Evening star., 1923-01-07


point; or to pass it over the other
Elmer D. Mitchell, director of ir
tramural sports at Michigan. invent
ed speed ball after foot ball ard
soccer had failed to meet the needs
Of the average student
Other Things Failed.
To play foot ball man must be Ut
top condition and provide himsel:
with much equipment; otherwise ha
Is likely to get hurt. That's VIII
foot ball failed as an intramuraI
game at Michigan
The boys didn't like soccer because
il prohibits the use of the hands. is
monotonous TO both player and spec
tator and offers only one wa t.
score. and that extremely difficult
but principally soccer fell down Il.
Michigan because Americans like u
use their hands in games.
Mitchell is d former Michigan base
ball captain and foot ball and bas-
ket ball star besides. lie saw tic
need of new game to serve his
purpose and got busy.
lie experimental with speed ha
after the soccer season of 1921 bl,
1t wasn't until the 1922 season, jus
closed at Michigan, that he developca
a game that took the campus H.
storm.
All one needs to play speed ball Il
a neld, preferably the regulation foo
Dali field, and soccer ball. No othcr
equipment is necessary Oficialls.
there are eleven men on sidc
though any number can play speed
pail. There are four minute
quarters, with referee and two
ilnesmen as officials.
Discusses His Invention.
In discussing his new game, Mitch
One of your men tees the ball il,
midheid, kicks it, and your team
charges behind it, just as in foot
pan. Now, as long as that ball rolls
along the ground the soccer restric-
u ion hoids good and you can't touch
ball. a ball that hasn't touched the
ground since a player kicked it, is
yours or anybody eIse's. Usually tn.
man who kicks off takes ADVANTAGE
or this rule and lifts the ball to a
teammate
IF you catch fly you're entitled
10 special privileges You NAV mass
10 a teammate. Of he catches the
paiI In air he, too, may pass) You
may punt. If you are hemmed in by
the enemy and there's no teammate
70 pass TO- you may throw the ball in
Bile" aiio-
Or. perhaps you are near the
enemy.s goal. In that case you NAV
want 10 try a dropkick. or a pass
across the goal line to a teammaf,
And always, of course, you NAV drop
!ne paII and drtbble il, soccer fash
ION. Once on the ground, however.
the Dali may not be touched with tho
nands until it's again caught on the
IF you catch fly you NAV not
run with it, You are allowed only
one step in any direction, or two or.
three II you're running at full speed
when you catch it. Violations of this
rule constitute a foul. Your opno-
nents are allowed to block a man
with ball, but they may not tackle
him.
Use of Hands Popular.
The fy-ball rule, permitting the
use of the hands, is largely re-
sponslble for speed balls instant pop
uiarity: The championship speed ball
team in Michigan's interfraternity
league this season relied on aerial
play, crisscrossing the ball down the
field in bewildering basket ball style.
The triple method of scoring pre-
vents punching in front of a threat
ened goaI-a serious defect of soccer.
The defenders, in speed ball, don't
mass in front of their goal posts, be-
cause they have to protect their en-
tire goal line from forward passes
CAS- in foot ball. forward pass over
the goal line, to count, must be COM
pleted within the 10-yard end zone
behind the goal.)
Speed balls penalties are simple
but adequate. An ordinary technical
foul, such as touching a ground ball
with the hands, gives the offended
team a free kick or pass from the
spot the foul occurred. A personal
foul, such as tripping, allows the Of
Tended team a free kick at goal from
the 12-yard mark, with only the en-
emy's goal guard in the way. Such
q kick, if successful, counts points
IF the ball bounds offside, the
team last to touch it loses it and, as
in basket ball, an opposing player
throws it from the point at which il
crossed the boundary. If kicked or
carried across the goal line for. no
score, as in the case of an uncom
pleted forward pass, it is returned II
the same way"
Such. in nutshell, is the new game
which is finding favor in the middle
west. A boy or man can play it with
out danger of injury, without equip
ment of any kind. Yet it's fasi.
scientific game where strategy counts
and skill means scores. Skill, speed.
teamwork-thats speed ball.