The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-08-27

thing In his early life. the funnier
and louder they are, the more serious.
They rank with the soiemnities and,
IL they are at ell what they ought to
be. their value is beyond calculation.
A boys sports are different from a
girls or a mans: different from a
girls or a mans; different, In many
respects. from a mules, though the
more boys engaged in a given sport
the more kicking there Is apt TO be.
The one thing be must have. from mis-
early days tin he Is permanently set
tied in life, is play--end then more
play. Many men get untettled again
for lack OF the playful, in n form
or another.
Physically, he IN adapted Il sport
and then developed by IT. His grow
ing muscles and bones and his UNI
stable system require play.
He has several millicn neurons al
ready and each one is jumping-al OF
them In different direction. can't
you keep stili2" asks the impatient
mother. when she ought to know from
memory that he cannot. He is manu-
featuring energy SO fast IL must be
taken care of. and play liz the very
way nature mas devised tor hat Pay
gives eadh muscle and Esuron a
chance and trains them all 10 work
together. Nature tell him 10 turn
everything into play and he Is ALWAYS
glad to do anything that can be
thrown into that form OF activity.
1t does not always mean fun. IT MAJ
ne dramatic and entirely serious; but
still play. No boy can pass by an
automobile, when Its owner is absent.
without squeezing the honk bulp. IL
In a part OF the ever active spirit OF
sport thai prompts It, Attendance
upon a fire gratifies his active SPIRITS
as few things can.
The noise with which he
his sports has the same eiemen OF
value. If boys had TO play without
noise they would die of tuberculosis
The lion roars when hungry: so does
a boy. But the boy has the lion beat
en- to a pulp. for he yells in sheer good
humor as the birds sings. The noise
IL no more 6~isorderly or unnatural
than the hum of machinery manufae-
turing gum shoes. The loudn5ss OF
his activities Is wholesome. The neu-
rons In his lungs need exercise as well
as those in his legs.
But the chief value OF play is not
physical; il is mental and ethical and
social and emotional. 1t shows what
liz in a boy: helps to correct MIN
then discovers great truths N prsn-
ciples to him. Froebel says: the
plays OF children are germinai leaves
Of all later life A newspaper re-
ported the ease of a boy sent to the
p%enitentiary at sixteen. and added;
"He might have been saved from thai
career If he had been helped in MS
play Because he had no play
ground" can be truly given as the oc-
casion for many a life OF crime
He expresses all OF himself In play,
The p~sychical as well as physical
seeks that form OF expression. lbs ex-
presses his emotions first in food
getting: next in play. His whole
mind gets into IL. limitations and i'm
axination; reason and religion. lovf
! and hate; courage and comradeship-
all are there. From seven to thirteen
he learns to coordinate motion and
en motion
He learns law, not alone the laws
of the game, but the great law OF
cause and effect. He learns. perforce,
to respect the rights OF other Team
work establishes social fellowship. He
learns to accept defeat cheerfully and
get ready for the next opportunity. a
young man decided he wanted TO 60
10 FTlHcstcHs Nbch NC SOW IA ~
torious Way they accepted defeat al
the hands OF the Yale football team.
Defeats are turned into chievements
and obstacles into opportunities. ps
such a spirit. The skin wnich the
game requires ne always acquires
training all his powers to heip eacn
other, K soldiers in a wet-driiied
army. here, then, are three 9rea'
qualities disciplined by MS sports
rrafrnesss prucK n sK1fI. INTO the
gaining OF them 80 s~eif-control espe
ciaity n control OF the empers oeal-
ance OF temptation, the aitruistie sen
tments or oomradesnip. s~elI.conn
dence ana ooeoiehce 10 authorita'ise
ieaoership.
As a baby his play developed ms
muscles next, MS skin; tnen IRON
twelve on, IT trained the Will power
n social Nature mas
graded the school Just right. As the
spirit OF comradesnip rises In MIN. ne
enjoys his fellow players as Wei as
ne play itsei', sometimes more.
Both play n talk are natural Anc
pleasing to him. while. work con-
~Fefsation are artincial and irksome'
Both have to be acquired and some
times he never succeeds n completely
mastering them, But ne learns then
both easily and eagerly when they car
De put into the form OF play. Mos
poyhood tasks can be dramatfzed
Trimming the lawn or cutting wood
or carrying in coal a be made com
petitive n thereby playful. History