Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-10

| believe that the dissolution OF the confer
ence is az hand"
II seems almost to follow that II four
colleges get together and plan a schedule
Of foot ball games in direct opposition to
the ideas Of the conference rulers trouble
must arise. The Big -Four are powerful
enough to go It alone, and they are sufii-
cient TO themselves II they have to go II
alone IL may not be so bad for the other
colleges out west. There are many that
have been trying to get into the conference
and have failed because there Is no room
for them. With the Big Four contesting
In their own separate arrangement It might
not be harmful to form another association
that would give the smaller colleges a bet
ter chance.
Between Yale and Dartmouth.
| In a slightly savage moment the New
Haven Register boosts Dartmouth and
slams Yale thus: Dartmouth was this
year admitted to the intercollegiate Hockey
association and has shown its appreciation
| by trimming the older teams OF the league.
| However, IL is a consolation to remember
that although the newly admitted team
may win ALI Its games, the Yale team has
prestige enough to elect three captains in
single season for a team that wins at
rare intervals" Which may be called praise
from Sir Hubert.
Science and Physical Training.
A very interesting deduction is made by
DR.. Edward II. Nichols Of Harvard.
graduate member of the athletic commit
tee and himself an old athlete, as to the
capabilities OF professional trainers and
their scientific knowledge of the effects OF
and reasons for what they do. In a recent
series of examinations to select a trainer
for the Harvard team many questions
we're asked the candidates, with view to
finding out what the men really know of
their profession.
At the close of running comment on
their answers DR.. Nichols said: ITO sum
up, then, there was no practical agreement
upon the amount OF work. the length Of
time during which men could be kept in
top condition or the character of the food
to be given to men in training. There was
practically complete agreement that weight
was the one accurate index of condition.
None OF the men had had any medical
education and their judgment was based
entirely upon experience and the rule OF
thumb
THE whole thing then comes down to
very indefinite general impression, plus the
indication shown accurately by the weigh
ing scales, and all this seems to show that
the science of training is a very indefinite
and crude one. and that the most valuable
trainer is in all probability the man who
knows human nature. especially the nature
of young men, best"
II 1t is permitted to one who is neither
trainer nor doctor to say It, the last
clause saves the whole statement of the
Harvard man. II training athletes were a
matter of chemical formula, adding so
much sleep to so much work and so much
food without regard TO Individual peculiari-
ties, training would be exact science,
which from its very nature it is not and
cannot be. The personal equation of the
athlete is what counts in training. It is
the best psychologist who is the best
trainer, or as DIR. Nichols puts it 30 well.
"the most valuable trainer is in all proba-
bility the man who knows human nature,
especially the nature OF young men. best"
Eject of strnin on Boys.
There are some very interesting remarks,
too. by DR.. John Babst Blake, which APP
pear also in the Boston Medical and Sur
gical Journal, regarding schoolboy ath-
letics. He examined many boys in schools
between the ages of IA and 20 years. and
his remarks carry all the weight OF care
full examination and serious thought In
part they are:
els the strain in the interscholastic con-
tests dsproportionate 20 the strength OF
the boys. IL properly trained? And are the
methods OF training for these contests the
best that can be devised?
81 believe the strains involved are not too
great for properly selected and properly
trained boys, but there are too frequent
cases OF poor Judgment, both in the selec-
tions of individuals and in the character
OF their preparation.
objections in selection consists in permitting
and at times compelling a boy Of exoep.
tional skill to compete in two, three or oven
four sports This requires more or less
continuous training throughout the entire
school year. sometimes beginning before
the school opens and occasionally continu-
ing through the vacation periods.
For this continuous, unrelenting physical
exertion, the boys growing organism is not
so we'll adapted as that of a more mature
sge. and in accompaniment OF the physical
is, Of course the mental strain.
1.-THE general rule. to which Individual
exertions could be made. should be that
no boy should represent his school In more
than two sports. and that these should be
separated by considerable periods of time"
DR.. Blake considers publicity as a nervous
strain on the Toys. and he also writes of the
effect Of overwork caused in some instances
by the sacrifice OF the individual for the
glory Of the team or school as a whole
Advantage of Athletics.
| Commenting on the advantage OF par
| uctpatIng In various sports he writes:
] "ot these, rowing is unquestionably the
best; Il possesses the fewest unpleasant
and the greatest number OF desirable char
acteristies. 1t is In the first place firmly
controlled by committee OF large associ-
alton. whose members are mature men OF
| Judgment, whose interest in rowing Is
keen. but who are awake TO the Importance
Of supervision and regulation.
1.-THE coaches are carefully selected, the
exercise is not too severe, the actual rowing
takes place but three times a week. and
extends over a long period, and the medical
examination is a prerequisite TO competI-
ton.
Its only disadvantage is that the actual
race is always bard physical effort; at
times conditions of distinct temporary
collapse have occurred at the finish line
but l have never known of any lasting
effect
Base ball is second as a beneficial snort
II lacks the grueling contests OF rowing
but in its practice it's coaching ana the
circumstances of its game, II is distinctly
inferior. II Is however an adunira HE