The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-11-08
The MENTAL side
OF GRIDIRON CAME
Psychology Has Great InfIu-
enCo on the Field.
SHARPE BRACED CORNELL
Red and White Coach on Eve Of Penn
Battle Told Them to Do as They
Pleased-They Did and Beat Cuaksrs
Next Afternoon-other Instances.

Next Afternoon--Other Instances.
one coach combats nervousness, |
which is liable to occur in any team on
the eve Of an important game, 10y in
culcating IN the minds of men through
the season the thought that they are
not individuals; that they are a unit
and that if an error occurs or break
is made it Is not the individual but
the unit. that snail bear responsible
ity. The Individual feeling thus gives
place To a team feeling.
The Princeton team Of 1886 had,
among other indomtablc spirits, VIII
liam CHURCH. Church never had any
idea that year other than that Yale
was going to Manhattan field TO he
torn apart Yale, as many will recall,
made n touchdown mt the outset of the
game on blocked punt. But Churchs
confidence was destroyed not one whit
lie addressed the Yale players indi-
yidually, remarking how small six
points were in the face Of what was
going to happen 10 them later. 1t was
tonic TO the daZed Tiger team. and
they went I'm and ran wild through the
Ellis the remainder of the afternoon.
A few years ago Al Sharpe on the
eve of Pennsylvania game-Cornell
at the time had beaten the Quakers
but once In twenty yCars-calIcd his
men together after dinner and told
them TO leave the hotel. Go to the
theater or do anything you fancy, eX-
cept break training. and the man who
reports at this hotel before midnight
VIII be expelled from the squad"
The amazed players left the hotel.
They returned at midnight ana went
TO bed too tired to worry about the
game Of the morrow, too tired to do
anything bat so TO sleep. They slept
late too. They had a late breakfast
and went out TO the field like a pack
OF lions. Tley beat Pennsylvania that
day.
Frank Cavanaugh. the Dartmouth
coach, was once asked if he attached
ogy on the football field. His reply
was that he certainly did.
The more see of college football
he added. the more importance place
ON the psychology of the game" Cav
auaugh's convictions In this respect
are reflected i'm his coaching methods
Foster Sanford. Of course. takes ac
count of mental influences. Last year
he had some backiicld men who had in
their minds the fear Of dropping punts
at crucial moments. Sanford did not
have to be told that where fear Of thg
sort exists the chances of realization
were Increased tcnfold. So nc proceed
cd to eliminate this dread, 10y implant
ing In the minds of the baCkficd mel
IA stern confidence in their ability (,
catch any ball that was kicked. Ans
he did lie did II in this way: IL,
stood n buckiield man i'm the center o
large circle of teammates, and thel
he took bah and kicked 1t straigh
up I'm the air Sanford can send bal
a mile straight up AS the ball becaI
to descend the members of the team
drew slowly in. shouting and throwing
their head guards across the catcher
line of vision. At first the muffs wcr
unvarying. but eventually improve
ment was shown, and in the end moth
ing short Of dynamite could have mad
the catchers miss the ball. The sam
process has been carried on at Ney
Brunswick. n. j., this season. and tn
result has been great precision anon
the backs in the matter of catchin
the ball. Their fear. i'm other word,
was swallowed in the knowledge q
the men that they could catch the ba
under any sort of condition.
The action of Tad Jones i'm calling ot
practice when some undergraduates /
the stand laughed at an absurd ere
on the field is quite in point. He stof
ped play, and, walking to the stant
addressed the scoffers scathlngly, say
ing they would be less inclined [
laugh if they were in uniform, dom
the best they could for Yale on tn
field. one may imagine the wholesom
influence Of this action upon the ma
who committed the error