THE CAMP THAT JACK BUILT : Summer Football Program at Stanford Reflects Tough Informality of Coach Elway

“All right you guys, to start off we’re gonna play a game called ‘Name that Tune.’ If any one of you can give me the title of this song after the first few notes, you’ll win $1,000. I’m serious about this. Count ‘em--one thooouuussand dollars.”

Stanford University linebacker coach Larry Kerr peered out over the lectern at the crowd of 500 less-than-believing young football players gathered in the auditorium.

“No, I really mean it. And if you don’t get it tonight, the prize money goes to two thooouuussand dollars tomorrow night.”

Kerr flipped the switch on a music box attached to a megaphone. Five obscure beeps popped out.

After a long pause, someone in the crowd yelled, “Raspberry Beret.”

Laughs all around.

“Nah,” said Kerr, a big, burly Hoss Cartwright type who was visibly dismayed by the weak effort. “It’s the Stanford school song,” he said.

“Give him the meat hook,” someone yelled back.

On that note, the Elway football camp--an annual instructional camp that Stanford football uses to make money and recruit high school prospects--was underway.

Already the camp had taken on the personality that Stanford Coach Jack Elway wanted it to have--his own.

In his 32-year coaching career, which has included positions at Cal State Northridge, San Jose State and now Stanford, Jack Elway has been described as: good-natured, unassuming, pudgy, dumpy, baggy, foul-mouthed, a common man, having the appearance of a sack of flour, as well as that of a St. Bernard dog.

Some, in fact, were surprised a year ago when Elway, with his regular-guy image, was named head coach at elitist Stanford. The university was wine-and-cheese. Elway was beer-and-nachos.

“The image he projects is not always neat,” says Stanford recruiting coordinator Dick James, “but he’s effective.

“When he recruits, he can go in and be a part of the family, make them feel like they’ve known him for 20 years even though they just met him five minutes earlier.

“Underneath it all, he is a very bright person.”

And if there is anything Stanford appreciates--untidiness notwithstanding--it’s brains. Elway had developed a winning program at nearby San Jose State. His San Jose teams beat Stanford three consecutive years. The school couldn’t ignore a coach who was whipping them regularly.

Besides, Elway had sent the school his son, John, an All-American quarterback now with the Denver Broncos.

After Elway was named Stanford’s coach, a story in the San Francisco Chronicle read: “Once in a while, logic prevails. No one made more sense as Stanford football coach than Jack Elway. . . . What we were dealing with here was bottom-line necessity. Maybe Jack Elway occasionally looks like a rumpled bed. Obscenities often show up in his monologues. But wins frequently show up on his record. Image be damned. Stanford has its man.”

Stanford needed its man. The Cardinal program had struggled the previous year under Paul Wiggin, ending the season at 1-10.

In 1984, his first season, Elway brought Stanford back to a modest 5-6 record.

Says Elway: “Hell, I didn’t even look at films from the previous year. We were thinking about now. I wasn’t going to insult my players by talking about any damned rebuilding.

“We had hungry seniors. We just wanted to go out and play like hell. And, damn it, they went out winners.”

Stanford was impressed, if not by the coach’s eloquence, at least with his pluck.

They added a year to his four-year contract.

“I just try to create a positive atmosphere,” says Elway. “I don’t coach out of fear. I like young people. You have to have a rapport with them. I don’t believe in discipline for the sake of discipline. Football is hard work, but it’s also fun.”

Elway looks out over Stanford’s practice fields at the crowds of 10- to 18-year-old football players who are on campus for this summer’s six-day camp. For years, the coach has put on Elway football camps, starting at San Jose State and continuing at Stanford.

“Hell, we want these guys to come in here, learn some football and learn to like football,” he says. “We want this to be the best youth football camp in the country.”

It’s already one of the biggest. This year “Football with the Elways” drew 476 weeklong participants. In addition, 50 youngsters attended a one-day quarterback and receiver clinic.

In part, the camp’s success can be directly attributed to John Elway.

“He’s the big attraction,” says Frank Mazzota, coach at Cerritos College. Mazzota is one of 50 coaches on hand to instruct the campers, who are divided into three age groups: 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18.

“Some of these young kids don’t care if they practice, all they want to do is touch John Elway. Heck, I get excited about it, too. I had my picture taken with him and I’m going to hang it in my office.”

Not surprisingly, Elway’s primary responsibility at the camp is with the quarterbacks. And a large percentage of the boys in camp are prospective signal-callers.

Under the direction of Elway and Matt Kofler of the Buffalo Bills, the quarterbacks work on five-step drops, play action, setting up, play calling, passing techniques and most important, according to Elway, avoiding the rush.

To personalize the camp, Elway and Kofler try to learn their students’ names, but they often come up short. On one occasion, during a passing drill, Elway said, “You gotta keep your eyes downfield, Richard, er, Brett, uh, Tom. I’m sorry. What’s your name?”

Although John Elway lends his name to his father’s camp, it is actually run by the Stanford coaching staff in conjunction with about 35 guest coaches from junior colleges and high schools in six western and midwestern states.

Three Valley-area coaches were invited to this year’s camp: Darryl Stroh from Granada Hills High, Westlake’s George Contreras and Jim Fenwick of Pierce College.

Stroh, approaching his first year as head coach at Granada Hills, handled receivers and defensive backs. Fenwick coached running backs and quarterbacks, while Contreras taught defensive linemen and quarterbacks.

“Dave Baldwin, who recruits in our area for Stanford, asked me if I was interested in coming up,” says Contreras. “I thought it would be a chance to coach kids, as well as an opportunity to learn from the other coaches here.”

Says Fenwick: “This camp gives everybody time to learn. Kids learn new techniques, they learn what living in a dorm is like, how to get along with different coaches.

“It gets kids out from their local areas. Some guys know they’re the best at their school or league, but when they come here they can compare with players from other areas. All week, they get a look at what’s out there.”

So do the Stanford coaches.

Not only is Stanford recruiting some of the players in camp, it is getting acquainted with junior college and high school coaches who could advise their players to attend the school.

“In the past, the camp was on a much smaller scale,” says James. “It wasn’t meant to be anything but a local community-service type of experience.

“When Jack came here, he made changes. He wants to use the thing as a tool.

“We provide them with a week of exposure. They get a chance to be here with us, see our campus and get to know the coaching staff. It’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes it works; sometimes they don’t like us.”

Two campers who liked Stanford enough to enroll here are John Paye and Rob Hinckley.

In 1983, Paye was a widely recruited high school quarterback from Menlo Park. He had been to the Stanford camp three consecutive years before signing with the school.

Hinckley, a 6-5, 230-pound linebacker from De La Salle High in Walnut Creek, chose Stanford this year over Washington, Cal, Colorado and Northwestern.

“The camp was definitely a positive,” he said. “The coaches were easy going. I was coached by the linebacker coach and I liked the way he coached. I was impressed by the place.”

This year, Stanford invited a number of high school prospects across the country to the Elway camp. High on their list is a 6-7, 212-pound quarterback from Claremont named Dan McGwire. McGwire is 17 and will be a senior next season.

The Stanford staff made sure that John Elway spent some time with McGwire during the camp. Said Elway: “He’s a real good athlete. He throws the ball real well.”

Adds receiver coach Dave Baldwin: “He’s so fundamentally sound. We’re comparing him to our other quarterbacks. It is a plus that we get to look at him up close.”

For McGwire’s part, he says, “From what I’ve seen of Stanford, I really like it. The coaches, the school, the facilities--I’ve been impressed.”

Also invited to the camp was Neil Williams, a quarterback from West High in Charlotte, N.C. In fact, Williams told The Times he was not required to pay the camp’s $300 fee. According to the NCAA, a fee waiver for a prospect would be a violation of NCAA rules.

Tom Yeager, director of legislative services for the NCAA, says the NCAA is aware that many colleges have camps and that they use them to recruit high school players. “It’s permissible,” he said. “It is a significant recruiting tool, but if they offer unequal treatment, then it violates the rule. It gives an unfair advantage.”

Tom Beckett, an assistant Stanford athletic director, denied that Stanford had knowingly allowed Williams to attend the camp without charge. The fee was subsequently paid by Williams.

While at the camp, Williams said: “I’ve learned a few things. It is a good camp, but I’m interested in the school, that’s the main thing. And I think they’re interested in me.”

Conversely, not everyone at the camp is a college prospect. James estimates that of the 476 athletes in attendance, there are 20 to 40 college-caliber players. Of course, the talent of the younger participants remains unknown.

Most of those at the camp will never play college football. They come to improve their skills and learn more about the game.

Don Leebrick, head coach at Stadium High in Tacoma, Wash., for example, brought 19 of his players 1,000 miles to Palo Alto. Leebrick is a desperate man.

From 1968 to 1983, Stadium High’s record was 23-113. It’s worse than it sounds. From 1981 to 1983, Stadium went 0-24. During the ’83 season, Stadium scored six points and gave up 342. They were beaten by scores of 61-0, 59-0, 57-0.

Leebrick was hired in 1984 and promptly rallied the team to a 1-7 record. They’re at the Elway camp for help.

Says Leebrick: “We want to develop a winning attitude. They will come away from this camp with things that high school coaches don’t have time to teach. They’re learning good techniques that will help us improve at all positions. Plus, this is the only way we could legally get in an extra week of practice.

“We called this trip a football vacation. On the way home we’ll enjoy ourselves. We’re going to the beach, San Francisco and Alcatraz.”

From there, Leebrick hopes to be out of prison for good.

Unlike some camps, the Elway camp does not stress physical contact. That’s not to say that contact is avoided, just controlled. Emphasis is primarily on instruction.

Participants are grouped according to position into separate packs of about 10. Coaches, who are assigned to specific groups, run drills and advise and appraise individuals on their performances.

There are three two-hour practices held daily. Basically, the remaining hours are left for showering, resting and eating. Each night, the camp gathers for a film--such as “The Stanford Experience” or the Denver Broncos highlight film--and motivational speakers, including various members of the Broncos. Denver offensive lineman Keith Bishop spoke on avoiding drugs.

While the older players, to a large degree, approach all of this earnestly, the 10- to 12-year-olds create unique problems for the Elway coaching staff.

Says James: “They do dumb things. They get lost. They pull tricks. Some kids come in here and put their gear on backwards. Sometimes they aggravate the older guys. One year, we had a little kid who ended up being tied to a signpost on campus.”

Like the high school players, the 10-year-olds practice in full gear. On one occasion, after setting up at the line of scrimmage, the peewee defenders blitzed the quarterback. The QB headed for the sideline, but the blitz pursued. He was finally tackled 40 yards east by the adjoining parking lot.

“Injuries usually aren’t a problem with these guys,” says Bob Woodhouse, head coach at San Pasqual High in Escondido. “We had a kid who had an eyelash in his eye. That held up practice for about 15 minutes. Another little kid was stung by a bee. The next day he had it all bandaged up.”

“The main thing is that these young guys have fun,” says Mazzota, who’s worked with the 10-year-olds for four years. “Sometimes everyone takes it so serious that these guys end up hating football.”

Adds Woodhouse: “There’s a kid here who I’m sure doesn’t want to be here. I think his parents just dropped him off and went on vacation.”

More representative of most of the parents involved, Mickey Shaevitz of Los Altos says she sent her son to the Elway camp because he wanted to go. “I don’t want him to play football, but his dad wants him to and he thinks he wants to. This is a good way to see.”

The Shaevitzes paid the camp fee to find out.

“Football with the Elways” grossed between $100,000 to $150,000 in its second year at Stanford. Its expenses include housing and other facilities and services rendered by the university. In addition, the camp pays its guest coaches $200 plus travel expenses.

According to Jack Elway, his assistant coaches received $2,000. The coach said he and his son were paid $4,000 each.

John Elway, however, says he doesn’t attend the camp for the money. “I just do it for fun. It’s a chance to help some kids, that’s all. It’s not really work.”

“Hell, we just want these kids to like football,” says Jack. “And, we want Stanford to be a hotbed of football talent.”

And then he adds: “I really enjoy having all these coaches come in here. We sit around and have a lot of football talk and drink beer. It’s a helluva time. I think it’s damned invigorating.”