The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-30
The Crimson Football Team Will
Drop Secret Practice.
Coach Joshua Crane Announces
His Radical Departure.
MOVE is APPROVED.
Had Its Origin When Rival Col
leges Sent Out Spies.
Yale Eleven Experiences Its
First Hard Luck.

! L L.
| university is this year setting a foot
ball precedent which every institution
in the country could adopt with great
advantages to the morals of intercol-
legiate athletics. With the beginning
of practice Joshua Crane, the new
head coach, has announced that with
the exception of a few days before the
Yale game he will have no secret
practice on Soldiers Field. This Is
such a radical departure from the
methods of former Coach Reid that 1T
has produced a mild sensation at
Cambridge and elsewhere 1t will be
recalled that last fall Reid ordered SO
much secret practice the student body
was moved to protest against the
shutting of the gates by a monster Pc
tition. In former years the students
had been accustomed to journey down
to the field in the afternoon to watch
the team at work, and to learn and
rehearse new cheers. These open
practices were a splendid school for
the development of university patriot
ism and the students rebelled when
they found the gates locked.
Of course it should be said in justi-
fication of secret practice last fall that
the radical changes in the rules of the
game necessitated almost a brand
new coaching system. 1t was there
fore only natural that one coach OBJ
jected to furnishing ideas and plays
stances the students may been a bit
too hasty in criticising Reid. At the
same time, however, there is no doubt
that the coaches who held so much
secret practice also Overdid things To
prove that so much secret practice as
Harvard had was not necessary it IS
only necessary to observe what Yale
did. The Ellis made more of trick
plays and the new game than any of
the big universities, yet Yale had
L. \, onffn a c
Harvard. The Yale management has
a very sensible way of conducting its
secret practice. When this is neces-
sary the Yale management confines 1t
tice, and then throws the gates open
to the public. The University of
Pennsylvania causes the announce
ment to be made to the students at
the beginning of the week on what
days there will be secret practice and
on all other DAYS the gates are open.
The action of Harvard this fall is
evidence that there is to be less secret
practice than heretofore coaches are
beginning to realize that all this
ethics of the sport. Secret practice |
had its origin in the days when rival
universities sent spies around to make
notes of the plays used by teams they |
was dishonest and unworthy OF college
men. Fortunately our university attn |
letic officials are beginning to see the |
matter in this light, and with spying |
as dishonorable and I'M |
sportsmanlike we may expect to see an |
end to so much secret practice, for the |
one invariably begets the other.
The Yale eleven has experienced Its |
first bit of hard luck by the loss or |
Andrus, the giant guard from last /!
years freshman team. Andrus has |
had trouble with the Yale faculty, ana |
has been told that he must repeat his |
year. His loss, while severe, is not
because Yale is we'll cared |
for in line men, The Yale coaches
nave already got their eleven at work
On a series of new plays, and the re-
suits so far achieved have been salts
factory. What is especially pleasing to
Yale men is their solution of the back /
1eld problem. Yale lost by graduation
hree of her best backfield men last
year, and had to replace the entire
luartette with the exception of Jones
1t quarterback. Now the coaches have,
discovered that Coy makes a capital /
and can punt better than any
nan Yale has had in years. many of /
lis kicks carrying for so and 5 yards.
t is likely that Bomar, 1906 substf-
ute, and Murphy, of the last freshman
cam, will be first choice as half backs.
As soon as the new men get little ex-
)erfence from the first scheduled
games this back field will suffer noth-
ng from comparison with those of
previous Years.