I don’t think I’m going too far out on the limb when I say that coaching, and playing, football has probably changed a bit over the years.

Some for the better, some maybe not.

Before I get out on that limb, though, let me say that these are not the words of a grumpy old man, bragging about how he walked to school uphill in the snow and the kids in my generation were much tougher and therefore better than the kids today. But I will still yell at you to get off my lawn.

Being a player was just different than it is now. I got out of high school in 1984. There weren’t many regulations about how much you could practice in a week. We went through what we called “Double Sessions.” Today they’re “Two-a-days,” and their numbers are limited. We practiced twice a day for three weeks straight and didn’t change the schedule for the weather or move inside if it rained, snowed or if there was lightning.

They also didn’t give us water. Ever. Seriously. Some of our guys used to put pebbles in their mouths to create saliva so at least there was some moisture.

These days there are trainers with tanks full of water on the sidelines and players can get water anytime they want. That’s probably a good thing.

Coaches used to be able to get a little physical with their players. My high school coach had a vicious right hand that would come out of nowhere and smack you in the facemask. He didn’t do it too often, but you only needed to be on the receiving end of it once to get the point. I got the right hand once, and it literally stunned you for a second because you never saw it coming.

The only other time my coach assaulted me he tried to force his clipboard through the bars of my facemask. That was actually kind of funny because I was more than a foot taller than him.

Seriously, though, there’s probably no reason for a coach to actually assault a player. Bobby Knight got in trouble at Indiana for choking a player. Woody Hayes got fired from Ohio State for punching an opposing player. I played in Michigan. Come to think of it, what was going on with the coaches in the Midwest?

Coaches have had to learn to get their emotions in control, because I’m guessing not a lot of physical contact happens on the football field anymore between coaches and players. That’s an improvement - although to my knowledge no one I played with in high school ever got injured by one of my coach’s attacks, and some of the guys caught that right hand to the facemask nearly every day. But we did become better football players, I think.

So there’s the challenge facing today’s coach. Motivate, and teach - without using the right hand to the facemask.

I don’t know how they do it.

Brian is Creative Services Director for FOX 11and My Tucson TV-18.