Norwich bulletin., 1917-10-27
THE STRATEGY OF PUMPING
By Sol Metzser, Coach Washin~ton
 & Jefferson Football Team.

l two elevens at grips for a champion ship because of the large number Of puntS played by each opponent. To | him it makes the game somewhat mo- nOtonOus and it also causes the belief | to arise that each lacks a general, ad- niits it's weakness in attack and is poorly coached. Yet the kicking game | is by all odds the most important ma | neuver of attack. It has paved the ! way for more victories and broken l up more games than any other play in modern attack.
 If one has followed such games as the Yale Harvard and Army Navy af- fairs he will recall the fact that each team, once it gains possession of the ball in it's own end of the field. all most imme ediately puntS it to the other While this may be mOnOtOnOus it has proven to Oe good generaislilp. I fol- lowed closely the development of the Harvard machine under HaugntCn in
 1910, 1911 and 1912. In the first two years the Yale game was a scoreiess tie. In each of these contests liar
 yard was continually bunting and with
 Sam E'elton doing this work there was
 nothing left to be desired.
 Haughton. the Harvard coach, who
 knocked the autocracy out of Cam
 bridge football and put it on a demo-
 cratic basis. was slowly studying the problenl O. attack in the modern game. difficult of solution. The otd days when the ball was pounded the length Of the field for a touchdown had been automatically eradicated by the for of scrimmage. The new game, the game we pay today, put a premium on stamina, speed and skill It took Haughton some few years to deve,op his attack.
 In the meantime Haughton seized upon the kicking game the imme- dlate solution and how well he plan lied is a matter of history. In 1910 and
 
 against Yale but the break did not come. In 1912, at New Haven, Yale fumbled one of Felton's punts and the long ted for opportunity had arisen. Touchdowns and drop kicks told the story of the 2O-U victory. The next season Haugnton had not yet mastered the running attack but the bunting game and the drop kick gave Harvard another victory. By 1914 BrickIey's team and by all odds the strongest eleven Haughton developed had running attack of power which swept aside the feeble resist ance of the Ellis.
 Haughton's coaching career Is most interesting in that it clearly proves the kicking game to be a strong meth cd of attack. 1t was the base of his whole system as it is the base of all attack when two teams of something fore, 1t is well to consider the kick ing game and to anaiyze the Drinci- pies governing it. Football history Is crammed full of examples of the right and wrong way to kick
 A punter is born, not made The candidate finally selected to take care of this important part Ot the game, which is both an offensive and defen- sive measure, must have the leg pow CT to drive the ball. Lacking that no end of coaching will make a punter cut of him. Possessing that, coaching will teach him how to get off his punts rapidly-thus avoiding their be- ing blocked-as well as how to place the ball and whether to kick it high or low.
 The high spiral punt is the desid- eratum as it gives the kicking team time to get down under it, is hard to handle and has certain depressing effect on the mind of the backs se- lected to catch it. The latter is es- pecially so when kicked with a high wind. People smile when they read about big teams practicing in their opponents stadiums before big games in order to study the air currents They are but preparing for the hand ling of high punts should a high wind be blowing in the game. These high winds play odd tricks with a football when they are kicked above the top of the encircling stands. The inability to handle such punts on its own field in 1912 paved the way for Harvard's four straight victories over Yale
 There are other times when the master of the spiral punt must use a tow ball. He must drive it far up the field or to one side when kicking from near his own goa1-line. Otherwise he kick may fall short. give the op- ponents a chance to make a fair catch and kick a placement goal or put them in a favorable position to strike for ] touchdown. A wonderful punt under | such conditions gave Cornell it's great .st football eleven. that of 1915
 Early in it's Harvard game that year | Cornell lost its star back. Barrett, l through injury. It had wrestled a i from the Crimson by | straight football when Barrett was in ! he game and in the third quarter vas leading 70. but Harvard was orcing the game with all it's might. Without Barrett it began to look as | hough Mahan and his teammates would win out. Cornell had the ball | m it's own 12-yard line. Here is what | AI Sharpe, the Cornell coach had to | ay about the play which turned the lay:
 "If had not seen the kick and had ,ot the chart before me I should hesi- ate to believe the facts I am about o relate. The ball was on Cornelrs 2-yard line and Shivericl5 stood about