•November 7, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Whenever I go to a high school or college football game, I cringe at the sight of players on the field, standing as if witless (which they aren’t), looking to the sidelines for instructions from the coaches as to plays to call and defenses to mount.
I fear that technology, coaches and parents have connived, unwittingly I’m sure, to take the game away from the kids. Let’s give it back to them.
When I played high school football 60 years ago, we called our own plays in the huddle. And it was a good learning experience. In addition to using our own wits, we learned how to work together and make our own way on the field.
Quarterback Dan Carrington was the final word on play calling, yet players often chimed in with such as: “Go off left tackle, Dan. I know I can handle this guy.”
Then we went off tackle, and “this guy” reared up, pushed our left tackle aside, and smote down our halfback for a loss. Thus, Dan learned how to measure his teammates and whom he could trust. Dan later became president of Western Union.
According to coaches and veteran football officials I talked with, those days are long gone.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.