The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-20
KETCHAM FAvORS
 DIR. WILLIAMS FOR . YALE COACH JOB

,
 New Haven, Conn. Dec! 204-In a vigorous statement on the Yale foot ball situation Saturday. and what to do about it, H. Fl. Ketcham, Ya1e's all American. centre in 1911, and 1912 and captain of the Yale team inJ1913. says that it is time to develop first off some football brains at Yale. He said that the Harvard captain under | the Haughton system is nc more than a figurehead, and that it is time to -dethrone the Yale football captain as : king and take him down from his all mighty position. He urged the estab- hsnment of a training school for freshmen football men and some plan to force lazy men to keep up in their, studies. /
 .'That intercollegiate athletics are. on a, wrong basis altogether, with the tremendous notoriety now given them, with the paid coach, with the import- ance attached, and in some cases with the desire to win at any cost the prime onsideraion, there can be lit- tie doubt,'' said Ketchan. ''As such is the condition of affairs the present question for Yale football is not so. much to change these condition as to accIimate herself to them and to pro- duee a team which is going to take it's; place among the foremost, where. she always has stood and where she now belongs. M
 That Yale men individually have: 1 deteriorated is an unfair statement but that Y ale has made almost no pro-a gress in the last few years should be seriously considered. I think the first move in the right direction has been taken, namely, the shearing of the captain of his almighty position. Heretofore, the slogan preached to each succeeding captain has been Remember the captain is king and 
 he assumes control takes upon hiTI1-F self the responsibilities attendant up-A on such position. When we think seriously of~a young fellow 22 years or so old trying to cope in a busi-, ness line with men more mature and experienced we realize the futility of. it. s Athletics is a business in this age. and generation. The Harvard captain is more or less of a figurehead and his policy is determined for him, the supreme control being invested in Haughton's hands. Personally, I am sorry that this condition of affairs is developing, for fathletics should not be made a business propdstion-an as- pect that they are fast assurnings but, as have said, this condition is not for us to unmake at present, but to cope with as an older advisory con-1 mittee to select the responsible head,s something has already. been accom-
 
 the question is to find the man. First, let me say4that do not be-, lieve that we should go outside, the ranks of Yale men to obtain this end We have had cur great players ands still have our coaches, situated at any rate in other colleges. In times past Yale relied upon a few sound plays. founded on basic principles which her older coaches executed Chiefly, how+ ever, Yale teams counted on winning z. c--.z not so much on their plays as on their spirit and the breaks. a
 "A witness to this is our team of this year, which, as I understand, in the games they did win, won not soa much because of the technique which they displayed as by the spirit they put into the games. Spirit and nerve count for as much as they ever did, but in this age there has to be sotne- thing more than these two qualities. There must be organization and syS-- tenn. As in business success cannot be attained merely through sheer hard work, so in football.
 "A definite policy must be set in motion Football brains must be de- veIoped and. we have got to rely as much on the head as on the heartsei Athletics is on an absolutely new basis. Princeton and Harvard, especially the latter, have realized this fact. Yale has seen it, but only lately. In 191 131 we made a beginning III an attempt to secure an older man to coach our. team, but so far we have not been able to get the proper man. Whereas ten years ago the moral makeup of the team was the predonlinating fea-t ture, today the makeup Of the coach. greatly overba1ances his material. We have seen what Guy NickolIs did with an average crew squad. What will not the right man do for Yale foot ball?
 Since Mr Camp has retired from Yale football, we have. to look around for some older man who will be Quali- fled to fill the tactical position which he has occupied. My suggestion, from a rather limited observance, would be 1 pr. Williams, of NIinnesota3 for this position of tactician, and. some more vigorous man to carry out the execu- tive end. Al Sharpe of Cornell is an other prominent possibility. may say. that I have seen other candi dates l mentioned, some of wnon1 I would not | care to see in the capacity of@head l coach at Yale There is something | still higher than winning, and the man who trains the physical and fnor- I al side of a Yale football team sh ouId 1 be one who could in every sense bring 1 honor to the university. Foster Rock well, to my mind, would be such a l man who might act with Dr. Williams | in the place of an executive as F sug- gested.