Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-11

During the opening week at many of
the larger colleges and schools there
are q few preliminary tennis matches,
followed by teas, at which the new
girls are introduced to the old ones
and acquaintance are renewed among
class members; but this is more or less
of social affair. with the games as
pretext for the gathering.
The meetings serve their purpose,
however, for basketball captains and
players make a careful survey of prom
ising material among the new element
and after some hard practice in the
gymnasium they have fair idea OF
how they are going to stand In the
ensuing years games. Not that one
can Judge new material accurately by
this means, but the trained eye knows
the essential qualification for turning
out a good basketball player and keen
captains can pick out the girl who is
quick of eye and movement, two very
important attributes for the basketball
player to possess, and be sure of this
advantage in forming her new team.
In some girls schools and colleges
basketball fields are laid out in the
open and there is always one in the
gymnasium or in building erected
especially for this purpose. That Is
one charm of the sport--it can be
played either place and usually the
practice games early in the fall are
held in the gymnasium, while the con-
tests and exhibition ones are given on
the campus as long as pleasant wealth
er lasts, and when winter settles upon
the land the game is transferred in
DOORS
Basketball is one OF the swiftest
games played. 1t is a mans sport as
well as a girls, and can be made de-
cidediy rough, as it often becomes
when men enter into 1t, or 1t can be
comparatively easy, yet 1t Is never
slow. On account of this very quick
ness it is an excellent exercise Tor
girls. Those who move slowly are
trained to acquire speed, while the
alert ones learn how to make their
quickness count.
It is one of the most exhilarating
sports in which girls are permitted to
take part. From the very moment that
the ball is put in Amotion there Is no
rest for the eye, the mind or the body.
The ball must be always kept in view
by the players, and each one must
know In a flash just what play to
make next or must understand the
possible ones for the opponent to at
tempt, and thus be prepared to meet
every pass satisfactorily. Naturally
training of this kind cannot but impart
alertness and quickness to any player.
AS one college coach said: Basket
DALI QOSS ilOf0 u oShOot5AiS
1.-THE, alert, quick of mind and move
ment and self possessed than any other
sport. We have taken freshmen who
displayed very little promise as bas-
ketball players-girls who were in
c1ined to be indolent, slow of mind
and body-and in one winter we have
actually made them over SO that they
played fairly rapid game.
'It Is one of the most graceful ex-
ercises known, not POLITICALLY graceful
In displaying quiet ease of motion, but
every pass and every pose Of the play
position follows another so quickly that
hend the series OF curves and move
ments that melt one into the other"
By all the rules of physical culture
basketball ought to make girls grow
taller and more slender. 1t is a con-
slant stretching and reaching upward
for the ball, with either one or both
arms in the air, and often with the
body poised on tiptoe. 1t Is we'll
known fact among expert players that
the game has wonderful reducing
effect on persons who are soft and too
stout The quick movements take this
unnecessary flesh Off and leave in its
place firm, well moulded muscles.
The game does not develop unat-
tractively large muscles. Men who
play 1t day after day and play an
unusually hard game do acquire mus
cular development that would be far
from lovely on young girls. But the
school and college players.