Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-11-25

who did not hesitate to say that one or
two of the coaches who reported late
were amazed that SO few plays had been
provided, and urged that something De
en- out the offense. My only reason Tor
mentioning this is that 1 deprecate the
criticism-almost abuse-which has been
heaped upon the players in the last week
by some Of the coaches, according to re-
ports from New Haven. High-spirited
men, particularly those of finer sensl-
bilities, are bound to resent such meth
DDS to arouse their spirit when they may
be giving of their best. No doubt some
Of the Yale players needed rousing after
their somewhat sluggish play against the
Tigers, but it could have been done. me-
thinks. without holding them up as hor-
rible examples. No one could accuse
those Yale players Saturday of lack
of courage or fighting spirit. Some of
them blundered. and Numbered badly, but
there was no sign Of disbursement. and
they kept on trying. Perhaps. after all,
the coaches should share some of the
b,ame for the failure to make the most
of the excellent material at hand"
There is a general return being made
to the professional system of coaching.
There is no doubt that it has many adj
vantages over teh alumni system, and the
latter is being discarded in almost every
school where it was instituted few
years ago. Some time ago nearly every
the professional coach and turn the work
over to members of the alumni. That it
has proved failure is attested by the
fact that practically every big school at
which it has been in effect is returning
to the first system. Yale is one of the
last to begin the clamor for the foot ball
team to be placed in the hands OF one
man, a professional coach, who Will take
charge for a term of years. In other
words the idea of having member of
the Alumni Association come back every
year to coach is to be done away with.
notice of these changes and institute the
professional system again. There is not
the least doubt that the one thing wrong
at Virginia is in its coaching. Virginia
men who have stood the field and
watched the work this year have been
open in saying that the greatest draw
back to the development of successful
elevens is in the inefficiency Of the coach
ing.
There have been hints, and even posi-
tive staments, from men who have close
connection with athletics at Virginia to
the effect that it would go back to pro-
fessiOnal coaching next year. Whether or
not it will is question, but one thing
is positive. that is. Virginia teams will
never attain their former high standards
until after it is done.
One queer thing at Virginia in regard
to the coaching is this: 1t has secured a
showing that it believes in the efficiency
of the idea, and yet it has failed to move
along the same line in it's other branches
of sport. 1t might be mentioned also
that the one branch of athletics in which
Virginia has been most prominent in the
last few years is track and field sports.
the one coached by professional.
Notwithstanding the fact that Cornell
has had little other than reversals during
the past year. there is being held out
hope that it will win its final and most
important game Thanksgiving day-the
one with Pennsylvania. The 1thacans
have gone all season with the scantest
portion of success, yet there is evidenced
a confidence that it will show strong
against the Quakers. that. notwithstand-
ing the phenomenal squirt made by the
latter school against Michigan and the
Carlisle Indians.
Here is an opinion by Herbert, who
writes for the New York Tribune, re-
garding the chances of Cornell:
Cornell has score to settle with
Pennsylvania. in which all Cornell men
are vitality interested. In an effort to
cut the string of sixteen defeats in eigh-
teen years and to make Thanksgiving
day something more than another big
swallow Of disappointment. new leaf
turned in the foot ball book at
Ithaca last winter. After considering the
subject from every angle. it was decided
that a radical change must be made in
tHt ~ SlcLl VI IhctuOu VI COdSiiluS duu
DR.. Al Sharpe of Yale was engaged as
head coach to pull Cornell out Of the
foot ball mire.. SO to speak. The task has
not proved an easy one. but after visit
to Ithaca it Is not SO hard to understand
why the season up to this point has
been a failure, so far results go. The
coaches and players have been handi-
capped by local conditions in way that
has made it difficult to get the candidates
together on the field for more than two
or three days in a week. .
Injuries of an incapacitating nature
without being serious have kept many of
the best players OH the side lines, and this !
has operated against the proper develop
ment of team effort. AS l said once be- |
fore. however, in this column, a founda |
ton seems to have been laid on which !
foot ball structure can be built. and even
IL Cornell suffers another defeat Thurs |
day the work of the season has not been |
In vain.
Everything, almost, has been sacrificed |
this year for the chance of beating the |
Quakers, and the case is far from hope |
less, even in the face of the Pennsyl- |
vania eleven'S amazing regeneration in |
the last two weeks. l saw, or thought l
saw, enough latent power and ability in !
the second half against the strong Dart !
mouth eleven to indicate well balanced |
team when some of the rough edges had
been smOOthed off. There has been ample |
time to put on the finishing touches and
to profit by the lessons learned, and while |
it will have to be better team than l
thought necessary at the time, because of
the quick and creditable improvement
shown by Pennsylvania, have feeling
that it will find itself when the whistle
1