The Wilmington morning star., 1940-06-18
Here It is:
Reasons For Being

VIC CllAA14As
Here it is:
Reasons For Being
Having read with interest So''
article in Thursdays paper coii'
trasting Whiteville and Wilmington
High schools in athletics, and nav
inc coached at Whiteville during
the past year, I am taxing .ne
liberty of Quitting in" n asking
+h.t VOL, il this to the public.
"Although I have coached else
where for the past ten years, L am
still interested in the athletic teams
of the local school and am ANXIOUS
for wilmington High school to
make the top ring in athletics IN
This state. Each of us who nave
graduated from the local school
should remain loyal to it, so l still
null for these boys to win thelr
ball games.
cit is r that Wilmington has
the largest single High school IN
the state. There are something
like 900 boys enrolled and at least
IN per cent of these boys should
he candidates for football. If only
four or five per cent are candl-
dates and remain out for football
then one of the two reasons for
having interscholastic athletics Is
nullified. AS I see it. there are
only two reasons for having inter-
scholastic athletics. First, the bene-
fit received by the participant and,
second. because athletics are the
backbone of the morale of the stu
lent body. If only a small per
cent participated then the first
reason is destroyed as the per cent
of non-participants is two great.
The second reason can very easily
be destroyed by any school con-
tinually having a losing team.
Therefore, causes and remedies
should be forthcoming.
Boys Of Different Type
Back in the late 2O's and early
3O's. Bob Black has some mighty
fine teams here. Bob is ten years
older and knows more football now
than he did then. He had some
big, tough, old boys playing for
him at that time. Today he and
Robinson are dealing with a diff
ferent type, different age and diff
ferent way of thinking boy.
st have heard some critics state
that Black was out-moded, that
he was using the same stuff he
used ten years ago. Well, permit
me to say this - fundamentally.
football hasn't changed. Blocking
and tackling are still 80 per cent
of football. 1t takes the boys in
large numbers with key men for
kicking, passing, blocking, signal
calling, ETC., to make any good
squad a winning outfit. If the
physical power isn't there, then a
coach cannot do anything about it.
But getting back to the above
criticism. In a January issue of
Saturday Evening Post, Coach Bob
Neyland of Tennessee admits that
he hal1't changed his offense in
c.cr ten years. Coach Wallace
Wade Of Duke, has thrown the
same offense against opponents year
in and year out. Jim Weaver,
athletic director Of Wake Forest,
told me last December that when
You play Duke you know what is
coming and you know it every year,
but you can't do anything about
it. Why? Manpower.
Durham's Way
again let's look back to this
Durham High school team that
played here last fall. It used the
Oldest formation in football; ran
about six different plays, nothing
they showed was unusual. How
ever, they scored four touchdowns.
So it all boils down to the parti-
cipants. We might also recall that
Adkins and Terrell were here. Both
have gone and have done fine else
where, but while here neither set
the woods afire. Therefore, I am
Of the opinion that Bob and Robin
son are not the reason for our de-
cline in athletics. Both Of these
fellows are anxious to win and
know football so that they could
produce a winner. That is not the
cause.
Frankly, and I never enjoy pan.
ming boys, I believe the chief a
gon rests with the local high school
boys. Summer social life wrecks the
football team for the fall-pleasures,
amusements and the social whirl
have become the prime factors in the
average high school boys mode o.
living. They have made athletics
secondary in importance and they
are not willing to make the sacri
flee that a successful athlete mus
make. In the fall these sa:ae boys
continue to prefer the social whir
to football.
Then, too, our geographical pc
sition in contrast to Durham or Ra
leigh works a handicap. Boys ir
those cities grow up watching col
lege athletes in action, they seek tt
initiate the collegiate stars and az
a result become further advanced
In the knowledge of sports, acquir
ing more confidence and poise ir
their style of play. They create also
within themselves, while quite young