Few people - other than football players - know the intricacies of the cover-two defense.
Thanks to the Lobo clinic "Football 101," about 50 women from New Mexico are now among those few.
That was one of many things head football coach Mike Locksley and his staff taught during Saturday's annual clinic, which catered exclusively to women, inside University Stadium.
The six-hour camp started with an introduction that gave the campers an opportunity to mingle with the staff and players. Then they were rushed into meetings where they were schooled on basics, such as the definition of a running back and up through the breakdown of multiple defenses. Finally, they were marched into University Stadium to participate in a few hours of drills.
"We have to reach out to our female fans," said camp director and quarterback coach Tee Martin. "We felt like this gave them an opportunity to connect with and meet our staff."
There is nothing new about women stepping foot on the gridiron at UNM. No one can forget Katie Hnida, the first female kicker to score in a Division-I football game. She kicked that point in Cherry.
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Former head coach Rocky Long created the clinic and annual event, and Locksley's new staff has carried on the tradition. But there have been a few minor adjustments, camper Gloria Bruick said. Bruick, a 20-year season ticket holder, said this year's camp was a lot more instructional.
"We have been coming a lot of years with coach Long, and we wanted to see what coach Locksley was about," she said. "In the previous years, they were a little shorter, and they were in the evenings. I like this a little better, but it was hard to get through the whole day. There was a little bit more class work."
The women's clinic rounded out a two-week-long stretch of camps hosted by the Lobos. The camps catered to all ages, skill levels and genders. UNM hosted other camps, which included a 7-on-7 tournament, a lineman camp, a technique camp, a parent and child camp, and a series of single-day camps.
Locksley said he prides his camps on being well-run technique schools.
"Some people design camps to make money," he said. "They want to get as many people as they can, do the least amount of work possible - just put the kids out, let them play games for two hours (and) then send them home. Every kid that comes to our camp will be taught."
Saturday's women's clinic was no exception.
"It was fun," Martin said. "But it's called Football 101. It's like your freshman year when you take English 101. We wanted to break it down from the beginning fundamentals of football, all the way up to the more complex stuff. So hopefully on Saturdays, they'll understand a little bit more of what is going on."
