The San Francisco call., 1909-03-02
ATHLETICS PROVE A
STIMULANT FOR
STUDIES
Work of Catholic Schools League
Is Appreciated by fhe
Instructors
By VIII Scarlet

The work of the Catholic schools
athletic league has come to be deeply
appreciated by the teachers In. the
local Catholic schools, academies and
colleges. This fact was brought out
wildly last Sunday at the quarterly
convention of the Christian Brothers.
when Brother Joseph. prefect of disci-
pline at St. Mary's, read a stimulating
and outspoken paper on The Ethical
Significance of College Athletics"
1t had been arranged that Brother
Joseph's paper viii be published in the
March issue of Blue and White, the
student monthly of Sacred Heart COL
lege, and the writer of it intended to
confine his remarks to the proof sheets
Of the article which he held in his
hand; but, carried away by. the depths
of his convictions and the eagerness Of
his audience. Brother Joseph delivered
an extempore address which proved to
be one of the strongest pleas for school
athletics ever uttered.
Brother Joseph began by quoting a
prominent educator whom he repre-
sented as declaring that athletics are
sometimes a necessary evil but in
most cases an invited nuisance" The
speaker took exception to this state
ment and produced facts and figures to
show that college and school athletics,
properly conducted and controlled con-
stitute one of the most valuable assets
of an educational institution
In passage which must have set
some of his more conservative hearers
on edge, Brother Joseph pointed out
the fact that athletics were a powerful
aid IN inducing boys and young men to
~ 1IrF
CHRISTIAN lives. He fearlessly plunged
into the physiological and psycholog-
founded and quoted statistics of well
sertions..
In the discussion which. according to
the reading of the paper. not a dissent-
ing opinion found utterance. The at
titude taken by Brother Joseph was
warmly commended by his audience.
among whom were several of the lead
ing Catholic educators on the Pacific
coast.
In other quarters the work Of the
league is greeted with equal approval
and enthusiasm. Only last week one
OF the sisters who teach In St. Brtgid' S
school expressed her surprise at the
Improvement in studies and department.
Whlch had characterized the young ath-
Ietes since their enrolment in the
These facts constitute the strongest
Justification along educational lines OF
the existence of the league and OF the
time and energy devoted to 1t by the
parochial schools. School prestige and
the incidental advertisement that goes
with 1t are secondary considerations
The esSentia fact is that to but it
mildly. athletic activity is in harmony
with educational ideals. This truth the
Catholic educators of California have
come to realize as never. before. :.
The athIatic paat u-hiah 81 Mar,-,s
college held last Saturday with the
University of California proved a dis
tlnct success, and. the students, of the
Oakland institution have every reason
10 be satisfied with the showing made
by their trackmen on the home tadium
As was stated IN last Saturo < Call
st. Mary's mon had no expect ation OF
outpointing. their opponents. ack
work is relatively new to all our eol-
lege and school pupils, and sorne5 time
must yet elapse before they can meet
their experienced rivals on equal foot
ing.
Dickson, a freshman at st. Mary's
took first. honors among his team
mates. securing 10 points in all. Mac
Donald came through with a wonderful
sprint in the final of the $50 run, while
Walker and Bonnetti appeared to ad-
vantage in the pole vault shotput and
hammer throw. The surprise of the
made a splendid showing IN the hur-
dies.
Meanwhile the Phoenix team is living
up to its enviable reputation. Last.
Saturday the st. Mary's men defeated
the Stanford players by to o., and on
the following afternoon won from the
Olympic team with a score of to ?.
From the Sacramento. Institute comes
the information tnat. while the Capital
City college will not, owing to trans
portation difficulties. take part in the
big parade with which the meet of
March IL is to open. a relay team will
be on hand TO try conclusions with the
fours from local. colleges Harry Car7
righar, Edward Rooney, George Booth
by and William Rooney are the Sacra-
mentans who will race for the Nc
Mahon and. Keysr cup.
The recent ruling of the board of di-
rectors that the beautiful McBrearty
& Mccormick trophy will be given TO
the school making the best appearance
In the parade of March IL has stimu-
lated several of the schools to put forth
determined efforts to annex the cup. 1t
Is. safe to say tnat several surprises
will be sprung as regards drill and COS
tunes when the judges enter the re-
viewing stand and the band begins to
play.