The Hoosier Hurricanes invaded Homestead, Florida for last weekend’s 4th annual Minor League Football News (MLFN) Super Football Weekend strong winded and left with reign.

In a game dominated by defense, the Hurricanes hammered the Carolina Express 41-0 to win MLFN’s AA National Championship.

“To reach this point so quickly is incredible,” said Hurricanes head coach John Starlin. “I really feel like a proud father to all of those guys.”

While the ‘Canes’ offense was strong, the play of their defense was dominant. The ‘Canes forced eight turnovers and controlled the Express’ offense, which towered over them in size and power. Early in the contest, it looked like the Express were going to use their Power I offensive attack to run right down the throat of the ‘Canes’ defense. When the Express were forced to throw, however, the speedy Hurricane secondary was able to take the game away. The first of four Express interceptions was thrown on that opening drive, and the Hurricanes never looked back.

“They were a tough team to scout, but I really think they underestimated our speed,” said Starlin. “Other coaches from their league were able to help me out as far as scouting, but I knew as solid as our defense was that we could play with anybody.”

Staying with the defensive theme of the game, linebacker Deon Smith was awarded the game’s MVP for his 12 tackle performance. He also intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.

The AA national title was the perfect end to a season that was already storybook for the Indianapolis squad, founded by co-owners Starlin, David Day, and NFL wide receiver Reggie Wayne. In their first year of existence, the Hurricanes were awarded Best New Team in the Midwest by MLFN after finishing 13-1 in the Ohio Valley Football League (OVFL). Their OVFL season finished with a Super Bowl victory over the Charlotte (MI) Roughriders, 21-0.

“This has really been a dream season for us,” said Starlin.

Starlin’s players have also won numerous accolades from MLFN. Four ‘Canes were honored with Midwest All-American status: Derrick Ellis was an honorable mention Midwest All-American at running back, wide receiver Scott Penick made second team Midwest All-American, and Corey Crumpton and Charles Avant were first and second team at defensive back, respectively.

Ellis, a former “Mr. Indiana” while playing running back in high school, was also named Running Back of the Year in the Midwest Region by MLFN.

The Hurricanes will return to the OVFL next season and compete to become the first ever back-to-back champion in league history, a feat no team has accomplished in 40 years of competition.

“We are trying to develop something special here,” said Starlin.

It certainly looks like the Hurricanes are off to a roaring start.

Over-valued fantasy football players are not necessarily players that will struggle this season. They are players that are being drafted too high in the draft compared to their predicted output versus players at the same position being drafted much lower. Successful fantasy football team owners are the owners that recognize value in each round and draft accordingly. There is no set methodology on what position to draft in each round or what players should be drafted in each round. As always, KNOW YOUR SCORING system and let that dictate your drafting strategy and be flexible about your strategy so you can make adjustments on the fly based on how the draft is unfolding so you can recognize Value in the players still available.

Assuming a standard fantasy football scoring system, we are going to cite players that we are seeing drafted too high compared to other players at their position. Currently, the most over-valued fantasy football players thus far, according to their Average Draft Position, are as follows.

QB: Peyton Manning (Denver) – Peyton began showing his age towards the end of 2014. He was still the third highest scoring QB last season, but that won’t happen this year and he is being drafted as the third QB. Manning is a bit slower, throws more INTs, the Broncos are relying much more on their running game and Peyton has lost a few weapons. Wes Welker and Julian Thomas are gone and RB C.J. Anderson is breaking out. I still expect 4000 yards and 30 TDs from Peyton, but you can get that kind of production later in the draft from numerous other QBs… QBs that are much younger and more mobile than the 39-year old Manning.

RB: Jonathan Stewart (Carolina) – There are many people that felt that Stewart cane into his own last season and it will springboard him into a successful 2015. Sure, he averaged 100 ypg in his last 4 and the Panthers did let RB DeAngelo Williams go, but I don’t buy it. He has only had one season of over 200 carries due to injuries and has already tweaked his ankle this summer. If you decide that he is worth the risk, make sure to also grab Cameron Artis-Payne to plug in the day the switchover happens.

WR Sammy Watkins (Buffalo) – Sammy Watkins is as talented as a receiver gets in the AFC East, but you won’t notice this season. Kyle Orton was a serviceable QB, but he has retired and the list of QBs now in Buffalo makes a person cringe; Matt Cassel, E.J. Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. Coach Rex Ryan has faced this situation before and I can guarantee you that he is going to try to win by running the ball and letting his defense do the bulk of the work. Also, Sammy is coming off hip surgery which is definitely not going to help. The NFL is chocked full of quality WRs so don’t spend a pick on Watkins as it could just be a wasted pick.

TE Julius Thomas (Jacksonville) – Julius is very talented but he may never see the production that he had in Denver again. Of course, he has 46 million reasons not to be too upset about it. Thomas’ greatest value has always come in the form of TDs. Because Denver had so much talent, he was never relied upon to be a catch/yardage-heavy option. Now, Jacksonville is largely devoid of receiving talent, so it could mean that Thomas will compensate for his drop in TD receptions with more catches and yards, but it could also mean that he will face double-teams. He is far too risky to consider taking him in single-digit rounds when there could be a half-dozen tight ends that end up with the same, or better, numbers that are drafted in double-digit rounds.

K Stephen Gostkowski (New England) – Gostkowski was the highest scoring kicker in the NFL last season so he should be the highest drafted kicker, correct? Well, I would agree, but why take ANY kicker before your last or second-to-last round? Philly K Cody Parker was a mere 2 field goals behind Gostkowski in points and no one is thinking about taking him over a WR4 or RB4. Fill your bench before taking a kicker.

D Seattle – Along the same lines as a kicker, WAIT on your defense. Unless you have a robust scoring system that rewards defenses heavily, the difference in points between the top dozen defenses is too small to think about taking a defense in single-digit rounds. Seattle gets a LOT of press and has been to two straight Super Bowls, but they were not the top-scoring defense in fantasy last year even after having an ADP in single-digit rounds. As a matter of fact, in some formats, they were the 7-9th highest scoring defense in 2014. Before I take a kicker, I always start two rounds before and grab my first defense then grab my second defense. The top defenses fluctuate every year. Who would have figured that Philly would have had the highest-scoring fantasy defense last season?

Canadian Football – Hands On

While the Canadians love their Hockey, in many areas of Canada, football is very popular. I had the pleasure of conducting a coaches clinic near Vancouver last week and then had the privilege of running a practice for a group of 5-6th graders the following evening.

It all started a few years ago when a coach by the name of Terry Hamilton brought the Single Wing Offense to British Columbia and the Vancouver area. Terry’s team went 16-0 that season and won the coveted Provincial Championship. Others took notice of Terry’s success and the following year there were about 25 Canadian coaches at my Seattle coaches clinic. The following seasonTerry’s team again went undefeated and won the Provincial Championship, winning the title game 72-14. The real surprise that season were the Chilliwack Giants, who shocked everyone by rolling through the playoffs to their first ever Provincial Title at 5-6th grade. Chilliwack is the team that came down to Nebraska and played us last season, Single Wing versus Single Wing.

Lawrence Smith, the Chilliwack organizer for that trip graciously invited my family up to stay with them, put on a coaches clinic and spend time with his family in the unbelievable beauty and friendliness that is British Columbia. They seem to almost take for granted the beautiful snow covered mountain views you can see from their backyard. Same goes for a huge breathtaking waterfall and state park complete with signs to watch out for the bears just 5 minutes from their home. Another 10 minutes away we spent time at a quaint mountain village with a public swimming area and great local dairy and ice cream. More on that later, let’s talk about some nuances and changes that make sense for Canadian youth football.

The Canadians play on a larger field, the Canadian field of play is 110 yards long by 65 yards wide, rather than 100 yards long by 53â…” yards wide as in American football. The Canadian endzones are 10 yards deeper than the American ones as well. The Canadians are allowed just 3 downs to make a first down and the defense must align at least 1 yard off the line of scrimmage.

Chilliwack offensive coordinator Lawrence Smith pointed out this difference and then asked why we drop stepped when we pull. We drop step to both create space for the pulling lineman to pull, but also to open his hips in the direction he is running, while keeping the shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage in order that the puller can spy the Linebacker he is attempting to block. Since there is a full yard between the offensive and defensive linemen, there really isn’t a need to create space and the footwork for the pull may have to be rethought. In American football, we have our linemen recessed a bit and we consistently are able to play on the defenses side of the ball due to superior technique and the painstaking work we put into getting our first 2 steps down faster than our opponents. But with a full yard of space, does a drop step still make sense? I’m still debating that one.

One point that doesn’t need to be debated is the offensive linemens angle of attack. In the US, we preach a first inside step at a 30 degree angle. But since the Canadians have that 1 yard cushion, I found the angle of attack had to be adjusted a bit. Using the GOD rule, the “inside gap” assignment block had to be made at a 45 degree attack angle for the first 2 steps, while the “on” assignment had to be made at about a 60 degree angle. Some things you just can’t solve without having some on the field hands on experience with.

The wider field makes the option off of pressure on the Spinner 26 or Flash 26 a play that makes a lot of sense and these kids executed it quite well. The Canadians also allow you to motion multiple players and the motion can be toward the line of scrimmage. If I were coaching in Canada, that would mean a series where 2 backs were in downhill motion from opposite directions meshing to a spinning fullback.

Hats off to the Chilliwack organization and team. They showed up in force to practice despite the fact that the entire area was in a frenzy over the Vancouver Canucks NHL team playing on TV at the same time as we were practicing. Vancouver is trying to win their first ever Stanley Cup and over 50,000 people were watching the game in downtown Vancouver on giant open air screens. Every home in every neighborhood seemed to have 5-6 cars parked in the driveway, getting together to watch the game. Yet this pocket of dedicated football enthusiasts showed up ready to practice and we got after it. Thanks again to all the great people in the Chilliwack area, good football and great friendly football people.

Daily / Weekly fantasy football leagues get the most press nowadays but they are still FAR in the minority of desired games that fantasy football participants like playing. Long before then, the majority of people playing fantasy football will be registering their season-long private fantasy football leagues and joining their season-long public fantasy football leagues.

For those wanting to take advantage of unique fantasy football features but don't have enough people for a private Commissioner League or prefer to play for higher stakes, there are numerous public fantasy football leagues that utilize these options. 2015 public fantasy football leagues are listed below and come in a range of entry fees / payouts.

• Traditional leagues (available in Live Draft and Autodraft) – 10-team head-to-head league featuring the most widely-accepted positions and scoring system: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WR / TE, 1 TE, 1 D, 1 K .
• PPR leagues – 10-team Live Draft head-to-head league resembles the Traditional league but an additional starting RB / WR swing position is added and the scoring system awards a point per reception and RB / WR TDs drop to 4 points each with bonuses awarded (extra 1 or 2 points) for longer TDs.
• TD Only leagues – 10-team Live Draft head-to-head is a big departure from Traditional fantasy leagues and harken back to the days of scoring on paper when the Commissioner made life easy on himself and only needed to score points for Touchdowns. TD scoring only is what you will find here so you won't have to worry about drafting any idiot kickers. TD points vary with the distant of the touchdown.
• League Average leagues – 10-team Live Draft head-to-head league resembles the Traditional league but an additional starting RB / WR swing position is added and the scoring system matches the standard except for ranges for the kicking and defensive statistics. The twist in this league is you will receive 2 decisions per week; one versus your H2H opponent and one versus the League Average (average score of the starting lineups for that week). This league type awards higher-scoring teams more than standard H2H.
• Bye Week Rollover leagues – 10-team Live Draft head-to-head league resembles the Traditional league but an additional starting RB / WR swing position is added and the scoring system matches the standard except for ranges for the kicking and defensive statistics. The twist in this league is you will be able to choose players the week before they are on Bye and determine if you want their points for that week to also carry-over to their Bye week, thus locking in two weeks (good or bad) .
• In-game change leagues – 10-team Live Draft head-to-head league resembles the Traditional league but an additional starting RB / WR swing position is added and the scoring system matches the standard except for ranges for the kicking and defensive statistics. The twist in this league is you will be able to change players at the half. This helps if you have a player that is hurt or underperforming. Of course, the first half is locked in already and you will only be able to replace the second half with another player's half that is currently open (either first or second half).
• Total Point leagues – 10-team Live Draft Total Point league resembles the Traditional league but an additional starting RB / WR swing position is added and the scoring system matches the standard except for ranges for the kicking and defensive statistics. The twist in this league is that the standings are based off of the total points accumulated over the course of the season by your starting lineup. This league truly awards the highest scoring team. This league runs a full 17-week season and has no playoffs.

One of the most important things a football official has to do is prepare well for every game. If an official does not prepare, his crewmates will take notice. If the official prepares hard, his crewmates will also notice. As an official, when you show up to the game, you should be prepared. There are multiple important steps for football officials to take to ensure they are ready for the game.

1. Watch your game footage from the previous week.

If there is any way for you as an official to get your hands on tape from your last game, take advantage of it! There is no better way to improve as an official that to watch yourself and see firsthand what mistakes you are making. Pay attention to the signals you give and ensure they are high quality. Additionally, pat attention to your position on plays. Where you are on each play can make a huge difference on what you can see. If you are doing something wrong, identify it and think how to resolve the issue, and finally practice the correct way.

2. Review what you need to.

Every football official, no matter the level, always runs across something in the game that they want to doublecheck or read more on. In many cases, it is something like a penalty enforcement on a weird play. Try to remember what these things are and spend time throughout the week researching and reading about that type of play. Helpful books for this are the case book attached to the rule book and the Redding’s study guide.

3. Scout teams.

In order to be prepared for the game, you should have an idea of how the game will go. In order to know this, you must scout the teams playing. You can do this ideally through watching film of the team or reading quantitative stats online. Look at things such as win loss record and percent of plays as runs and passes. Looking at these things may help you know the team likes to throw a deep ball, therefore deep wing officials, Field Judge and Side Judge, may start a few yards deeper to try to not get beat. You may also be able to tell if the game will be close or a blowout. Neither is a walk in the park for officials because in a blowout, teams can become very choppy and draw a lot of flags. However, a close game may have coaches breathing down your neck and extra pressure added to it.

Other steps in how to prepare each week will include things such as preparing the uniform, making sure you are in good physical condition and confirming the crew for each game.

How to mark out a foot ball field: Then using a string line, start with your goal line, making sure that you have 100 metres clearance of any hedges/obstructions etc. This line should be measured to as wide as you can in the space allowed, to approx 65-70m.

Use the 3,4,5 triangle technique to obtain a right angle at each corner of your goal line and take a string line down the pitch following your right angle to 95-105m. Do this for both corners of your first goal line which will give you two touch lines.

At the end of one of the touchlines, use another 3,4,5 triangle and follow a string line to the end of the other touchline.

You should now have strung out a rectangle. To check the accuracy of you rectangle, measure the diagonal lengths – these should equal the same. Once you are sure the string lines are correct, use these as a guide to mark the triangle.

Using a tape measure, find the centre of each goal. From the centre, make a mark on the goal line for the six yard and eighteen yard boxes. Do this for each end. A very useful diagram to use as a guide for this can be found at http://www.pitchcare.com.

From the corners, measure up both the touchlines, six and eighteen yards. Also measure up touchlines to find the middle of your field. Once all the internal measurements have been strung, mark these lines, ensuring you mark on the inside of the string line.

Once the six and eighteen yard boxes are marked, mark your centre line. Finally, put a string line up the centre of the pitch and measure from the back of the line (36′) for the middle of the penalty spot at each end. From the middle of the painted spot, measure 30′ on the outside of the penalty box to get your arc.

Follow the same principal to mark out your centre circle by again measuring 30′ out from the centre spot of your halfway line. The final step is to mark out the quadrants at each corner – these should be 1m radius.

Let’s talk about high school football official crew communication

It is vital that as a crew you have fluid communication between each position on the field.  This is significant for any level of football.  As a varsity football crew we break down our communication as follows:

Football Crew Communication Signals –

• Linesman and Line Judge (Wings) – A fist held straight out to the side – represents the nearest player off the line. This is used to communicate that their man is off the line – and signals to each other to count the players in the back field if both show this signal.  This is specific for an illegal formation – not enough players on the line.
• Linesman and Line Judge (Wings) – A palm to the cheek represents an unbalanced line – signaling to everyone to look for numbering issues, ineligibles, and position of players.
• All officials – Two fist crossed, signals two stakes – more than ten yards to gain for a first down
• Linesman and Line Judge (Wings) – When a play ends on the sideline – two arms held down with palms toward the sideline represents ‘Player out of bounds’.  Clock will start on the next snap
• Linesman and Line Judge (Wings) – When a play ends on the sideline – two arms held down with palms toward the field of play represents ‘Player in bounds’.  Clock is still running
• Linesman and Line Judge (Wings) – On a pass play behind the line of scrimmage the wings may have to signal the direction of the ball.  If the pass was backward this signaling is done by putting an open hand held straight out to the side.  If the pass was forward – no signal is needed.   This is critical if a backward-passed ball is recovered in bounds by the defense or goes out of bounds to mark the new spot for the offense.
• All officials – Starting the clock, this is done by rotating an arm in a large circle in front of the body (called winding the clock).
• All officials – Stopping the clock to indicate that the play progress was stopped out of bounds.  This is done by crossing the arms above the head two times.
• When a first down is reached the process is to stop (wind) the clock two times and then restart it .  This signals that the first down was reached and that the referee will start the clock on the ready for play.
• All officials – will rotate each fist over each other to signal that the next play will give protection for the snapper on punts, field goals, and or tries.
• All officials – some crews will pound a fist on top of each other to signal that after the next play we will stop the clock in unison – this is used as a reminder to each crew member.
• All officials will hold a fist straight up to signal that they have counted their respective teams (offense or defense – depending on the official) for eleven players.  This is done to signal that there are not too many players during a play.
• It is vital that you communicate as a crew to how the signaling is done. Signals need to be consistent and should be discussed during pre-game.

The modern era of University of Iowa football helmets began with a yellow helmet, gray facemask, black vertical stripe and black numbers on the side. This design was used through 1964 and was brought back once in 2010 in a game against Ball State to commemorate the 1959 Rose Bowl Champion Hawkeye squad. The first major change occurred in 1965 when the numbers on the side were replaced by a black “I” with a white circle and a thin black outline in the logo spot. This logo did not last long, however. By 1966, the “I” was removed and the helmet was just solid yellow with black and white vertical stripes.

A logo returned in 1971 with a large soaring eagle across a black background. The eagle had a lot of shading to it. Since the background was now black, the vertical striping switched to a single yellow vertical stripe. This was the second time a logo only lasted one year. By 1972, the logo was changed with all the shading being removed. The eagle was solid yellow, and its talons were similar but slightly altered and thicker. By 1974, Iowa decided it like the solid design again and went back to the solid yellow helmet; this time only having one black stripe with no white stripe outline like they did in the late sixties.

The year 1977 marked another shift. As was popular in that era, the name Iowa in cursive was applied to the yellow helmet with black stripe. The Iowa decal was black but outlined in black. As facemasks of different colors became available, the uniform designers at Iowa decided that a black facemask would fit this design perfectly. The design overall looked pretty crisp as black and yellow are some of the easiest colors to read and see from afar (the billboard industry knows this and uses this scheme often when they are trying to catch your attention).

The current Iowa football helmet has been in use for over 30 years believe it or not. The black helmet with yellow stripe and a graphic Hawkeye head came into use in 1979. This is one of the most memorable logos in college sports and immediately catches your eye with the beak, eye, head, and part stretching from the eye toward the body. High schools and other teams have used this popular logo. There have been a few occasions since 1979 when the Hawkeye football team wore a different helmet. At least twice they have worn an all black helmet to mourn either campus shooting victims or a player’s parents. They also wore a gold helmet once in 2004 to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Kinnick Stadium.

One final interesting element of the Iowa Hawkeyes football helmet has been the “ANF” letters which where place on a small decal on the back of the helmet. This was worn in the mid to late 80’s and early 90’s. Many people wonder what those letters stood for when they look at historic photos of the Hawkeye team. “America Needs Farmers” is what the ANF stood for and it was meant to support struggling farmers. Even in 2011, they continue to have special America Needs Farmers days where farmers are invited and paid tribute to. It makes sense when you think of Iowa as the corn and soybean farming capital of America.

Some football cleats are designed for speed! You may argue that you can’t go wrong with a pair of good sturdy football cleats for in any sort of action on a football pitch, but there is so much research in materials while making shoes that it is becoming quite popular to recommend certain types and brands of shoes for certain roles in the field and speed is one requirement for quite a few player positions on a football field.

What are the some of the characteristics of football cleats designed for speed?

· They are low-cut cleats. They do not offer ankle protection, but facilitate better cutting, movement and speed. The mid cut cleats offer some amount of ankle protection, but also allow for speed running and are used by running backs, quarterbacks, etc. It is up to the player which one he feels comfortable in.

· They are lighter. Uppers are in a single layer, and the shoe is built to help players accelerate. The triangular studs at the front of the shoe give more traction while accelerating. Minimum materials are used to maintain the lightness.

· There are filaments which are placed strategically across the topside of the foot, like a suspension bridge, which offer greater support to the foot. Such features are patented technologies of manufacturers. It gives a tight fit, but flexible because it takes on the natural shape of the foot.

· The material for uppers is also an advanced polyester yarn whose weave allows a single, seamless upper that gives greater tenacity. Combined with an injected outsole, this offers speed with lightweight comfort.

· There are insert foams which are shaped exactly like a wearer’s foot, giving a more comfortable fit. This is also a proprietary feature, like the molded tongues which add to the comfort fit in the said models.

Which positions should wear these sorts of cleats and why?

· Quarterbacks moving out of their traditional roles of making accurate passes are having to play the ball more. They need speed and agility, so these cleats are good for them.

· Running Back – where you must get out onto the field and outrun your opponent. They come in handy here as well

· Defensive Back – needs speed and traction

· Tight ends are players who can switch their roles between wide receiver and offensive lineman. Instant speed is required when the catch a pass.

What should a player do before a big game in preparation for it?

· Get a good eight hours of sleep the night before the game.

· Do not have a heavy meal at least a couple of hours before the game

· Mentally get into the week’s game a few days before, stay positive and talk to the coaching staff about strategies along with your teammates.

· On the day of the game, reach at least three hours before. Many players recommend reading the game-day program in detail to calm the mind! Get taped up per your needs with your favorite staff member, after any pregame massages or treatment you may need. Acupuncture works wonders at this last minute of preparation, for nagging pains and aches.

· Jogging round the field and making small cuts to test the cleats for traction and whether they are suited to the surface of the ground and soil conditions is a ritual most footballers can’t do without.

Splatter Tackling Drills

We are huge fans of splatter tackling and splatter tackling drills when you are coaching youth football. These drills are great ways to ease your kids into full contact. We think it is imperative to prefect blocking and tackling technique at the youth level. Too many youth football coaches just don’t spend enough time or demand the perfection of detail that makes kids great blockers and tacklers.

Ruining the Potential of Good Kids

Despite what many youth coaches think, most kids aren’t born to be great blockers and tacklers, they are made. Unfortunately there are a bunch of kids out there that have the potential to be very good football players that are ruined by their youth football coach. These coaches rush kids into contact before they have perfected perfect blocking and tackling technique with their players WITHOUT contact. Too many kids get rushed into full speed blocking and tackling in space well before they are ready for it. That’s a coaching problem, not a kid problem. Coach is too busy trying to quickly see who is studs are, before giving his average and weaker kids a chance to develop the skills and confidence to be able to survive and compete in a full speed tackling or blocking drill in space.

Splatter Drills

In our book “Winning Youth Football a Step-by- Step Plan”, we detail exactly how you can do it. One of the key steps is using “Splatter” drills. The Splatter Drill lets a player learn how to accelerate through contact without experiencing the consequence of a reciprocal blow. This drill also allows the player to take another player to the ground without a hard ground impact. This drill can also help you drill the correct landmarks for feet placement, head placement and hip roll.

For the player playing the role of the “patsy”, the player providing zero resistance to the block or tackle and is getting slammed into a soft landing matt on every rep, the job doesn’t sound like much fun. But what I’m hearing from coaches all across the country is that their kids love to be the one holding the shield and getting slammed onto the landing pad every play. I thought our kids were weird, they all want to play the pasty, but I guess everyones kids are as odd as mine.

Problems With Splatter Drills

One of the things that always bothered me about this drill was the fact you need to have 4 long dummys to use as landing pads. Well at about $100 each, that is $400, out of the reach of many youth programs. Lugging these dummies around is a big hassle as well. Then once on the field, you have just one landing pad for 25 kids. As most of you know I’m not a fan of having kids standing in long lines, so that means whenever we do splatter drills. It is only part of a circuit, it is never a drill we want to do on it’s own, even if we need it.

The Solution, Tony Holland to the Rescue

My good friend Tony Holland from Maryland solved this one. He went to Walmart and bought several camping air mattresses for $65 each. Each mattress is big enough to be a landing pad all by itself. These things roll up into a small box too, so you don’t need a pickup to lug them around. Tony bought a small electric air compressor for $20 that not only inflates each mattress in less than 2 minutes, it also sucks the air out as well when you are finished. Tony has several of these mattresses so his kids can all do Splatter Drills at the same time and in much smaller groups. He didn’t have to repair a single leak and he said all of his are good to go for next season.