The Elbert County tribune., 1908-05-14

college with the idea that he will sur
pass as easily there as at home. He
usually finds, however. at least so
others quite as clever at his own spe-
cialty as he.
Again, many a freshman who has in
him the material for q fine athlete,
sees a less powerful MAN put into
some team position over his head sim
ply because the latter youth has "got-
ten into shape" more quickly. College
coaches" are often too busy to spend
overmuch time on an aspirant who
does not give immediate or at least
moderately quick promise of success.
There are also many youngsters
whom the forcing system" in vogue
at colleges will develop into good ath-
letes, at the same time failing to give
them the groundwork of strength and
endurance on which all real athletic
prowess should be built. 1t is such
men who break down. acquire "ath-
letic heart" and die early. They have
been introduced to an entirely new
order Of life without sufficient prep.
aration. and that is something to
which nature never consents.
With all this in view would warn
boys not to enter college athletics
without previous practice. and I here
outline the most important details of
such practice.
To the boy who has followed the
foregoing lessons and who will for a
year go through the exercises / have
prescribed. college athletics will be an
open book. He will be practically
immune from injury and will be eligi-
Bile for far higher position in his
alma matters athletic work than will
the average Strong boy" But no
matter how much general exercise of
any sort boy may have taken, GER
tain specific exercises should be
learned in advance If he intends to
compete for collegiate honors.
l will suppose you intend to enter
college next fall You will therefore
have at least six months in which to
train. Training" and Exercising
are two widely different things. Here
tofore you have been exercising.
Henceforth you must train
Exercise is like the flexing of the
fingers and the mastering of notes,
chords and scales on the piano
Training is the application of such ex-
ercises by playing a difficult piano Sc
lection. Do you see the difference?
The ground work of training is
sound wind in sound body If your
body is not sound leave college ath-
letics alone. They can bring you moth
ing but harm. AS for your wind, how
ever. you can bring that to state of
perfection. II your wind is not good
you can never be a good athlete.
The deep breathing have described
will do more for the wind than will
anything else. But running is the
best exercise for wind and body alike,
when man starts in training.
Begin by running a mile day. In
crease this by a block each day until
you get the distance up to two miles
day.
Run steadily-not with alternate fits
of rushing and of lounging-and
sprint for the last 200 yards of the
distance. This you cannot do at first.
Indeed. some of you cannot run mile
without stopping. Such boys should
begin with half-mile and increase the
distance as rapidly as they are able
to. to one and then to two miles.
The reason 1t is so hard for begin
ners to do long-distance running is not
SO much the strain on the leg muscles
as the fact that most lads don't know
how to run. Here are a few hints that
may make the task easier: