The Cordova daily times., 1916-09-05
SPORTS Gossip About Events of National Importance and the Persons Who Are in the Head.
 Liner Classes.

SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 5. -- Boyd Comstock, track and field coach, is quoted as making the interesting statement that any athlete can devel- Op into a champion in two years. Com. stock turned out the best team that ever represented the University of Southern California. This was in 1913, when the southerners defeated both the University of California and Le- land Stanford Jr. University. Com stock explains his theory as follows:
 Any fellow who can navigate around without the aid of crutches or cane can be developed into a cham pion athlete within two years.
 "Present-day athletes may be com pared to twentieth century agricultu- ral methods-everything intensives. "T believe that an athlete will show progress in proportion to his ability to absorb knowledge coupled with the physical capacity to bear up under daily grind.
 'Tn other words, if exceptional i'm provements in any event is desired sufficiently to remove the sport ele- ment and make it a business, the mo- vice may become a champion, in a third of the time usually attributed to the acquiring of excellent ability. Roughly speaking, I believe two years of daily work with correct coach ing will put any able-bodied man in championship class. If the mental and physical capacity for absorption of knowledge and skill was equal to the results could be acquired in less than two annums.
 Except in rare instances. however. this is not the case. The brain and body will alternate in reyolts against the unnatural strain and so limit the progress of the ambitious pupil. This leads to a condition which in athletic parlance is termed 'staleness
 "Staleness. be it of body or mind, is nothing more or less than rebellion of the system, caused by constant repe- tition of one thing.
 Time and change of interest are the two antidotes for the nauseau called 'staleness.' The stronger the mind and body the quicker the recoy- cry.
 The theory of perfect form in any one event may be explained to any thinking athlete on the average in two months. The putting of these funda- mentals into practice presents a diff culty.
 The ordinary athlete cannot sue cessfully put into practice the com paratively few points which go to make up form sequence. The event which first must be disseCted and pre- sented to the athlete in the easiest manner possible.
 Tt practically is impossible to give fundamentals to the pupil as whole. Not only the coach. but the student, must know the why and wherefore of every movement made. Give me the thinker, in preference to well, developed body.
 Unlike other major sports, track athletes are not always born, but can be made"
 Statistics kept by the park depart ment of Seattle show that in July the attendance on the municipal golf course showed a gain of more than A per cent over the best monthly fig ures of 1915. Golf enthusiasts con slider this further evidence of the amazing growth and popularity of the game throughout the country. Few of the larger cities are now without public course. and available figures show that, in many instances, the layout of the first course has devel- oped players so rapidly that the in stallation of a second and even third course was followed.
 The number of women who are taking up the game is keeping pace
 with the men, and this is borne out
 by the fact that the Seattle report shows that additional locker space has
 been added to their department in
 order to accommodate them.
 That the practice of players carry
 ing their clubs about with them on
 trips as a part of their regular lug
 gage constantly is growing is attested by a glimpse of any of the great bag gage rooms and on the authority or men who handle the baggage. If any