The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-11
KICKING IS FEATURE
THIS YEAR N
FOOTBALL
Man Who Can Boot the Pig.
skin Will Be Much In
Demand.

Wnere nave decided to place on kick
ing. 4 long and consistent punter
promises to be about tine most valu-
able man on the team, and man who
can outkick all his rivals is virtually
sure of his place on the team, even
If he is inferior in other respects. To
make certain that this sort of game
would be properly developed the lead
ing institutions last spring held spec
ial punting contests for their players,
and many of the men were instructed
to take football home with them on
their summer vacations and there to
practice punting and drop kicking.
The real reason for emphasizing the
kicking game is not that good kick
ing is to be rewarded any more than
it ever was. 1t is merely because the
new rule requiring the ball to be ad-
vanced ten yards in three downs will
so frequently put a team in such a
plight that a team will be required to
kick much oftener, and long punting
will D1ean more than it ever did. And
under such circumstances, it is to be
regretted that there are few first
class punters in any OF the Eastern
colleges. In fact. the East has moi
been able to boast of any good kicker
since the day of John Dewitt, the old
Princeton captain.
But the poor supply of kickers is not
due to the fact that good kickers could
not be developed. 1t is rather due to
lack of attention paid to this depart
ment of the game. Now that there is
a premium placed on good kicking, We
many expect to see a host of good
kickers turned out in all the Eastern
E>,,Nt how ~,
the standard of punting will be fol-
lowed by similar rise in the stan
dard of drop kicking. Both of these
followers of the game
An unusual amount of interest is
being displayed by coaches to learn
what style of game other coaches are
thinking of employing under the new
rules. 1t is safe to say that because
OF the radical changes there will be
more new plays and formations sprung
this fall than in the entire previous
history of the game. The new rules
will make it absolutely necessary for
the coaches to use their inventive
ability. and good many of them have
been laboring over new PLAYS for a
good part of their summer vacations.
Naturally a good many of the new
plays will have to be discarded as
useless, for their availability cannot
be properly tested except in a real
game.
The Yale coaches seem to have taken
the most advanced steps in solving
the new plays which can and should
be used this fall. The Ellis held an
unusually long and thorough prac-
tice last spring, and the players mas
tered a good many points about the
new style of football The presence
OF Walter Camp, the editor of the
new rules, enabled the Yale men to
understand good many points in ad-
vance Of the other teams. Just what
the Ellis propose to spring this fall
no one knows to certainty. But in
formation has lealse! OFT Of one pecu.
liar formation on which the most time
was spent in practice last spring. In
this formation there were ten men
on the line of scrimmage, the only
one behind it being the quarter back.
1t can be seen at a glance that this
play is intended as trick and is cap
able of more variations than the fam
GUS bv the Carlisle Indians. The play
is capable of great many tricks,
cr1ss-crOsseS and cross bucks. It
should be noted, however, that this for
nation was just AS feasible under the
old rules as under the new. Under
the old rules coaches apparently did
not think it necessary to use their
Ingenuity. Now they are applying all
their ability to the new rules. and as
a result there ought to be much real
progress made in the matter of new
and original PLAYS.
Almost by common consent coaches
everywhere are looking for small
scores this year. The new ten-yarl
rule will cut down the scoring ability
OF team nearly one-half This is
not theory, but has been demonstrated
In games played under the ten-yard
rule. The Michigan team, which was
accustomed to roll up scores of 100
points and more in a single season,
Will not repeat these performances.
Yost's men must now content them
selves with small scores. and If the
teams are evenly matched it may be
no score at all.