Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-29
which Is necessary to derive the greatest
possible amount Of development out of

which is necessary to derive the greatest
possible amount Of development out OF
squad.
Herbert, who writes for the New York
Tribune, takes a knock at the habit OF
secret practice in the big colleges. What
he says is undoubtedly true In regard to
the special development uf spectacular
plays, etc, and his ideas concerning the
ethics Of the system are all right, but the
one thing for which secret practice IS
held has not been mentioned. Whenever
foot ball practice is in the open 1t is i'm
possible to keep a big crowd from fol
lowing the players. Among this crowd
may be anybody from rival school, and
he is certainly in position where he
may hear every instruction given by tie
who wants everything he teaches his men
given out as inside information to the
coach OF some rival institution. II an
other coach finds out how his men are to
way the opposing coach expects to break
up the formations to be used by him. 1t
Is not a. difficult matter to make such
shifts as to put all at sea, the men who
have been given special instructions for
that game.
When one college debating team is sent
another it would be mighty easy for one
of the teams If 1t knew just what points
were to be emphasized and the kind Of
rebuttal that would be depended upon by
though. because those members OF the
faculty who have such things in charge
see to it that the men go over their
speeches in private. The same principle
applies to secret practice in foot ball The
foot ball coach always knows the general
line of attack his opponent will show. just
as one debating team knows what will
be the general trend OF its opponents
argument. but what Is not known in both
cases is the most vital-the intricate and
specific makeup Of the technical points
of the offense and defense.
Here is the Tribune mans opinion:
Secret foot ball practice is an
abominatfon and an offense to the true
tinctiy unpopular with the undergrad
yates and more or less Of a farce to
those close observers who year after
year have seen the elevens come out
from behind closed gates with little
or nothing more in the way Of puzzling
play or formations than when they
went in. The smaller colleges can get
along with secret practice except
such as legitimately may be taken in
q gymnasium to work out or perfect
the larger institutions, which are look
ed to for an example make so much Of
the need for deception in developing
plays? Yale and Princeton have be-
gun even earlier than usual this year
in closing the gates, and this is the
more surprising in the case of Yale,
as only last fall Capt Ketcham OF the
Blue eleven wrote letters to Harvard
and Princeton Offering to abolish secret
practice If all three would agree. That
he was not successful in bringing
about this happy condition is small
reason why the gates at Yale Field
should be closed even earlier than usual
to those undergraduates who may en-
Joy seeing the development OF the
eleven"
Catholic University will begin its
Coach Greer stated yesterday that he
did not know just what kind Of mate
rial he would have. but expected that
a squad OF about twenty-five men
would report. He says that he cannot
give an idea of what kind OF a season
xLo,y mill have