The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-24
YANKEES MAY TRAIN
 BRITISH ATHLETES
Press Objects to Use of
 Foreign Talent
UP TO DATE METHODS
Athletics Should Be Under Director ship of Professionals and Not Left to Light of Nature.
 Wards Last Hope Gone
By RICHARD pAHLGREN

London, December 23.-(Special.)- j. | Wouldn't it be strange if American train
 CTS should be inspired to teach British Athletes how to win field and tracl events? The Britisher. especially the ath' letic Britsher, Is prone to look upon the | light little island as the fountain head oi all knowledge in the matter of sports, but
 Of recent years particularly since the in | auguration of the Olympic games he has had it knocked into him that there arc other countries which know enough about such things to beat the best Great Britain has with painful regularity and of these the land of Uncle Sam is the worst of- fender.
 England likes above all things to win In whatever contest she may engage, and is beginning to realize that in order to win 1 she must be willing to learn.
 Witness the following significant article
 in the current number of Truth:
 T remember reading an excellent novel
 entitled American Wives and English | Husbands It showed that our ways were not their ways, nor their ways our ways, but there was a compromise.
 
 ment attacks in the sporting press on the suggestion that American trainers should
 be employed to train English athletes. These writers have no sense of propor-
 tion unlike the novelist. Employ a Yankee trainer, or foreigner! they screfch Why, that would be to debase ourselves in the eyes of the world, and write ourselves down as effete. Perish the thought. Let us give Englishmen a I've men. Go to the foreigner, and the Yam kee of all foreigners-never!' And they puff their chests and 1atter themselves that they are veritable British bulldogs. never knowing that they are beaten. Their love for the foreigner is such that they will have no truck with him
 And this mind you, gentle readeS, is the attitude of our sportsmen for the Olympic games. These games were to join the people of the world in the brotherhood of sport Their object is to teach the na- tions @ understand each other and to encourage friendly relations. to drive out war and to promote >peace, to engender friendly rivalry and emasculate rancorous hostilities I heard Lord Desborough say a lot of nice things on this subject four years ago. But so nicely and logically balanced is the aristocratic British mind that the same orator will within 24 hours go and tell the people that the same it is their duty to prevent foreign goods coming in here, and that they must tax the foreigner Of course, if you want 10 make a man your real friend and boon companion you tax him.
 No wonder then the bourgeoise of the sporting press, unable to appreciate the subtle distinctions that more. educated men can make, carry their objection 10 the foreigner into the field of sport, and roundly declare that if money is to be spent on teaching British athletes British money shall be spent on British trainers This sounds very fine and very imperial istic, and no doubt the writers natter themselves that they are full blooded pa- triots But it does not seem to occur to them that there is no class of trainers in this country such as there Is in America, and for the simple reason that there nas been no demand. That we have men who can be taught and who would teach l make no doubt. But unless there is market for their services they will not go in for the job If there were a market the American would probably come here. But as a market will have to be made. the obvious thing is to import the teacher who will teach other teachers, and who will be able to demonstrate on the hone material what can be done by intelligent methods At present our athletes are but little children stumbling in the dark.
 The reason why I look to Americans ;s that they are Up to date in their methods, and I know of no Englishman who would turn out team to give the results that the Yale and Harvard men did last year. The easiest way to get into the first line of athletics is to get efficient teachers, yet any suggestion of importation ls howled down as unpatriotic. Let us give our men a chance of showing how they can teach. The only course to adopt IS to teach them to teach.
 And then I shall be told that I am ad- voeating the professional teacher in ath- letics. Well, so 1 am; and I see no harm in it. It is said to be contrary to the spirit of amateurism All I can say Is that Il
 the spirit of amateurism is 10 be b2; of efficiency the sooner that evil spirit is driven out the better for us. The schoo boy or undergraduate, in boxing, swim ming, tennis, rackets, golf and cricket has a professional teacher. When he fl sculling he gets well known profession al to train him and to teach him. Doo' the employment of the trained teacher
 make the pupil an inferior amateur? O course it does not. Then it is said in row ing there are only amateur coaches. Bu there you are dealing with a combination of men and class of capable teachers il very limited one I admit--has beer | evolved. In every sport which Is indivia ualistic except in athletics, there aye pro | fessional teachers. In no other sport l. | it suggested that tho paid teacher taint l the performer. Owing to the absence o proper training and coaching, young Tel | lows take years to acquire mediocrity | when under more sensible circumstance I they could attain championship form. Tn | school boy is never taught to run or Junl | m hurdle To get the best results yo, | leave no other sports to the light of na | ture. Why, then, leave athletics, Whicl
 require not only physical fitness, but
 degree of intelligence and an amount o ] solitary perseverance which make th kindly sympathy of an intelligent traihe desirable? It is too late to do much be | fore Stockholm. but the sooner we SC our house in order the better.
 Jack yVar6 the Gloucester lightweight l who has for some considerable time bee ,;,availinglv trailing the best men in hi class. saw his last hope of an importasl
 match disappear when Mat Wells VI | stricken with illness. Ward has looked | | the return of the English champion | l provide him with the opportunity ne ha | been seeking, and now that Wells Will D f! unable to box again for some months, dn | as there appears no one else ilkeiy to
 matched with him, Ward is off to tn | states.
 Ward is going out to Bob Deadly, an | oxpects to be kept much buster in Amer | ica than he has been in this country
 There are plenty of good lightweignts the states, who. even if they were not con sidered sufficiently robust to go up agaihS l Ad. Wolgast are yet in the first cias over a limited. number of rounds up to 7