Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-08
BY Charles f. Courtney.
Famous Grand Old Man" of Rowing
and Coach of Successful
Cornell Crews.


n Jew YORK, June 5-The I'M
IN qualified success or the COM
plrte failure Of a years work
for an intercollegiate crew as well
as for ITS coach is decided in less
than twenty minutes.
To the old trainer. who sees crew
after crew, year after year, labor
through those four grueling miles, /
the winning or losing Of a particular
race means little in comparison. He
has done his nest-there are other
races and other years TO come. His
al is not lost because one crew runs
into "A buoy or is nosed out in the
final quarter.
But for the oarsmen IL is different. /
They are nerved up 10 the highest I
pitch. For most Of the men it Is !
their first or second race. They have {
worked end studied a year-sOme OF I
hem two or three years-and this is I
the elimination. They have put aside |
pleasures and ambitions. In the /
midst Of the complex college social !
world, Of which they are scarce n !
part they have lived in the little /,
monotonous daily cycle known only 1
10 men Of the crews
II the crew wins, all this has been 7
worth while. But If 70 loses-weN, !
we've all been young once and we /
know wnat Il meant when We lost the I
thing on immature mind craved to /
have more than any other thing in 4
the world
1t seems different now when we
view in the perspective. But al the |
losing We could see little glory in the |
sympathetic counsel of our elders eX-
tOlling the unquestionable benefits "a /
the loser IN fight well fought.
one Of the greatest problems Of the |
rowing coacn is to keep raCe-d ay
fears from getting on the nerves OF
his men And IL is no easy problem
during those last days at the isolated |
training camp.
The men are trained to a fine edge
one thought is uppermost in their
minds, and they are susceptible to
the slightest influence. Physical per
lection is of course necessary, but
even more csEent,a, Is the proper con
clifton os the oarsman's mind Ner-
yous tension IN a race Is a mighty
good thing. but chaotic nervous
condition Of the mind is disastrous.
Psychology has won more than one
boat race. I was asked the other lay
to what particular quality | attrib-
uted my success as a coach, and 7
answered without hesitation. "Abil-
ity 10 read young men,
No father ever watched the mental
growth ~ his son more carefully tnan
Z study the effect Of the training on
the boys who row for Cornell / sug-
Eest and lead their thoughts as care
fully as train their bodies; for when
they shove on the shell for the final
test the condition Of their minds viii
" in or lose the race.
What do YOU suppose the Cornell
crew men We're talking about as they
were lying on their oars at the start
ing line al Poughkeepsie a few years
ago. An animated discussion was
going on In the boat and ! asked
about 10 after The victorious eight
was safe on the train bound for Itha
ca again.
Argument About Dinner.
why we had big argument about
where we would eat tonight said
the serious little CoXswain. And he
went on to explain the merits and
dement's Of the various possible res
taurants in the vicinity as they had
been brought out by the men.
That crew was in the right frame
of mind
The rigorous training affects each
oarsman differently There is a vet
cran I'm the Cornell varsity now who
viii lie down and sleep peacefully on
/
are others who get so nervous even
days beforehand that II takes all the
ingenuity OF the coach 20 prevent
them from going 10 pieces. When a
man commences to get tired Of his
food or when his mental condition be-
comes slightly abnormal II takes skill
10 handle the situation.
A few GAYS before the Poughkeep-
sic regatta last year the stroke sniff
fed disdainfulIy 4. the sight of break
fast and refused to eat.
Suppose YOU and | have coffee
this morning I ventured He had
rot been drinking coffee. but the idea |
Of a cup with the coach appealed To
Rim. We each mad two cups and he
ate a hearty breakfast after this lit
tie break in the loutine.
Many are the tricks Of a rowing
coach 90 keep the mems minds away
from rowing during the idle hours
I'm the training camp. The actual
time consumed IN rowing is about
two hours, and the men sleep from
10 p. m TO Z a. m- with an extra
rap In the afternoon. But much time {
IS stiIl left for wCrry.
CornelI's camp at Poughkeepsie was
beautifully situated last season In a
quiet retreat nestled among the uees
on the hillside back from the river.
Yet am glad that We are to be back
again at THE Oaks" this year. where
the men can watch the other crews
row. take an interest in the shipping
and speculate as to whether the en-
CINE number of the next passing train
Will be odd or even
Dummy baseball" which resembles
the indoor game. was once popular
az the river training camps. but after
"a varsity captain az one Of the camps
praineG his ankle i'm this game short
ly before race day CroQuet was sun-I
stituted as a safer diversion an along
the river.
All to-uis 81 parlor games ara play
Cd ards an5 checkers being the most
popular. At the Cornell nagp we do
not allow gambling for there is moth
ing that viii deUorauZe Young men
so quickly as gambling. especially poo
ker bur NOT Tor money
Taunts Eis Charges.
One wear they sent to Pouehht.r-
size for a bu~he0 81 hickory nuts rn-S,
we're appurJiuUeI uut as money. ard o.
lively poker -uu uamaut was nsEuu
riE diur of mach persuasion. they uu-
ally got ue 'ufa the game. ana at rn,.
emf pf the tournament I hal ta-l
hU~ael ut nuts. Every night afrFri