Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-08-05
INSTRUCTION OF
ATHLETES TO Be
MADE A SCIENCE
Four Year Course Offered at Uni
Versity of Illinois is ,AbsO-
Iutely New Departure.

Urbana, Aug. 5.-The coming
Camps, Stages. Yosts and Zupp-
kes-the athletic coaches of the
! future-wil1 not be developed hap
hazardly. Instead of being edu-
Gated for other professions and
taking up coaching incidentally
the new coaches will have the ben
eft of four years special training
for their work. and the prestige OF
a university degree.
That is the plan of the Universe
ty of Illinois. where a department
of athletic coaching and physical
education has been established A
open Sept. %. Those who COM
bachelor of science.
1t is expected that many high
school graduates interested in ath-
letics will enroll.
The Illinois idea is new. No
other university has recognized
the Importance of such education
by offering a four year course and
degree.
| Famous Athlete to Instruct.
"Potsy" Clark, famous Illinois
athlete, just home from France,
who was a member of the cham
pionship football and baseball
teams of the A. E. F., and Major
John L. Griffith, executive head of
athletic activities in the army
training camps, formerly director
of Athletics at Drake University,
have been engaged as instructors,
in addition to the coaches of the
Illinois varsity teams. George A.
Huff, for twenty-one years director
of athletics and baseball coach at
Illinois, is the head of the new
department.
The announcement of this course
is an important sign of the trend
of the times. Once the athletic
coach was regarded by the college
faculty as more or less of a neces-
sary evil Now it is realized that
athletics and physical education
must receive more emphasis in the
universities, colleges and second
airy schools of the country. That
means that there must be trained
men to direct this work.
Most coaches, thus far, have
been educated to be doctors, law
yers or engineers, for instance.
Coaching as a life work was often
stop gap or an after thought.
Beyond their own experience in
athletics they have been self
taught as coaches. But the day
of the self-made coach is passing,
it is predicted. Few colleges or
high schools are willing to allow
their teams to be practice material
for wouId-be coaches, who plan to
pick up their training as they go
along. Besides it takes too long.
The demand for trained coaches
is immediate and pressing, for the
war has given a tremendous slim
Mus to athletics and physical edu-
cation.
Courses for Prospective Coaches.
What will the prospective coach
study? Baseball, football. basket
hall. track and field athletics,
swimming, gymnastics, hygiene,
training and massage, anthropo-
metry, playground management
and the organization of teams.
There will be classroom work and
training on the field as well. In
addition to these technical training
courses there will be required
courses such as education, psy-
choIogy, rhetoric and public speak
ing and the student will have
general elective courses from
which to choose. So he will have
a pretty fair general education on
TOP of his special training.
The nucleus of the Institutional
staff will be the group of Illinois
coaches who have been response
BILE for the record of Illinois ath-
letic teams for the past ten years:
George A. Huff, baseball: Harry
L. Gill, track and field athletics;
Robert c. Zuppke. football: Ralph
r. Jones, basketball; E. J. Manley,
gymnastics.
GPOtsy. CIark's Record.
Lieutenant George Clark. better
known as "Potsy." was a member
of the Illinois championship foot
ball and baseball teams Of 1914
and 1915, and was selected as an
all-western quarterback. When