The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-12
Ping Pong
May Seal
HunDOOrn
Indoor Game Is Making
Great Hit With National
Army Men Gathered At
Camp Devens.

Boston, Feb. 12-Do the grim, grey
Germans play ping pong? Well,
hardly. That's one of the reasons
why they're bound to be trimmed.
For the American army does and
thus shows that it has sense of
humor. And the army with a sense
of humor can stand the strain longer
and fight harder when the pinch
comes.
This is good psychology. and is
recognized as such by the athletic
authorities at Camp Devens. Anybody
could play the regular games, but
why not have some originality be-
sides? So, not only the sports call
ing for husky players and big activity
are being encouraged, but also indoor
games requiring subtle and accurate
muscular response and a sense of the
ridiculous.
Ping pong is one of them. A dozen
sets recently have been installed in
the Y. M. huts, where they are prov
ing the sensation of the season. To
see a red-blooded young Yankee,
who has spent the morning going
over the top and lunging furiously at
dummy Kaisers, busily batting ping
pong ball across a little table in the
| late afternoon may make you laugh;
| but that shows how little you know
about ping pong. For it demandT
| just as quick an eye as regular ten
| mis- along with greater accuracy of
movement correspond to it's smaller
| compass.
Indoor baseball is another carica-
ture, ludicrous parody on the real
game, that isn't SO simple as it sounds
and has a science all it's own. Big
leaguers, Ty Cobb for instance,
recognize its value in keeping them
| fit during the winter. Prof. Michigan
and Mr.. Metzdorf, the divisional and
| the Y. M. c. A. sports directors, also
have introduced hand ball." which
| they guarantee will give a man more
exercise in five minutes. than any
other sport can do in-we1I say half
an hour! There are two courts in the
Auditorium. These three games are
not only eXercise-they are the or
iginal gloom dispellers.-
| Then there's the broncho gripper,
which is the special pride of Lieut..
R. c. Deming, athletic officer, who
was holder of the Yale strength re-
cord. He has introduced this little
machine throughout the camp. It's
true to its name; like the camp
ponies, it balks and rears when you
try to get it ''set." But it keeps get
ting your wrists a little more flexible
and under control every time, not to
mention keeping your temper a bit
| better poised.
Last Thursday the new clubhouse
|
commission, was dedicated. This
building is located on the shore of
Robbins pond, inside the cantoument.
Ten bowling alleys and several pool
tables will make this a center for
indoor recreation, for the next two
months; and for variety one can find
| 20 toboggans there ready for coasting
I on the two dippfngly steep slides, and
! skis and skates for use out in the
cold, cold world. Bowling is a popu-
lar game The bowling alleys in
Aver, at the Christian Federation
clubhouse and the Community club
house, always are in great demand,
and since some of the best bowlers
in this part of the country are in
camp, real professional results are
frequent in the matches between
champions.
But it isn't necessary for the SOL
diers to leave their own barracks, for
plenty of indoor sport always is on
hand there in the evening. Several
huskies. of course, always prefer to
lean on the piano keys, play check
ers, or write replies to pink-tinted
missives, but usually there's enough
| pep" of the fighting variety to get
up some sort of a scrap. Perhaps it's
just a plain "roughhouse"; not pill
low fight, for there aren't any pillows
(you are in the army now), but any
way violent blanket fight.
More likely it's a set Of boxing
matches, settling and resettling the
barracks supremacy in the manly art.
Or wrestling. Or jiu-jitsu. Then
there are 100 indoor games that slim
ulate keen competition, such as swat
tag and not-hand-the games we an
played when we were kids, but touch
up bit by the physical education
experts.
Meanwhile, of course. the ''major
sports" are flourishing, Some 500
men in camp are playing basketball
at least once a week on their COM
l'pany teams and the entire camp Is
receiving boxing instruction.