The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-29

| Washington & Jefferson College Team
Two vital points are often over
looked in the preparation of a foot
ball squad for it's big games which not
only may prove responsible for the
winning OF losing of these games but
which also cause the player to lose
much of the after benefit to be de-
rived from his participation in foot
ball while in school or college.
The two vital points are negligence
| in studying the rules of the sport,
with its accompanying code, and the
failure Of the coach to impress upon
| the players the act that he can only
teach them so much football, that
| their status as players is only to be
above the average when they think
beyond the coaching and thus reach a
| state of proficiency in play as well as
confidence in themselves and their
abilities which, after all, are the main
factors in the best work Of any
| player.
| When a player does not know the
rules he is no more likely to help
! win games than the lawyer trying a
case who has avoided studying the
| law governing the case. Last year
the Yale-Princeton game should have
been much closer struggle than 1t
| was. Both teams were about equal
in playing ability but the Princeton
| eleven, II it did know the rules, gave
away any chance it had for the game
when it failed to catch one Of Ya1e's
! kick offs. Both teams have equal
rights to the ball on kick off and
all football men at that game were
amazed to behold a Princeton eleven
in its last game watch the Yale
eleven in its last game watch the
Yale eleven kickoff and then come
down the field and recover the ball
near the Princeton goal line.
For some unknown reason this rule
l which makes a team onside on a
kickoff or kick from a rair catch is
oftenest neglected by coaches and
players. Even officials are not al
| ways clear on this point. Witness
several years ago WIN West Virginia
was playing Geneva. Twice the West
Virginia team kicked-off to Geneva
recovering the ball back Of the Geneva
goal line for touch down. In each
| case the referee called it q touchdown
and a touchback it remained. Need
less to say suchsan official was never
| used again for one SO ignorant of
one of the primary rules Of THE game
is not going to be used by teams
which want square deal all the way
through.
A similar ignorance of the rules on
the part of Indiana against Purdue in
1912 gave the latter a one-sided VIC
tory. Purdue made several fair
catches during the play and once
punted from a fair catch formation
to the side Of the field. The Indiana
team did not know the Purdue play
ers were onside on this play and were
much upset because the officials called
it a touchdown when Purdue player
caught the punt and ran over the line
for a touchdown.
Another point in football that the
vast majority of players have a wrong
impression of-goodness knows where
they get it's that the ball cannot be
"sto1en" from the man who carries
it. I know every coach, like myself,
has to pound this point into the heads
of his players time and again. There
is no law of the game prohibiting tax
ing the ball from an opponent when
| it is in his possession at any time dur
ing play yet nearly every embryo play
er thinks there Is just such a clause,
| This but proves my contention that
few players study the rules. Study
ing the rules is not a very exciting job
but 1t is a vital factor in a teams sue
cess to know the game. And no
fplayer does know the game until he
studies its laws.
| This brings us to the other vital
point which is neglected so much in
oaching-making player think be-
| yond his coaching and assume some OF
the responsibility when filling his po-
sition: The overlooking Of this point
is a harmful one in that the players
| to1 hot in I,oi
in games and in the benefit football
does give to those who participate in
it in their future life. One of the
, finest lessons Of the game is lost In
this way.
This lack of self thinking this de-
tendency upon the coach to do all OF
it, stiles a mans mental development
and makes him but a pawn in the
game and in life after college. The
greatest lesson to be learned from
football is the ability of each man to
size up the many various situations
which come up in the game and not
depend upon someone higher up to. do
his thinking. Give me a team which
| thinks for itself and I will have a
| winner nine times out of ten.
| Last fall when my eleven played
Washington & Lee. a much heavier
team, 1t was this ability to think which
had much to do with our narrow-mar-
gin victory. Our opponents used a
| new style of end attack near the
close of the first period which met
with tremendous success. Our ends
were boxed on every play. recog-
nized the way to meet it and had to
content myself with waiting until the
half was over before instructing the
en1s-a nerve-wrecking job.
Washington. & Lee, used the play
once for a big loss at a point SO far
down in the other corner of the field
that could not see what had made ii
fail Shortly, I had the squad In the
dressing room and I Immediately be-
gan explaining to the ends how to
, break up the play in question. Wick.
erhan, really a fine end, now in the
army spoke up and said, Coach
. tried that and it worked" 1t was
, Wlckerham who had broken up the
play had not seen. Wickerham was
! thinking just as much as his coach. He
was of the type that makes winning
2 teams.
This failure of players to think in
) the right way or to think at all is the