The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-01-31
Mass Athletics Are
Used In France

/ ing and laughing. formed their nles
once more. This was pretty good fun
lor war manoeuvres. What under the
sun was coming nextg
Apparently a variation was about to
be introduced There came a Y. NJ. 9
4 man overtopped BY q net bag in
which were sixteen inflated soccer balls
The y. NJ. c. A. man explained the next
event. II was called company soccer p.
The men were divided into eight equal
teams of one hundred seventy-five men
each on four large fields they were
10 play soccer against each other other
for thirty minutes. -Four balls went 10
each held, one side trying 20 kick them
over the goal-line tone poinD or
through the regular goal-posts (thrce
points, al one end of the field ana the
other team at the other end.
In two and one-haIf minutes there
was the greatest scrimmage you ever
saw. Get In mind a field on which $50
men are all trying to get as many boots
at four footballs as they. can. And
multiply that by the four fields that
were in simultaneous use The umpires
and scorekee pers had an even more live
ly time of it than the players. As fast
q goal was scored the ball was
thrown into the melee again at the cen
ter Of the field. So fast was the scoring
that the referees lost exact count. One
team kicked well over seventy goals
inside of thirty minutes.
Again the whistles blew and the men
formed files again. Everybody had had
a good time. and was in a big sweat
No one was hurt and everyone was
happy The men put on their coats and
marched off to their Quarters.
So ended the first hour of the great
er-regimentat held-meet that the Y.
NJ G. \. conducted during the mems
FIRST afternoon on shore. For the next
two hours the program was duplicated,
even larger numbers Of men participat-
ing than in the nrst hour. The officers
were enthusiastic about the results.
They crowded around to receive more
definite instructions as to how TO man
age such an affair.
Dr. James IT. McCurdy. director or
Red Triangle athletics in France and
professor Of Physical Education az the
International Y. NJ C. A. College. /
Springfield. Mass. spent the following
morning telling the assembled officers
Of this convoy how II was done and dis
tributing instruction leaflets. During
the succeeding hours he with Professor
James Naismith. the inventor Of has
ketbaH. and DR.. John Coulter addressed
the men and officers on Social Moral
~" ana Health.
Under SUCH men as Or. MeCurdy. DR.. /
AIeyIan. DR.. Pest and several other not
ed physical directors. the Y. NJ. c. 4.
has studied the problem of the army's
need along the line of mass athletics. /
Obviously the old-style track meet for /
a few trained stars is out of the ques
ton. as is also the playing Of such spe- /
cialized games SIS football and baseball I
where relatively few men play the game
and that only after long practice to-
gether.
That the faith Of the army in the =. /
N. G. AS ability to meet the army's
need adequately is justified, was proved .
in the first thirty-six hours Of the men
on shore which was turned in It's hands .
10 direct The Y. NJ. G. A. like the army
has learned that it is group efficiency,
skill and stamina that alone count in
war.