The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-09-24
FOOTBALL ALMOST
!. PERFECT -yOST
Michigan Coach Says Added
Rules Are Great Benefit To
College Game

/ Coach Fielding H.. Yost Of the Uni
versity of Michigan is q firm believer
in the new style Of football. He be-
lieycs that the game, as played now, is
possibly MS near perfect as II has ever
been or will be. in his opinion, all the
GOOD features Of the old,style Of gam
have been retained, and the new de-
parturcs have been improvements.
| While there are n few minor points
that Yost would like TO see altered he
is satisfied with the present playing
code, and is pleased that the changes
this year have peen of such minor
nature. The experimental period in
gridiron legislation, following the Sc
called decentralization of the fall
college sport, was marked by varied and
! vital changes each year, but in Yost $
opinion the rules are now stable, and
the only changes will be Qualification
of points in Certain rules which my
be ambiguously interpreted by the Of.
flcials. -
| Briefly, there are six reasons why the
new style Of football seems superior
TO the Michigan mentor. They ares,
1. Characteristic old play retained.
2. New open play spectacular. > g..
3. Little men can now play. ~ -
a. Game less exhausting. .." .
| 3. Rules now enforceable. 81
6. Varied style Of attack. .-..'
Players Last Longer &.a.
For the same reasons the present
game is not exhausting on the players
Stamina and endurance were the i'm
portant elements 10 years ago. Now
| IL is speed and brains. This puts the
game on a much higher ideal. The
neutral zone between the two scrim-
mage lines removes many unfortunate
features from the play and has done
much to weaken the arguments Of the
critics of football
The return Of Columbia to the foot
ball world shows clearly the change
in public opinion. President Butler was
probably the most influential and de-
structive critic which the game had
at its critical period, and Columbia =
abolition of the sport led directly to
the radical change in its form.
1t is interesting to note that Presi-
dent Emeritus Angel Of Michigan was
on exactly the opposite side of the dis
cussion Of prominent educators, when
1.-THE fate of football Vas under discus
don. It was largely the influence of
| Michigan, whose attitude was directed
by the then President Angel, which de-
termined the action of the Western
Conference in retaining the gridiron
sport; although il was reduced to five
games in extent, and radically modi-
fed in other forms. t'aeh'r.. IS %.
With the new style Of play, enforce,
ment of the rules is possible. In the
old form of mass play this was impos-
lsible, but with both attack and defense
fopened up, the addition of other Off
Gals, the use of the neutral zone, and
other "safety first" devices, most Of
the old abuses have been removed, and
violations of the code are almost in
1 variably detected. ~
Open Style Due to Pass
| The new game is much more open,
due to the decrease of the distance to
Re gained from Is yards to 10 for first
Iown, and the addition of another
down to make the legal distance. The
forward pass is, of course, the most
revolutionary element which has been
added to the game, and IL is really re-
sponsible for the "openn style of foot,
ball; which makes II much easier for
the spectator to follow the ball, and
consequently makes the game more in
teresting and attractive.
The abolition of the mass style Of
play, which YOst once characterized
as the old army & ame,'' has given the
small, fast and brainy player as much
of "A chance on the gridiron as the big
beefy type of the Heffelfinger and
| Heston days. Michigan back field
for the last five years has probably been
the lightest quartet of attackers which
ever represented big college.