Evening star., 1926-11-19

the unbeaten New York Uni
VI versity foot ball eleven Is ir
i Lincoln, Nebr.. to meet the
powerful University of Ne
braska team tomorrow, it might be
Interesting to coaches and fans
throughout the country to learn one
of. the important secrets of Chicl
Meehan's success in building q
machine so versatile and so co.ordi
mated as the outfit which inhabits
University Heights.
In foot ball, when you pry into mys
teries of offense or team handling, you
are most likely to find yourself run.
ming bang up against any one OF
three men-the late Percy Haughton,
Glenn Warner or Knute Rockne.
So far as n. Y. U. is concerned, GER
tain methods of Knute Rockne are
encountered. Sometimes Knute is
quite frank and sometimes he is
secretive. At still other times he let's
the cat out of the bag, whether by de-
Hgn or not, the writer does not know.
Lets Cat Out of Bag.
Anyway, two years ago he released
very interesting feline from the sack
and, SO far as the writer knows, Chick
Meehan of New York University was
the one coach who saw 1t. To be
more plain, what Rockne did was to
let slip very quietly the system under
which he develops Notre Dame
elevens. 1t may be termed year.
round system.
Putting the system into single sem
tenoe, Notre Dame foot ball men have
signal practice all Winter; they scrim.
mage all Spring-10 weeks of the
hardest sort of scrimmaging-and In
the Fall they play foot ball games.
Meehan saw the beauty OF the scheme
and last Winter he arranged first a
plan of daily gymnasium work for
the foot ball men. They went upon
the basket ball court equipped with
a regulation foot ball and played
curious sort of game.
First they played FIVE minutes Of
basket ball. Then in the next five
minutes the baskets were ignored.
Players of each side passed the ball as
hard as they could to any other
player. 1t was the duty of the play
ers not holding the ball to be ready
TO catch it. The penalty of unpre-
paredness or butter-f1ngers was to
have the swiftly spiraling oval hit the
receiver in the head.
1t is not fun to be beaned by
tightly bltwn foot ball, and as sheer
matter of self-defense the men de-
veloped expert facility in catching.
REPORT EFIIIle SIIdpcs
All this in the late afternoon after
lessons. Meehan found that in the
morning from 11:15 to lunch time was
another period in which most Of the
foot ball men found themselves free
from classroom work. So at this time
throughout the Winter, save upon the
few occasions when snow was too
deep. the squad turned out, practicing
formations, forward passing, punting,
receiving and the like.
The result was that when the squad
reported last September they were as
primed with foot ball as a big league
team is primed with base ball when
the national paStime starts in April.
In fact, Meehan holds that all the
timing and rhythm of big league base
ball would not be In evidence in April
and May were it not for the intensive
Winter practice in which the ball
clubs indulge.
Every one who has observed New
York University in games has mar
veled at the eXpertness in receiving
passes as well as in throwing them
and the clock-work operations Of the
eleven have also been marked. Win.
ter and Spring work did it.
Husky, But Youthful.
The Violet team is husky outfit,
but one is chiefly struck by the youth
full faces of the men. 1t is, in fact,
q. young team and some of the best
players are from New England. Lass
man. d 200-pounder, feet inches
tall, not 90 years old, is a Gushing
Academy. Massachusetts, product. SO
1s Connors, the brilliant quaterback.
Runyan comes from Holyoke High
and SO does Roberts. Strong halls
from West Haven, Conn.,. High.
RearGon was developed at Bristol,
Conn, High. Dunn comes from
Waterbury.
What brought them to New York
University? The impression prevails
in som" quarters that Meehan bought
them on the hoof. But he did not.
Chick is a New Englander and has
q host of friends in that section.
When he took hold of New York
University he travelled through New
England and Middle Atlantic pre-
paratory schools. visiting the princi-
pals. He set forth the various edu-
cational advantages at New York
University, which is an enormous
institution, Splendidly equipped. 1t
has nearly 10000 students, of whom
5000 ara eligible for foot ball.
Men Must Toe Mark.
His plan was TO eStaDliSn q real
foot bali system at University Heights
and to link it up closely with the
scholastic SIDE of the institution. A
number of scholarships were avail
able and these covered tuition, in
return for which the students must
perform regular services in fraternity
houses, commons and about campus.
In this way foot ball material began
to flow to New York University and
1t is still flowing. There are no
insecure jobs-at least none that the
writer could finland the player
who cuts classes or who is negligent
in his studies promptly receives a
railroad ticket to his home. Meehan
has an arrangement with the faculty
whereby a weekly check is kept upon
student athletes, and any boy who
lags is handled without tolerance.
The writer found a splendid spirit
20 hol n