The Forrest City times., 1908-04-03
THE YOUNG
 ATHLETES START

probably from 9 to 3. You devote a good part of the evening to study. That leaves you the best part of the afternoon and an hour in the morning for athletics It is really much more time than you need.
 Now, before l lay out any course Of exercise for you let me give you one bit of warning that applies equally to the boy of S and the boy of IS. It is this:
 Never exercise when you are tired. If you weary of your exercises and find 1t an exhausting effort to con- tinue them, stop for the day. Each day you will find you can exercise little longer and a little harder than you could the day before. But exer- cises gone through by exhausted mus cies can do nothing but harm.
 Stomach Must Be Right.
 To become an athlete you must first gain the consent of your stomach. This is not meant for a joke. It is the sternest sort of fact. as many persons have learned who have neg lected to obtain that consent. On the condition of the stomach depends all the working of both body and mind. X weak or disturbed stomach utterly units man or boy to do his best work. Therefore, te heeome an ath- lete, first bIild dp the stomach, get tins .t into strong. healthy condition. Ina. E half the battle for athletic prowess. It is easy to make the stomach your friend. Unhappily, it is almost as easy to make it your dan gerous enemy.
 In the first place, it is not necessary to diet as rigidly as if you were going into a college football game. but you must, none the less, be careful what you eat. Don't eat sweets between meals; don't eat much dessert (unless it is something like rice or tapioca pudding); leave pastry alone It is too much, in winter, to expect any boy wholly to give up buckwheat cakes; but they are not good for you. If you must eat them do so in modera- tion. Leave sausage alone, too; and other highly spiced foods. Neither tea nor coffee should be drunk by any growing boy; least of all by an ath- lete. Fried foods of all sorts are bad for you. Now, at first glance you may fancy these restrictions cut out the best things of life. But they do not They cut out only the worst things.
 Do not eat when you are tired out Rest few minutes in such a case be- fore eating. Take no violent exercise for at least half an hour after eating
 Smoking Not Allowable.
 Don't smoke. That is bad for both stomach and nerves. and no normal boy gets any real pleasure from doing it Leave beer and liquor to older people who are foolish enough to spend money that way for the priv. ilege of wrecking their constitutions
 Get at least nine hours sleep every night.
 The foregoing instructions must be vigorously followed by every boy who desires to be an athlete, whether he be in primary school or in college For on stomach and nerves hang all an athletes chances of success And the perfect condition of nerves and stom- ach depends on the strict observance of these rules.
 The course of exercises to follow is intended for boys under 14 Up to the age of 14 no boy should take up seriously any of thoes more strenuous sports. They are apt to injure frames not yet hardened enough for such work.
 The exercises prescribe today are beneficial and even necessary for all would-be athletes, either old or young. but they are intended especially for the boy under If, as coming well within his scope
 Here is good daily routine to start on: