Norwich bulletin., 1913-07-09
couRTNEY's COACHING
 AT CORNELL
Lighter Work At Ithaca Than at Other Universities-No Secrets Kept From Crew.

Lighter Work At Ithaca Than at Other
 Universities-Ne Secrets Kept From
 Crew.
 "The unqualified success or the com-
 plete failure of years work for an intercollegiate crew, as we'll as for its coach, is decided in less than twenty
 minutes" said Charles E. Courtney. CornelPs veteran rowing coach, in a recent interview. ITO the old trainer
 who sees crew after crew, year after
 year, labor through those four gruel-
 Ing miles, the winning or losing of a
 particular race means little in com
 parison. He has done his best-there
 are other races and other years to
 come. His all is not lost because one crew runs into buoy or is nosed
 out in the final quarter. But for the oarsmen 1t is different. They are served up to the highest pitch. For
 most of the men it is their first or sec- ond race. They have worked and stud jed year-some of them two or three
 years-and this is the continuation.
 They have put aside pleasure and am-
 bition- In the midst of the complex college social world, of which they are
 scarce part, they have lived in the little monotOnous daily cycle known
 only to men of the crews.
 If the crew wins, all this has been worth while. But if it Ioses-weu, we've all been young once and we know what 1t means when we lost ] the thing our immature mind craved to have more than any other thing in the world, It seems different now when We view in the perspective. But at the losihg we could see little glory in the l sympathetic counsel of our elders ex- toling the unauesttonable benefits to 1 the loser in a fight we'll fought One 1 Of the greatest problems of the row | Ing coach is to keep race day fears 1 from getting on the nerves of his men. And it is nc easy problem dur | Ing those last days at the isolated training camp.
 The men are trained to a fine edge: one thought is uppermost in the minds and they are susceptible to the slightest influence. Physical perfection 1 IS, of course, necessary but even more
 essential is the proper condition of the oarsmen's mind Nervous tension in a race IS mighty good thing, but a
 elastic nervous condition of the mind l Is disastrous Psychology has won
 more than one boat race. I was asked 1 the other day to what particular
 quality l attributed my success as a l coach, and 1 answered without hesita- 1 t1on, Ability to read young mem No father ever watched the mental growth Of his son more carefully than I study
 the erect Of training on the body who
 row for Cornell. I suggest and lead | their thoughts as carefully as I train, I the1r bodies; for when they shove off the shell flor the final test the condition l of their minds will win or lose the race.
 What do you suppose the Cornell crew men were talking about as they were lying on their oars at the start Ing line at Poughkeepsie recently? An animated discussion was going on in
 the boat, and I asked about it after the victorious eight was safe on the
 tram bound for Ithaca again. Why, we had big argument about where
 we would eat tonight And he went
 on to explain theN merits and demerits or the various possible restaurants in the vicinity as they had been brought
 out by the men. That crew was in tie right frame of mind The rigorous training affects each oarsman differ
 ently. There is a veteran in the Cor 1 nell varsity now who will lie down
 and sleep peacefully OF the morning of race; then there are others who get so nervous even days beforehand that 1t
 takes all the ingenuity of the coach to prevent them from going to pieces When man begins to get tired of his
 food or when his mental condition b. 1 comes slightly abnormal 1t takes skill to handle the situation.
 The Tricks of tho Coach. "A few days before the Poughkeep-
 Sic regatta last year the stroke sniff
 ed disda1nfu1ly at the sight of break
 fast and refused to eat, Suppose you
 and 1 have coffee this morning? I
 ventured He had not been drinking
 coffee, but the idea of a. cup with the coach appealed to him. We each ha
 two cups and he ate a hearty break
 fast after the little break in the rou-
 tine. Many are the tricks of rowing
 coach to keep the mems minds away from rowing during the idle hours in the training camp. The actual time
 consumed in rowing is about two hours
 and the men sleep from 10 D. m. to a. m, with an extrN nap in the after
 noon, But much time is still left for worry. Corneils camp at PoughkeepSie
 was beautifully situated last year in 8 quiet retreat, nestled among the trees on the hillside back from the river. Ye. l am glad that we are back again at The Oaks this year. where the men
 can watch the other crews row, take
 an interest in the shipping and spec ulate as to whether the engine number or the next passing train will be odd or even. Dummy baseball, which re-
 sembIes the indoor game, was once popular at the river training camps, but after a Varsity captain at one of the camps sprained his ankle i'll this
 game shortly before race day, croquet
 was substituted as safer diversion
 all along the river
 Poker Played With Hickory Nuts.
 "All forms of parlor games are play ed-cards and checkers wing for po- ularity. At the Cornell camp we do
 not allow gambling, for there Is noth-
 ing that will demora1ize young men so quickly as gambling, especially polk
 CT The oarsmen alpy poker, but not
 for money. One year they sent to
 Poughkeepsie for a bushel of hickory
 nuts. These were apportioned out as
 money, and q lively poker tournament
 was begun, By dins or much per
 suasion they finally got me into the game. and at the end of the tourns-