A VALID QUESTION: Regarding your latest tip about getting linemen to fire out low.  I think I'm missing something.  It reminds me of the pancake drill, but I'm envisioning the kid kneeling down possibly getting hurt when the blocker hits him and knocks him back.  I'd be afraid for the player's knees when the blocker lands on him.  I know you don't do things to unncessarily risk your players health, so I'm certain that I don't understand the drill. NAME WITHHELD Coach- We have never had anything approaching an injury, but that is just my experience. There is no warranty with this or any drill I suggest. The shield-holder must kneel upright - not squatting with his cheeks on his heels. And the blocker needs to keep driving after contact. The contact lifts the shield holder as it puts him on his back. The key is to keep the blocker close! You wouldn't want the players more than a yard apart, to avoid the chance that the blocker will come up out of his stance and then block downward on the shield holder. I'd suggest that you try it and make sure that you are okay with it. HW *********** I always check your tips and saw the latest description of a blocking drill from the knees. As I explained to you, we start our blocking and tackling on the knees. Knee to knee with the hitter sitting on his haunches (heels) and the dummy standing high on his knees with hands crossed in front (covering the family jewels). The blocker starts from the six gun drawing position, firing up into the lock-up, then driving his hips into the dummy and lifting with his hips. This is done by the numbers in slow motion. Once they get the idea we then use pads at full speed. Then do it standing. We do the same thing for blocking except we use the blocking technique with the arms (ice picks). As for the person in your news that was questioning the blocking from the knees, ("I also do not understand how the dummy sitting on his haunches (heels) does not get bent over backwards folding his knees under him?") I have tried it, and found that it will work very well, if the dummy is in a squatting position, because it does drive him up and back, onto his back (on to my inflatable mattresses). I am going to use it. Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey *********** Coach, Thank you for the tapes and play book.  I have enjoyed studying the plays and watching how they should be run correctly.  I ran a double wing last year and we won the city championship for our level of 11 and 12 year olds, however I was running it from the memories of a high school state championship game I had seen many years ago, and we did much freelancing.  I am now seeing my mistakes and expect this year to be much better.  My question is, you reference a rule about how deep my linemen can line up, Rule 2, Section 30, Article 9.  What rulebook do you get that from?  While we have many exceptions to it for safety and age related reasons, the remainder of our rules come from the N.F.S.H.S.A.  Is that the origin of the rule you mention and if not, is the rule the same for N.F.S.H.S.A.?  Also, do you have a source where I can get a N.F.S.H.S.A. rule book?  Again, thanks for the coaching material. Coach: All my rules citations are from the National Federation (NFHSA) rule book, and you can find it and other NFHSA publications at - http://www.nfhs.org *********** A kid in Windsor, Connecticut deliberately flunked English in his senior year so that he would not graduate, and thereby could return to school for another year of football. He says he did so on the advice of his coach, who - he says - told him that with his GPA - somewhere around 1.7 - no Division I college could touch him, but if he would take a dive in one of his classes, he would be able to stick around another year and get his grades up. Oh -and play another year of high school football. His coach denies giving him any such advice. "I was unaware of his decision making. I have no idea why he did what he did," the coach told the Hartford Courant. "What decisions he made were on his own." Part of the plan, at least, appears to have worked. The school superintendent told the boy's mother that "as a courtesy," her son would be allowed to return to the high school to take a full academic load including the failed English class. But, uh - he won't be playing football. Not at that school, anyhow. The supe told the Courant that since the kid had already played football as a senior, and won state recognition as a senior (did I say that he was a 6-4 defensive end on a 9-3 team, and was named to the All-State team?) it would be inappropriate to let him play another "senior" year. "We have no obligation to allow him to play football," she said. The kid, meanwhile, sounded pissed. "I was upset because I could have just graduated in the first place," he said. (Thanks to Alan Goodwin, Warwick, RI, for the tip) *********** Coach Wyatt, Please change the Billings, MT Black Lion team to: St Francis 7th grade Rams I have had a wonderful situation occur!!!!! I will be coaching this team with my 2 sons, age 28 & 26. To make things even better, they are fun to be with and they are better coaches than their old man!!! It always seems that as parents, we always hope that our kids will grow up and will be better than we were us in whatever they choose to do. With coaching, my boys have done that. I am proud to be able to coach with them. To make things even better, it looks like we will be blessed with size and speed. It takes a set!! Marlowe Aldrich, Billings, Montana (Enroll your team in the Black Lion Award program!) *********** Coach, I have not dropped off but been anxiously preparing for the 2k4 season that has crept up on us. I've been meaning to email you just to update you. My team just finished a 4-day Double-Wing Clinic (Jul. 19-22) at ArchBishop Curley High in Baltimore. Out of 24 players that I have on roster 18 attended. S\For some of the players this was their second trip, and for a few newcomers..this was their first exposure to the Double-Wing. Coaches Murphy, Dison and Lombardi did an outstanding job of teaching the new players the Double-Wing. Coach Dison spent several hours working with my team, for which I am very appreciative. To some of the players the emphasis on the detail might have been a bit much for an 11 year-old to handle, but for the die hard DOUBLE WING parents that I have on my sideline..it was exactly what the doctor ordered. You can definitely add 20 sets of parents to the ongoing supporters list on the systems retention rate. The players did not skip a beat from last season. We started practice on Monday (26Jul) and just to see how much my starters remembered - I ran through as many of the base plays as I could from about 3 sets and Coach, it looked like I had been out there since January. I hope to be able to report good things this fall - but I thank the Curley Staff for working with my team and awakening a sleeping giant. The 2004 season could be very promising! Jason Clarke, Millersville, Maryland  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 26, 2004 -   "My son is not playing soccer. I will hand him ice skates and a shimmering sequined bouse before I hand him a soccer ball." Sports talk show host Jim Rome NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** Football, even more than military service, has long been the way presidential manliness has been defined. Eisenhower played at Army; Kennedy played a little at Harvard, Nixon played at Whittier, and Reagan played at Eureka. Even current President Bush played on his house (dorm) team at Yale, back in the days when Yale offered tackle football as an intramural sport. (That was my first exposure to coaching.) I mention this because I find it hysterical the way they keep trying to hang a set of balls on John Kerry. I am amused by the things they stress, as well as the things they downplay. On the one hand, they stress the things that make him seem "regular" - he served in Vietnam (as we've all heard on numerous occasions), and won three purple hearts (likewise)... he played hockey at Yale... He was born in Colorado (a point he tried to make by launching his convention express tour there)... and he l-o-o-o-o-ves those Red Sox (why, he even had to interrupt his campaign trip to slip up to Boston and throw out the first pitch at Sunday night's Sox-Yankees game in Fenway. It bounced). Think they wouldn't have told us about his football background if he'd ever strapped one on? But on the other hand, since they want him to appear to be like us, they carefully downplay they downplay the ways in which he is, uh, different from most Americans. We don't hear too much about the six homes... or the fact that he was raised in France... or - are you ready for this? - the fact that HE PLAYED SOCCER AT YALE. I sh-- you not. It was his big sport. He was a starter at Yale, and once scored three goals against Harvard. Didn't know that, did you? So, asks Franklin Foer, author of "How Soccer Explains the World," if he was such a big star, "why isn't Kerry juggling soccer balls or practicing penalty kicks for the cameras?" Hah! You and I know damned well why not. It's because soccer is perceived by the vast majority of Americans as a weenie sport, which means for Kerry, who is a weenie, "the game is," in Foer's words, "bad politics." For a candidate who's doing his damnedest to disguise his true identity as an elitist snob, says Foer, "soccer, let's face it, won't help him rebut this charge." What about the so-called "soccer moms," supposedly the heart and soul of the Democratic party? Says Foer, "they may chauffeur kids to practice, but most couldn't give a toss about soccer." Notice how the left-wing mainstream media have conspired to keep Kerry's soccer past hidden from the mass of Americans. Americans! Ask yourselves - can our national security be entrusted to a soccer player? Insist that John F. Kerry come clean about his soccer background! *********** Speaking of Kerry the Bosox (or is it Botox?) fan... anybody see the photo of him on the front page of USA Today? He's shown holding a baseball, posing as if ready to throw out the first ball. But he's mugging the ball, holding it way down in his palm with a five-fingered grip better suited to squeezing oranges. No one who's ever played the game would grab a ball like that. Being raised a Frenchman and going to the snootiest of snooty schools is no excuse. Even as much money as baseball players make, with all Kerry's money, you'd think that he could have bribed a Democrat baseball player to show him how to hold a frigging baseball so he could get it from the pitcher's mound to home plate on the frigging fly. *********** I found myself watching "Hardball," and I heard Chris Matthews interviewing Boston Mayor Thomas "Tommy" Menino. Sheesh. This guy is mayor of a major American city. What a hack. Let's be grateful that no schoolkids were watching. If they'd heard the guy talk, they'd never again believe any teacher who tried to tell them that you've got to learn to speak clearly if you're ever going to amount to anything. And then I deciphered some of what he said, and I swear I heard him tell Matthews that conservatives don't like Ted Kennedy, "Because he's what America should be all about, and they don't like that." He really said that. And I wondered, "what would Tommy Menino say if he'd cut down George Washington's father's cherry tree?" *********** I don't see many kids with acne these days. Is it just me? They're eating as much chocolate as ever, and drinking far more soda pop than we ever did. How can we expect kids to grow up tough when they don't have to deal with acne? Like many of my friends, I had a hell of a problem with acne - at least I thought I did. iI was not unusual to see older guys whose faces were pitted with acne scars. Looking back, I sometimes think that acne was one of the things that kept us from getting too involved with girls and kept us concentrating on sports.  *********** Coach, I have had only about 15-18 kids show up for summer sessions. I find myself teaching the system from the ground up everyday, due to the fact that we never get the same kids to show up. I've got a good core group of sophs and that's about it. Just finished a week long camp, high attendance was 20, but just for one day., had about 15 or 16 the remainder. My concern is we can't scrimmage live with what we've had, so I don't really know if we're on the right track or not. I know it's early and we don't start practice in (our state) until August 11, but I'm starting to get pretty antsy. The backs are understanding the offense and the line seems to know their assignments, but I can't really be sure. Sorry, just had to vent. My experience has been that until success is institutionalized, which can take years, kids just don't automatically show up in the summer time. I normally look at August 1 as time to get serious. One more thing - I have always stipulated that players MUST get a certain number of workouts in during the summer before they get equipment. The weight room will be open enough that they will be able to get them in before practice starts without any strain. If they choose not to do the work in the summer, no matter - they still must get the workouts in, even after formal practice starts. We will hold special workout sessions before or after practice to accomodate them. I prefer afterwards. The core of kids - the ones who did the work during the summer - know that when they're done, they can go home, while the summer slackers have to make up the work before they get equipment. I have found that administrators have backed me on this, because (1) having players in good condition is a safety issue, and (2) we are NOT requiring that players attend summer sessions. We are merely opening the weight room during the summer to provide them the opportunity to get the conditioning work done in advance, before formal practice starts. *********** Hugh, I am still laughing about what I just saw on the local news. It seems that PETA was holding an unusual demonstration in downtown Boise / they were holding a peaceful type rally where 2 people dressed in skimpy bathing suits were making out on a blow up mattress on a busy intersection corner/ the big sign up above them said, "Vegetarians Make Better Lovers", the news interviewed people and you had your an array of answers from "that is disgusting" to "hey Whatever", but one guy pulled a classic, he pulled up a chair right next to the couple and whipped out a coke and a big ol nasty double cheese burger and decided to eat right in front of them and watch the floor show/ or should I say sidewalk show/ they tried to get him to leave but he kept telling them he was a good lover and he ate beef and other assorted animals/ in fact he even offerd them a bite of his burger. The Hot Dog Vendors in the area want them to come back because their sales that day rose 70% while this fiasco was going on. It was too funny! Just thought I would relate this story to you because of your closeness to the PETA people. Take care, Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** Went to a league meeting last night that was supposed to teach us how to fit equipment properly. Turned out to be a dog and pony show for Adams. One of the Adams owners was doing a demo on how to properly fit a helmet as he admonished us all to teach kids to keep the head up when tackling. He then explained the proper way to teach tackling is to have the kids put their nose on the football. That way their head would always be up because the nose would be on the ball and not the crown. Tip - Most of the good books on defense for the youth coach are from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. However, they all have a section on tackling techinque that needs to be skipped. Dennis Cook, Roanoke, Virginia (Coach, Knowing the height at which the ball is normally carried, and the normal height of the head of a tackler - even one with bent knees, it seems to me that unless the tackler is REALLY low to begin with, it is going to be hard for him to "put the nose on the football" without dropping his head. I will continue to advocate "eyes to the sky." "Nose on the football" also sounds dangerously close to coaching players to make primary contact with the head. HW) *********** In the annual Michigan High School Football Coaches' Association All-Star game, played in the "Big House" at the University of Michigan, the West All Stars, running a Wing-T offense, trounced the East team 45-14. The West team had 144 yards rushing by the end of the first quarter and almost 300 by halftime, finishing with a total of 450 yards. The score could have been worse, but game employed a form of mercy rule which the went into effect as soon as the East fell 35 points behind, and allowed the East to remain on offense until the margin dropped below 35. 300-pound (4.9 40) Battle Creek Pennfield graduate Apollo Braganini, son of former Double-Wing coach John Braganini, came in for special recognition playing on the West offensive line. Dad attributed Apollo's success to his familiarity with the Double Wing from his early days at Kalamzoo Christian High. Apollo, who signed to play for Division II national champ Braganini, Grand Valley State in the fall, told the Battle Creek Enquirer, "Everybody was really close-knit for only being together a week. It felt like a team." Apollo told the Enquirer that as a longtime Michigan fan, playing in the Big House was a dream come true. "There's not many places you can play that are bigger than this," he said. "This was just a great, great experience." *********** Off the Net... News flash just in for the year 2035. Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, California . White minorities still trying to have English recognized as California's third language. Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock. Baby conceived naturally... Scientists stumped. Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage. Last remaining Fundamentalist Muslim dies in the American Territory of the Middle East (formerly known as Iran , Afghanistan , Syria , and Lebanon ) Iraq still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least ten more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels. France pleads for global help after being overtaken by Jamaica . Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking. George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036. Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesday only. 35 year study: Diet and Exercise is the key to weight loss. Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs. Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative. Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights. Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches. New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters, and rolled up newspapers must be registered by January 2036. Congress authorizes direct deposit of illegal political contributions to campaign accounts. Capitol Hill intern indicted for refusing to have sex with congressman. IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75%. Florida Democrats still don't know how to use a voting Machine.  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 22, 2004 -   "If he doesn't have the ability to graduate, he shouldn't be in college." Bud Wilkinson NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** It is time to begin saying our good-byes to a giant of our sport. Please remember Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Robinson in your prayers. "Coach Rob" is 85 now, and Mrs. Robinson, his wife of 63 years (they were married June 24, 1941) has just revealed that he has been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, first noticed in 1997, shortly after he retired as head coach at Grambling. "Now," says Mrs. Robinson, "It's pretty bad. It's getting worse every day." *********** Coach Wyatt, I coach 11-13 year olds for Pop Warner. I have mostly run Power I and wishbone formations for my teams. I was intrigued when I came across the double wing. I found your web site and have ordered several of your videos. I also have your Dynamics of the Double Wing play book. Since this is my first time with the double wing I was hoping you could tell me some of the better plays for the age I coach. I am going to use the Power and Super Power 88/99, but would like to get your opinion on what else to use. I would also like to know how you explain Tight Rip 3 Trap 2 to your players. The reason I ask is because your system explains that the first digit is where the B back goes and the last digit is where the play is going. And if only one digit is used then the be B back knows he is getting the ball and that is the hole. This play is a little different as there are 2 digits but it is for the B back. I have no problem with the terminology but I was trying to teach one of my coaches and that was a stumbling block for him. I told him that it is one play and I am sure the boys will figure it out. Any help would be appreciated, Thank you. Tim Register, Deltona, Florida. The plays I suggest can be found on my TIPS page - look at #130. The terminology "3 trap at 2" is quite logical. The play is "3" and the blocking is "Trap - at 2." Start out by teaching that the play "3" can be blocked several different ways - "3 Base", or "3 Wedge," or "3 Trap." The "at 2" or "at 4" clarifies things for the linemen, who now know that the 3 man - the left guard - is doing the traping and he is trapping at 2 (or 4). As in all "3" plays, the QB steps out of there with his "3 foot", and the B-Back takes the ball on the "3 side" of the QB. But when "Trap at 2" is the blocking, the B-Back's course changes - AFTER he gets the ball. *********** Isn't it ironic that liberals are guilty of the things that they accuse conservatives of? For instance, liberals all think that we are mind-numbed robots who take our marching orders from talk radio, but every liberal pundit dispatched to the networks to defend Sandy Berger said "it was accidental", "it was inadevertent", "he was being sloppy". Francis Amar, Richland, New Jersey (I find it interesting that companies quake in their boots for fear of gays - maybe 5 per cent of the population - boycotting them, yet Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, seemingly couldn't care less about Republicans - 50 per cent of the electorate - as he tours the country towing an effigy of President Bush with his pants on fire. HW) *********** Hi coach, I know I shouldn't have been watching the ESPY's, but I was flipping through the channels and came across it. They did put together a nice piece on Pat Tillman. It had some insight to a remarkable man. I would have liked to sit down with a cold one and talk to him about the world and such. Then the camera shows some of the athletes in the audience. Who do they show? Ray Lewis, the F%$#ing criminal and Kevin Garnett who thinks he goes to "war" when play basketball for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. When will I learn? Best Wishes, Mike Norlock, Atascadero, California *********** Coach, Yes I agree with you. You have to coach what you believe in and what works for you. I was taught this practice plan by my high school coach and also Eddie Erdelatz when he coached the Raiders. I was a ball boy for the Raiders when I was in high school when he coached. He brought his practice organization from his days when he was the head coach at Navy. Practice pace was at a very high tempo and practices were broken down into 15 minute periods. So my practices went something like this: Practice started at 3:00 Period 1: 3:00-3:15 Warm-up - stretching 10 Minutes - Count reaction; Get offs 5 Minutes Period 2 3:15 - 3:30 Kickoff; Kickoff return; Extra Point- Field Goal; Punt Punt Return (1 aspect everyday) Period 3 3:30-3:45 Individual Work Period 4 &5 3:45-4:15 Team Defense Period 5,6,7 4:15 - 5:00 Team Offense Period 8 5:00 - 5:15 Conditioning With water breaks we were always off the field by 5:30 at the latest. The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California *********** I have learned the double wing offense from your instructional material and I was able to apply it last year with my 9-10yo kids. This offense is very effective at this age group, especially since you only need a few plays to execute perfectly to win against any opponent. I have your Dynamics 1 video and playbook, Installing the System, and A fine Line, I want to now order your practice without pads video. I will be coaching 11-12 yo this year. Last year I went from tight formation only and was very effective with very small backs, averaging 300 yards a game and scoring 27 points a game. Following was our play list: T.R. 88sp/T.L.99sp T.R. 47xx/T.L.56xx wedge T.R.6g T.R. 66sp/T.L. 77sp Red Red/ Blue Blue Had problems with 29/38go, I think mostly because nobody could stop the s/p we didn't run the sweep very much at all. Do you think any other formations for me would be worth trying at this age group? The only additional formations I normally suggest to youth coaches are Over Tight and Under Tight, mainly because it is not hard to run some basic plays from them, and opponents rarely adjust because they seldom recognize it. *********** I put in 6-G pass the other day, but I had a question.  Can we run it out of spread, over etc. without a backside end???  It seems like a short corner on the backside (protection wise).  I guess we could run it with rip stop, but then we lose a playside blocker and some of the playaction,   Your thoughts??? I have done it from Over Slot, without a backside end, but my QB had to roll right a bit because of heat from the backside. It is so good from Tight that I really wouldn't run it from anything else. *********** Dear Coach Wyatt; I apologize for my most recent vanishing act. I'm back in school, working on my degree in coaching studies from the American Military University, and hoping to get my teaching credentials before 2007 when I process out of the Coast Guard. It eats up most of my free time, but it's been worth it so far. I'm writing to share some horribly sad news with you. This last Sunday, the Tomales Braves football program lost a great coach and good friend. I'm not sure if you remember Darren Burbank, but he was with Coach Feliciano and me at your 2000 clinic at Highlands High School in Northern California. Very respectfully; Derek A. Wade, ET2, USCG, Petaluma, California Coach Burbank, 24, died Sunday when a hay-stacking machine fell on him at the ranch. "For a small community like Tomales, he was a very big person," said Leon Feliciano, head football coach at Tomales High. In 1998, shortly after graduating from Tomales High, he became an assistant football coach there, working coaching into a tight schedule that included his studies at Santa Rosa Junior College and, later with driving a milk truck for a local dairy, and always ending his day working on his family's cattle ranch. He and his wife were married in September. She is head cheerleading coach at Tomales High. "We won three section championships since 1998 when he started coaching," said coach Leon Feliciano. "A big, big part of that success was due to him." The family suggests donations to the Tomales High School varsity football team in Tomales. *********** I took a head football coaching job in a small school in Nebraska that is a 8 man football school. I have been at many of your clinics and remember seeing plays using the double wing in 8 man football.  I would still like to run the offense if possible because I believe in it.  Do you have any information on the double wing in 8-man? Congratulations on your new job. I have helped a couple of Double-Wing teams. One won the Nevada state championship and the other made it to the Oregon semi-finals. My basic Double-Wing package sells for $86.90 and for $100 total I include a 20-minute tape with good footage of those 8-man teams running a variety of double wing plays, some in practice, some in games. HW *********** A coaching friend who was an unsuccessful applicant for a job sent me a story about the guy who was hired. At the school where he'd been head coach, his record was 4-51 in six years. When the local newspaper interviewed the principal, he told them that the coach they hired best fit the criteria, which included such things as classroom teaching ability, communication skills and recognition as a proven winner. Say again? According to the principal, a tap-dancing school bureaucrat if ever there was one, "proven winner" means more than wins and losses: "He was able to get the most out of his players." Wonder what his former players think about that. I mean, if four wins in six years is "getting the most out of his players" - how bad must those players have been? *********** We will spend almost $30,000.00 just on travel expenses to 3 road games. This amount would break the budgets of even the big schools down south. When you consider that we have to raise all the money ourselves, you can see the distraction it causes to the program. Our idea of off season preparation is selling raffle tickets and spaghetti dinners. I got our budget put together and approved by the board this week. Our total expenses amount to $48,000.00 this year. The kids each have to pay $200.00 a year to play, plus a $150.00 activity fee to the school. In years past each kid paid out over $700.00 a year to play. Each coach spends about $1000.00 a year of his own money on the team, although last year we each got paid $900.00 for the first time ever. You can share this with the kids in your program. It might inspire them to go out and raise a little extra money for your program. Imagine what you could do with an extra $48,000.00 in your budget, especially thinking back to your early days at La Centre. It must have been quite difficult to teach the kids to play football using soccer balls. Richard Cropp, Ketchikan, Alaska *********** Want to laugh your butt off? The Bavaro Brothers are there, working their camp.. Mark works with the TE's, David is more of the "organizer" of the camp and works with LB's..There are about 150 kids, aged 8-18, about 10 coaches for all the age groups. But guess who is the real brains of the operation???????????????? Bill Maradei, and to a lesser extent Gavin Monagle (both Double-Wing coaches) ... we are talking Double Wing ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and there is an asst. from Malden Catholic at camp, whose new head coach was the guy at Lynn Classical (Matt Durgin).. he says he's starting to understand it a little bit, but can't wait to get the kids on the field in a few weeks). Coach Bill and Coach Gavin asked me to say hello since I told them I'd be sending you this email.. Gavin left Savio Prep after last season and took a job as an asst. at Merrimack College..what's great about practice is that after drills, when we run 7 on 7 they line up in "Tight" and I can help without feeling out of place since I understand the scheme! Loving it! Lou Orlando (retired Double-Wing youth coach), Sudbury, Massachusetts *********** OK Coach -- I have to state a counter on one of your reader's comments in today's NEWS because it hit so close to home. I'm sure the Coach is a good guy, and cares enough about what he is doing to dig and learn. However, I think he is a little mis-guided in his approach with his smaller players. The Coach states that in his league there are 50lb kids and 170lb kids in the same league, and he wants to "teach those 50 lb. kids stay out of the big kids' way." -- first, I will suggest that a 50lb and 170lb kid in the same league is the exception, not the rule. I'm not saying they don't exist, but my guess is that the norm is definitely closer than that gap -- I don't care WHAT league it is. And if not, well, then the league has some serious litigation pending. So do you build everything around an exception? No -- you run your game, and teach the 50lber one of the key principles of the DW -- LEVERAGE. You know that my son Austin has always been the smallest kid on the team, so I'm a little sensitive to a Coach that just assumes he can't compete because of his size. Well, if you don't teach him how to overcome a physical shortcoming, then he probably can't. But in my years of Coaching Austin, I had him play Guard, TE and FB in your offense. And you've seen his tape -- he was successful against MUCH larger opponents. Why? Well, LEVERAGE and Deception. He was vicious on his kick-out blocks at FB and he was usually in the end-zone before the Defense realized he had the ball on a Trap. Listen, when Austin showed up for Jr. High ball, he was the 2nd smallest kid on a 130 kid squad. The immediate reaction of the Coaches was to find a place to hide him. I was pissed, but it wasn't my team so there wasn't much I could do but encourage Austin to play hard. By the end of the season, he was named a Team Captain, and was starting on Offense, Defense and ALL special teams. Why? Because he had been taught how to take advantage of larger athletes and he wasn't taught to "run" -- he was taught to "attack". He was taught to out-smart and out-hustle guys, and he soon realized that the "bigger they are, the harder they fall". Let's not teach our boys excuses (like a lack of size) for not succeeding -- Give them the tools to overcome their disadvantage, and teach them to apply those tools. That's why I DIG your offense so much -- I could have physical mismatches at all positions, but STILL compete -- as long as my boys executed -- and weren't afraid, or looking to "hide". I say, don't teach them how to avoid and run away! That's counter to the Great Game, and counter to life. Teach them how to attack "wisely" -- Teach them how to use physics and deception. They'll be better football players, and better Men. And DON'T make assumptions based on something as stupid as size. It's not the NFL. Thank GOD! See ya -- Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas (Ability is one thing, and so is experience. I personally think that you should get inexperienced kids into the middle of things, as you suggest. But if it is a safety issue, if a kid is in some danger, he shouldn't be playing at all. At least not on that team. It is simply unreasonable to insist that a coach put a kid into a football game but at the same time keep him out of harm's way. HW) *********** Coach, Did you hear anything about Bob Feller's comments about Muhammad Ali's appearance at last week's MLB All-Star game? While I thought it was a dead issue, I can certainly understand what Feller was saying. I remember on Memorial Day weekend, 1994 covering Ali receiving an honorary doctorate from Mr. Ida College and was somewhat surprised that there were no protesters. You would think if there were ever a time to protest Ali receiving an honor of some sort, it would be Memorial Day weekend. After that, I thought most people had forgiven and forgotten. I guess I was wrong. Take care, Steve Tobey, Malden, Massachusetts ``FYI: "A man who turned his back on his country shouldn't be honored this way,'' Feller said. "``I object very strongly to Muhammad Ali being here to throw out the first pitch, and you can print that." All-time great pitcher Bob Feller is now 85. He won 266 games during his career, all with the Cleveland Indians, but surely would have won 80 more, maybe 100, were it not for his having spent nearly four of what would have been prime seasons in the U.S. Navy during World War II. (After hearing about Pearl Harbor on his radio, Feller enlisted the next day. He received eight battle stars.) I didn't hear about it at first, but then I've become sort of brain-dead where baseball is concerned, and the invitation to Ali to throw out the first ball is just one reason. I am neutral on Ali - a misguided fool and braggart and blowhard who nonetheless was a great fighter. (Although I do think his second fight against Liston was a total fix.) Actually, I resent Ali, but not because of the draft issue. I resent him because I lay much of the blame for today's showboating athletes squarely at his feet. In these "look-at-me" days, it's hard for youngsters to believe that there was a time, before Cassius/Ali, when modesty was considered a virtue. Soldiers didn't brag about their service (or their purple hearts). Sports heroes didn't gloat or boast. My major issue is - Why Ali? This is baseball! Is baseball so in need of resuscitation that it has to bring in names from outside the game? Why not Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake? If Bob Feller had merely spoken out about that - about the incongruity of an entertainer or a big name from another sport being honored at (what used to be) baseball's showcase event, I'd be with him 100 per cent. I do tend to pop off, but even I am smart enough to know that attacking Ali is useless, because he has been elevated to godlike status. *********** Coach Wyatt, In preparing for the season, I want to have a complete list of rules that the DW is tailored around to review with the refs before the game.  I saw your Coaching Tip #46 (I believe) and that looks to cover most everything I could think of, however, it occured to me that you may have thought of other things to discuss with the officials since you wrote that response. Is there anything else I should include? That covers it. Be sure, by the way, to be VERY diplomatic in the way you approach officials about this. Even so, you still may get a "you do the coaching and we'll do the officiating" response. *********** On a tee-shirt spotted in LAX: WATER POLO - NO SPORT FOR FAGGOTS  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 19, 2004 -   "Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty?" Senator Edward M. "Teddy" Kennedy, Massachusetts NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** GREAT- Thanks to Marvin Garcia, of Albuquerque, New Mexico for putting me onto one of the great Web productions of all time... www.jibjab.com - It may take a while to download. Be patient. it is well worth it. *********** Coach - Kareem Jones, my Career leading A-Back who is going to play for Syracuse in 2004, was the offensive MVP of the Governors Bowl last week , an All star game pitting the top 50 football players from New Jersey and the Top 50 from New york and the game was played at West Point's Michie Stadium. Kareem had 6 carries for 36 yards and one score. Who says that New York isn't as good as New jersey in the pigskin game? Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh, New York *********** Coach, I thought a more fitting end to the Democratic convention agenda would have had Ted Kennedy driving everyone home. Chuck Reid, Pembroke, New Hampshire (Coach Reid's note reminded me of a most important anniversary - one which passed unnoticed by the mostly liberal media - and prompted my reprinting the following article which I first published in May. HW) *********** I swear I heard Teddy Kennedy say, in connection with the Iraqi Prison "Scandal," that it was a "Catastrophic Crisis of Credibility." Huh? Are you kidding me? Teddy Kennedy, an authority on credibility? That did it. I simply can't (excuse me - "cahn't") sit by and listen to that sorry piece of refuse lecturing anybody about credibility... calling the President a liar... telling anyone who'll listen that thanks to the "Scandal," we are the most hated nation on earth... without wondering how many Americans really understand who, exactly, they're listening to when he talks. For those of you who only know of Edward M. "Teddy" Kennedy as a bloated, blowhard left-wing politician from Massachusetts... for those of you who weren't alive and aware in 1969 and don't understand why so many of us old farts detest the man... On Monday, we observed the 35th anniversary of an event that those of us who remember simply call "Chappaquidick." (We observed it, although no one in the liberal, "mainstream" media seemed to notice.) It was late on the night of July 19, 1969, on the small Massachusetts island of that name, accessible only by boat or by ferry from the larger, nearby island of Martha's Vineyard.... A 37-year old United States Senator from Massachusetts named Edward M. Kennedy, youngest brother of the late President John F. Kennedy and the family's last hope for another president, had just left a party with a young woman, 28 year-old Mary Jo Kopechne. Senator Kennedy was a married man, and Ms. Kopechne was single, a former worker in Ted's late brother Bobby's campaign. Hmmm. In fact, the five men at the party were all married, and the six women in attendance were all single. Hmmm. Although it was believed that his intention was to catch the ferry to Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard, for some reason Kennedy drove off the main road and onto a side road, then failed to make a turn and get completely onto a narrow bridge over a pond. The car plunged off the bridge and into ten feet of water. Kennedy managed to get out of the car. Mary Jo Kopechne did not. Later, Kennedy would say that he "repeatedly" dove into the pond to try to rescue her. He also would say - later - that he was "dazed", but in any event, he walked back to the party, where he asked a friend to take him to his motel in Edgartown. And then, for some reason, he decided, instead, to swim to Edgartown. Only the next morning, he later said, did he realize what had happened the night before, and - a full 10 hours after the accident - go to the police to report it. (You don't suppose, do you, that Senator Kennedy might have had a little to drink the night before? That perhaps someone advised him it might be best for the sake of his presidential aspirations if he were to sleep it off? Hmmm.) In any event, it doesn't appear that he told anyone back at the party that there was a young woman trapped inside his car, and when police arrived at the scene the next day, Ms. Kopechne was found dead - drowned - still in the car. When the Senator attended Ms. Kopechne's funeral, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he was wearing a neck brace. The poor guy. He was injured in the crash! And in spite of his injuries, he tried valiantly to save Mary Jo. (That was the last he ever wore the brace. Hmmm.) Way out in front of today's trend of perps turning themselves into victims, Kennedy faced the people of Massachusetts on statewide TV and did just that, speculating that there might be some sort of "curse" on the Kennedy family. (Can't you just see the old Irish ladies in South Boston, crying into their hankies at the thought of little Teddy, the youngest Kennedy, the last surviving brother, meeting a terrible fate just like Joe, Jr., Jack and Bobby?) Charged with leaving the scene of an accident - a misdemeanor - Kennedy pleaded guilty, and received a two-month suspended sentence. Harsh. In January, 1970, an inquest was held, and Kennedy testified, but reporters were barred. Hmmm. Judge James Boyle, of the Dukes County District Court, would only say in his report that he could not accept key portions of Kennedy's testimony as truthful. (A pretty diplomatic way of saying he thought Teddy lied, wouldn't you say?) Judge Boyle went on to declare that Kennedy might have contributed to Ms. Kopechne's death through his negligent driving. A request to perform an autopsy of Ms. Kopechne's body was denied - hmmm. A conspiracy buff might wonder if perhaps death occured by other means - and transcripts of the inquest proceedings were ordered sealed. Hmmm. And so, because it all happened in Massachusetts, where over the years the Kennedys have been about as answerable to the law as Uday or Husay Hussein were in Iraq, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was able to put the unseemly Kopechne mess behind him and move on, to a distinguished career serving the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He did, it should be noted, realize that his appeal to people elsewhere in the country was shot, and so, consequently, were his chances of ever becoming President. These days, you can find him mostly in front of TV cameras. He's the one with the big head who calls President George W. Bush a liar and says that America is the most hated nation on earth. Just so you know who's talking. *********** Howie Carr commemorated the 35th anniversary of Chappaquiddick today. His theory is that Mary Jo was sleeping off her drunkenness in the back of the Rosemobile, when Ted drove off with another woman in the passenger seat unaware of Miss Kopechne. "If you don't believe that, you have to believe that Ted Kennedy is truly a monster." One caller said her death was not in vain - it prevented the Senior Senator from ever getting near the presidency. I must admit I hadn't thought of it that way. Attendants of the Park Lunch Bar last week called Kennedy a "murderer" nonetheless. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** On question #60 you show a diagram of a 27 front. If you were to run power 88, would the playside off. tackle block down the line and get the DT or would he read up to a linebacker? I've had the boys reading up is this correct? NAME WITHHELD Following his rules, he could wind up doubling with the TE (a "7" against our tight front is pretty much in the "c" gap) but "read up" means coming down at such an angle that he might double-team on move up to the LBer level. If so, it would be a LBer to his inside. In any case, he would never change direction and chase a LBer to his outside. He will definitely block someone to the inside.    *********** Hi Coach, Getting ready for some football here. Nothing to report yet. Just in preparation stage. Good news section. I'll tell you the dis respect issue is big with me too. It has started though. Roanoke Times which is liberal rag around here has been running articles about the deployed National Guard unit(Local).Like this. Basically like they are a bunch of scared, bungling boys.Terrified,Alone.Victims of President Bush. I don't know about anyone else around here, But I find it extremely offensive. If it was me I would only like to be portrayed as a MAN having a SET. Strapping it on for my country.Period.Nothing more is needed. Cause I do not like to be thought of as a F--KING VICTIM. Doonesbury has gone as far as making fun of amputees. I do not know Coach were all of this is going. I pray though that these people do not win the election. If they do the demoralization of America will be in such proportion as we have never seen before.Ever.That is why I can't wait to get out on the football field. At least there things make sense to me.Regards, Armando Castro, Roanoke, Virginia (It is even worse here in the Northwest. Yes, it is a tragedy when we lose one single member of our armed forces, but around here, it seems as if very time a National Guardsman gets a case of toenail fungus, the TV people are on the scene to interview his family. Apart from injuries - and I don't mean to diminish them, the separation itself is tough on the families of our fighting people, and the TV jerks who keep sticking cameras in their faces don't help. I just wish that the families, who don't know the way they are being used, would tell the TV people to f--k off. HW) *********** Hugh, Got a chuckle out of the "news" again this week. All my favorite things to poke fun at were included…soccer, Kennedy, and Kerry. Hope your trip to Iowa was good. I would have loved to have taken my kids down there but our camp here was scheduled the same week. Regarding the question asked about practicing offense and defense on separate days I have to respond. I've been doing it that way for over 10 years and it has proven to be one of the best moves I've ever made as a head coach. We do it that way during the first two weeks of practice before school starts, and we do it that way during the season. The only days we practice both offense and defense is on the day before a game. When I was in New Hampshire it worked really well because many of our games were on Saturdays. I believe it has been successful because we're able to practice our game plans without ever feeling rushed to squeeze everything in. Now, we get everything covered plus some, and offensive and defensive special teams. On the day before the game our practice basically becomes a dress rehearsal for us. I used to run my practices like a lot of other coaches practicing offense, defense, and special teams every day. But I have to admit that since going to the format we're using now our practices are more focused, the players are better prepared, and the coaches are better organized. Also, I've found that our practices are not nearly as long as they used to be. I think having run the double wing for four years and the same defense for six years at every level has a lot to do with it. But you know as well as I do that there are a lot of different ways to skin a cat and one is not necessarily better than the other. It all depends on what you're comfortable with and what works best for your kids. Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis (You are absolutely right that the best way for any coach is the way that works best for him. I admit to being dogmatic about certain things that I will die for, but practice scheduling is one area where I will preface my advice by saying "this is what I do," "this is what I believe in," or "this is what I like best," and in fact in this case I joked about maybe doing it my way because perhaps I feel a bit insecure. The fact that not everybody runs the Double-Wing - not by a long shot - is proof that lots people do things different from me and are successful. HW) *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, Been quite awhile since I emailed you. I have of course been reading your website every time you update it and wanted to attend your clinic in Northern California this year but was out of the country on a business trip so I unfortunately missed it. Just a comment on the offense/defense practice days. I agree whole heartedely with you about practicing offense everyday. In order for the offense to work whether it be the wing T or double wing, it must be practiced every day. It is the minute details of running these systems which make them work and these must be ingrained in the players everyday of practice. The footwork of each player must be exact as well as the proper blocking techniques and this must be done over and over and over again. In the game these techniques must be on automatic. One of the beauties of the wing T and double wing is that the techniques you teach to linemen for offense carry over directly to defense. The shoulder blocking offensive technique is the same as the shoulder tackle tackling technique of defense. So you are in fact teaching defensive tackling technique while you are teaching offensive line blocking technique. In the practice schedule I always used, I would spend 20 to 30 minutes everyday on team defense so that I made sure we would know how to properly align ourselves against the other teams offense and 45 minutes to an hour on team offense. I would teach the individual line techniques before the team work for 20 minutes every day. This would include stance, footwork, blocking/tackling technique drills. These offensive/defensive line skills must be taught everyday and reinforced everyday that you are on the practice field. The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California (See what I mean? HW) *********** We will use a split end that will go from side to side resulting in an occasional un-balanced line.  We will always have a "short" side tackle and he will be eligable for a screen pass when the S.E. is on the opposite side. NAME WITHHELD Good luck. I should tell you, though, that with the unbalanced, if the rules are properly enforced, your shortside tackle won't be eligible unless he is (1) on the end of the line - which he is, and (2) wearing a number other than one between 50 and 79 - which, if he isn't, will probably mean that you don't have five such men on the line, which will constititute illegal procedure. HW *********** Coach W., Rule #3 on your checklist.....I think Ohio outlawed it but I'm not sure. Coach- as long as the wingbacks are on the line (which means, technically, they are no longer wingbacks and now tight ends) and within the free blocking zone, it is legal for them to block below the waist or clip (providing, of course, they do so against an opponent who was also in the free blocking zone at the snap). The rules change (2003) stipulated that, although in their normal stance our wingbacks may be within the free blocking zone, unless they are on the line, they may not block below the waist or clip. This was a National Federation rules change, which means it applies in every state except Texas and Massachusetts. *********** Der Schwartzenator has all sort of people upset at him, from gays to femmies, because he called his opponents (gasp!) "girlie men." ''If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men,'' The Guv told a cheering crowd. Actually, what he did was acknowledge that much of America has lost whatever stones it once had. Nevertheless, if I were Governor Schwartzenegger, I'd be careful. They might be girlie men, but that doesn't mean they're not going to come out throwing their purses and spike-heeled shoes at him. *********** Coach Wyatt, I ordered your Dynamics of the Double Wing video and playbook and I wanted to tell you how excited I am about the offense.  I invited all of the players and their parents over to my house for a pre-season meeting and showed them snippets of the video so they could get a feel for the new offense we would be running.  The feedback was very positive from everyone, eliciting responses such as "that looks like the perfect offense for youth football." I've been doing a lot of research on youth football over the internet, which is how I found your website and ordered your video and playbook.  I also stumbled upon Coach John Reed's website and ordered his book.  Coach Reed suggests putting some of the smaller players at flanker where they will not get hurt and I think that's an excellent suggestion.  One of the players on my team weighs in at 51 lbs. but there are kids in this league that weigh over 170 lbs.!!!  So I'm very concerned about making certain those 50 lb. kids stay out of the big kids' way. In our league you cannot run unbalanced lines nor can the backfield be unbalanced, so I'm thinking of running the Lee formation (our league rules say only one end can be split out as a flanker but the line must still be balanced).  The Lee formation will allow me to place my small guys at flanker and my plan is (again as suggested in John Reed's book) is to have the flanker run deep every single play as hard as he can (we'll be substituting the small guys frequently at that position).  Late in the second half when the corner or safety is tired of chasing our flanker for 3/4 of the game (and noticing that we're not throwing to him) and lets our flanker blow by him, we'll then throw deep to the little flanker. The defense in our league can only be a 4-3 defense (strange rule but it sure makes the offensive coordinators job easier).  In the 4-3 the tackles must line up on the offensive guards, defensive ends must line up either on the tight end or just to his outside shoulder, the outside linebackers must line up on the offensive tackles, the middle linebacker must line up on the center and the cornerbacks and safeties must line up at least 3 and 5 yards respectively off the line of scrimmage. After all of that set-up my question is how to modify the blocking schemes to run the above plays out of the Lee formation against the 4-3 defense?  I have some ideas, but would greatly appreciate your guidance.  As a first year coach I have much to learn and I want to make sure I teach my kids the correct blocking assignments out of the Lee formation against the 4-3. NAME WITHHELD With all due respect to Jack Reed, whom I know well, he is talking about getting minimum play players their playing time, and not building an offense around them. The problem with relying on that as your base offense is that you are not truly running the double wing, and you lose a lot of its benefits. For one thing, you will not run as well to the split end side, because without that tight end there, your counters will be a crap shoot. For another, you will not be able to pull your backside tackle on powers to the tight end side, because you will not have a tight end on the backside to control chasers. I can see using the split end as a changeup, or as a chance to get a kid in the game for a few plays, or even to take advantage of a gifted kid, but if I thought running it full-time was that good an idea, I'd probably be doing it myself. One possibility is to let some of those kids run motion, when the motion man isn't called on to do anything else. Sorry if that seems to throw cold water on things, but you did ask my advice. HW  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 16, 2004 -  "You must be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way." John Wooden NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** For quite some time now, Iron Mike Ditka has been making a decent living telling prospective Levitra users to "get in the game." Damn shame that given a chance to run for the US Senate, he decided to stay out of the game. He said it had something to do with his not being sure what would have happened the first time he had a serious disagreement with someone he didn't exactly respect. Precisely why he should have run. I'd have given more money than I've ever imagined giving to a political candidate just to see him pop Teddy Kennedy in the snout. *********** Not that President Bush hasn't already done a good job of it, but Franklin Foer, in his book "How Soccer Explains the World: an Unlikely Theory of Globalization," says that if we really want to get the Europeans pissed off at us, we will go out and win the World Cup one of these days. See, with our best athletes playing other sports, the perception will be that we did it with one arm tied behind our backs. And, what's worse, with soccer interest in the US on about a par with curling, we did it without anybody even giving a big rat's ass. "That's what I think will potentially anger the world," he says - "that we're going to end up being relatively successful in the game without having poured out our heart for the game, that it will be effortless." Wouldn't that just kill those European pussies? Bad enough that (with the exception of the Brits and Poles) they can't fight, but imagine the thought of Americans showing them how to play the Beautiful Game. "No!" I say. This can never be allowed to happen! Not if we are going to do as Senator John F. Kerry (former soccer player) proposes, and reach out to the "international community." Aren't we already perceived as the world's bully? Can't we at least let them have soccer? In the interests of world cooperation, I suggest that we unilaterally impose a moratorium on soccer, immediately banning it from parks and school playing fields until further notice. All those liberal soccer moms will understand why. *********** What an ass (Ken Griffey, Jr.) I forwarded the quotation to my dad and suggested he distribute it to all the orthopaedists in his office. Mark my words, next time there is a paralytic football injury SI will treat it like a freak accident - forgetting that their glorification of unsafe hitting helps raise a generation of at risk football players. This is the magazine that smeared Mike Price for an issue's worth of sales. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** Coach Wyatt, Do you have your B-Back use the same stance as your linemen, or do they use something else? Thank you, Michael Burke Miamisburg Wee Vikes It is a "false three-point" stance, with no weight on the down hand. Its main purpose is to keep him down low and hidden, while keeping his head up. *********** Coach Wyatt - My countdown begins till Lockdown Boston . I knew you guy's out in the Great North West were full of Left-wing Wacko's but this Bainbridge Island,WA sounds like a real pisser, It sounds like your typical Lilly-white,elitist Liberal, Soccer Mom, Utopia , God Help you Poor Bastards !! I will cross Bainbridge Island Off my places to visit ,when I finally make out to the North West. That bar Stanich's in Portland sounds more like my crowd. Coach Wyatt - Laughing like a SOB at Mr.Anderson's critique of the Park Lunch, I have to give him credit he Nailed it !! also let me add , Mike Doyle the owner, also has great Photo's of former Newburyport players from all decades,and Team photos of Some of the Greatest Newburyport Teams of all-time the 1955 ,1956 and 1966 State Champs just to Name a few that were Coached by Legendary Coaches ,Walter Sheridan and Jim Stehlin. and The Wall that is nearest the Bar is Unbelievable !!!! I have never been up there for Thanksgiving Morning but from What I hear it is Packed SRO for the Newburyport/Amesbury Game whether it's right down the street at War Memorial Stadium or at Landry Stadium in Amesbury. Coach if you ever do make it up there You and Your Wife Have to get the Clam Roll !!! Fantastic !!! and the rest of Downtown's not bad ,You can even walk over to the Board walk and Jump on one of those Whale Watching Ships to pass time ,but the Park Lunch is the place to be especially for football season - see ya friday coach John Muckian Lynn, Massachusetts *********** Coach Wyatt, I was watching the news the other night and thought you might like this. I did. There were about 10 soldiers or so returning to the U.S for furlough of 2 weeks. They were going to sit in coach, when this person in first class told one of them to take his seat. The soldier declined and the passenger insisted and the passenger went to coach. The rest of the first class passengers then followed suit and told the soldiers that was the least they could do for them since they were risking their lives for their freedom. If you could have seen the pictures of those soldiers faces and how happy they were. So there are Americans that really care. God bless America and Our Troops. Steve McCarthy Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts *********** I've noticed a number of people on the streets of Chicago who are wearing DNC vests and asking for something (money, signatures, I don't care). As I walk past, wearing the 'Marine Corps Association' hat my son gave me, not one of these workers tries to solicit me. I wonder if the hat has anything to do with it. Regards, Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** Coach, I was reading this week's "News" and came across the gentleman searching for "Pop" Warner's quote about fundamentals, etc.  He was asking about "trick plays," which I sometimes find to be an uninformed outlook, usually taken by the opposition and their fans.  We have a few "game breakers," (hook-and-ladder, double reverse) but there's nothing tricky about them.  We practice them from Hell Week on, waiting for that ideal moment to use them.  The "trick" may actually be on the other team, I suppose.  But our guys know we've worked on them and have confidence in them as a result.  Your thoughts? Todd Hollis, Elmwood-Brimfield Coop, Elmwood, Illinois So long as a coach can stay on the right side of the fine line between having a trick play that he's worked on and worked on, and then knowing precisely when to use it, or giving kids the idea that it is a cheap and easy shortcut to success, I am all for it. They have the potential to make or break a team's morale. I tend not to spend much time on them because of the "shortcut" factor, and because there is seldom a right time to run one - there is always the chance that you can blow everything if the game is close or you are trailing, and the play flops, and then there is the sportsmanship factor if you wait until you are way ahead and it is safe to do it! HW *********** Hugh, Maybe I'm a bit oversensitive, but when I read your news (from Friday) today I had to wince. ("I have mentioned before that New Jersey is one of the top talent-producing states, and most of it is exported - Jersey's only Division IA football school is Rutgers. HW") Hugh, for years I would have had to agree with you, but Greg Schiano is turning things around on the banks of the Raritan River.  When he started 3 years ago, one of his top  priorities was (and still is) stemming the tide of top NJ talent leaving the state.  He has done an amazing job of building the proverbial wall around "The State of Rutgers" which includes NJ, NY, Conn., Eastern PA, and FL; not an easy task given our recent on-field performance.  As an example I believe 8 of the 22 starters for the NJ team are committed to RU for the upcoming season, including the #1 rated QB prospect in the state (Mike Teel) and the #1 rated FB prospect in the country (Dwayne Jones).  There are too many D1 football prospects coming out of NJ for all of them to come to Rutgers, but we are keeping more and more.  Another case in point, Brian Roche, considered one of the class of 2005's top OL in the country, just verballed to Rutgers over Miami.  We are all going nuts over here because this is the first time RU and Miami have gone head to head on a recruit and the recruit chose RU.  In the past, athletes the caliber of young Mr. Roche would not have given RU a moments thought, let alone commit early, let alone choose us over schools like Miami, Tennessee, or one of the 40 other schools he was offered scholarships to. Brian says he wanted to stay home and help build a winner in his home state.  It's that kind of vision that Coach Schiano is selling to the players and they are buying in.   In year four, we are seeing the fruits of Coach's recruiting in a team with, I believe, 19 of 22 returning experienced upperclass starters.  With an experienced team with quality depth and  an easier schedule (due to the departure of Miami and VaTech to the ACC) many of us are looking for big things out of this year's Scarlet Knights.  A chance at the school's first bowl birth since 1978 is not out of the question.  Incidentally, Nate Sassman's 1984 Army team stole that Cherry Bowl birth from RU... At 7-3, we had beaten Army that year (17-14 at Giants Stadium) and got snubbed by the Cherry Bowl.  Rumor has it that being located in Michigan, the Cherry bowl wanted an opponent for  MSU that they felt they could easily handle, and so picked Army over RU.  I guess that backfired, eh?  In any event I loved reading about Lt. Col. Sassman and I'm proud as hell to have men like him representing me over in Iraq. Keep the news coming... I don't think I can get through the week without it. Thanks. Sincerely, Craig Torres, East Windsor, NJ - PS You heard it here first... the scarlet tsunami is coming!!  Go RU!! We will see. I was (am) simply stating facts. I have nothing against Rutgers, but you would have to be blind not to know that although it is in prime recruiting territory, with high school coaching second to none, Rutgers has been a sad team in a so-so conference, and while I would like very much to see Coach Schiano turn Rutgers into a powerhouse, I hope you will understand why I remain skeptical. HW *********** Hello Coach Wyatt, My name is Bob Royds and I am the head coach of the 75 lb. St. Peter's Saints in Merchantville, NJ. This upcoming year will be my second as a head coach, and my fifth year involved in the program, and in those years your website has done a great to educate me on the game, and more importantly, how to teach it to the little guys. Let me thank you for making this a free sight for anyone such as myself, who know little but want to learn more. Now, the question. I am thinking about running a few single-wing plays this year and that would mean that I need to find and train 2 or 3 long snappers. The snaps would not be anywhere near the distance of a normal long snap, only 2-4 yards, with accuracy. I personally, have never played center in my life, and therefore I've never done it myself. I have researched it to some extent and I understand the concept and mechanism. I've practiced it myself, and though my velocity leaves something to be desired, my accuracy is pretty good. I experimented with the adjustments that I read about for diagnosing bad snaps, and I think I have the whole thing down to the point where I could teach it to anyone else like me. The problem is, I don't need to teach it to someone like myself. I need to teach it to 7 and 8 year olds. Their hands are smaller, the ball must be huge, they are far more flexible, yet consistently unable to align in the same stance for extended periods. I have no idea what it must be like for them physically, or any other way. I was hoping that you might either have some experience in long snapping at the youth, or especially in the youngest levels of youth football. If so, I would really appreciate any pointers in regards to the proper grip, motion, etc. If you are willing to put prejudices aside, there is a foolproof way which I have been teaching for a couple of years now. It is an end-over-end, "tumbling" snap, very easy to teach, very easy to execute, very easy to catch, and very hard to screw up. It was originally taught, as far as I can tell, by Jock Sutherland at Pitt in the 1930's, and then when he coached the Pittsburgh Steelers - last of the single-wing NFL teams, in the late 40's and early 50's. I will teach it to you, but you have to promise to tell me how it goes. The center holds the back part of the ball, with his thumbs on the back laces, and a hand on each side of the ball, with the middle fingers on the side seams. He gets in a normal center stance, ball outstretched, head up and tail down, with little or no weight on the ball. Now, he snaps the ball by keeping his arms straight and flipping his wrists. The ball will come tumbling back, end-over-end. Try it. You will be amazed. If the kids follows your instructions, you will NEVER get a high snap, which is what scares most people out of running the single wing. Our centers make this snap without looking. Even on punt snaps. Every player on our team - backs, ends, linemen, quarterbacks can do it. Remember, you have to tell me how it goes after you've tried it - on yourself and on a kid or two. *********** From off the Web - OFFICIAL 2004 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION PROGRAM 6:00pm - Opening flag burning ceremony. 6:30pm - Anti-war rally no. 1. 6:40pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 7:00pm - Tribute to France. 7:10pm - Collect offerings for al-Zawahri defense fund. 7:20pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 7:25pm - Tribute to Spain. 7:45pm - Anti-war rally no. 2. (Moderated by Michael Moore) 8:00pm - John Kerry presents one side of the issues 8:25pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 8:30pm - Terrorist appeasement workshop. 9:00pm - Gay marriage ceremony. 9:30pm - Intermission 10:00pm - Flag burning ceremony no. 2. 10:15pm - Re-enactment of John Kerry's fake medal toss. 10:30pm - Cameo by Dean 'Yeeearrrrrrrg!' 10:40pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 10:50pm - Pledge of allegiance to the UN. 11:00pm - Double gay marriage ceremony. 11:15pm - Maximizing Welfare workshop. 11:20pm - John Kerry presents the other side of the issues 11:30pm - 'Free Saddam' pep rally. 11:59pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast. 12:00am - Convention adjourns. Boston no longer under a state of lockout. *********** Which do you think works better, practicing offense one day and defense the next (obviously post game and pre game days would be both) -OR- do you think it is better to do both everyday although the amount of time would be cut in half?  (something tells me doing it everyday might help pound it in kids heads better, but I am just wondering) Hell, in a game you have to switch from offense to defense and back again in a hearbeat. I think your kids should be able to switch from one to another in practice. (Maybe I am insecure, but I can't imagine a day on which I didn't practice offense.)  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 13, 2004 -  "There aren't enough heroic positions on a football team to have people play because they want to be a hero." Bud Wilkinson NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** John Lambert, who was an outstanding player, student and assistant for me, has for the last six years done an outstanding job as my successor at LaCenter, Washington High, putting together six straight winning seasons, making the state playoffs the last three years, and taking the Wildcats to the state Class 2A semifinals last year. In acknowledgement of all that he's accomplished, he was selected to coach the West team in our county's annual Shrine all-star game, played this paat Saturday, and naturally, John put in the Double-Wing. At the end of the first half, though, only the true Double-Wingers among us weren't questioning that decision, as the East team, loaded with guys from high-powered passing programs, went the conventional spread-it-out rout, and built a 13-0 halftime lead. Meantime, with John's kids seemingly unable to run two plays in a row without a missed assignment, a fumble, a penalty, or a runner missing the hole, it looked as if the Double-Wing had met its match and the rout was on. When 235-pound fullback Lago FaiFai, a D-IAA Eastern Washington signee, returned the second half kickoff 74 yards, the rout truly was on. But it turned out to be a West rout. On the very next play, the first play from scrimmage of the second half, the West scored to make it 13-7. A quick fumble recovery and the West was back in business, and suddenly, the light seemed to go on for John's runners. His wingbacks began hitting the hole on 88 and 99 Super Power. B-Back FaiFai was a human bulldozer on traps and g's. And Washington State signeee Brian Baird, a defensive back/wide receiver who had never played quarterback before, took over the controls and did a masterful job of running the offense. Less than three minutes into the second half, the game was tied at 13-13. Just three minutes later, the score was 20-13, in favor of the Double-Wing, and in three more minutes it was 27-13. On the second play of the fourth quarter, it was 34-14. Thirty-four points in less than 14 minutes of football. Combine that with a tough defense: GAME OVER. Final score: West 34, East 20. It could have been worse. *********** You wonder why track and field has practically dropped off the radar screen of American fan interest, essentially going into hiding for three years and only crawling out from under a rock every Olympic year? If you think that drug accusations are the only reason, you might want to check out the attitudes of the cocky a**holes who infest it. Take Maurice Greene. Please. Greene's either the World's Fastest Human or the World's Second Fastest Human, depending on when you ask the question. He has the times and the performances to prove it, and you would think that that would be enough. But no-o-o-o-o. Not for Maurice Greene (and far too many others like him). He still has to boast. He still has to strut. He still has to show people the tattoo on his arm. The one that spells "G.O.A.T." It stands, he tells anyone dumb enough to ask (and many others who couldn't care less), for "Greatest Of All Time." Wonder if there's room in there for an "L". That would make it "G.L.O.A.T." Very appropriate. Greatest Loser of All Time. ************* We all said it would never happen again. It happened with the Vietnam vets, but it wouldn't happen this time. No, no - not in this America. We'd learned from our mistakes. Never again would we dishonor the young people who fought for us, or allow anyone else to do so. But I'll be damned if it hasn't started all over again, and here we all stand with our fingers up our butts, allowing weasels to insult our Iraq War vets. Bainbridge Island, Washington is a rich, liberal yuppie paradise, a half-hour's ride by ferry from the bustle of downtown Seattle, where most of its residents earn their white-collar livings. Isolated from the world's cares themselves, they demonstrate their concern for others less fortunate by voting Democratic. Very Democratic. Baghdad Jim McDermott represents an adjoining congressional district. Kerry For President signs festoon the island. In the true spirit of liberalism, Bainbridge Islanders are very, very tolerant of most anything. Well, almost anything. Naturally, they hate the Boy Scouts. And George W. Bush. Sometimes, they get so frustrated with him that they simply can't contain their rage, but without him around, they have to kick the dog - or, as in this case, the nearest thing they see that seems to represent the Bush administration. Even if that nearest thing is an American soldier. In a Fourth of July parade.. Wounded in an ambush in Iraq, Jason Gilson, a 23-year-old veteran, was marching in Bainbridge Island's Grand Old Fourth of July celebration, wearing his medals (unlike John F. Kerry, he hadn't yet pretended to throw his away) and carrying a sign reading, "Veterans for Bush." According to Jason's mother, he was marching along behind a group of Republican women calling themselves Women in Red, White and Blue when the parade announcer called out to him. "And what exactly are you a veteran of?" she asked caustically. Hoo, boy - that's when the crowd let loose with their insults - a chorus of boos, intermixed with cries of "baby killer!" and "Murderer!" Brave, brave Bainbridge Islanders. Born warriors. Guys, we can't stand by and let this happen again. To the great shame of America, tens of thousands of young Vietnam vets hid their proud service from puiblic view because, thanks to the loud protests of the unwashed few, they truly thought that their efforts weren't appreciated. There is something you can do. You can punch the next person who says anything disrespectful of our veterans. Right in the nose. Wait - some of the loudest protestors are women. Hmmm. First Amendment rights? Don't they have the right to speak out? Why, of course they do. What they don't have is a constitutional right not to be punched in the snout if what they say pisses somebody off. It will do them a world of good to know what a real punch feels like. Having grown up in a soft culture that taught them they could say anything they wanted without fear of any consequences, it will be a valuable life's lesson for them to learn that it doesn't work that way around some of us. (Now, who was it that said violence never solved anything?) Maybe you don't have any of these traitors where you live, but just to be sure - try bringing them out of hiding, try luring them in, by acting like a patriot yourself. See if you can get trick them into disrespecting you. You can do this by enrolling your team in the Black Lion Award program. Teach your kids that it IS noble to serve one's country. It IS noble to lay it on the line for your buddies. Teach them that those a**holes on Bainbridge Island are cut from the same cloth as the cowardly jerks who walk the halls of your schools on Monday after you've lost, the ones who snicker at the football team (out of earshot, of course) and call them losers. Back in our Revolutionary times, Thomas Paine had a name for them: "Summer soldiers and sunshine patriots." They're with you when things are good. They support you and want to be a part of you. But try to find them when times are tough. Enroll your team in the Black Lion Award program *********** Coach, I'm watching my TriNations (rugby series between Australia-New Zealand-South Africa) highlight video - what's with players kicking the ball downfield? Can possesing players 'punt' at any time, to avoid giving the opposition possesion near the goal? Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts In a nutshell... Anybody on a rugby team can punt at any time - it is seen as a legitimate means of advancing the ball (or halting an opponents' advance). And once he has kicked the ball, the kicker can run downfield and recover it, as can anyone who is "onside" - anyone who was behind him when he kicked it, or anyone he passes on his way to the ball. *********** I am so damned angry at law enforcement up here. There were so many calls to the local 911 about setting off firecrackers after curfew and firing off M-80s that the Vancouver Keystone Cops simply didn't even bother responding. How in the hell are they going to be able to deal with Osama? *********** Coach, Wanted to let you know that the New York football All-stars beat New Jersey 23 - 6 on Saturday. The game was never really close. The New York team was better prepared and came to play. The defense scored twice in the first half, we opened the second half with some double -wing and moved the ball down for a field goal. Later in the game, we scored to make it 23-0, Jersey scored with less than a minute to go. Jersey may be the "hotbed" of talent, but New York should be recognized for its great players and coaches as well. Three coaches on the New York staff are Double-wingers, including myself - Go Double Wing!!! Thanks, Bob Koonz - NY Govenor's Bowl & Marlboro High School Staffs *********** Don't know whether any of you read the article about Ken Griffey, Jr. in Sports Illustrated a couple of weeks ago. I think the guy's a jerk, and I normally wouldn't read an article about him if my option were Feminist Review, but I happened to be thumbing through the issue and I came upon this: In a youth football game last summer, Trey (his son), a running back, was targheted by shouting fans and coaches of the opposing team. "They know who his daddy is," Griffey says, "and they kept yelling, 'Hit him, hit number 3.'" After one play, Trey and an opponent began chirping at each other, and on the ensuing snap Trey, the lead blocker, ran through the hole and delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit. "Trey just crushed this kid," Griffey says. "The kid starts crying, and they had to take him off the field. I started laughing. After Trey came off the field, I gavce him a high five and told him, 'That was nice.'" Coupla questions: (1) How sick are those fans and coaches? (2) How sick is that father? *********** Coach Wyatt - I don't know where to start !! That was a Great News this week , I only wish you got The Howie Carr show on WRKO Boston from 3-7, back in Washington on streaming audio, he exposes all these phony-ass liberals for what they are and You would be laughing like a bastard !! He is 110% correct, the week of the DNC all of greater Boston will be on lock-down, Im not even going to get to go past Medford (Medffa as the locals say it) or Malden so these A-hole liberals can have their Teddy boy love fest. I am going to Vomit I just hope the good salt of the earth people that live in the Midwest and South get to see What a Bunch of liberal A-holes we elect from the State of Mass and they get scared to death !!! Nate Sassaman was one of my heroes When I was only 13 and still is one of My all-time Heroes. I can still clearly remember my father taken me in for the B.C. Vs. Army game of 84'. It was how Alumni stadium use to be set up, Conte forum was not built yet, and the old Mchugh forum was still up ( the former Hockey and athletic Arena). the locker Rooms for both teams use to be in Mchugh and When we arrived early , Jim Young and the Army coaching staff were about lead Army on the Field for warm-ups and there was old # 11 Nate the "escape" Sassaman right up in front coming out of Mchugh , I was in awe of the man (and Jim Young ) even back then and from then on , I was hooked totally on Football, and Sassaman played a gutsy game that day - John Muckian Lynn,Mass *********** I have had other coaches in our organization tell me that many teams they face put 2 linemen head up on the guards.  Then they take 2 of there better athletes and blitz them through the A gap.  They said that by the time the Quarterback hands it off one of them is at the exchange.  I have coached high school football, but this is my first year coaching youth football.  Any suggestions on how to combat this tactic? Block down. You will kill them. Do the math - if they can spare 4 guys between the two guards, that leaves only 3-1/2 guys to either side. That tactic sounds very good and all that, but see how it looks when you don't take any splits. *********** Mr. Wyatt, Hello, my name is Maura Johnson. I am the granddaughter of Johnny Bright (my mother is Deanie Bright-Johnson, his first daughter). I would personally like to thank you for the beautiful and inspiring story that you wrote about my grandfather. Although I have never had the chance to meet him (he died Dec. 14 1983 and I was born Feb 25, 1984), I would like to thank people like you who encourage his legacy to live on. My grandfather accomplished so many "impossible" feats throughout his short life. I know that he has been an inspiration to me, and I hope that he has been an inspiration to others. All that I have been left with are personal letters from him to my grandmother and mother, stories, and countless newspaper articles (we have sooo many scrapbooks about him at home). I know that he is in a better place now, and one day, I will be able to meet him. Once again, I would like to thank you for your enlightening article about my grandfather, Johnny Bright. Sincerely, Maura Johnson, Fort Wayne, Indiana Thank you for taking the time to write. I'm glad that you came across my article. I was inspired to write it after a visit to Edmonton. I remembered him as the player who was the victim of the ugly incident that made national headlines, but other than reading occasionally about his feats in the CFL, and knowing that he'd played for the Eskimos, I had lost track of him. Somehow, while I was in Edmonton, your grandfather's name came up, and several of the men there - football coaches and teachers - remembered him fondly and spoke highly of him. A number of them had worked and taught with him. I don't remember any of them talking about his foootball prowess. That was well-documented, anyhow. Instead, they talked about the man, the teacher, the leader. They told stories about his love of cooking. They spoke of him with genuine love and admiration. You are blessed to have descended from such a noble man. (Johnny Bright) *********** "Had a nice conversation with Mike Benton at Colfax Ridgeview (Illinois) the other day. He told me that almost all the time his end will block the de because they normally pinch down. Im speaking, of course about 88/99. I tried to convey this to my ends but they pointed out that if the de is 9 they were told to let them go. I'm new to this system. Do you let him go and let B kick him out or should the end and wing double team him? Please bear with me." NAME WITHHELD Mike Benton gave you good advice! Your players have to be taught the concept that what we are concerned about is what happens after the ball is snapped! That end may line up in a "9" before the ball is snapped, but if you know he is going to become a "6" the instant the ball is snapped, then that is how you treat him. Similarly, if he is lining up in a "6" and looping outside, you would treat him as a "9" - your TE would "read up" and your wingback would avoid him and wall off the LBer. Again - we can make predictions before the snap, based on where a defender lines up, but we still have to be prepared to make "after-snap" adjustments. (another reason why it is advantageous to line up back off the ball). *********** I really like reading the quotes you pick for your news as well, especially the ones from football coaches.  Some time back you had one that was something like "Teams with solid fundamentals do not need trick plays" but I forget the precise words or who said it.  I am still searching for it in your archives but have not come across it yet.  I want to send it to one of my new assistants who keeps bugging me about trick plays. NAME WITHHELD I suspect it might be this one, which I've had at the top of my Home Page for years: "There are no miracle coaches, and no coach has any great secrets or any unsolvable plays that make him successful. The successful coaches are those who know how to handle men, who pay great attention to a thorough teaching of the rudiments of the game, who have a comparatively few basic plays which they can teach their teams to execute flawlessly, and who have good material to work with." Glenn S. "Pop" Warner, "Football for Coaches and Players" 1927 *********** Dr. Coach Wyatt, This is Herminio Gonzalez, Jr. I am very impressed with your DOUBLE WING OFFENSE as I explored your homepage at http://www.coachwyatt.com/. I have a LOA of Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida for a year. I am pursuing my master degree in Deaf Education in Texas. When graduating it, I will return to Florida in August, 2005. However, I am still studying DOUBLE WING every day. As I was a head coach for FSDB, I loved using four Double Wing Plays with counter, trap, sweep, and pitch that were very good and simple for deaf football players. I learned from Warner Christian Academic in Daytona Beach who had 9 won 1 lost two years ago. Also, I admired Trinity Chiristian Academic in Jacksonville, Fl who won two times Class A state champions in row of 2002 and 2003. They used heavily Double WING with unbalance. I would like to talk with you more about your principles and philosophy to win games. Thank You, Herminio Gonzalez, Beaumont, Texas *********** I went to the Park Lunch Bar in Newburyport tonight - as recommended on your site by John Muckian. What a treat. I sat next to a fifty-something medical device salesman (Siemens) who used to work in computer memory sales. He went to Wentworth IT, a Boston outfit we play quite often. To my other side was an Airborne Freight pickup man and a guy who played North Shore football with the White brothers - that's Brian White, Wisconsin's offensive coordinator. Staunchly Republican at the bar - Medical Man called both Clinton and Kerry a "piece of sh--" more than once. No one objected. Not even the Union package carrier. They didn't seem to buy KerryEdwards' argument that men with three houses are in the working man's America. This restaurant is Real America, where the bartender knows the names, and the pulse of the city beats - and politicians don't stop in but for a photo op. And the pennants - oh, the pennants! There was a felt from every school imaginable. I think you would have loved it. I got a few pictures, I'll post them soon. Signed photos of Lou Holtz, Gordie Howe, and one wall of Dimaggio, Agganis and Ted Williams. A fresh one for the Delaware National Champions. They even had a pennant for my alma mater. The most interesting one was framed - "Boston Red Socks." You read that right. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts (I will catch that place before I die. Meantime, you want pennants? Plus the world's greatest hamburger? Then you want Stanich's, 4915 NE Fremont, in Northeast Portland (Oregon). HW) *********** Coach Wyatt: Your "News" section for July 9 was especially terrific. The ex-sportswriter in me was stirred on two fronts, first by Howie Carr's hilarious commentary on the Kerry/Edwards "TV Land" ticket, but particularly, and emotionally, by the wonderful reprinted feature on Nate Sassaman by Oregonian writer Norm Maves Jr. I was left in tears. I plan to contact the Portland Christian Center and request a copy of the videotape or audiotape of Nate's address to the congregation. I read about men like him and I sigh when I think about all the liberals who would destroy all the good for which genuine heroes like Nate sacrifice. God has His stamp on men like Nate. They are His forces in this world. They make all the difference. I'm sure it was Freudian on your part, but to juxtapose the story of a man of authenticity like Nate directly after the account of the sadly misguided Kerry was too funny. Actually, it's not. I was tempted to chalk it up to a great illustration of old America (Nate) vs. new America (Kerry), but then I realized that Nate, while he is a throwback, is nevertheless TODAY's American warrior. And isn't that heartening--regardless of who's in charge in Washington? Isn't that the way it's always been--Joe Common fashioning the real America and its victories while some blowhard, silver-spoon bureaucrat either gets in the way or gets all the glory? Nate is the real hero. Thank the Lord that His common grace gives us such folk. And let me say this: I was blown away by the craftsmanship of Norm Maves. I was a sportswriter for a long time and covered the Atlanta Braves for four years before entering the ministry and becoming a high school football coach, but I never knew Maves. I mean, I realize he was on the other side of the country, but sportswriters generally know who the good ones are. Man, he's good. Real good. I had absolutely no intention of reading a piece that long, but he hooked me immediately. And he kept me. Nothing flashy--just great storytelling. He's figured out something a lot of journalists never do: He gets out of the way. It's refreshing when a writer knows that the story is not about programs or ideas or approaches or philosophies (and it's certainly not about the writer himself) but it's about people. People want to read about people. You know what? It strikes me that men like Norm Maves are heroes of sorts, too. They use their unique positions to pass along meaningful tales of meaningful people. They make a difference too. After all, he could be writing about Brad Pitt's newest release, with all of its momentous gravity. And it strikes me that the only reason men like Norm Maves get to do what they do in complete freedom here at home is because half a world away men like Nate Sassaman go through the hell of war, and they stop counting when the number of attacks surpasses 19 ... but they don't stop going. God bless, Tim Luke, Eagle's Landing Christian Academy, McDonough, Georgia    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 9, 2004 -  "They're not your rival if they kick your ass every year. They can't be your rival until you beat them." Bob Ladouceur, head coach, De La Salle HS, Concord, California NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** Hey Coach! I got it! I'm the new Athletic Director, and Head Football Coach at Ashley High School. I hope I do you proud this fall, I am committed to giving these student athletes everything I can to help them become better people, better citizens, and better adults. I want to thank you for all your help, and will keep you posted with my results. Any advise you want to give me would be greatly appreciated. I would like to send you a check for another copy of the double wing tape. Mine is worn out from over use. Arnie Vande Mark, Standish, Michigan (This is very exciting - Arnie Vande Mark assisted me for two years at LaCenter, Washington, and his son, Arnie, Jr. played for me there, before business prompted a family move back to Arnie's native Michigan. I am very happy for Arnie. Those kids at Ashley HS are going to be getting a great coach. HW) *********** From a coach in the South, headed into his second year in a new job: Coach, Just wanted to let you know how things are going. We are finishing cleaning out our staff and it is like weights being lifted off my chest. I hired a new o-line coach and showed him troubleshooting the d-wing. I haven't watched in a while and had for forgotten what a good tape that is. That tape is a wonderful tool, thanks again for all your help and materials. I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Good luck this year. NAME WITHHELD *********** The colleges would scream bloody murder if the NFL started playing Saturday games in the early fall, yet slowly but surely, those same colleges who demand protection from the pros are appropriating Friday nights - our Friday nights, the nights that high schools depend on to generate gate revenue - as their own. Remember when they first started pulling this crap a few years ago? Remember all the college coaches - the AFCA itself, even - coming out and sanctimoniously announcing that they wouldn't be a party to a practice that would hurt high school football? Oh, no - we won't do this to our little friends in the high schools. Well, they did. The camel got his nose in the tent - one by one, colleges succombed to the lure of ESPN money - and now the rest of him is forcing its way in. fleas and all. Oregon State is the latest whore, obtaining permission from Boise State to move their game to Friday, September 10, so that the game can be televised. Thanks, Beavers. Nice of you to offer to share that revenue with all the high schools in Oregon and Southwest Washington that'll be playing home games that night. Yes, forced to pay for scholarships and coaches and travel expenses for other sports that don't bring in a nickel, colleges are under tremendous pressure to generate as much revenue as they can from football, the goose that lays the golden eggs. And their thinking is so short-term that they are blind to the fact that there are no playgrounds in football. There is only one source of talent for them - high schools. If they kill off high school football they can't do like the NBA and depend on the playgrounds, the AAU and Europe to keep them supplied with talent. If they think they are facing enormous costs now, let's see them try to fund feeder leagues all over the US. *********** Coach Wyatt: This is ----------- Head football coach at -----------. Just a couple of things. The first thing is ( if you use this in your website please don't use my name or that I am from --------- , I fear payback from the officials in --------- ) I was recently at an out of state football camp which was also attended by a kid from a different team from our same league whose father happens to be a football official. Well we start to visit about who will be good in the league etc. and he asks me if I teach my kids to hold. I said, "NO" and he replies with well you should because we a instructed not to call it unless it goes outside the frame or is very blatant. I told him that we do fine with out holding and he reiterates that I really need to if I want to stay competitive. I find that very interesting and, of course, discouraging. Maybe what we need to do is have coaches take a pledge not to teach holding, and then we'll give each of their players patches to wear, saying, "NO HOLDING". HW *********** Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Maryland will be hosting a Double Wing Team camp for all current youth and rec. teams running the Double Wing. The camp will take place at Archbishop Curley from July 19 - 22. The cost is $55.00 per player. If interested, contact Head Coach Sean Murphy at (410) 485 -5000 ext. 293. Coach Murphy writes: Coach, I also wanted to update you on one of our running backs. Glenn Williams, our current A- back, recently committed to Duke University to play football for the 2005 season. He is only one of three early commits in the Baltimore/Metro area. He was one of the young men who assisted you when you held your clinic at Curley three years ago. Glenn is an outstanding young man. He maintains a 3.95 grade point average, scored 1200 on the SAT and is ranked 8th in his class. We are very proud of him and glad to see he chose an outstanding academic university like Duke. Hope all is well with you and your family. (Go Devils! HW) *********** Coach Wyatt: After seeing your notes about the John Irving novel (A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR), I couldn't help but chiming in again (it's my e-mail about this difference between American soccer and soccer in the rest of the world that is posted on a link within your site). As an English teacher, football coach, track coach, fan of John Irving, and fan of amateur wrestling, I love Irving's work, and I remember laughing at that particular line when I read it. Irving is a very staunch supporter of sports, especially wrestling, serving as one of the most vocal opponents of TITLE IX's effects upon collegiate wrestling. From reading Irving, I get the very strong impression that Irving is a blood-and-guts kind of guy. If he were a football guy, he would be a WING T, DOUBLE WING, or VEER guy, guaranteed. Dan Polcyn -- Gallipolis OHIO (Or maybe a wishbone or Power-I guy. As a wrestler, he knows that there are no shortcuts. I understand that, although he is about my age, he still wrestles - for "fun." HW) *********** On Saturday night, the New Jersey high school all-stars play the New York high school all-stars at Army's Michie Stadium in the ninth annual Governor's Bowl. New Jersey. Jersey leads the series, 7-1. (I have mentioned before that New Jersey is one of the top talent-producing states, and most of it is exported - Jersey's only Division IA football school is Rutgers. HW) *********** Through page 300 of When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss has done a great job of sweeping me up in the wave of 'modernity' that ushered in pro football's heyday. The names from those days - Lombardi, Landry, Unitas, Marchetti, Bednarik, Starr, Gifford - what an allstar cast. I feel a special affection for the Colts, seemingly the crown jewel of the old NFL. I think it's partly because of John U, partly Gino Marchetti, partly the cowardly Irsays, and partly because ESPN and SI will never shut up about Namath and the Jets and Super Bowl III, while barely mentioning that the best player in pro football was injured. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Seattle Native) I believe that the Colts were the class of the NFL. And the players were like a fraternity, in that they policed their membership, somehow finding ways to let management know that certain guys did not measure up to their high standards. Imagine that now, in these super-tolerant, "Who are we to judge?" days! *********** Coach: I just viewed you tackling tape for the first time this morning. I like it a lot. We (100lb Pop Warner team) start practice on August 2nd. Our first game is potentially on the 28th. I was planning on putting in the defense concept maybe in the third week of practice after I install the offense. My question is this...how long is it going to take to teach tackling? I am a recent head coach (asst. for two yrs) and I want to have all my ducks in a row. I am a preparation fanatic and I want to make sure everything is as smooth as possible. Your technique is right up my alley (teaching wise). Will I be able to get them to full speed tackling by the time the third week rolls around? I am dealing with 8-11yr olds. I don't think they're dumb or anything..just kids. If you approach it systematically and patiently, and are alert to mistakes and correct them immediately so that kids know that you are serious, I think that that many if not all of your kids could be ready by the third week. To put things in teaching terms, the main thing, I think, is to make sure that you always distinguish between teaching and testing, and know which it is that you are doing. You wouldn't hand a kid a semester final before teaching him the semester's work, yet that's what I see being done in way too many drills. Too many tackling drills I see are conducted to test something that hasn't been taught. Remember - be patient, be positive, be persistent. *********** Hugh, just finished your Friday's news and what you said about soccer to the young man in England about the differences between US Soccer and every where else. Uh Uh Ditto!!!!! I could not have said it better. Just like I tell kids in class when they try to defend soccer as tough/ I tell them girls play soccer but not football /enough said!! I also like Joe Gutilla's take on his basic 2 week session before school starts. Double days to me is essential , butwhen I wasa head coach at an inner-city school, kids had no way of coming back/ because of bus schedules/ lack of transportation/ etc! etc!So we went 90 minutes/ 45 minute break/ then another 90 minutes/ it was a very intense 3 hour seession/ and the 1 hour down time was for rest/fluids/ and chalk for the next practice. Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** Familiarity breeds contempt. To say Boston columnist and commentator Howie Carr dislikes fellow Bostonian John Kerry is putting it mildly. Now, with slickster trial lawyer John Edwards added to the mix, Howie is approaching critical mass. Like many Bostonians, he asks why, now that the Democrats know who their nominees will be, it's still going to be necessary in the name of security to place the entire city of Boston under house arrest for four days (now, why would the terrorists target a group that includes some of their best friends?) while they go through the charade of a meaningless convention. Some of Howie Carr's take on the selection of the oh-so-glamorous John Edwards as Mr. Kerry's running mate... The gigolo meets the ambulance chaser... The TV Land ticket... From a chicken in every pot to a lawyer in every ambulance... You know Osama bin Laden's gotta be shaking in his spider hole. If he gets out of line again, Vice President Edwards is going to hit him with the Mother of All Lawsuits.... Q. Why don't sharks ever attack John Edwards? A. Professional courtesy.... Kerry said in Pittsburgh he's deeply concerned about the two Americas. You know, there's the America of Joe Sixpack and then there's the America of rich gigolos and ambulance chasers with their townhouses in Georgetown and their oceanfront mansions, and their $9,000 Serotta bikes and their $35 million Gulfstream V's who can get fire hydrants moved with one phone call and…er, never mind. (Kerry once had a fire hydrant moved from outside his Beacon Hill mansion so he could park his SUV &endash; er, his family's SUV.)... The Kerry-Edwards ticket is going to fight for middle America. And what better way to help the middle classes than by jacking up their income taxes? The gals like Edwards. He's cute, like…Opie. The electorate isn't quite as smart as it used to be, in case you haven't noticed. After the NEA gets through with them, it's hard for your average MTV viewer to connect the dots between Edwards' malpractice lawsuits and their higher health-insurance premiums. *********** In my, uh, "varied" career, I have met many sportswriters, and I've actually liked the vast majority of them. Norm Maves of the Portland Oregonian has to be my favorite, both as a writer and as a person. He was the Oregonian's sports guy on the Washington County beat back in 1976 when, fresh out of the wreckage of the World Football League, I got my first high school coaching job, in tiny Gaston, Oregon. We were on our way to what for Gaston was a surprisingly good season, and Norm came out to do a feature on us. He thought it was hilarious to find a Yalie coaching football in what back then was about as lowly a place as could get in Oregon 11-man football, and the story he wound up writing started out, "From the playing fields of Yale to the onion fields of western Washington County..." We became friends and remained so over the years. From time to time, Norm has been good enough to come talk to my writing classes, but mostly we've stayed in touch through my reading his stuff and responding to it. Norm is more than a one-dimensional sports reporter. He and I share a love - and knowledge of - college fight songs, a subject on which he has written a number of articles. Norm is also the Oregonian's staff military historian and writer, and he's often called on to do features on special military people (too often, these days, obituaries) and special occasions. He is at his absolute best when he is able to combine sports writing and military writing, as he was able to do this past week in writing about a local high school football hero football hero who after a stop as an Army wishbone quarterback emerged in Iraq as Army Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman. I was given persmission to reprint his piece... Commanding presence - From Aloha High and West Point football to Iraq, Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman has always led the way By Norm Maves, Jr. - The Oregonian - www.oregonlive.com Nate Sassaman was in charge. Again. He didn't just stand before the congregation at the Portland Christian Center on Sunday, he dominated the stage. He spoke and strode with a lapel microphone clipped to the collar of his green Army Class A uniform -- the shoulders of which bore the silver oak leaves of a lieutenant colonel. "For those of you who don't know me," he said, "I'm something of a passionate person. So we'll probably laugh a little bit, we may cry, but we're definitely going to think and we're definitely going to thank the Lord . . ." Same old Nate Sassaman. He's 41 now, but the focus has been thrust on him again. Once more, he's expected to deliver. Always the leader. Always the quarterback. "I've always believed," Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman said last week, "what Douglas MacArthur said, that 'Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds, that upon other fields on other days will bear the fruits of victory.' "And I've always said that I learned more about leadership and being in charge up there at Michie Stadium than anything I did in the classroom." In 1984, Sassaman quarterbacked Army's new wishbone offense, ran for 1,002 yards and swept the Cadets to their first bowl game, a 10-6 victory over Michigan State in the Cherry Bowl. He learned to play at Aloha (Oregon) High School, which, with Sassaman running a veer offense, was among the smallest of the state's elite teams. The Warriors have not been nearly as good since his last year in the fall of 1980. But nothing Sassaman has done -- neither the football nor 18 years as an infantry commander -- prepared him for the life he led between June 1, 2003, and March 26, 2004. Those were the dates of Sassaman's command of First Battalion, Eighth Infantry in Balad, 40 miles north of Baghdad, and Samarra in the deadly Sunni Triangle of Iraq. Sassaman had to run the city of Balad as the de facto mayor of the town. He led the 806-soldier battalion on urban sweeps, digging insurgents out of their hiding places to stabilize the town. He earned the Bronze Star when he jumped out of his HMMV during an ambush on Highway 1 between Balad and Samarra to tend to a private who had been shot in the neck in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle ahead of him. He had to deal with the wounding of 36 First Battalion soldiers. And the two deaths, both of which, he said, always will stay with him. He lost Staff Sgt. Dale Panchot to an RPG on Nov. 17, 2003. On Jan. 2, he lost Capt. Eric Poliwada -- a fellow West Point man, his engineering company commander and one of his best friends -- to a mortar hit. "Eric was such a special guy," Sassaman said, still struggling to talk about Poliwada. "The mission is to rebuild Iraq, but the whole month of January I didn't focus much on rebuilding Iraq. "And even after we were able to hunt down his killers, there isn't much satisfaction in it." It was all so new to him. "Training can only take you so far," Sassaman said. "Then you have to survive your first mission. I'm 30 seconds into my first action and I'm thinking, 'You've gotta be kidding me. Somebody's actually trying to kill me.' " Sassaman adjusted to the attacks on himself -- he stopped counting, he told the congregation, at 19 -- but not to the wounds inflicted on his men. "There is no crucible like combat," Sassaman said. "As a commander, the day-to-day stress is unbelievable. Anytime you're out there, they can drop a mortar round on you anytime. That just adds to the stress." Former Aloha coach Mike Lopez said he knew, back in the late 1970s, that he had an exceptional quarterback on his team. But he never pictured Nate Sassaman, who had two brothers go through Aloha, in combat. "There is so much compassion in that family," Lopez said. "It never occurred to me that Nate could be a combat commander. But now that I think about it, on Friday nights, that's what he was. "We had some great athletes then. In the huddle, Nate didn't always know if they were listening to him, but they were." Sassaman's strong suit was academic. He got just one B in three years of high school, in band. Both Air Force and Army came after him. After struggling for two years in a passing offense at West Point, Sassaman saw Jim Young hired as coach in 1983. Sassaman moved to the defensive backfield, and Army went 2-9 running the I-formation. Then Young junked the offense, switched to the wishbone and threw the quarterback position open in the spring of 1984. Sassaman seized the position as if he had invented it. He had run the option so well at Aloha that its complicated reads were instinctual. "We had no idea who our quarterback would be," said Young, now retired in Tucson, Ariz. "Nate was a great leader who was absolutely bubbling over in confidence in his own ability to lead the team." Sassaman ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns against Navy; Army won 28-11 -- its first win after five losses and a tie. When Michigan State went down, Army finished 8-3-1. But graduation was approaching, and Sassaman said: "My senior year, I had to start thinking about this Army thing. Somebody asked me what I wanted to do. I said, 'Infantry. What else would I want to do? What kind of a question is that?' " It was not all combat and sorrow for the 1-8 in Iraq. Sassaman got to hold Iraqi children and learn their culture. He agitated up the chain of command for down time for his troops. He commandeered a 54-inch television set, and on Saturdays everybody watched American college football. "Everybody thinks this Nintendo generation doesn't have what it takes," he said. "But I saw remarkable feats of heroics every day. It's a corporal's war, and those kids in there are the greatest." As the putative boss of Balad, he had to attend town meetings and make decisions on all sorts of non-Army matters: utilities, the chief of police, even how to compensate a jilted bridegroom." "The sheiks and imams would complain when I made decisions they didn't like," Sassaman said. "I told them, 'Next time you guys let a tyrant run the country, don't wait for a 41-year-old Judeo-Christian white guy to make your decisions for you. "I got a master's in public administration at the University of Washington. I always wanted to be a city manager after I got out. I don't want to be a city manager anymore." But he is getting out. Next year will be his 20th in the Army, and barring a stop loss from the Pentagon, it will be his last. "It was great that we handed the government back to the Iraqis," Sassaman said. "We have done so much over there. It's our gift to them. Now it's time for them to make their own future." Sassaman's own future is back home with the former Marilyn Trygg, son Nathan, 11, and daughter Nicole, 9. At the moment, the family lives in Colorado Springs while Nate works at Fort Carson. "I need to spend some time with my wife and children," he said. "There's nothing like a year in combat to make you see your priorities. I'm still only 41, so I have years ahead of me. It's time. "Somewhere deep down in my heart, I'd love to teach and coach." Sassaman delivered to the congregation at the Portland Christian Center as expected. He acknowledged Marilyn's help in running the unit's family services program and helping the Panchot and Poliwada families through the terrible times. His speech on "The Christian Warrior Ethos" was a seamless account of how he meshes his faith with the trials of combat. Sassaman gave the congregation a flag that flew over his unit during the first hour of July 4, 2003. He brought Spec. Tyler Santoro out of the audience ("When you're in charge, you can order people to church," Sassaman said) and told about how the 23-year-old soldier volunteered to stay with the unit rather than come home back in August. His voice cracked as he told the story. He delivered the tears. People cried and laughed and prayed. But most of all they cheered. Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman's only failure Sunday was when he couldn't stop a standing ovation. Reprinted by permission - normmaves@news.oregonian.com *********** Coach, I know I am wearing you out with emails, but I received your videos yesterday. I only have one problem, I didn't get any sleep last night because I was up half the night watching them, and spent the rest of the night running the plays over and over in my head. Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I got up at 5:00 A.M and watched two more of them. I called our head coach last night (he and I are also the Youth Football League president and vice president), and we made the decision to begin teaching the entire system starting out Junior League program all the way through Senior League to varsity. In my wildest dreams I never would have imagined that you have actually developed an entire system, from stance and blocking technique, all culminating with your offensive scheme. ( I am sure you know it, but in the films your players consistantly knock defenders off their feet with the "Ice Pick"). I called one of our former coaches over last night because he was the only one I could find to share the experience with. We both sat amazed for an hour watching your game tapes. I found it humorous that this man, who played his high school ball 35 years ago, commented over and over that this "old fashioned" offense was vey similar to the one he ran as a teen. He said his team made a living of "The Wedge". I have one more crazy story. I was in the post office yesterday opening your videos and talking to a friend about the system. A tourist off a cruise ship came up to me and said "you are going to love this offense, the defense nevers sees the ball until it is too late". I asked him where he had seen the offense. He went on to explain that he was a coach in San Diego. I told him that we play a San Diego team every year, when I told him which team, he said they were in his conference. To make a long story short, his team handed the team that we play every year their only loss last year. This team beat us 56-0. His team beat them 71-6 in the championship game and they did it by running the Double Wing Offense. I don't necessarily believe in such things, but what an omen, or at the very least a pretty scary coincidence. One other comment. I greatly appreciated your comments in the "Practice Without Pads" video concerning part time youth coaches. In Ketchikan we are all part time coaches, and watching the video from this perspective was a great help and I cannot wait to share it with all our coaches. Richard Cropp, Ketchikan, Alaska    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 6, 2004 -  "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." Calvin Coolidge NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** Shaun Livingston nearly went down in sports history as the man who destroyed college basketball. No, he didn't mean to. He's just a kid. But when he jumped to the NBA last week right out of high school after having first committing to Duke, he became the first recruit Mike Krzyzewski ever lost before even playing a game at Duke. Krzyzewski said that while Duke's loss was big, college basketball was the bigger loser. That's because it's losing its identity among prep players, Krzyzewski told Bryan Strickland of the Durham Herald-Sun. "We, whether it be a high school coach or college coach, are restricted in our access to these youngsters," he said. "As a result of that, you eventually start losing your brand with the people who eventually have to play for you," Krzyzewski said. "Our brand is so strong that people say we can never lose it. But yeah, you can." No longer do high school kids think in terms of first playing in college before playing in the pros, Krzyzewski says, and he believes a major part of the problem is the lack of access college coaches have - and the unlimited access others have - to players. He noted that representatives of NBA clubs are free to contact high school and college players and their parents - and their AAU coaches - at any time, while college coaches are restricted not only in their access to high school kids, but even to their own players in the off season. "Our kids were in summer school, but we could never work with them," Krzyzewski said. "Is that good or bad? Probably it's bad because they want to work with somebody. So, if they want to work with somebody, they go and work with somebody who isn't under that academic institution." In an attempt to combat the bypassing of colleges, a committee of college coaches will meet in Indianapolis on July to discuss possible changes in recruiting and "access" - to high school kids and to their own players. EXPECT DEMANDS FOR TWO THINGS: (1) MORE CONTACT WITH HS KIDS (AND THEREFORE, MORE AAU TOURNAMENTS AND NIKE CAMPS AND SUMMER LEAGUES); (2) A LONGER SEASON AND MORE OFF-SEASON CONTACT WITH THEIR OWN TEAMS Cool. Just what we need. MORE contact with high school kids. Meaning MORE travel teams, sponsored by shoe companies. MORE Nike and Adidas flesh markets, er, camps. MORE kids giving their AAU teams priority over their high school teams. The REAL recruiting, which is mostly by watching kids in out-of-season competition, will pick up. That means, if you've connected the dots, that the real loser is down at the bottom of the food chain - high school basketball. They are willing to kill our game in order to save their game. Sh-- rolls downhill. The hypocrisy of college basketball coaches astounds me. They whine and cry about the pros destroying their game, and yet their solution is MORE access to high school players, which means - since college coaches can't get out during their season to look at high school teams - more summer (and spring and fall) AAU basketball. If I may paraphrase Coach K, you might say high school basketball is in danger of "losing its identity." *********** Do you think any of the teams in your area would like to send a JV (or small high school varsity) squad up here this season to play a game? We can pay perhaps half of the expenses for airfare, and we provide free room and board in our players homes. We will only have about 20 players ourselves, so they would only need to travel a small squad. We have August 20th and September 17th open on our schedule. If you know of any teams that may be interested let me know. Rich Cropp, Ketchikan, Alaska (Contact me of you are in the range of Alaska Airlines *********** Hello Coach. Great NEWS once again. I have enjoyed the soccer discussion. My 5, almost 6, year old son is playing for the first time. It has been quite interesting to say the least. The American soccer stereotype is here in Green Bay as well, but there are exceptions. I watch the games trying to pick out the future football players. I may be wrong, but it's not too difficult to pick them out. They are the ones who are playing aggressive. They don't play like typical soccer players, they are just getting the job done. I want to track the ones I'm picking out as my son moves along to see if my guesses are correct. As for my Jonah, I am proud to say he is among the more aggressive kids although being younger, smaller and "inexperienced" (at this age, imagine that? There's kids in the 6-7 yr old who are in their 3rd and 4th season). He goes all out and is always cheering for his teammates. The best moment was after the ball went out of bounds an opposing player went to pick it up and Jonah dove on it thinking it was his team's ball. All the soccer moms were like "Ahh, how cute". I piped in and said Jonah will not let it go. Next thing you know Jonah and this bigger boy are wrestling for the "fumble". My wife and I smiled at each other watching this because we know he plays soccer like it is football. Of course the coaches and referees didn't step in right away so it went on much to my enjoyment. Cheers to the football training wheels program! Adam Wesoloski, Pulaski, Wisconsin *********** Hi Coach, Hadn't checked out your site in a while, so was doing some catching up tonight and was caught by the e-mail from the coach who found the football books in the antique store. What I'm wondering about is your comment that "What Evashevski did was give it nationwide credibility by taking the offense as is from Nelson and achieving a Rose Bowl victory for Iowa". I presume that the reliable authority for Dave Nelson's complete authorship for writing the book is Mike Lude, but given that Evy installed the offense at Iowa in 1956, winning the 1957 Rose Bowl over Oregon presumably prior to the book's publication in 1957, might have Evy "refined" the Wing-T offense, as he is sometimes given credit for? Just wondering about that, enjoy your website and your views on football and coaching. Jeff Hansen, Fort Myers, Florida (native Hawkeye) I have it on good authority from Mike Lude and from Delaware players from that time that Forest Evashevski had next to nothing to do with the book - that Dave Nelson pretty much wrote it all. I think that Mike Lude's involvement in the invention of the offense gives him credence, and Delaware players from the 1950s will testify to having demonstrated techniques to Evashevski when he came to Delaware to learn the offense. Evashevski gave the offense exposure that a small school such as Delaware never could have given it. In the first place, Evy was far better known than Nelson, going all the way back to their days as Michigan teammates. And the Rose Bowl back then was the biggest football event of the year. There was no way that Delaware could have ever brought the attention to the Wing-T that Iowa's Rose Bowl win did. This in no way disparages Forest Evashevski, whose achievements at Iowa are enormous. He had the courage and foresight to take a "small college" offense and run it in the Big Ten. But I am willing to stand with those who say that all his "co-authorship" of the book entailed was lending his name to it. It is not the first time such a thing has happened in football - Frank Leahy (Notre Dame) appropriated Tom Nugent's (VMI) I-formation and "typewriter" huddle and didn't exactly decline to take credit for the innovations. Anyhow, glad you enjoy the site. Thanks for writing. HW *********** One of my very favorite authors is John Irving, whose works include Cider House Rules, A Son of the Circus, Hotel New Hampshire, The World According to Garp,and A Prayer for Owen Meany. First and foremost, he is a great story teller. He has a superb appreciation of human foibles, and a sly sense of humor: with a straight face, he is able to put his characters into some of the the most improbable - if not downright absurd - situations. His plots can take some of the damnedest twists, and he can go so far off on a tangent and get you so absorbed in what's happening at the moment that you forget something that went on earlier, and then - wham - he always manages to put all the pieces together, and frequently in unexpected ways. And, of course, he understands the English language and how to make best use of it in telling his story. I just finished reading "A Widow for One Year," a fairly typical Irving work. In one scene, Eddie and Hannah, two old friends of the novel's main character, Ruth, are driving to Vermont to visit her and her new lover, Harry, a Dutchman, and her young son, Graham. Along the way, Eddie tries to make small talk with Hannah. "I understand that Harry has taught Graham how to kick a soccer ball," Eddie offered in faint praise. "American kids should learn to throw balls," Hannah replied. "It's those f--king Europeans who like to kick them." *********** Hugh, I hope all is well/ I started to read your news today and I got to the point where you offeed your advice to the new coach and I agree with all 8 steps. Absolutely number 1 is loyalty/ no ifs and or buts/ I also agee very strongly with the last one, outwork the head coach. I have been a head coach twice and believe me not 1 assistant tried to do that. As an assistant myself now the last 6 years/ I have made it a motto of mine to out work the head coach and all other assistants/ not in a bragging way, but just by doing. When I was with John Gough it made him feel as I was someone he could count on and trust/ and now Scott Criner feels the same way, and of course this is not just in-season , but in the entire off-season. Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** Hey Coach, Do you listen to Rush Limbaugh regularly? If so, have you ever noticed you can tell when a lib ( seminar caller ) calls in posing as a dittohead? They always begin by telling Rush they are a regular listener and agree with 90% of everything he says but....... Then they go on to make an inane point and you can tell they really don't listen to the show because if they did, they wouldn't be saying something so stupid. That's how I see it when guys write to you and ask if they can run DW without putting their linemen back off the ball. I've only been a student of yours for about 6 months now, but it's obvious why you have to have the linemen back. These guys obviously have not read your material or watched your tapes. Seems like these are just guys who don't agree with you trying to get you to admit there are situations when lining up on the ball is necessary. It's like they are setting a trap. Dennis Cook, Roanoke, Virginia (I listen to El Rushbo, and I know exactly what a seminar caller is. Not that I will ever achieve the sort of popularity that inspires a nationwide plot to get me off argument, but I do find it tiresome to be asked defend something that I've spent the last eight years trying to tell people - and explaining, through videos, clinics and Web site - that I consider fundemental. (A "Red Light" for you "Stoneheads" out there.) You may have noticed that while I'm more than willing to help where I can, I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time debating certain fundamental points. On that note, there are times when I'd like to quote another radio personality, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, who says, "I don't debate - I pontificate." HW) *********** My new head coach is also the DC.  He teaches a tackling technique in which the tacklers' head or face mask is directed at the ball.  In other words, it looks a bit dangerous.  He wants our defenders to lunge head first at the ball carrier.  I am loyal to the core to his guy, but wondered what you thought about this technique, and if you disagree, how to approach him about this in order to give "my opinion."  I do not wish to sound disloyal, I'm just concerned or confused as the case may be.  Am I being a dumb offensive guy?  Coach - this is scary, and something needs to be done, but I'm not sure how to approach it, since you are new, and this is technically out of your area. But if someone were to get seriously hurt tackling like that, you would feel pretty bad knowing you could have said something and didn't. This is a very delicate matter, but at least you have a little time before they actually start hitting. That gives you a little more time to convince the head coach that you are trustworthy and have his best interests at heart, and then figure out a way to very innocently bring up the subject.    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  July 2, 2004 -   "The best thing a man can do for his children is love their mother." Abraham Lincoln NEXT 2004 CLINICS SCHEDULED - SAT JUN 5, PORTLAND/VANCOUVER 2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS     *********** Hello Coach&emdash; Hope the summer finds you well... Reading your news today, I couldn't help but find it a little ironic that a Boston fan was taking issue with ONE ignorant Philadelphia fan regarding racism... You'd think that if anyone would understand that it only takes a small minority to make an entire region appear ignorant & racist it would be the folks in Boston&emdash; given their reputation regarding racial issues... Oh well, I do hope that someday the generally inaccurate stereotypes of Philly & it's fans will stop, but I doubt it... Having spent significant time in damn near every major city in America (except NYC- if you can believe that), I can say that Philly is not much different than most - a little more passionate & parochial- but I don't really think that's always a bad thing... Oh well, I guess we'll continue to be the media's whipping posts everytime something happens here that we all know goes on everywhere else as well... It seems to be our lot in life&emdash; could be worse I suppose... I just hope it doesn't turn people away from really exploring the true Philly... It's a beautiful place with beautiful people, in a fast paced East Coast environment... I'm still awe struck by the way enormous wealth manages to coexist , literally side by side, with poverty the way it does in 'Old City'... OK, I'll get off my soap box now- you get the point- I absolutely love Philadelphia, & couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be... Good Luck in your upcoming season, Coach... Jeff Belliveau, West Berlin , New Jersey *********** Get this,  I ran into a fellow at a league meeting Saturday.  Asked me 'how the double wing clinic was'?  I looked kind of perplexed I guess because he then asked 'You know, the guy from up north...Wyatt?..I think?"   Apparently he had been visiting your site and getting tips on how to run the DW.  He told me," You have to learn this darn offense before you can stop it...The other coaches in the league think you guys run a VEER!...".  He was the Defensive Coach for a team we scored 56 points against in the regular season and 52 points against in the playoffs.  I kind of like this coach now....  John Torres, Manteca, California Hey- give the guy credit. It's those fools who just sneer and dismiss the Double-Wing who get their butts beat. You can't stop any offense if you're not willing to learn about it. *********** I know soccer ain't your thing, but it's interesting that after the team-oriented Pistons win over the star-studded Lakers, a similar thing has happened at Euro 2004...countries with superstar players (Spain, France, Italy, Germany and England) are all out, and the final four is Holland, Portugal, Greece and Czech Republic. Obviously they're talented, but there's more of an emphasis on team, especially with Greeks and Czechs... Ed Wyatt, Melbourne, Australia (Hurray for teamwork, wherever it triumphs over superstars. Actually, it's not soccer that ain't my thing. It's American soccer. I am sick of having it shoved down my throat. Any time a TV commercial wants to show Mom in a hurry, she's taking the kids to soccer practice. If Dad's a youth coach, he's a soccer coach. Little tykes pile into minivans - and eat their bowls of hot soup - in soccer uniforms. I really do consider soccer to be a metaphor for the feminization of America, the emasculation of our boys, the triumph of Soft America over Hard America, the Euro-worship of the liberal elite - and lots, lots more.) *********** Dear Coach: I have heard from a few double-wing coaches that they plan to experiment this fall with moving their offensive linemen closer to the line of scrimmage, even to the edge of the neutral zone.  They have encountered defensive lines that have succeeded with  "shoot first"--quick penetration that disrupts assignments behind the hip of the center.  These coaches reason that moving their offensive linemen closer to the ball will result in first contact close to the ball--or at least not in the offensive backfield.   Have you heard similar sentiments from colleagues?  What do you think of this idea? There will always be people who will wonder why a wheel has to be round. They are free to do as they wish. I can only coach one team at a time. HW *********** Hugh, read some of this week's news and I liked what you said in the line of changes in Philadelphia. A reference to white flight. I see it the same way when I go home to Fresno and as I drive across the main freeway in town, you go from the haves to the have nots, and my mom along with others live at the end of the freeway of have nots and they don't leave because of the sense of community/ and where the settled. But as for others it is the area of being scared of what moves in and bringing down their land values. I believe it still exists today. Have a good day! Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho *********** Dear Coach Wyatt: We definitely are on the same page on one point: People that shoot into live trees are a-holes, and they are looked on with contempt by true sportsmen. They are"gun enthusiasts" like street bums are "wine afficianados". These are the same kind of people who go to a public range and shoot beer bottles or shoot up the target holders and ruin them for everyone else. I wish there were enough law enforcement resources available to go after them, but I suspect that the police have higher priorities. I have seen trees shot up here in Pa, but not to the extent that you mentioned in your reply. That would sicken me, too. But one needs to blame the actor, not the tool. The engine block-penetrating firepower that you are referring to is actually more typical of the big 50 caliber specialty rifles chambered for the military 50 caliber round than it is of the "assault rifles" in question. Assault rifles (real ones or the semi-automatic look alikes) shoot cartridges that are considered to be marginal big game rounds. They more likely to be used by varmint hunters when chambered in accurate, bolt action rifles. (Case in point: the .223 M16 round. Illegal to use it for deer hunting in any of the 50 states. Not enough knockdown power.). These cartridges were designed at a time when the world's military was dropping its emphasis on aimed fire in favor of target saturation. The traditional full power battle cartridges such as the 30-06 and 8mm rounds of WWII were not controllable in a shoulder fired weapon in automatic mode. So, intermediate power cartridges and rifles to fire them were developed. The big .50 caliber MG round will indeed penetrate an engine block (and keep going out the back side). Rifles chambered in this caliber are about 3000 dollars a copy, and the target market is narrow, the long distance (1000 yards and up) shooter. The guns weigh about 25 pounds to keep down the otherwise murderous recoil. Surplus ammo is available for about 2 dollars a pop, and although it is possible to reload the case, it takes very expensive and specialized equipment to do so. It is grossly overpowered even for African big game. And most ranges don't want people to shoot them, because the muzzle blast is horrendous and they tear up backstops. The military uses this type of rifle/cartridge combination for long range anti-materiel purposes, such as taking out radar stations or aircraft engines. Although it has no real practical hunting application, it has no peer in 1000 yard match shooting. Although such a weapon would indeed be deadly in the wrong hands, to my knowledge none of these has ever been used for serious mayhem (although I would not doubt somebody out there has put a round or two through a tree.) They are just too big and cumbersome to be of much use to anybody short of a SEAL team. Sorry to bore you with the history lesson and more info than you wanted. I am also glad to see you passing the shooting heritage down to your grandchildren, just as my dear old Grandfather did with me. By the way, I happened on a Finnish made WWII movie called "Winter War" and got the DVD. It is of course in Finnish, but is subtitled in English. It is among the best war movies I have ever seen, well acted and very realistic. As an historian and a person with a Finnish connection, you may want to see if it is available for rent. If you can't find it and would like to borrow my copy, you would be welcome to do so. Mark Rice, Beaver, Pennsylvania I am, of course, well aware of the Winter War (and the Continuation War, which followed). There are reminders all over Finland of the price they had to pay to keep their independence. Those people don't forget as easily as we seem to have. The best book and movie to deal with the Finns and their war with the Russians is called "The Unknown Soldier," ("Tuntematon Sotilas," in Finnish) by Vaino Linna. One may get lucky and find an English translation somewhere (pretty much a necessity, in view of the difficulty of learning Finnish). Every Finn I have ever known has read the book and seen the movie. *********** I remember a few years ago someone in the General Assembly wanted to change the state song "Maryland, My Maryland". It was in the paper for a week and died. It is a shame but few young people in Maryland ever learn the song any more. I remember hearing it in the 4th grade learning Maryland history. I'm reading the book "Flyboys". If more Americans read about the inhuman war that was waged in the Pacific they would be grateful for the Great job our boys have done in the Middle East, because it could be a lot worst. I believe I have a chance to take a job at a 3A high school outside of Charleston South Carolina. The football team was 12-1 last year, and runs the Wing-T. The principal is old school, did time in the army and coached. The football coach has only 1 losing season in 17 years of football. I need a job and feel good about this. Do you have any advice for a young man who is about to make a big choice. Thanks coach for the website and enjoy the summer days. Yours John D. Grimsley, Gaithersburg, Maryland (Advice: 1. Be loyal - support your boss and do what he wants done; 2. Be a coach - don't be one of the kids; 3. Be a sponge - everything that happens around you is an opportunity to learn; 4. Ask questions - never act as if you understand when you don't; 5. Be a teacher - know what you're going to coach, know how you're going to teach it, and how you're going to determine whether they've learned it; 6. "Clean the toilets" - no job is beneath you - do anything that needs to be done and then look for more; 7. Be enthusiastic - make it obvious that you love the game, you love the kids, and you love being there; 8. Outwork the head coach. HW) *********** Two observations about mouldy Michael Moore's "documentary," by Christopher Hitchens, (Slate.msn.com) More interesting is the moment where Bush is shown frozen on his chair at the infant school in Florida, looking stunned and useless for seven whole minutes after the news of the second plane on 9/11. Many are those who say that he should have leaped from his stool, adopted a Russell Crowe stance, and gone to work. I could even wish that myself. But if he had done any such thing then (as he did with his "Let's roll" and "dead or alive" remarks a month later), half the Michael Moore community would now be calling him a man who went to war on a hectic, crazed impulse. The other half would be saying what they already say&emdash;that he knew the attack was coming, was using it to cement himself in power, and couldn't wait to get on with his coup. To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery. *********** Is it just me, or is men's tennis pretty much becoming a bunch of look-alike long-haired guys with their hats on backwards? *********** Coach, Just a quick note to let you know how the Stanton Mustangs did at the Wayne St. FB camp. Bottom line: we dominated. We were missing our all-state, 1800 yard rusher and our probable starting QB to the Nebraska Individual camp at the same time, but we didn't miss a beat. We won all five of our scrimmages, and only giving up 2 touchdowns all weekend. Scrimmage format was going into the endzone from the forty yardline and you got 8 plays to score as much as you could, then play defense for 8 plays, then back to offense for 8, then back to defense. We several teams, running 5 basic plays... Superpower, GO reach, 2 wedge, 3 trap 2, and 29 Brown-O... we mixed in a couple of special plays.... 66 Red-Red, Half-back pass (Y runs fly pattern to hold safety... he was the one to come open) and we ran the 47 Base QB Keep that I told you about a couple of months ago. That play broke for a TD and many long runs. Our FB played A back and was a wrecking ball on the superpowers.. DB's bouncing off him left and right. What a sight. In just 16 short offensive plays, every team and their coaches had had enough of the DW.. It was like the defenders would run up and just be satified to get blocked. The first night we only had 12 of the 23 players present because they had a baseball game. No problem tho... 2 TE's that had never played RB before ran wild. The C-back scored 3 TD's on 29 GO Reach. The other two TD's came on a Power keep and a 29 Brown-O. It was very fun to watch kids that don't play alot be successful. We won that scrimmage 35-0, in just 16 offensive plays. It didn't hurt that our entire O-line was present. The final day, our all state lineman couldn't even play because of a severe sunburn, so we put in a 230 lb freshman and didn't miss a beat. The feather in our cap was when we beat Atlantic, IA who won a 3-A State title 2 years ago.. They were tearing up the camp too. I must admit, that I was a little leary of playing them because we were have so much success and our confidence was high and I didn't want to ruin that on the last scrimmage. We won 21-0 and completely frustrated a very good team. Scored on HB pass, 47 Base QB keep and 29 Brown-O. Superpower, wedge and GO reach tore off big chunks also. The point that I'm trying to make is that it is the system. If you have good kids that believe in the system, it will take you far. I wish I had some film to show you! GO DW!!! Greg Hansen, Stanton High School, Stanton, Nebraska *********** Good day coach, my name is Eddie Anderson and I am the head football coach at Belleview High School in Florida. I installed the double wing after sputtering to a 35-14 playoff loss to a team I believe we should have beaten, but just couldn't control the ball. After a smooth transition from the I-formation, and a terrific spring that concluded with us dominating local power North Marion 14-0 in one half of football. Twenty five of the 30 running plays we ran went for 5 yards or more. Total rushing was 243 - 22 in our favor. I believe the majority of this success is attributed to the O-line coach I was fortunate to hire. Since the spring game, he has taken a job at a school closer to home and left our double wing without a bright, eager coach that has faith and knowledge in the system. If you could put the feelers out for a coach who wants to grow in this system with a head coach commited to playing this out all the way, I would really appreciate it. I can be reached at (352) 895-0076. *********** Apparently Barry Bonds called Boston a 'racist' city. Some jocks in town for a golf pro-am responded on the news today, including the ever eloquent Joe Theismann. "I think he was wrong, and actually, I think all us athletes should just shut up." Or, as they say in the Trailblazers organization, 'you have the right to remain silent.' ps. The same line goes for the Kennedy family. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** Coach Wyatt, After reading your criteria for a new home, I thought I'd take the time to point out a few plusses of the area where my wife and I currently live, (historic) Maryville, TN. Within 35 minutes you can be hiking in the Smokey Mountains, jet skiing in several large lakes/waterways, teeing-off at some really nice golf courses, or arrive at any area of Knoxville you need: East, West, or Downtown/U.T. campus area (large city with amenities!) McGee-Tyson Airport (medium/large domestic airlines) is 15 minutes away... the summer heat rarely hits over 90 and the winters are mild. You have U.T. football 30 minutes down the road, Maryville High School football 15 minutes away (3 state championships in 5 years), Carson-Newman football 50 minutes away, the Titans 2.5 hours away on I-40, and the Atlanta Braves 2.5 hours away down I-75 (if you're into that whole baseball thing)... and I'm leaving out a lot of other good high school and small college football teams. Another plus is that you would be in the middle of one of your business zones and East TN is the Republican side of the state (we sent AlGore packin' in 2000. Let the rest of the U.S. "enjoy" him from now on - yay! ) Finally, real estate, while not cheap, sure is competetive with other areas of the country. Well, I'll tell Angela to make sure we have the linen and towels, maps to Dollywood and Gatlinburg, and spare house key out in the guest room. When can we expect you all down for a visit/house-hunting tour? p.s. only one condition: If you like the area, you can only tell family and close friends. We don't want too many people finding out about this place. A mass-exodus to our "secret in the mountains" would ruin it for the rest of us! Sincerely, Stephen T. Smith, Middlesboro High School, Middlesboro, KY (Much obliged. At the top of nominations received are the Colorado Springs, Boise and Knoxville areas. HW) *********** College Football News had a semi decent article regarding the best quarterback schools of the last 35 years. Although I was shocked that Washington State was only in honorable mention and that UW was #3, I was impressed that they mentioned both Nebraska and Oklahoma, and Oregon and Michigan. They did irk me with their Florida analysis - noting that they have had little NFL success and suggesting they were 'products of a pass happy system.' A friend of mine said something like that, and I said I didn't believe a player could play beyond his means, and no player is fit for every system. When I hear that a guy is a 'system player,' I wonder if his pro coach will run that system so his QB can blossom. (We both know the answer to that one. Maybe 'system qb' is code for 'they had a better QB coach in college.') Some guys like Ryan Leaf obviously had personal problems that doomed their pro careers, but with everything at their disposal, you'd think more pro coaches would put away their old notes and rewrite the game plan to put their players in a position to succeed, instead of shoehorning them into their playbooks, as seems to be going on every Sunday. Michael Vick, save us. I guess adapting to personnel would be too much like stooping to a high school level. Karl Dorrell has found that out, as his offense stinks and he's been dissed by Steve Axman as not listening to his assitants and running it "right out of the Denver Broncos playbook." I tell people, when Brady takes the snap, he's not just running an offense. He's performing a mind-meld with Bill Belichick, something Bledsoe couldn't do, size and skills be damned. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts There is no question that Florida QB's were "system" QBs. They fit perfectly into Spurrier's system, but most of all, it seems, they were able to tolerate Spurrier. The same thing was said about QB's coming out of Notre Dame during the Parseghian era. A lot of them - Hanratty, Huarte, Coley O'Brien, Theismann - looked like can't miss QB's. Only Theismann made it big in the NFL, and he had to go to Canada first. Same with Penn State. Great for the system. Not much of a showing in the NFL. In other words, those coaches didn't use pro scouts' eyeglasses when they recruited QBs. They recruited guys who could win for them. Not so long ago, you could have made a claim for Washington as #1, but most of those guys - Pelluer, Millen, Moon, Chandler, Brunell - yes, even Billy Joe Hobert and the Huards - were Don James guys, and they're either gone or on their last legs, NFL-wise. Unless Brock Huard suddenly blossoms, or Cody Pickett proves himself, Marques Tuiasosopo may be the last of a long line of Husky quarterbacks. Stanford belongs up there. In fact, Stanford may have been first school to start turning out quarterbacks on a regular basis, going back to Gary Kerkorian and John Brodie. The Stanford run seems to have ended with Elway's retirement. Brodie is too early to be counted, but Jim Plunkett, Steve Dils, Guy Benjamin, Mike Boryla and Turk Schonert all drew NFL paychecks. Don't know about Mike Cordova (Seattle Prep guy) who was drafted by the Eagles in 1977. He spent the entire 1977 season on injured reserve, but after that I can't find any evidence that he ever played a down in the NFL. But Nebraska? Oklahoma? Not even in the ballpark as producers of QBs. I have trouble coming up with even one QB from either place (Aikman doesn't count) who has made it big in the NFL since 1970. Talk about "system" QBs - for much of that time, Oklahoma ran wishbone (with some great wishbone QBs), and for that entire time Nebraska was featuring do-everything guys like Turner Gill and Eric Crouch and Tommie Frazier who were great athletes and won a lot of games for Nebraska but were looked on as misfits by the pros. Michigan, yes. And Henson hasn't even played a down yet. The really interesting thing is Texas QBs. The modern spread-it-out passing game dates back to the old Southwest Conference (SWC) of the late 1930s - check out Dutch Meyer's book if you ever get a chance and you'll see how far ahead of everyone else he was. But it's been years since any of the old SWC schools - Texas, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, Rice, Baylor, TCU, SMU, Arkansas and Houston - produced an NFL starter. Maybe Chris Simms will end the drought. But I doubt it. HW *********** I came across Abe Lemons' name the other day. What a guy. You had to love him. He built little Oklahoma City into a basketball power, partly because he was so quotable. As an Oklahoma humorist, only Will Rogers surpassed him. Scholastic Coach magazine could be counted on to include at least one Abe Lemons line in every issue's coaching quotes. Once when someone suggested raising the hoops to try to eliminate the influence of the big man in the game, he proposed drilling holes in the floor, and scoring points by dropping the ball through. But after reflection, he said he could already see how some unscrupulous recruiters would exploit the situation: Coaches, he said, would start going up to jockeys, saying "Hey, little fella - how'd you like a Cadillac?" On one famous occasion, his OCU team was in New York, and playing poorly. At halftime, as his players headed for the locker room, he cut them off and ordered them back to the floor. "Shirts and skins!" he told them, and his team spent the intermission scrimmaging. On the floor of Madison Square Garden. One New York sportswriter berated him for that. He listened to the what the sportswriter had to say, and then put him in his place. "You may be big in New York, but in Walters, Oklahoma, you're nobody,'' he told Howard Cosell. He wasn't all jokes. He could coach. In 34 years as a college coach, at Oklahoma City, Texas and Pan American, he won 599 games. His was a common-sense, reality-based approach to coaching. "Coaches are creatures of habit,'' he once said. "I knew a coach who got a deal going where his players had to run a mile in six minutes. I asked why. He said, 'gut check.' "I had a team," he noted, "where nobody could run it in six minutes and we won the NIT.'' Once, while on a road trip, his leading scorer, Bud Koper, failed to show up for the team's pregame meal. Lemons said nothing and did nothing, and the player scored 44 points in an OCU win over SMU. "I asked Koper after the game why he didn't show up to eat and he told me he wasn't hungry,'' Lemons said. "If I had a rule that said you couldn't start or couldn't play if you missed the pregame meal, then we would have lost the game. Sometimes it's better not to have that many rules.'' When he retired in 1980, he expressed disenchantment over the changes he was seeing in players. "I don't know whether you change or the game changes," he said. "They all want to play, but they don't want to put the effort into what you want to do.'' *********** Coach Wyatt, I have been reading your news page for a while now, and I would like to add my 2p's worth, regarding American kids playing 'soccer'… I am English (I'm still in England) and I played 'soccer' as a kid (I haven't played a competitive game for 4 years now, because I have been playing real football :-) ). The question I have is why did 'soccer moms' adopt soccer rather than basketball? In basketball everyone gets to score, it's a non-contact sport and you even get to play indoors…When I played soccer, I used to come home covered in scratches and bruises, so I have to ask myself if basketball is tougher than soccer WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING? :-) Ben Armstrong, Plymouth, England Dear Ben- Good question. The problem as I see it, without getting too deeply into it, is that, unlike in countries where soccer is BIG, in America it is primarily a white, upper-middle-class sport, ideal for getting our little boys and girls involved in an outdoor activity that is safe and relatively noncompetitive. It is perceived here as a sport that a kid can play if he's not particularly skilled, and not interested in contact. For that reason, in America, it is also perceived as a sport for wussies. TV shots of European stars rolling on the ground in excruciating pain, then carted off in gurneys only to return to play five minutes later, haven't helped its image. Which leads to my next point - I think the phenomenal growth of women's soccer in America - unparalleled anyplace else on earth - has about sealed the doom of men's soccer in America, because most boys who fancy themselves as "real men" wouldn't be caught dead playing a woman's sport. (Sorry femmies.) Now, as to basketball - It is played recreationally by all classes, all ages, all races. But as a general rule, middle-class white boys don't play it very well. Part of the reason is that there aren't as many opportunities for them when they're little. First of all, there are fewer positions on a team. Then, because it is a winter-time sport, and much of the US is socked-in in the winter, there are fewer places for them to play. And since sex equity now requires that girls have equal access to gyms, there are half the opportunities for boys that there once were. There are not enough qualified coaches, possibly because of the skill factor - while soccer at the beginners' level is easy to teach, and it's cute watching little kids run around and kick a soccer ball, basketball skills are infinitely more difficult to teach, and ill-suited to little kids' talents. A little kids' basketball game can be painful to watch. Basketball has yet to get serious about using smaller balls and lowering the hoops for little kids. Developing basketball skills requires a lot of individual time and effort, well beyond organized team practice. Most well-to-do upper-middle-class kids would rather watch TV or play video games. Those with real skills have them because their families have had the money to send them to instructional camps. Which brings us to black kids. In the urban black American culture, soccer is nonexistent, baseball nearly so. The sports of choice are basketball and football. Both are viewed as manly sports, far more physical than soccer. Football undoubtedly is and, at least as played in America, so is basketball. As you may have noticed, football and basketball, which happen to be our two most popular sports, are dominated by blacks. Blacks make up roughly 13 per cent of our population, but well over 50 per cent of professional basketball and football players. With playing fields at a minimum in big cities, and families often crowded into tight quarters, shutting one's self in one's room and playing Nintendo is unheard of. Few city kids have Nintendo; fewer still have their own rooms. Cars? City kids walk or ride buses. I have coached at suburban schools where most players drove more expensive cars/trucks than the coaches. Now, I coach at a city school; no more than a half-dozen of the players even own cars. The action is on the street and the sport is on the playground. It is basketball, and you could say that it is street life in microcosm: it is rough and competitive. Winners keep playing; losers sit out. While suburban white kids are being taught compassion and cooperation and getting along and getting in touch with their feelings, urban black kids are learning that for them even to play, not to mention succeed, they simply must play hard. So you see, we Americans have turned the whole thing upside-down. Where you see basketball as a game of skill and finesse, we see it as having evolved (for better or worse) into a very physical game. Where you see soccer as a rough sport, we see it as a pussy sport. Unlike England or Italy or Brazil, where the toughest kids and best athletes play soccer, in America it is largely played by foreigners or by those Americans who, rightly or wrongly, are perceived as not being good enough or tough enough to play a "real" sport. *********** Hugh, I just read the piece from the guy who doesn't run two-a-day practices anymore, and your response to it. I haven't run a "traditional" two-a-day practice since 1994. Instead, we have the sophomores, juniors, and seniors come in at 7:00 am each day of the first week of practice and put them through a conditioning circuit of six stations each day. We mix the kids and split them into six groups with the seniors in each group responsible for leading that group. One of my coaches is in charge of a station and changes the drills at his station each day. Each coach selects five different football drills (one for each day) that incorporate agility, quickness, speed, and strength. Each station is a high-tempo grind for four minutes, and each station is separated by 40 yards. At the end of each four minute station the group comes together with a "breakdown" and runs to the next station. My managers have cold water for each group at every station and the players are required to drink before starting the next station. The whole circuit takes a little over 30 minutes to run. After we complete the circuit we change our shoes and head over to the stadium to run the bleachers as a team. All said the players are out there for about 45 minutes. We send them in for an hour break and let them have something to eat, and meet with them in individual groups. We come back out to the field and hold either an offensive or defensive practice for two hours and send them home. The circuit not only helps us get the kids physically ready, but also helps us to determine who the serious varsity candidates are. The following week we drop the circuit and hold two two-hour practices (one for offense and one for defense) which include special teams and a short conditioning period. We start practice 1 at 7:00 am and are done by 9:00. We give them a 90 minute break (which includes a snack and individual meetings), and return to the field for practice 2 at 10:30. We're done at 12:30. After Thursday practices we post the lists of kids who make the varsity and 'B' squads. We conclude our "two-a-days" by hosting a five school jamboree for the freshmen, 'B' squad, and varsity teams at our school on the Saturday of that second week. Last year I proposed a change in the format of week 1 to the coaches and the players but they didn't want it because they believed they had developed a great tradition and didn't want to let it go. So, on August 16 the tradition continues. Joe Gutilla, Benilde-St. Margaret's HS, Minneapolis *********** We just received a nice thank-you note from the daughter of good friends. We'd sent her a little graduation gift, and since I'm sure she received many more, she no doubt had quite a few of those notes to write. I immediately wrote her parents to let them know that others do notice - and appreciate - the fact that someone obviously taught their daughter well. More and more people, from generations younger than us, seem not to understand that writing thank-you notes is a habit that will serve them well in life. My wife and I are constantly amazed at the number of young people who obviously were not taught to do this, and fail even to acknowledge that they ever received a gift from us. I will pledge my vote to any presidential candidate (Hillary Rodham Clinton excepted) willing to run on a civility and politeness ticket, promising to restore manners and civility to American life, even if it means adding to the federal bureaucracy by creating a massive new agency. One of the agency's first act should be requiring all manufacturers of any product that might be given as a gift to attach a label saying WARNING: BE SURE TO THANK THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE YOU THIS. FAILURE TO DO SO PROMPTLY COULD RESULT IN YOUR BEING CONSIDERED ILL-BRED In the meantime, until the establishment of such an agency, our society continues its slide toward barbarism, and since so few young people are taught the importance of good manners, those who do have them will really stand out. *********** Great story. Got a call earlier this week from Mike Pucko. Mike's the coach at West Boylston, Massachusetts High, outside Worcester (to you outsiders, that's pronounced "WUSS-tah") and, largely on the strength of a 10-1 record last season, he was named head coach of the Central Mass All-Stars in the Chowder Bowl, their annual game against the Western Mass All-Stars held last Saturday night in Springfield. Short story - Central Mass, running the Double-Wing, won 14-7. Long story - it's been quite a climb. Mike and his offensive coordinator, Scott Anderson, and his line coach, George Cook, had me up to West Boylston after my Providence clinic a few years ago to try to sell the offense to the then-head coach. We weren't totally successful, but then neither was he, so when he left, Mike took over the program. It was down, and in need of rebuilding. The result of the new staff's efforts was 2003's 10-1 record. Believe it or not, under Massachusetts' computer-ranking system, that wasn't good enough to qualify for a place in the state's four-team "Super Bowl" playoffs. And get this - the lone loss was by 22-20. Down 22-0 in the first quarter, West Boylston stormed back and lost by the margin of a dropped two-point conversion pass. So Mike was selected to coach the Central Mass All Stars. There were those who opposed his selection (hmm - wonder what positions their kids play), but he stuck with installing the Double-Wing. He said he noticed something right away - guys, even all-stars, from other systems had difficulty adjusting. Quarterbacks from passing teams couldn't deal with the footwork and the ball handlin requiredg, or with the quickness of the play-action passes. "We had people open all night," he said. Blocking on the Super Power? "They wouldn't do it," Mike said. "They looked at me like, 'what are you, nuts?'" Running backs couldn't deal with the discipline required to hit the holes correctly. "The I backs couldn't find the holes," Mike said. But the linemen loved it. Especially the Wedge. "They thought it was the best thing ever," Mike said. "We ran it once or twice in practice and the kids would come out of the huddle giggling." The Super Power did cause some problems in practice - Mike said that his defensive coaches asked him to stop running it. They said "our kids are losing confidence." The Central Mass All Stars won by driving 81 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown - running mostly 88 Super Power. And instrumental in the drive were some of Mike's own kids from West Boylston. Not everybody was happy back when he chose some of them, but as Mike put it, when the D-I prospects were in the game, not much happened - "but when I put my regular kids in, we'd march down the field." Outstanding offensive player was West Boylston's Kyle Connor. "Everybody was pissed when I took him," Mike said with a laugh. Playing just the second and fourth quarters, Kyle carried 10 times for 102 yards - not bad production in an all-star game. Mike said that as he and George Cook drove home from the game they had big smiles on their faces. They had come away with two things - a win, of course. But also, as Mike put it, "proof that you can win with average kids." *********** Richard Cropp writes from Ketchikan, Alaska, "It looks like we will only have about 20 kids again this year, but I have a 280 and a 310 pounder at inside DT's, and we have a great young line for offense, all over 220. Amazing, back when I played 225 was a huge player, now they are all that big and run like deer." People really love their football up in the Last Frontier. They have to - unlike in the Lower 48, nothing is done for them. Teams are totally funded by private donations. On top of that, distances are incredible, requiring some teams to fly to all their games, and the early onset of winter cuts the season is short, usually by October. And then there is the agronomy problem. "Hard to recruit," Coach Cropp writes, "when you make them play on a gravel field (it rains too much here for grass, and we cannot afford turf). You can always tell a 4 year Kayhi ball player as their arms and knees look like hamburger after so many years playing on our field. It is still a great home field advantage, we had a team come up from San Diego to play us, and they didn't believe right up until kick off that this was our game field. They thought we were playing a joke on them and that the "real" field must be hidden somewhere close by. They ended up killing us points wise, but they had 3 players that once they were tackled one time on the gravel, wouldn't go back in the game. " I know whereof Coach Cropp speaks. Some of my teams in Finland had to practice on hard-packed sand. It wasn't quite gravel, but those guys sure hated to land on it, which suited me fine, because I don't think football players should spend any time on the ground anyhow, and I never have been a believer in taking people to the ground in scrimmages or in tackling drills. Even on grass, when we scrimmage, we feel that we avoid the major causes of injuries by (1) never hitting below the waist, and (2) never taking anyone to the ground. I also happen to feel that this reinforces good football habits - staying on the feet, and driving the feet after making contact. Too many kids (at least where they have grass) are content to dive at a ball carrier's legs and when they miss - which is most of the time - they just lie there like dead wood.    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS  "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.      --- 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 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 BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD