The Washington herald., 1915-12-03
percy HAUGHTON
AREAL WIZARD
Coach Of Harvard Eleven
Ranks Head and Shoulders
Over Other Teachers.
HIS COACHING SYSTEM
Directs Entire Attention to Finished
Players and Leaves Raw Ma
teral to Assistants.
HIS COACHING SYSTEM

Percy Haughton is the wizard Of thu
gridiron. The pigskin game never haa
known a more wonderful teacher. Those
who were skeptical about Haughton'i
skill. Of Haughton's genius. are skepti'
cal no longer.
When the season began 1t was regard.
ed as the season that would TEST Haugh.
ton-would answer the all-absorbins
question
Was 1t the wisardy Of Haughton or thu
natural football power Of his men tina,
made fame In other years?
The answer is-Percy Haughton.
The Crimson coach found q diniculi
task confronting him when the season
began. Brickley was gone; SO wa,
Francke, Trumbull. Underwood and
those other stars. None Of the satellites
Of other years except Eddie Mahan wal
left Haughton had to build around Ma
han with green" material-and he
built a superb machine.
Outside of Mahan none Of the
Crimson players Of 1915 was really
brilliant. But Haughton wes un-
daunted. undiscouraged. He hammer
ed. he tinkered. he took out old cog.
from his machine and then replaced
then. He made numerous changes
and in the end for that Yale game
one Of the smoothest working and
most powerful football engines that
ever steam-rolled q gridiron.
Haushton's Coaching Methods.
What Is Haughton's system?
A simple one. He never directly
wastes his time on really raw mate
rial. He let's his assistants do that
and he handles only the semi-finished
article.
When the football candidates pre-
sent themselves Haughton spends a
few days looking over the assortment
of newcomers. He has uncanny and
lightning Judgment in picking
out real players from among . bunch
Of raw recruits. After he has look ed
over his whole squad Haughton picks
out his veterans Of the year before,
selects q dozen promising looking
youngsters as candidates for the
places on the substitute varsity. He
leaves the development OF the others
to his assistants.
Hauehton has his own theories
about developing men. and his assist
ants follow his dictates. Above all
else. Haughton Is boss. He demands
obedience from his men and the abso-
lutte following Of his rules BY his as
sistants
II Haughton, after experimenting for Q
while with his varsity candidates. finds
that some Of them don't measure up to
standard. he trrns them over to his as
sistants. When Haughton needs new ad-
ditions to his first-string squad, he sends
an order to his assistant, thusly:
II want q half back: fellow who is
o.. nr ~
a guard" or IT want an end. one who Is
good at handling the forward pass" And
Haughton's orders are filled. because his
assistants know they are subject to just
such calls, and they arc prepared for
them.
HauEhton Il Q Driver.
The Crimson mentor is a driver. He
works to the full limit Of his energy
puts his whole heart and soul into his
work-and he expects his men to do the
sloth. Every man who wants to play on
q Harvard eleven under the Haughton
regime must be willing to stand up under
the strain Of scrimmasing twenty-four
hours a day should Haughton decide that
such an amount was necessary.
Haughton isn't talkative, on the foot
ball field or or He talks rarely-but al
ways to the point He never wastes q
word. His orders to his men are brief. as
far as speech is concerned. The tone of
his voice and his nervous gestures fill
the gaps that the words may leave. And
no one ever misunderstands q Haughton
command.
ITO what do you attribute your foot
ball SUGGEST" Haughton was asked. And
Haughton answered:
ITO work-hard work-and plenty Of II. 4"