Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-03
Bv WALTER CAMP
Correspondent Of The Triburel
1q22. By Great Falls TrIhunel

tSDfs1di Correspondent rs - 49,
tCopYright, 1922, BY Great Falls Tribunel
New York. Dec. anyone who
listened closely on Saturday afternoons
throughout the football season between
the hours of . and 400 p. m. could
hear a pattering sound caused by the
dropping of fumbled footballs on the
gridiron. That is stating it in a pretty
extreme way, but many a game has
been decided by this misadventure this
| season, and it may we'll be said that
the unexpected happenings took prece-
dence over those that were normal.
The failure I o make the goal in the
try for point after touchdown was a
very vital thing in many of the most
important games, and in q great ma
| iority of these cases it was the fault
Of the kicker and not of his team.
| Hence. although it had been argued
that it should be taken away from the
realm of a one-man individual perform
ance like the old place kick at goal,
and made a team play. this result has
rot eyentuated TO any great degree.
The weather has for the most part
been prOpitious this season. There
we're cases. of course. of wet fields
I tilil EitLltIIiF4lG ApAtAlACilC4 hoL - 49,
most part the weather has treated the
gridiron enthusiasts well. To revert to
the first lines of this article. there are
various explanations for those fumbles
and muffs, but none entirely satlsfac-
tory.
Resin on Fingers
The average layman. of course. looks
from the stands and thinks it certainly
/ yha,,fI ha noSv aDnpuh "a hold on 10 q
ball the size of a football. but if that
same critic would go down IN the field
and take the ball as it is blown up for
the kickoff of q game, with its rock,
tight surface, smooth and slippery, he
would get some idea of the difficulties
of handling it. 1t is a good thing, OF
course. TO have some resin handy fol
the players, for in the colder weather
of the fall the hands are quite dry ant
the bail slips easily in them. Mosi
of the experienced and wise teams use
resin and thereby minimize the danger
of fumbling.
There have been too many instances
Of the ball slipping out of the hands
of the man after he has started on {
run, indicating that coaches should b.
more particular in teaching men thu
art of carrying the ball and particular,
at the moment of being tackled. Many
q man carries the ball so that If he i!
tackled from the side and the impac
comes against his elbow the bail shoots
out if his arms. Others have Il wa,
of carrying it Rugby fashion. reaching
it out in front OF them IN the hands
and while this may be safe III opeI
play it is a dangerous trick to acquire
and liable to make trouble for the MAJ
/ ,rhaY tn 1Cnc fhrniph n line
Cannot Neglect Elementals
There are a great many details o
play that q coach should follow III
more carefully than he does They ar
fundamental, basic principles and in tn
anxiety to develop trick plays or III
usual formations or some methods c
strategy to outwit the opponents. som
coaches are prone to neglect theS'
cardinal features of the game. One o
our best football players met the writ
err on the eve OF IA big game tins yea
and stated that he had just read Il booI
| on football. written some 70 years ago
and found therein the instruction
which he regarded as most up-to-datI
of any at the present moment. Jus
II glance over the list Of these give
one some notion of what were REGARDED
Ms fundamental principles III the ~
days, and how close they still come f
being fundamental principles now,
The first was teaching the men hoy
TO carry the ball. and particularly hoy
to grip it when making a line plunge
then came the handling of the ball 70
passing; catching the ball, and how +
use the front of the thigh in ciosln
III a sort of rocket SO that If the bal
went through the hands or arms 1t wa
still safe. or at any rate would go tor
wurd within the vision of the man Mh
muffed 1t Then there was a sectio,
dealing with the methods of kicking
and particularly placing of pnnts, tn
cutting of the side lines and the delay
ing the the punt when possible !
order to let the lineman get down tn
field.
Blocking and Interfering
Then there were the various meth
DDS of blocking and interfering. In
tackling, both in close and open worf
the caution to the tackler about advanc
ing his arms too early when about Z
make the tackle and thus enabling tn
runner to cut his hands down and &c
by. Then there was the detailed III
struction as to what plays to use an
what ones to omit on a wet day, no
the ball should be handled by the kicke
when wet and heavy, taking 1T into III
body instead of trying to catch 1t /