Don Markham passes at 78

I still have his original, scratchy, VHS tape of an early clinic. He added greatly to my excitement @ DW. RIP

Loved the one man DW clinic that he presented in a jam packed class room!! Still have a copy of that old VHS tape.
Talked to him on the phone several times about his fantastic offense...wish I could have met him in person.

RIP Coach!!!!

First offense I ran when I got into HS coaching back in'99... RIP Coach!

I posted this on the Coach Calande site...

I got to hear him and Tim Murphy speak at a clinic in 2005, after my first year of running the offense, out of necessity. I had taken over a program that finished 1-9 and only had 13 players suit up for the last game. I was planning to run the flexbone that I'd ran as an OC for 6 years prior. I quickly realized I had to teach the kids I did have, how to get in a 3pt stance, and execute a shoulder block, before I can teach them to count defenders, and read and pitch off other defenders.

I had remembered seeing his Bloomington team (it may have been an asst. that took over the program) play in a CIF Championship game in the mid 90's, I had seen them on film before. I got there late and had to sit in the endzone seats, all I could think, I was glad I wasn't on defense. Every play somebody was getting "rolled up" and herd of Buffalo was running over the top of them.

I had mentioned to an assistant that I had inherited, about the offense, the Double Wing. I told him it wasn't pretty, but I've heard of a lot schools that have put it in had some instant success, he had heard of it as well and we started an internet search and started installing the offense. That year we went 4-6, and gained a lot of respect from our opponents.

At the time I went to the clinic to see Markham and Murphy, I was not "sold" on the offense, I still liked seeing a FB go untouched, a QB pulling the ball and nobody knowing he has it, a perimeter pitch for extra yards, or a play-action pass off the veer fake to a wide open WR, I still do. I was basically going to find ways to "poke holes" in the offense, and return to the Flexbone.

But with Murphy's attention to the details, and physical approach to the offense, along with Markham's "Aw-shucks" attitude and demeanor, I was sold and have ran the offense ever since.

With Markham's creation, and Murphy, Calande, Mensing, Wyatt, and many other's coaching points and "fine tuning" of the offense. The Double Wing has made a lot of people think I know what the hell I'm doing, and brought respect and to the program I have been coaching.

RIP Don Markham...

Have not run it but have coached against it and always respected it. RIP coach.