The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-11-10
GREAT INDIVIDUAL POWER
NECESSARY IN FOOTBALL

(By Sol Metzger, Coach. Washing
ton and Jefferson Football Team.)
Football is much the same game in
all section of the country. There is
but little difference in systems and
methods of play. The East has been
represented by more good teams than
the South or the West simply because
the students Of the larger institutions
in this section have had a more thor
ough training in the rudiments of the
game in preparatory schools than the
players in other sections of the coun-
try. It has also been possible for
them to see more big games, and, by
observation, learn the best ways of
doing the various duties required of a
player.
Western football has always been
Of a high type The two factors which
have prevented Western elevens from
winning more games from Eastern ri
walls have been the lack of experien-
ced material to draw from and the
Conference rule preventing pre1lmin-
airy training. I am told that one of
the reasons for the success of Minne-
sofa in football is the situation of this
great state university. 1t draws its
students from q hardy outdoor peo-
pie noted for their splendid physique
and who, in the nature of things, take
to football like the proverbial duck to
water. Chicago, on the other hand.
draws from another type and it's foot
ball teams, as rule, while not as big
as those of Minnesota, are made up
of students who have had the advan-
tage of more preparatory football
training.
In the Pacific district preparatory
football has not been contributing
factor like in the East. The action
Of the California colleges in 1905 in
abandoning American football for
rugby has long prevented the Ameri-
can game from reaching high point
of development on the coast. Now
that the American game has come in
to its own the Pacific colleges-if not
already, judging by their matches
with Brown, Pennsylvania and SYRIA
cuse within the past few years-are
on the rapid road to excellence. For
one thing they have that most neces-
sary factor of success-material, The
college man of California, Oregon and
Washington is man. in every sense
Of the word. All else being equal he
will take top rank in football. And
on a wet field the Oregonian. play
ing, as he does, through a season Of
rainfall, would show the rest Of hui
manity that wet grounds, forward
passing and punting are birds Of a
feather.
are represented by younger teams
than those playing elsewhere. To be
sure there are notable exceptions to
this statement as there are, to all
statements relative to football but the
fact nevertheless remains SO. OF
course such aNrule may not hold dur
ing war on account of the draft. This
year few teams have players over
twenty
That which all coaches wish in the
way of a football squad is experienced
material and-the material must be
man size. Unless this is so a system
Of play is of little use. 1t takes play
ers with the right knowledge and
the proper power and strength to
make any system a success. That is
why that college or that section of
the country which draws the bulk Of
highest rank in the seasons football.
| That is why football is such, a valu-
able training for war.
| No matter how well drilled a team
! is in system and no matter how per-
| feet the system no. team can win its
games unless it had the invtdidual
mastery as well. In the present
scheme of trench warfare the Allies
are working for q mastery with the
bayonet. That, and that alone, must
be superior in every detail to the bayA
onet and hand-to-hand fighting of the
enemies of mankind. Without it, the
highest strategy and the most over
PIONEERING barrage are as naught. This
! trench war must be won by the indt-
vidual fighting skill of man. Once we
reach that state of perfection in bay
onet fighting-and we are reaching
1.-THE result depends on the skill and
strategy of the leaders, just as IN foot
ball the success of the great teams is
due to the, members Of these teams
being better tacklers, blockers, inter
ferers and handlers Of the ball than
their opponents. After that comes
systems Of play and strategy.
Thus we get different view of
football than hitherto. We gave
somewhat more cerdit to our coaches
for victory than it seems to me they
have sometimes deserved. We have
Ilauded to the skies the uncomfortable
/ systems of coaches, falling to note
that the players, masters of the 1nd1-
vidual duties Of play, have been most
4 "
these teams And we have been too
prone to laud our eastern coaches for
lmany successes which. in the nature
If things, must be attributed &c their
environments. They have had mater
| ial which knew the rudiments OF the
game before it reached college. mate
rial that had seen the best OF. football
played and material which, given a
! system-which is nothing more than
placing the individuals at an advan-
iitage in each manoeuvre-has been
able to run rough shod over all op-
position. All of whlca goes to show
that without material the best of
them are due for big upsets.
! It has rarely been the task of a
college coach to teach men football.
True, he has had to instruct some of
his candidates in the ABB Cs Of the
game. I know of but one instance in
the modern game in which the coach
of a big university eleven has had to
start in at the bottom and coach his
candidates in every department of
football. They had not seen the game
played; they knew nothing about it.
It would be a task similar to sending
one Of our coaches to Cxrord or CAM