Making Athletes Out of Freshmen
When an alumnus comes to Hanover in the fall andstrolls down to the field where the freshmen candidates forthe football team are being tried out, he is quite likely toexclaim in astonishment that he never saw such an armyof athletes in action before that very minute. The coloreffect is also pleasing and striking, quite modernistic, forthe shades of all the uniforms and stockings vary fromorange and gold to green and old purple. Probably thecolors of every American high and preparatory school inthe East are represented on that field. This preliminarygoing over in the fall is of help in enabling freshmento find out in what field their greatest athletic forte reallyexists. Many men come to college having been "all round"stars in preparatory school, only to find in college thatconcentration upon one or two sports is necessary. Andone usually finds that the freshmen who are "weeded out"from the freshman football squad are later discovered in therecreational football groups, or perhaps trying out forbaseball or lacrosse or track.
ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
MANY, many times I have been asked the question by alumni, "How do you get a team from all these candidates? What do you do with them?" In this article, I shall attempt to answer their question in a brief and general way, with no thought whatsoever that this is the only way to do it or that it guarantees any degree of success.
During the summer, postcards are sent to every freshman, asking them to fill out and to return them to the supervisor of athletics. On this post card will be indicated the boy's weight, his choice of position, and the amount of his experience. Sometimes the information on these cards proves to be of value, at other times it is very misleading. Because you can not always tell from a boy's weight whether he has the speed, the coordination, the courage, the determination and the intelligence to go with it. And this combination of qualities is essential to a good football player. Then too, the information on the postal does not indicate whether the boy likes the game or not. And this is essential as well, because the boy who does not like a sport will never rise to any great height in it; he will fall by the wayside under the rigorous drills and scrimmages, because of lack of ambition or a strong enough purpose to carry him on in spite of everything.
More information about the prospective candidates is received from their coaches, from the alumni, and from their friends in college. This is what we have to start with. Yet it is strange how much weight and height the candidates can lose in their trip to Hanover from their homes!
The day college opens, the candidates are called out and are provided with what equipment is available. And what a sight they provide! Some have suits, others have none, other than running pants or their B-V-D's. Some bring their own, and this is the most satisfactory, for it adds color to the otherwise drab occasion. Just imagine the picture presented by from 100-200 men in suits of all sizes, shapes and colors, milling around like the Yankee division for the first half hour. During this chaos we are getting the confessed kickers, passers and centers into groups for a starter.
Our next step is to call the squad together for a brief talk, which in my opinion is one of the most important features of the whole procedure for in it we endeavor to start them all off on their right foot on their first experience in their new surroundings.
MUST KEEP UP IN STUDIES
They are told of the necessity of adapting themselves to the new environment in all its phases. Then they are reminded of the necessity of studying, no matter who they are, or what they are, or from whence they come. For they may have been able to "get by" on their athletics heretofore, but not so from now on. In order to be able to play a boy must be "up in his work," and in order to reside in this Elysian Field the boy must study as he never has studied before. Faithful daily work is what he must do from now on. In this connection the boy is urged to make out a time schedule of his work in order that he may not waste his time, because he is largely "on his own now," and to many this opportunity is a great stumbling block. It is new to them, never before having come within their experience.
Then they are told that we expect absolute obedience from then, and to keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths closed. We also tell the boys that they must report daily and on time, and not merely when it is convenient to them. And this is one of the hardest lessons we have to teach them. If they are unable to report they know that the courteous thing to do is to let the coach know about it, rather than to stay away and say nothing—for this is the first evidence of lack of interest in the work.
Another situation which is taken up with the boys at this time is the necessity for trying to get the Dartmouth point of view of football. This is difficult because the candidates have come from all over the country, playing under entirely different systems, and they have learned to regard their former coaches as heroes, and that their word was law. This is quite natural and desirable, yet it often takes more than a month to break down previous habits and ideas and to gain their confidence.
And finally they are instructed to become acquainted with their trainer, and to use his services whenever they are needed, because it is the height of folly to continue work when one is injured; and often it is very difficult to know whether or not the boy is injured, unless he tells you himself.
Following this talk the men are lined up according to positions; their names, weight, school and experience are again taken to check up with the post cards which they returned.
WEEDING OUT
Then the men are put into different groups and are taught the rudiments of their position, actually from the ground up.
These groups are called together again and as many teams are chosen as there are men available. They are shown briefly a fundamental play and are turned loose, simply to give them something to do and to keep busy.
This gives the coaching staff the chance to look over the men and to begin to weed out those who most obviously will not do, no effort being made as yet to find the best men.
Then they are called together again, given the grass drill, and here endeth the first lesson.
The following two days is usually a repetition of the first one, except for the taking of names and the talk. All attention is given to finding out the kickers, the passers and the centers, and to eliminate those who obviously will not make the grade. This will leave about 86-100 men. As the season progresses this number diminishes with the result that at the end of the season there will be about four teams remaining.
Now the men who are cut the first few days and those who are cut later are not through with football; they are sent at once to the recreational squad where they have instruction under competent coaches. If a mistake has been made in cutting any man, we are the first to be willing to admit it and to recall the boy to the freshman squad. But it is surprising how few men are returned to us,—practically none.
From now on we begin to look for the best men, and to make up teams on a purely trial and error basis. We endeavor to put the good men, as they appear, on one of the first four groups (teams) and sometimes we are fortunate enough to hit upon the best combination at an early date. More often it takes a month or more before we are at all sure as to "who's who" in the squad, because some men develop rapidly, while others develop slowly, and we want the best men regardless of the rate of their development.
As we begin to know our material we find that sometimes it is necessary to change them from one position to another, in order to get the proper combination from the material which is available. And the more of this shifting there is to be done, the slower will be the development of the teams. But it is quite worth while, particularly so when you see them "carrying on" in their new position on the varsity.
From this point on, more and more attention is given to the fundamentals; plays are given the squad as rapidly as they can handle them, and much time is given to conditioning the men.
READY FOR THE FIRST GAME
Now the squad is about ready for its first game and we can see how well or how poorly they have learned what to and to do it and when to do it. These things can be learned only by game experience and it is as evident to the coaches as it is to the "side-walk committees" as to the nature of the work for the next week.
The routine daily practice is now in session with its group work, individual work, kicking, passing, charging, tackling, offense and defense. Although the offense is of necessity stressed much more at first than is the defense.
When the suits are given out to the first three teams, the men are also given what we call "bibles." There are bibles for linesmen, backs, ends and quarter-backs. The purpose of these bibles is to enable the men in the quiet of their rooms to master certain principles and modes of action, with the firm belief that once they know the proper method of reacting to any given situation, they will react correctly in the heat and excitement of a game more often than if they did not. It is the new and the unusual which puts a green team "up in the air." And yet it is impossible to anticipate every possible situation; hence there are plenty of opportunities for "bonehead plays." No matter how much the coach may know, what counts is how much the squad absorbs and is able to put into actual practice. Usable knowledge is the thing that counts on the field as well as anywhere else.
At the last practice the squad is given a short talk in regard to their chances and their attitude with the Varsity squad. They are informed that to be a regular on the Varsity team they must be either (1) a star or (2) very lucky. They must not expect to be given much attention at first, and must be prepared to do the dirty work and take a lot of hard knocks. If they can keep their heads up and smile through this, and can then come back for more they will show that they have "the stuff" that is required of a varsity man, And lastly they must be willing and determined to perfect their weaknesses, and to stick in spite of everything. Of such "stuff" champions are made, and they will never be known as a fair-weather team.
When the season is over, a detailed report on the men of the squad is made out and given to the varsity head coach, who in turn sends it to his assistants. With this information they are enabled to make their plans for the coming fall. For we have come to know the men on the squad very well by this time, their possibilities, their strength and their weaknesses. And it is possible to put them in a dark room and let them develop until the fall.
One thing which greatly helps or hinders the work of the head coach with the large number of freshmen is the size and quality of his coaching staff. It is imperative that they be experienced, interested in their work and good teachers. This past year the staff was as fine a one as I have associated with, and it is my fondest hope that the one of next year will be as efficient and as loyal.
And may I pay this tribute to the 1932 Freshman Squad—as fine a group of boys as I have ever had or ever hope to have. Good luck to you boys!
SID ON THE SIDE-LINES
THE ART OF THE BAT "Now you hold the trade-mark up" says Sid
CLASS DAY IN THE OLDEN TIMES Once upon a time, the senior class could loll easily and comfortably on the platform of the Bema and allow plenty of room for spectators. Today, the graduating class fills all the space shown in the picture.
