Historically, it was the first type of football played in Australia. Some believe its origins are seen in games played by our indigenous brothers. Although it developed initially in Victoria, it spread to all the Australian colonies during the second half of the 1800s.

The purpose of this article is to list what is different about “Aussie Rules”. These are the differences that set it apart from other football codes.

• There are 18 players in each team, making it the game with the most players on the field at a time-36 in all. It can be played at 9 a side; 14 a side; 15 a side and 16 a side. The smaller numbers are usual for under age teams.

• The field is in the shape of an ellipse (oval); up to 160 metres long and 120 metres across the centre. Junior teams play on much smaller oval.

• There is no offside.

• There are no knock-ons.

• There are players from both sides spread all over the field, usually in pairs, with one from each team.

• The game is a 360 degree game. That means players are all around you in contrast to the rugby games and American Football where teams face each other.

• The players may wear sleeveless jerseys with no padding.

• Kicking long distances and high marking are features of the game.

• The game at senior level is played over four quarters of 20 minutes actual playing time. This means the players are actually on the ground for over two hours, making it the longest game by far of the football codes.

• The scoring scheme involves kicking the ball between posts at either end of the field. There are four posts set up seven metres apart. To score a goal, (worth 6 points), the ball must be kicked through the middle posts without being touch by another player. Otherwise the score is one point. If it hits the inside posts or goes through between the outside posts it is also worth one point.

• The game at senior level is controlled by three field umpires positioned around the oval assisted by four boundary umpires (whose role is to determine when the ball is out of play and to throw it in at the field umpire’s command) and two goal umpires. One field umpire, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires would officiate at other levels of the game, normally.

• There is no send-off rule but players may be reported for serious offences such as striking.

• Players can be awarded free kicks for rule infringements or a mark (catching a ball from a 15 plus metre kick). This means that the opposition player stands on the mark indicated by the umpire allowing the player with the free kick the chance to kick or handball the ball without interference.

• Tackling is a part of the game. A player must be in possession of the ball before he can be tackled. He must be tackled according to the rules. Otherwise a free kick is awarded.

• Players may shepherd to protect the ball carrier.

• The game contains lots of running and kicking by all players.

These are the factors that make our Australian game unique and very different. It confounds fans of the rugby games and Soccer (Football, to most parts of the world) and the followers of American Football when they first see. But what they see ‘live’ is the fastest and most difficult game of football in the world.

As a veteran pee wee football for over 25 years I have seen it all and in the last six years the latest craze has been the single wing offense.

The original single wing concept was used by Glen Pop Warner in the 1950’s and was known for using a direct snap without a quarterback. A direct snap is most like a mini shot gun snap.

The center takes the ball and snaps it direct to either of the backs, depending on the single wing formation you are using there can be two or three backs available to catch the snap. This direct snap by passes or eliminates the need for the traditional quarterback-center exchange.

The direct snap also eliminates the handoff delay since the back catches the ball direct and just starts running. This makes for a very quick start to the beginning of a play.

The direct snap appeals to many new coaches, especially if you are teaching very young players since it is far safer than the traditional snap between QB and center. What makes it safer is the concept that if the ball is snapped bad, the backs are right in front of the ball to either pick it up or fall on it.

When instructing the younger kids, the snap is a crucial part of the sport which is overlooked by most teams. Forget the usual problems which include rain, wrong hand placement by QB, QB yanking out too soon and the center snapping it wrong which screw up the snap, but younger new kids struggle with the timing and it takes to execute a play.

There are minimal plays for a loss of yards when installing the direct snap, in fact, during a whole season a couple of years ago my team did not have a any plays which lost even a single yard.

Deception is another benefit of using the single wing direct snap, especially if you use three backs behind the center. I use simple logic when deciding o the distance to place my backs from the center which is the younger the kids are, the closer I move them to the center. If I am teaching first year tackle players, I will have then within 1 yard of the center! This makes it nearly impossible for the opponent to see who has the football.

In conclusion, the direct snap is a very effective and efficient way to start your offensive game planning of you are coaching a youth football team.

Today I want to talk with Head Coach Bill Renner and his Spread Offense which he calls: 5-Wide Attack Spread Offense

Article 1 – For an offense, nothing is more frustrating than having a defense that Attacks you to the point that you are passive, defensive, and worried about not being able to get points or move the ball. They have succeeded in making your offense take on a defensive mind set of “just don’t lose the game” or “we will wait for a good opportunity”.

Well, the 5 Wide Attack Offense’s mission is to never allow that mind set to become prevalent. In fact, the 5 Wide Attack Offense reverses that mind set and puts the defense in the passive, defensive mode and worries if they can stop it.

HOW does it do this? With formations that limit the defensive alignment so you can practice against exactly what you will see on game day. With a no huddle system that makes the defense play at your tempo. With offense tempo changes that keep the defense from being able to lock in on your offense. With 5 receivers in every pass play and 4 receivers on every run play which disguises their pass run read of your offense.

Good defenses are programmed to react and not think. The 5 Wide Attack Offense does not allow them to ever get in a reacting state, it always keeps them thinking. Thinking defenses are slow defenses which become uncertain defenses who then become targets for your Attack offense. Once you have them confused, doubt creeps in and then the points roll up on the scoreboard.

Instilling the element of doubt in a defense is your chief weapon against an aggressive defense. Never be without the tools to create this doubt so you can score as many points as necessary to win. The 5 Wide Attack Offense will give you those tools!

The Football CashBuilder is not just another scam which comes up with the promise to earn you millions of pounds within one or two days. This is an authentic venture that has yielded good profit for the founder since three years now. There are many people who have suffered badly while dealing with the bookmakers as most of them rip off huge money and give the unavoidable excuse of odds. The Football betting has undergone drastic changes is the last years and now the competition is pretty much high among the bookmakers. The monopoly of the popular bookmakers like William Hill and Corals are not there any more. That was the time when the single bets were not allowed as the bookmakers used to dominate them.

If it would have been the old days, the Football CashBuilder system would not have flourished in such a big way. Now people can place bets through any of the bookmakers and the Football CashBuilder system works on the same principle. The most unique feature of this system is that the risk factor is reduced to the minimum. This is the betting bank where the bookmakers work on behalf of the client and the client earns their share of guaranteed football profits. No matter even if the client had not placed a single bet in their life before and this is the first time they are going to do it with Football CashBuilder by John Dixon. The simple system can be operated by anyone sitting at a comfy corner of their house with a computer in front of them.

Clients can go through the Football CashBuilder review by the experts and also by the people who have already reaped the benefits of this system. There is no restriction on betting for any football league as the system provides everyone the opportunity to gamble safely on all possible leagues of the world. Just by giving it a try and the clients will see the money pouring in to fulfill all their long cherished dreams and the debts will disappear at a faster pace.

Windy conditions can have a significant impact on the playing of Australian Football. This is because the field used is the largest of any of the football codes. It is oval in shape around 160 meters long and 120 meters wide in the middle of the field. As long kicking is a feature of the game, the wind can play havoc with the ball.

This article looks at some of the aspects players must take into account when playing in windy conditions.

When playing against the wind, the ball will fall short. So players need to be ready at the front of the pack to take the mark. Other players, at the front of the packs, should be ready for the ball being spilt forward of the pack.

On the other hand, a ball kicked with the wind is more likely to fly over the pack or come off the hands of the pack to the back of the pack.

With a cross wind, here the ball will swing across the front of the pack coming out on the opposite side to the wind's direction.

Kicking for goal in windy conditions is difficult. The player needs to drop the ball at a much lower position to guide onto the foot to reduce the impact of the wind on the ball as it falls towards the player's instep.

When kicking into the wind, the player must aim to keep the ball as low as possible to reduce the impact of the ball. The reverse is true when kicking with the wind. That means the ball should be kicked high to get the full benefit of the wind's power to move the ball greater distances.

Kicking in a cross wind means the player must aim up wind of his target and keep the ball low to reduce the sideways movement of the ball.

A torpedo punt is very effective with the wind traveling much further than a drop punt. On the other hand the drop punt is more effective and accurate in other windy conditions.

The most important idea to remember is the need to guide the ball onto the boot from a much lower dropping position to ensure good contact with the ball.

Georgia Tech has been playing football since at least 1895 when it was a founding member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Now a proud member of the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division, very few other teams have had the historical success of Georgia Tech football. They have won four national titles dating back to 1917 and as recent as 1990, 15 conference titles and won the four most historic bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton). They have put an enormous number of players and coaches into the NFL. They play in the oldest on campus stadium in Division 1 FBS, and this nostalgia and since of history is clearly reflective in the conservative styling of their football helmet. Looking back to the 1960s when modern era helmets came into being, the team has had some remarkably consistent football helmet designs, and has never used any outlandish helmet variations, even for 1 or 2 games, unlike some of programs such as Boise State, Maryland or their rival, Georgia.

The early 1960's football helmet for Georgia Tech was simply a gold helmet with a gray facemask. Sometime in the mid-1960's, the team switched to a white football helmet with gold and black vertical stripes stretching from the top of the facemask to the back of the helmet. It was not until 1967 that the team added the now familiar "GT" logo with the G feeding into the upper horizontal piece of the T. The logo has remained basically unchanged since then. The team initially used the gold background and black and white stripes; this briefly switched to a white helmet from 1969 to 1971 and has been brought back at least once as a throwback helmet.

Around the mid-70's, Georgia Tech football helmets no longer had the white and black vertical stripes and that has basically remained that way ever since then. In the late 70 ', a minor change was made to the facemask making it a very dark blue instead of the basic gray mask. There was also a period in 1984 where the logo was removed from the football helmet for some games, and it was simply a gold helmet like you might see at Notre Dame with no logo (or Boston College minus the stripes). The only other major change of note was in 2008 when the gold background that has been around for about 50 years was switched to a yellow background. This gold contrasted against the dark blue facemask, looked very crisp and catchy. It changed the look and feel somewhat, and some argue, brought them a slightly more modern look. However, old habits are apparently tough to change as the gold background returned in 2009 and has been the same ever sense. Whether or not the next 50 years will be the same as the last 50 in terms of conservative helmet design, is yet to be seen. If having more modern football helmets becomes a competitive strength and recruiting tool for programs like Oregon and Boise State, it may be something to reconsider. For now, however, the helmet's logo, colors and design, is likely to remain the familiar one.

As you enter the new fantasy football season, you would be well-advised to take a gander at your competition. It would be helpful for you to understand those who seek the league title that you surely covet. Of course, those of you playing in casual free league might not feel compelled to go overboard with your analysis, but playing against managers with high levels of success warrants your attention. By taking the time to assess your situation, you will better understand the effort it is going to take to claim the title or at least some level of respectability. For you money league managers, this is an imperative.

Rules for Managing to Win

For the inexperienced and novice managers out there, these simple rules are designed to enlighten you to things the experienced players have already learned. For those of you who believe you have it all under control, let this information serve as a friendly reminder.

Rule # 1 – Manage Your Team – Year after year and league after league, the managers who consistently make the playoffs have one thing in common; They take the time to manage the their team on a weekly basis. They always seem to have the best players on their active roster and they never miss a chance to raid the waiver wire for the up-and-comers. Awareness is they key because a player listed as doubtful after sustaining an injury on Friday has tripped up more playoff hopes than you can imagine when the manager missed the opportunity to adjust their roster.

Rule # 2 – Stats are King – Have you ever wondered why your opponent was astute enough to sit his number one quarterback in favor of number two? The answer is he probably took the time to find out his number one was playing against the best passing defense in the league. If that same team's offense has a great running game to boot, old number one is not going to get the number of opportunities needed to maximize scoring. All that astute manager did was use facts to make a decision that more times than not, works out to their benefit. If you play in money leagues, you are competing against sharpies who use all the tricks. Review your stats and match-ups and don't select your players based on emotion or loyalty.

Rule # 3 – The Waiver Wire in a Sanctuary for Winners – By week four if not sooner, the injuries will start piling up and the underachievers will be exposed. For every issue, there is a possible solution on the waiver wire that might end up being a diamond in the rough. You should keep a particular eye on # 2 and # 3 running backs on every roster. The casualty rate for RBs in the NFL sits at about 35% -40% every year. Remember, every opportunity you miss is one you opponent might claim.

Rule # 4 – Set Aside Personal Biases – You might be fiercely loyal to a particular team or certain players. That said, fantasy football is not personal, it's a game. Don't get in the habit of loading your team with players you love if the facts don't support your action. Also, you have to be prepared to bench under-performers who stand to put you at a disadvantage every week you include them on your roster. This might come as a shock, but no one except the managers in your league will know you benched your favorite player.

Rule # 5 – Get Help When Appropriate – There is plenty of free advice related to fantasy football on the Internet. Much of this advice comes from guys who do the statistical work and don't mind sharing their efforts with strangers in need. If you are playing in a serious money league, it might even be worth the investment to pay a small fee for weekly advice. You don't have to know everything. You will improve your management skills if you learn from the advice you get free or otherwise.

Rule # 6 – Always Play to Win – Everyone has been caught in leagues where managers wave the white flag and stop managing their teams once they feel they are out of the playoff race. Don't be one of those guys. You be the guy who finished last, but cost someone a playoff spot the last week of the season by beating someone, not by letting someone beat you. It's called losing with dignity.

Hopefully, this advice will set you free to become the best fantasy football manager you can be. Experience is a great teacher and the one thing you must learn now is fantasy football is a game and it should be played for enjoyment, even in money leagues.

In 1986, I was charged with the responsibility of coaching the second string team from my region in the State Schoolboys' Australian Football Championships. Most of the boys were not known to each other. Our few training sessions were combined with the boys that would make the first regional team. This happened to allow the selectors more time to sort the two teams out. Consequently, my team had only one short training run together.

In that training session, we concentrated on a long kicking approach to the game and on getting to the contest. I explained to the boys that our game plan would be simple direct football as each game was only four by fifteen minute quarters. I explained how we would set up for each central bounce and we set that up at training to show the boys what was required. We also practiced ruck and throw in drills with all the players.

On an information sheet, I asked the boys to indicate what position was their preference and where they played best. On the plane flight to Cairns I gave each player a sheet of paper and asked them to pick a team based on their knowledge of the boys in the team. (Many of the boys had played with or against each other in school and junior club fixtures). I collected these teams. I also asked the boys to indicate who they thought would make a good captain. This helped me make that decision. I perused all the suggested teams taking particular note of the teams that the boys most likely to be captain had submitted. With all this data plus my own ideas, I pick a team. In our championships, we were able to have 25 fully interchangeable players. So I picked a team where every player had a position. The followers (today midfielders) interchanged off the bench. This meant the four remaining player shared a position with four others getting, in theory, half a game each. In reality, some boys performed better than expected and changes were made throughout the game.

After our warm up, the team was announced. I made sure each player who was interchanging sat with his counterpart during the pregame address, knew his name and number. One of the interchange players acted as the runner and two others collected "stats" to keep them concentrating on the game. These players could decide to share each quarter or played for a quarter and then rest.

The pregame instructions were simple. They were:
• Play simple, direct and long football. Move the ball quickly.
• Kick over the next line. (This means you are running after the ball towards the goals. Your opponent has to get the ball and turn back into a contest).
• Contest every possession.
• If we have the ball, go into attack mode. If we don't have the ball, ie it is in dispute or the opposition have it, you go defensive and pick up your opponent no matter where the ball is.
• When the ball is in the forward line the followers and the center line players (midfielders) form the wall.
• If you are within kicking distance, you kick for goal.
• Remember to make allowance for the wind;
• And I reminded them of the size and shape of the oval. (In our warm up, outside on the oval, I had talked about the oval discussing the defending and attacking avenues).

At quarter time after I had made sure everyone knew where they were playing that quarter, I discussed the first quarter. Some of the boys were a bit hesitant going for the ball. So I said "Back your judgment and go for it and get two hands on the ball". The wind was an issue in the second quarter as we were kicking into it. So I stressed to be in front of the pack.

For the rest of the game, I just reinforced those simple ideas and offered individual advice to players where necessary. Our team beat North Queensland by 5 goals. The team went on to win the second division trophy. In the finals, they played and beat the bottom team in the first division. Our success can from a simple game plan that the boys followed; improving with each of the five games they played in four days.

What was also important to note was that the boys bought into the plan because they knew from the beginning that they would all get the maximum time on the field and the fact that I had asked for their input into team selection and the selection of the captain made them feel an important part of the team. Almost from the beginning of my coaching career at state level and at school level, I used this same approach.

If you have looked into ways to last longer in bed, you likely have come across the following classic technique:

“Think about sports during sex and you will avoid premature ejaculation!”

This has been around a long time and as mentioned, it is a classic remedy as far as ways to last longer in bed go.

Now most of the time when guys think about sports, it’s football. So let’s put this method into practice:

You are having sex with your partner. You want to avoid premature ejaculation. You start thinking about sports, specifically football. You begin running some plays in your head; envisioning the quarterback receiving the ball, the linebackers being set in motion, the tight ends doing their jobs, the receivers scrambling into position…

Anything wrong with this picture?

You are having sex and you are thinking about football players! Now if you are gay this won’t sound strange, but it still means you are placing focus away from your partner and envisioning others just in an effort to avoid premature ejaculation.

But this technique has been used by an enormous number of straight men as a way to last longer in bed. Here you have this lovely woman you are sharing intimacy with, and yet you are visually thinking about tight ends and linebackers?

Yet this technique continues to be used and offered up as a legitimate way to stop quick ejaculation.

So how can we avoid using this technique?

Well, the thing is, the football technique does actually work to some degree. It distracts the mind enough that the body holds out longer during sex. So what we want to do is find other ways to not so much “distract” the mind, but rather relax the mind.

Deep breathing during sex. This works wonders for relaxing the mind and holding out much longer than usual. During sex take slow deep breaths and focus on these breaths. Even if your body is thrusting at a decent pace, you can still slow down your mind by taking slow and deep breaths.

We want to make a distinction between your body doing the work, and your mind becoming over excited and anxious. When the mind becomes anxious then the body will become over stimulated too quickly.

Relax the mind.

The other thing we can do physically is to practice doing kegels. This is an exercise where you squeeze the muscles located between the testicles and anus. These are the muscles which control ejaculation flow. You can squeeze these to stop quick ejaculation from happening.

So this combination of deep breathing and kegel training is the absolute best way for lasting longer during sex and stopping early ejaculation from occurring.

What do you think would happen if most people spent as much time planning their retirement and investments each year as they spend watching football? I suspect we would all have a lot more money, be better prepared for retirement, and maybe even be able to afford tickets to the Super Bowl every year.

Steve Roberts, with nearly twenty years of experience in the financial industry, knows that most people – including himself – would rather play or watch football than the stock market. After all, Steve himself was a three – sport letterman in high school, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a member of Ricks Junior College football team, and today he coaches youth football. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t value financial planning and realize its importance. What it does mean is he had the brilliant idea to write a book about financial planning using football metaphors to make the topic not only more interesting but easier to understand for his many readers.

Steve breaks down his new book, “Football Financial Planning,” into three sections: Defense; Offense; and Coaches, Special Teams, and Systems. Then in each section, he discusses a valuable asset for your retirement or investing portfolio, and he compares that investment to a player in football. For example, he compares auto insurance to a defensive tackle and universal life insurance to an outside linebacker – these are players on your defense because you need them to protect your assets. Players on your offense include the center (your checking account), a right tackle (fixed annuity), and a tight end (bonds). Steve realizes that you may not always need every player on your team, but he walks you through the benefits as well as disadvantages of each player so you can decide whom you do want on your team and how you can use those players to create the best possible game plan for yourself.

I’ve read several financial planning books in the past, and they all are helpful in various ways. What makes Football Financial Planning stand out is not only that the football metaphor is fun, but that the way Steve breaks down the team makes each player or financial tool very easy to understand; because each player/investment product is a chapter by itself, the book is also accessible for referring back to and finding specific items later.

Steve makes the discussion easy to follow, and he really made me think about the different financial options out there and why certain ones would be great assets to have on my team while others would not. In the end, he reminds us that each of us is the team owner and even the quarterback of our own team, so we have to make the decisions on the plays.

As an added bonus, Steve provides play charts for avid football fans so they can see how their financial offense or defense adds up. At the end of each chapter, he also provides a short chart or worksheet for the reader to fill out, asking questions about things such as insurance deductibles, projected cash value, or income so people can write all their information down and keep it in one easy to find and remember location, as well as evaluate the different possibilities that exist for their financial game plan.

In the end, Steve’s entire system boils down to determining what system or philosophy works best for you because no one team will work for everyone. Steve highlights this point with the following story:

“To win a game (score big in your investments), it is very important to have a system (philosophy) that matches your quarterback’s abilities and talents. One university that has produced many great college quarterbacks is Brigham Young University (BYU); however, not all of BYU’s great quarterbacks have had success in the NFL. I once heard BYU’s former coach, Lavell Edwards, say that he believes Marc Wilson, one of his great quarterbacks, would have been more successful in the NFL if he had played in a different system. The point here is you need to make sure the system and philosophy your coaches implement matches your needs and abilities. There are systems out there that others are pushing and selling that work for most people, and they may work for you, but they may not be the best fit for you. Some examples of systems that people may be pushing are to buy an outside linebacker term life insurance and invest the rest in mutual fund running backs. This person’s system may also include telling you never to buy a variable annuity. Every person’s situation is different, so everyone else’s team may look a little different than yours; the important thing is to find the system and coaches that work for you.”

Whether you love football or you just want to get clear about your financial situation and be prepared to score a touchdown to win the game when it’s time to retire, Football Financial Planning can give you the tools you need now to create the investing system that works for you. Then, when the game is over, you will have a great nest egg to last you for the rest of your life.