The Alaska citizen., 1917-02-05
SPORTS FROM
 PACIFIC COAST

Associated Press Correspondence)
 SAN FRANCISCO. Dec. 25.-Ego- tism is cardinal virtue in the makeup of an aspirant for high track honors. according to Boyd Comstock who has trained and coached some of the best athletes that Southern California has produced. Comstock is not slow in describing him. in the argot of the street. as a grand stander"
 As a word of warning to the novice who hopes to become a cham pion." said Comstock in a recent discussion of the subject, "l would say that improvement is not always marked by consistent performing ad- vanCement. He must remember that a seemingly bad slump is nothing more or less than the necessary step up the ladder of progress. It is something 10 De expected pdfuCu- larIy to one who works consistently.
 T believe that too great respect is given to record marks in the yari- ous events. l favor the reverse. Any height. distance or time that has been made in fair competition can be equalled or bettered by hun dreds of present day competing ath- letes if they would allow their minds to get in the proper condition.
 Your successful athlete is essen tally an egotist and supremely con fident of his own ability and prow- ess. Slangily speaking, he is a grandstander, and in this he should be encouraged It all rests finally on what he can do; there can be no outside help. no teammate can cover up the Tagging stride. therefore the ego cannot be over-deYeloped Give me a man with the imagination for future athletic greatness and I will predict a future champion and get away with it.
 There is altogether too much at tention paid to the individual meth ods of champions, who have develop ed a certain style and which is in a large measure wrong in one or more vital points and certainly should not be copied in its entirety until the points prove themselves beneficial. For instance, I have seen the winner of an Olympic high jump ing championship using a form that would disgrace a schoolboy. This is no reflection on his ability, but it leaves the interesting probability of what he might have done with a fair working knowledge of form in his particular event.
 TO become a champion in any branch, whether it be boxing or one of the track or field events, the man must either be blessed with eXcep- tional powers of endurance, strength, and what not, or make up for this deficiency in cleverness or knoWl- edge. It is to be regretted that the combination of both is met with so seldom
 Make a study of yourself, be your own coach, analyse your weak and strong points, take stock of what you have.
 "A little common sense will moi come amiss and may unearth som of the stumbling blocks in the wa, of your progress"
 Many who saw the Lewis-Santell wrestling match recently, including sport writers, declare that Lewis ob- tained his head-lock and face hold which resulted in his victory, when Santell reached down momentarily to pull up his trunks. and thus was off his guard.
 Lewis is given due credit for be- ing wide awake enough to take ad vantage of his opponents lapse. San tell has confirmed this as being the cause of his defeat and he directly attributes it to the rosin with which the canvas was too liberally sprinkled and which worked into a slight abrasion of the skin on his knee. The trunks stuck at the sore spot when Santell in order to relieve the