Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-13
ABANDON LDPO[|CY
Yale Goes Back to Profession
al Foot Ball Coaching.
TRI-CORNERED BOAT RACE
Harvard. Penn and Princeton Crews
Are Booked to Meet
This Year.
TRI-CORNERED BOAT RACE
BY EDWARD r. BUSHNELL.

Yale men have at last been obliged to
abandon a foot ball policy which was
fast destroying their leadership in the
gridiron sport. BY voting against the
policy of making each succeeding cap
tain the head coach for the following
year, and deciding to go back as many
years as We're necessary to secure man
of reputation and experience for this posi-
ton, the conference Of Yale captains held
last wecx went a long way toward
wrestling the foot ball championship from
Harvard in 1913. 4't-. (.
The new policy is the only sensible one
to pursue and the only one that can COM
pete successfully with the other colleges.
In previous years Yale has been wonder
fully blessed with able captains and
graduates who were able to come back
and devote a good part of the foot ball
season to the team. OF late years, how
ever, things have not worked right and
Yale men have been Inundated by, the
performances of their team.
The new Yale policy is almost an exact
duplicate of that which has been pursued
at the University of Pennsylvania for a
number of years. The advisory board,
together with the captain, is to select the
head coach and outline the foot ball
policy. Yale men apparently think that
they have given too much authority to
in experienced captains. Occasionally the
captain is a man of rare judgment, but
too frequently he has been inexperienced
and impetuous. Nominally the captain is
still In supreme authority. bucs a WY
will be found to clip his wings II he does
not act wisely.
On the subject of Yale coaching, 1T
seems very strange that the Ellis, after
being obliged to confess the failure of
their so-called amateur graduate coach
ing, should persist In their attempt to
fix the same system upon rowing. Inc
departure of three Yale men for Eng
land-the captain, the coach and advisory
coach-means that they consider the COM
plete transfer of the English system to
New Haven, stroke. shells and all. AS faI
as rowing is concerned, Yale men have
burned their bridges behind them. A good
many persons who have followed rowing
for years seriously criticised and ques-
toned the wisdom of the precipitate man
ner I'm which Yale discharged John Ken
nedy. the veteran crew coach, more thar
year ago. 1t was thought then that
Yale would secure professional coach
but instead a former oarsmen. James
Rodgers, was installed as head coach.
He was referred to as the embodiment OF
the gentleman graduate coach. and II
was predicted by many Yale men that
he would re-establish the prestige of the
Ellis Oh the WdtcI
Not content with this radical departure
Yale sent Avery Hartman. son of the
late railroad king. to England to study
the oxford and Cambridge system and tC
!, teach it to the Yale freshmen. Harri-
man did so, but with rather indifferen,
success. though Yale men still have great
confidence In Hartman and the new sys
TEN. This they have shown by making
Hartman head coach to succeed Rodgers
and by sending both of them and Capt
Snowden to England for brief inspec-
ton of the Oxford and Cambridge sys-
tenn.
Men who thoroughly understand the
college rowing situation in this country
are convinced that Yale will not wiz
many victories even with the application
OF the English system. There Is hardl!
any comparison between the ability O
the average amateur and an eXperen ,eC
professional. Nearly every college in thi.
country has at one time another eX.
perimented with the English system. bu
in every case has returned to the Amer.
lean professional There is no doubt tina
Harvard has made much greater progress:
in rowing within the last six or sever
years than Yale. What is more, Harvard
has a thoroughly successful system pat
termed after that at Cornell. The Grim
son likewise has won enough races by Il
| to arouse wide interest in this spOr
among the undergraduates.