New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl and USA Football will donate a $1,500 equipment grant to the football program at St. Linus Catholic School* *in Oak Lawn, Ill., his Chicago-area grade school alma mater.
USA Football named Diehl to its 2011 All-Fundamentals Team last December, honoring 26 NFL players who employ proper technique for younger players to emulate. Each All-Fundamentals Team player is awarded a $1,500 equipment grant from USA Football to donate to the youth or high school program of his choice. Diehl selected St. Linus.
Diehl uses a combination of sound footwork, textbook technique and football smarts to consistently open holes for ball-carriers. Once Diehl gets his hands on a defender, it's over. The All-Fundamentals Team member, who has played every position on the offensive line except center in his nine-year career with the Giants, combines his abilities with the patience to allow defenders to over-commit, helping take themselves out of the play.
Indianapolis-based USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and each of the league's 32 teams.
Employing core football fundamentals advances a youth player's performance and safety. USA Football has educated more than 75,000 youth football coaches in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., through its online courses and single-day coaching clinics since 2006. Approximately 3 million American children age 6-14 play organized tackle football, placing it among the country's most popular youth sports.
The USA Football All-Fundamentals Team was assembled by a five-person selection committee:
CHARLES DAVIS, USA Football spokesperson, football analyst for NFL Network and FOX Sports
HERM EDWARDS, ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL head coach
MERRIL HOGE, USA Football board member, ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL running back
JIM MORA, UCLA head football coach, USA Football Tackle Advisory Committee member
CARL PETERSON, USA Football chairman, former NFL team executive and assistant coach
For NFL Films footage highlighting USA Football All-Fundamentals Team players' techniques, click here.
About USA Football:USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its players and each of the league's 32 teams. Indianapolis-based USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and provides $1 million annually in equipment grants and subsidizes youth league volunteer background checks. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
**QUICK HITS
**>> Tom Coughlin is the happiest guy in the room, writes NFC East blogger Dan Graziano for ESPN.com.
NCAA tournament anthem 'One Shining Moment' has ties with the 1986 Giants. [Yahoo! Sports]
CBS Sports' Doug Towey's original plan was to play "One Shining Moment" over a highlight montage at the end of the Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and New York Giants in January 1987, but the song got scrapped after the broadcast ran long. Composer David Barrett figured he'd missed his chance at national exposure until Towey called a few weeks later and assured him CBS would air it during the Final Four instead.
Giants wide receiver coach Sean Ryan breaks down the qualities of a great wide out on FOX Sports.
For more exclusive coverage, follow the Giants on Twitter and LIKE the Giants on Facebook!
