Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-01-13
Protests a Bad Practice

Editor kenrebec Journal
VIII YOU allow me space in your paper,
TO bring to the notice of your readers
and yourself. and perhaps start a helpful
discussion, a condition prevailing in
many Maine Secondary schools. in re-
CARDS to athletics?
1t seems to me the last few years has
seen the growth Of a professional spirit
in these schools that completely over
shadows the sport for sports sake"
supposed to be behind all athletics. Men
grown. who are big enough and old
enough to be in college, are still COM
peting with the boys of Is, and upwards.
these last being still in a state of growth
and immaturity. Many of these men are
semi professional ball players through
the summer seasons and are hard and fit
when the football season opens, and to
pit these grown men against boys whose
only training comes during the actual
football season. is not fair to the boy
nor is it safe. | have talked with num-
Der OF parents whose chief objection to
allowing their sons to play is this very
thing.
II a man who earns part of his living
by playing baseball during the summer
is not a professional, when does he be-
gin to be one? I have been told by a
friend OF one of these players that he
gets s25 per month and expenses for his
services to this school and while I've no
way of proving this, it seems to be
generally accepted fact by people who
are interested that this practice is very
general. Another thing that adds color
to this is the fact that most of these
PLAYERS never graduate but keep shifting
about from one school to another until
they have put in six. eight or even ten
years in prep. school playing, as against
the ordinary three or four.
What remedies can be used to do away
with this bad practice are hard to name:
perhaps a combinatian of all the smaller
schools, agreeing not to play with those
whose players were at all under sus-
picion would help; or rule that a boy
must have attended that school one year
previous to playing in any game. Our
colleges could help immensely in this
matter out it seems that the spirit of
win by any means is so strong in most
of them that they cannot see any objec-
ton to the practice. Finally, how does
it affect the Average school and boy? If
he attends one of these schools who are
putting SO much into their teams he finds
there is no place for him, no matter how
keen his desire to play, he is outclassed
by the professional and all he is expected
to do is to help pay the bills and cheer
for the team. AS to the ordinary prep.
school OF small to medium size, they go
up against the big teams and are hope
lessly outclassed and after a few games
their team spirit is broken and II they
have few really good players they
want to get where they can win once in
a while and they drift away and the
small school loses all benefit from ath-
letics.
l played four years and some Of the
best recollections Of my school days are
connected with the football field even
though we lost probably as often as We
won; I want my boy to have the same
chance but I do not want him to have
to play against men four or five years his
senior, who are using the gifts of nature
to get an easy living and spoil grand
sport.
AN OLD PLAYER.