“It is a magnificently thorough treatment of the subject and is worthwhile reading for every coach and aspiring coach. It must have been fun to research and write it.” Marv Levy, Hall of Fame NFL coach

Mr. Reed-

I am the Special Teams Coordinator at Capital University (OH). I read your book as a player in 1997 and I have also read it each year that I have been coaching.

Louie Matsakis

PS Your book has helped me tremendously as a college coach.

"This book has a lot of very useful information that I will definitely take advantage of while coaching. It has made me stop and think through clock-management situations much differently than I used to." Kevin McGarry, Head Football Coach, University of San Diego

"In researching [a clock] issue, I came across an excellent book titled Football Clock Management by John T. Reed. This book is one of a kind and an outstanding source of material. I found it to be as interesting and informative as any book on football I have ever read.

"I was so impressed with the book that I called Coach Reed and asked him to author a series of articles for us on some of the fundamental principles and theories he has discovered. Additionally, I requested he serve as a faculty member at our upcoming AFQ University continuing education conference for coaches. I truly believe the information he has to offer could win a coach a game or two each season." Barry Terranova, Publisher, American Football Coach magazine

"I know a guy who just wrote an entire book about clock management in football. ...I'd suggest that every NFL coach take a look at it because this is a much-neglected area of game strategy." Paul Zimmerman ("Dr. Z") CNN/Sports Illustrated

"Fantastic book. The weekend after I skimmed it, I found myself discovering clock-management mistakes in the college and pro games I watched on TV. We'd like to add your book to our catalog." Darrell Bennett, Coaching Education Director, Championship Books and Video Productions, Ames, IA

"Every coach should read this book." Hal Mumme, Head Football Coach, University of Kentucky

"Excellent book. I loved it. The two best football books I have ever read are your Football Clock Management and Brian Billick's Developing an Offensive Game Plan. Please send two more copies of Football Clock Management." R. Keeth Matheny, Offensive Coordinator, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ

"This is the kind of information that can win you a game or two a season." Dana Bible, Offensive Coordinator, Stanford University

"Enjoyed reading the American Football Quarterly Clinic Bonus ' Clock Management' by John T .Reed. Mr. Reed brings up some interesting points that all coaches must be aware of when the game gets down to 'Crunch Time.'" Tim Salem, Quarterback Coach, Ohio State University

"Only a West Point graduate, a Harvard MBA, and a former high school coach woud think of writing a whole book on anything as esoteric as football clock management. Enter John T. Reed. He's all of these things and, we suspect, a man who learned the law of probabilities under Coach Albert Einstein. How else could anyone have amassed the incredible data in this book?

"He produces eye-popping tables, graphs, and true-life stories on every principle of clock management: when to take a knee, when to slow down, speed up, take a safety, spike the ball, fake spiking the ball, fake taking a knee, decline a penalty, use time-outs, and lots of other intriguiging stuff.

"He cites names, places, events, heroes, and goats of all kinds of good and bad cases of clock management. Steven Spielberg could make a movie out of all this." Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director magazine 2/98

"I want to personally thank you for the time we spent on the phone. Your willingness to share some of your thoughts with me about time management meant a great deal. It is not every day that I can read a book then contact the author and get immediate feedback. Being a young coach, your book has allowed me to develop strategies and focus for critical areas of the game that I may not have grasped otherwise. I can tell that you have a great love for the game. Not everyone would go to the painstaking lengths you do to research game after game. Many, many coaches will benefit from your effort. Your book, Football Clock Management, has already had a tremendous impact on the outcome of two of our games. Our football staff believes that we have an edge against other teams in our conference because we are better prepared in critical time management situations. I know that [our head] Coach Miriello meant it when he said, 'Football Clock Management is the best football coaching book I have ever read.'" Gene McCabe, Running Backs Coach, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA

"Received your book today and I cannot put it down! What an outstanding work! I have been a head coach for 14 years and many situations you cover in your book have happened to me. Some of these situations my players won in spite of me. Others, I now realize, cost my team in some critical situations or I could have spared my defense some agonizing moments. I have already told my staff your book will be required reading when I am done. Those that are critical of your book should beware, they may well lose to someone that heeds the lessons that can be learned. Figures it would take a West Point graduate with a MBA to come up with this. Once again, outstanding job.

"Just finished Clock Management this AM. Again I compliment you on an outstanding work!! Over the past several days I have been sharing the info in the book with the coaches on my staff and there is great interest there. I might add that we are all 'old timers' and none of us have less than 20 years experience. You have a disciple in VA. Your book has put it all together for me. Thanks again." Dale Spitzer, Head Football Coach, Fort Defiance High School, Fort Defiance, VA

"Last season, we discovered two books that had a tremendous impact upon us: George Allen's Guide to Special Teams and a new book, Football Clock Management, by John T. Reed...they proved enormously helpful... " Kevin Reilly, Aberdeen (MD) High School quoted in his article in the September 1998 Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director Magazine

"Some of the best football books are not widely advertised, and, if you're not looking for them, you could miss them. For example, I've not seen a word about John T. Reed's Football Clock Management, the only book you're likely to find exclusively devoted to that subject. Perhaps it's noted in magazines for coaches since it should be required reading for any football mentor. And it certainly will change the way any fan watches a game." Bob Carroll, Editor, The Coffin Corner, Co-author of The Hidden Game of Football

Dear Mr. Reed,
Thank you.  I'm just coming home from a victory party for our 10/11 year old youth football team.  We won the league title today with a team mixed with kids who on two levels last year were a combined  0-8, 4-4.  This is my third year coaching, and having read and studied your books on offense, defense, youth football and clock management, you are a huge part of this championship too.  It was a battle at times with other coaches who fought me on many aspects of the game (I believe and follow your theories on the game because they are logical and they work) regarding offensive philosphy and time management, but it paid off.  
  Just one example: today we beat a team 6-0 who was 9-1, had scored 200 points in ten games, but by controlling the ball on our offense we kept their offense off the field.  We knew how to shut them down while on defense, and on offense had two long drives of almost an entire quarter each, both starting on our own twenty, that ended in one touchdown and the second leaving them on their own 7 with 9:00 left in the game.  
  They had an explosive offense with the two fastest backs in the league.  At one time in the third quarter, on 4th and two in our own end with my head coach screaming at me to punt, I lied and told the refs we were going for it.  In our league punts are dead ball plays, no time runs during them beacuse they are not live.  We went to the line after an injury timeout, ran twelve seconds off the clock trying to draw them offsides, and with one second on the play clock called timeout and then punted.  At the end of the game those twelve seconds came in handy as we were able to run the clock off with three kneel down plays at the end of the game, the last snapped at 24 seconds on the clock on third down (we run on 25 seconds a play) to end the game without them getting a chance to touch the ball again.  The other coach was furious the whole drive because we ran every play at 24/25 seconds, and ran off the last 4 minutes of the game.  
  If I had the time to, I could cite many other examples of how your books helped us to win all season long and today.  We had a team that was the third seed in the playoffs (I gave you our last year's records) and knocked off the one and two seeds to win the title.  Thank you, thank you, thank you again!
Bill Robbins
BANC Raiders Junior Division

“I have been coaching Youth Football for 9 seasons. My teams have had some success (we were league champs in 1996), but over the last couple of years, our win total had diminished. I had a feeling that some of the problem was the fact that we were using the same offense for a couple of years (Wishbone) and everyone had game tape on us (We are not allowed to scout, but are allowed to tape our own games). I have been an assistant coach for all of my 9 seasons and have had trouble trying to convince others, that changing our stale offense was a good idea. This past season, I moved up an age group (10 and 11 year olds). The head coach on that team was a defensive coach. He said that I could do whatever I wanted on offense. I had been reading your books since 1997, but was never given the green light before, to implement any of your ideas. I decided to use the Wing-T this past season. I also decided to use the all game no huddle that you talked about in the 1st version of your Coaching Youth Football book (That took some selling).

In our first game, while running our no huddle, we actually got called for 2 delay of game penalties. The kids were wandering around and not looking for the board (I used the Magna Doodle, which you discussed in your Clock Management book). We ended up winning the 1st game 12-0 despite our poor no huddle performance.

By the second week, we looked like a completely different football team. The no huddle was clicking and we rolled up 22 first half points. We ended up playing subs for the entire second half.

Our third game, started much like the second. We rolled up 2 quick touchdowns and went on to win the game 20 -0. Several weeks later we ran into the coaches from the opposing team. They said that we had them reeling the entire first half using the no huddle style. He also informed me, that our team had run 73 offensive plays that game.

At seasons end, we had outscored our opponents 172-30 and came in second in our league at 6-1-1. We had 20 kids on our roster, many of whom played both ways. Fatigue was never a problem.

I wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge about the youth game with others. Your material has helped me to become a better coach. You have also inspired me to read something other than Sports Illustrated.

I have always liked the idea of using the GAM defense (10-1 from your old book). In 1997, I actually got the head coach to try it for the last 3 weeks of the season, since we were getting smoked every week anyway. It definitely stopped the bleeding. I was not able to convince him to use it the next season. I suspect, if we had used it from day one in 1997, we would have had a much better season.” - Jim Lochner

“I recently bought a copy of your book, Football Clock Management. I'm not a coach, but I must tell you this is the most thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion of football strategy I've ever read. As a Notre Dame fan since the glory days of Frank Leahy, I was tempted to send a copy to Bob Davie and his staff, but this is something anybody with an interest in football can learn plenty from.

By profession, I am a freelance writer, editor and proofreader. I'm telling you this not to impress you with how wonderful I am, but to try to impress upon you how impressed I am with your book. Regards, Ed Butler

"I must say, you have really ruined professional football for me. I'm a Seahawks fan (I'm from Seattle.) and when I watched the game against San Diego two weeks ago I wanted to send Mike Holmgren a copy of your book. With three minutes to go before halftime Seattle got the ball on their own 18. Instead of trying to run out the clock and keep that lead, they came out throwing. The first pass was intercepted, and San Diego scored. Instead of being up 3-0, Seattle was down 7-3. Take away that touchdown and instead of losing 13-10 on a last second field goal, Seattle wins 10-6. " Derek Wade, Kodiak, AK

"Here's another video game story for you (like the one in your book about the gap 8). I've noticed that when I play football video games if I try to run the clock down to the last second on every play it virtually eliminates the time the opposing team gets to run plays. The computer ends up with something like 45 total yards of offense. It's obvious that clock management is very important." Derek Wade, Kodiak, AK

"I have certainly never written an author about a book, but I knew I had to start, in view of the timeliness (pun intended) of your book, Football Clock Management. I was thumbing through it in the bookstore, and, being an Arizona State grad, was taken in by the play-by-play breakdown of ASU's scoring drive in the 1997 Rose Bowl. An excellent analysis. I had to purchase it and see what else you had to say. It is very easily understood and very correct. If I could send a copy of it to Bruce Snyder without him taking it as an insult, I would. I would hate to have my team lose another game due to poor clock management when such an easy guide is available.

In the past two weeks, I have watched several close games and seen gross errors in clock management that I would have missed had I not read your book. If you watched Notre Dame's last two games, I'm sure you recognized the errors they committed (particularly not calling defensive timeouts during Michigan's final goal line attack) that led to their JUST running out of time at the end of both those games. [See my analysis of those games at my Football Clock Management News pages.] And in yesterday's Vikings - Falcons game, the Vikings, trying to run out the clock, ran four straight dives up the middle and inexcusably left :02 for Atlanta to pull off a miracle play. They might have pulled it off had Jamal Anderson read your book and known that by allowing himself to be tackled he would lose the game. Of course, he should have instead lateralled to someone, ANYone! Bravo!"
Greg Webster, Phoenix AZ

"Great book. As a serious fan, I've enjoyed reading it so far." Chris Sowder, Arlington, VA

"Enjoyed your clock management book immensely---great ideas and obviously well researched." David Garic, Radcliff, KY

"I've been reading your great book for a month (I'm Japanese and it takes a long time for me to read a book that's written in English). This is the most wonderful football book I've ever read. There has not been a book like this, describing the importance of clock management." Ryuhei Uchida, Los Angeles, CA

"Rec'd the [Football Clock Management] book today. Thanx again, and I'm looking forward to your future football coaching publications. They've helped me tremendously these past 4 years." Lee McGuire, Hampton, VA

"I have just started reading your book, and I find it fascinating. There are so few books on the market that offer something really useful to a coach of any experience. Your book offers us new insight into managing the clock from the first score on. I assure you that everyone on my staff will be introduced to your ideas. Thank you again for your extensive research and for writing a book that an experienced coach can really sink his teeth into. I have found it to be a fascinating and very instructive experience. I hope that you will continue to add to the body of coaching knowledge with more books like this one." Mark W. Malcolm, Appollo Jr. High, Richardson, TX

"I just purchased your book today, and this is the first time I have put it down. I thought I knew a bunch about clock management, since I've been coaching high school football for 26+ years. Your book has shown me just how much I don't know. Great job!!!" Gene Shulman

"I purchased your book "Football Clock Management" last night, and I find it an eminently enjoyable and productive read. It is filled with breakdowns of many logical situations that most of us take for granted. (Which unfortunately then could lead to someone's undoing. :)" Travis Guy

"I also wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed the clock management book. Excellent job. I run a youth double wing offense and I too like to play around with the single wing and nobody in the Chicago area knows what to do with it! Keep up the good work and I am anxiously waiting to read this other book!" Bill Lawlor, Hanover Park Football Association, IL

"I'm a high school football coach in Minnesota. I recently bought your book Football Clock Management and I am learning a lot. This is only my second year coaching, but I'm learning things that would have taken me years to grasp, if ever. It is a very good book." Steve Lydon, Edina, MN

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Thanks,

Jack Reed