Читать книгу Football 101 - Michael Ashley - Страница 18

Buddy was a former Marine and a great coach. Buddy taught me:

 Football is fun

 Draft for speed, speed and speed, then good looking moms (GLMs)

 Discipline works in football just like the Marines

 You can drive your team with fierce determination and still have them love you

 He felt that if parents heard him cussing at their kids, they were too close to the field

 Buddy would never talk to a parent about playing time or positions

Buddy died too young as well, but all of these traits are in use today, except for one:

Years later we drafted a kid who was very fast but was new to football. We had the policy of not talking to parents about playing time or position, and we communicated that to them. His father sent me an email saying “Nick is an AAU track and basketball star.” That was it. We gave Nick the ball and I am not sure whether it was his athletic ability or fear, but nobody could catch him. Vienna had won a hundred championships at the A level and over a hundred at the C level but never at the B level, which was dominated by smaller, faster clubs. We went 20-0 with Nick as our 2 back and won Vienna’s first two Championships at the B level in it’s 40 year existence.

We now encourage parents at the beginning of the season to tell us in one sentence what we need to know about their kids. After that, the Buddy Allison rule is in full force and effect.