The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-10-31
THE TIMES SPORT PAGE
Coach Yosts Smile is the Same as in Years of Old,
But His Men and Methods Are Entirely Different Now

Football coaching has undergone
as radical change in the last few
years as has the game itself. and
nothing exemplifes this so much as
the methods in vogue In Michigan.
The change in coaching. has been
thorough and the work OF Yost here
in the last few years has been about
as different from that used previous
to 1905 as night is from day.
That the change is for the better Is
shown by the increase In strength OF
the Wolverine teams toward the close
OF the season and the bringing out or
stars Even the palmiest days OF
Michigan's steam roller" Yost never
was able 10 get more than one man
on an All-American football eleven In
any one year Last season Yost had
two men. Benbrook and Wells. Meth
er of whom would have had much
better than an outside chance OF max
ing the all-star team under the old
system of coaching.
In the years when beef and Drawn
constituted the greatest qualifications
for player. the Michigan eleven often
was formed after the first or second
game OF the season and there was
little chance for man who had not
secured a place up 10 that time to
get into any of the later games unless
one of the regulars" was benched by
injury Everything was concentrated
upon eleven men and the whole work
was bringing these men 10 working
as a unit. Little account was taken
Of substitutes. and, as a consequence.
the team obliged TO put In fresh men
at any stage OF the game laDored
under a disadvantage rather than an
advantage.
From the start OF the season the
cry was score, score" and lost
earned the appellation OF Hurry up
in those DAYS by his ability 10 keep
his men running up and down the held
against opponents, often piling up
scores of hundred or more points
against his early season opponents.
Indeed. the cry for big scores was
such that a Michigan team which
failed TO score more than 80 points
against its early season opponents
was counted a failure.
The most important change came
last season with the innovation OF
the quarter period The rule permit
game in one period and allowing him
TO return al the start OF any suose-
quent quarter gave the mentors some
thing 10 think about Instead OF re-
lying upon eleven men and perhaps
four or five substitutes TO do the en-
tire work OF the team, the wisest OF
them kept two or three teams in read
mess all the time, and even the best
players in the squad scarcely knew
which OF the three elevens might be
called the regular" team.
Instead OF piling up big scores In
| the early contests. the object was 10
give all members of the squad thor
ough tryout After the first score had
! been made the work was in trying out
new men at every position. and often
defeat in one of these early games
| would result, greatly 10 the dissatis-
| faction OF the undergraduate body. al
though regarded as of little import
! by the mentors.
| From the attempt TO pile up big
scores. coaching changed TO the test
| ing OF material regardless OF score
Trainers realized IL was far more I'M
portant TO have a perfectly rounded
eleven for the crucial game OF the
season than pile up big scores at the
start OF the year and have only
mediocre team for the final game.
| Michigans games with Minnesota and
| Pennsylvania far overshadowed the
others in importance and II was with
these two in view that Yost worked
all year.
! That this is true is shown by the
| fact that the eleven which met Min
nesota in the crucial game OF the sea
son never before had played together
as a team All the men had PLAYED
one or two games al the positions
they held In the Gopher game. but
the eleven was not welded together as
unit until the Minnesota contest
! On the other hand one OF Michigan s
most famous teams in the old days.
! that OF 1905. went against Chicago IN
the final game OF the year in precisely
the same order as II had played the
third game OF the season two months
before.