Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-11-14
ARNYS CRACK Term.
HARD WORK FOR WEST POINT
FOOT BALL SQUAD.
system Of The Cadets Is Confined
Practically to That of The
Fundamentals of
The Game.

Local interest naturally centres IN
| the West Point football team that Will
meet The Naval Academy team on
Franklin Field. Philadelphia, on De
cember 1. Ii is, therefore, of some
| interest to know that the young man
who esects to make name for himself
on the gridiron At West Point under
takes a task that would make the
average college candidate for football
honors hesitate and Consider.
The cadets at the United States Mill
tary Academy are beyond doubt the
busiest students in tho world. With
nine hours of study and recitation,
two of drill and parade. three for
meals and eight for sleep, the cadet 5
time from 6 o'clock in the morning
until 10 o'clock at night is fully oc-
cupied. .--SWhen it is remembered that
what remains is scattered along IN
half-nour period throughout the day,
and that the cadet has n multiplicity
of little orrands to attend to in ad-
dition 10 his routine duties. the. Wen
der grows as 10 where on eartn he
finds.time for football practice and
training.
From reveiIle, at 6 a. m. until
breakfast, half an hour later, there IS
a period at which each cadet is sup
posed TO sweep, dust and arrange
his room and prepare himself for
breakfast. BY rising before reveille
the football man can do all this and
he free to use the half hour gained
in sprinting around the big grass
plain, after which he hurries into
uniform for breakfast. At p. IN.
cadets may, if they SO desire, go to
bed. Taps, when all must be in bed,
sounds at 10 O'Clock. During this
time the football squad, by special
permission, turns out for another jog
around the plain. During the season
about 40 men of the squad are fed at
training tables, where hot food and
fruit are served in addition TO the reg
ular bill of fare of the corps. Candi-
dates are. of course, required To eschew
tobacco during training.
With September l practice begins.
Members OF the squad are required to
attend all drills and parades, and this
means that four days out of the week
they get i'm barely half an hour for
practice. In order to do this they
are excused from supper with the
battalion. BY hurrying from parade
they can reach the field by 5.45
O'Clock. From the field they go to
the bathrooms and the rubber, then
to supper, and when that is over il
is time for them TO settle down to
study. ON Wednesdays there. is no
drill or parade. and the time for prac-
tice is extended TO about an hour.
on Saturdays, when there is a half
holiday. they manage to get in n
couple of hours. This brings the time
for practice up to about five hours a
week.
The system at West Point confines
practically almost entirely TO that of
the fundamentals OF the game. Every
available moment is spent in perfect
ing each man in the rudiments, tack
ling, getting down the field, Kicking
handling and falling on the ball, until
fumbling or falling ON kick or
tackle is reduced to a minimum. On
the other hand this training fits them
to take every advantage of any clum-
siness on the part of an opponent, a
fact which has won them many n
point. The team rarely lines up eN
cept for signal practice until its first
game. and when it does il is only
after n total of only twenty hours Of
practice.
Under such conditions II seems little
short of n miracle that they are able
year after year to turn out teams which
make the big six take serious heed,
butsthey do. 1t means hard work. ii
means that for three months the cadet
knows neither rest nor recreation.
There can be no letup in his routine
work. no cutting of duty. His legiti-
mate duties are as onerous ms ut other
times and his little time for recrea-
iinn IL consumed in nractico.