Frank Eugen Dalton

“ It is the goals made, not the men disabled, that give one victory, and victory is what every player should seek.
To the forward, discrimination is a valuable asset. When caught in a tackle so far away from goal that getting free will not help you pass the ball at once, don't allow your opponent to punish you. But if you are nailed within easy reach of goal, fight as long as there is breath of life in you. Never mind how helpless the task may seem, a team-mate [p. 172] may come to the rescue at any moment, and then you'll score. ”

“ On entering the tank for an important game, every player should forget his individuality and submit passively to the orders of the captain. There must be only one head for a team to succeed, and an order should be executed without hesitation and without questioning; right or wrong, the best results come through blind obedience. The man giving the orders often sees an opening that the other does not. ”

“ If there is no one to coach and no good player to practise against, the new men should work on each other.
Water-polo holds are a good deal a matter of individuality; each man builds up a set of his own, but one tackle and one break will serve as a foundation for all.
To learn the tackle, give your coworker the ball and let him come toward you. When he's a couple of feet off, take a good, hard stroke, lift yourself as high out of the water as you can throw your arm around his neck, and pulling his head down until it is jammed hard against your chest, wind your legs around his body. ”

“ To the person who accidentally falls overboard, or who is compelled to leap into deep water, as was the case with many victims of the General Slocum, the first essential is to keep one's presence of mind. Do not feel alarmed if your head should sink below the surface once or twice—you are bound to come to the surface, and will be able to sustain yourself for a considerable time, even if you are not a swimmer, if you will but keep your hands under water. The reason so many people drown is because directly they come to the surface they raise their hands above their head and shout for help. ”

“ After a person has mastered the first rudiments of swimming, such as the back, breast, and floating strokes, he is naturally anxious to learn to dive. There is nothing more fascinating to a swimmer than a sharp, clean plunge into cool water.
The whole secret of diving is the possession of plenty of pluck and self-confidence. One need not be an expert swimmer to be a good diver. In fact, some persons can dive very well and at the same time are mediocre swimmers. As in other branches, practise makes perfect. ”

“ THE IMPORTANCE OF SWIMMING
That all persons ought to know how to safeguard themselves when in deep water is becoming more and more recognized as time passes. While swimming is probably the oldest pastime known to man, and has had, and still has, its votaries in every country, civilized or uncivilized, it is curious that this most useful science should have been so much neglected.
For an adult person to be unable to swim points to something like criminal negligence; every man, woman and child should learn. ”

“ Many a daring swimmer has been clutched and dragged down to death simply because he did not know the safest way to approach a drowning person.
Of the many different ways of saving life, the safest and best method is to swim as near the person as possible, then dive under and come up behind him; otherwise he is liable to grab you around the neck with a death clutch, from which it is extremely difficult to escape. When swimming up behind the person, grab his biceps and force him on his back; the more he struggles the more he helps himself to keep afloat. ”

“ Passing and catching are all important factors in water polo and should be practised constantly. In passing it is well to bear in mind that the object in view is to give the ball securely to one's team-mate. Pass high and carefully; a low throw may be intercepted and a hard one fumbled. Specially in close quarters high passing is essential.
To cover one's opponent when the other side has the ball and get away from him when one's own has it, should be the religion of every player. ”

“ A racing dive is a very shallow dive. The quicker the swimmer gets to the surface the less time is wasted in getting into his stroke. Both these things are very important and should be well practised. When training in a tank, the racer should never go the full distance, but reserve his speed for the day of the race. In a tank it is a good plan to count the number of strokes required to do the length, so that you know just when the end of the bath is reached without turning the head. A straight course is always advisable. This can be kept by swimming parallel with the side of the bath. ”

“ Under-water swimming should be practised by experts only, but care must be taken not to prolong the immersion in order to reach a definite point or to accomplish a certain distance before rising to the surface. It often happens that swimmers, in order to achieve a certain distance, remain under water after pains in the back of the neck give warning of oncoming unconsciousness, in which case they may lapse into a state of insensibility, and there is grave danger of drowning. ”

“ To be suddenly seized with cramps is a thing liable to happen to most expert swimmers; it is caused by various reasons—staying too long in the water and getting chilled, going in after a heavy meal, stiffening the legs too much, and varicose veins. Preventive: Never remain in the water after feeling chilled; always swim around and exercise yourself; twenty minutes is long enough for any one to remain in the water; always turn over on the back when getting a cramp, and float, at the same time working toward the shore with the hands, and don't lose your presence of mind. ”

“ To become a good plunger the swimmer, first of all, has to have good lungs. He must be able to hold his breath for at least one minute under water. Ability to float face down, as in the dead man's float, is also essential. Many would-be plungers find that their feet sink after having gone about 25 feet, the reason being lack of practise in floating.
When practising for plunging the take-off should be about three feet above the water. The thumbs should be locked, the knees slightly bent, and the edge of the diving-board gript well with the toes. ”

“ Floating in fresh water is more difficult than in salt water. Few male swimmers can float in fresh water at all.
To regain the feet in floating seems to be a difficult thing for beginners, and yet it can be done with comparative ease and little splashing if the arms are brought in front, using the hands as a scoop while pulling the body forward from the waist up. By bringing the body and the head forward until immersed, the legs will be forced to the bottom. One thing beginners should always remember is to keep the lungs well inflated and the head well back in the water ”

“ Bend all your efforts to acquiring form; speed will come later with constant practise, patience and perseverance. The crawl may be done correctly with varying details, depending on the physique of the swimmer, and ability of the coach to apply the proper methods to his pupil. I have swum the crawl in all its various details, and will explain the method I have found fastest and easiest for the pupil. The crawl, except for short distances, is not the stroke used for racing. The trudgeon crawl is the stroke par excellence for racing purposes. ”

“ A person who can not swim may not only become a danger to himself, but to some one, and perhaps to several, of his fellow beings. Children as early as the age of four may acquire the art; none are too young, none too old. Doctors recommend swimming as the best all-around exercise. It is especially beneficial to nervous people. Swimming reduces corpu [p. 16] lency, improves the figure, expands the lungs, improves the circulation of the blood, builds up general health, increases vitality, gives self-confidence in case of danger, and exercises all the muscles in the body at one time. ”

“ The side stroke is used for long distance swimming and is easy to learn on either side. The pupil should count the movements and be deliberate while doing the strokes. Splashing and fast strokes always denote an indifferent swimmer. Easy and graceful swimming can only be acquired by taking slow strokes and keeping the hands under the surface, thereby obviating all tendency of pushing the arms through the air instead of the water. ”

“ The body should first be allowed to float on the water, with the arms stretched out beyond the head and in line with the body. The head must be thrown well back while the body is kept perfectly still. Then take a deep inhalation, bringing the head well forward, as if to look at the feet. Simultaneously with this movement draw hands toward the head. ”

“ In most cases, if you succeed, you will find yourself between your opponent and his goal, where all you have to do is to touch the board for a score.
To use the legs at every possible chance should be a principle of the player. Once an opponent is caught in a good leg-hold he is rendered helpless. Incidentally, the wise player ceases struggling when he recognizes that he is caught beyond freeing. It is an excellent rule also to avoid being tackled uselessly ”

“ It is good practise to get a friend to time your lengths, and get used to diving at the word "go." The best position for a racing dive is with the hands in front of the body, the knees bent, and the mouth open, so that you get all the air possible before striking the water. Always spring out as far as you can. ”

“ Then, again, while on the back, as the face is turned upward, the beginner, especially in the case of a nervous person, gains confidence from the very fact that he is not constantly looking into the water. And also, in contradistinction to all other strokes in swimming, the arms and legs move together—both arms and legs performing practically the same movements at the same time. ”

“ The question is often asked whether it is possible for a person to learn to swim by studying a book or a series of articles. Much depends on the person. In the case of a very nervous person, it is improbable that this may be satisfactorily accomplished, for it is then absolutely necessary that a pupil must have an instructor, in order, at the start, to obviate dread of the water. ”

“ No player is allowed to interfere with an opponent unless such an opponent is within four feet of the ball, except when the ball is within the goal section, when indiscriminate tackling will be allowed in the goal section, the goal section to be a space of four feet by eight feet within the goal-line and between two parallel lines drawn at right angles to the goal-line and distant two feet from either end of the goal. ”

“ Don't attempt to rescue a person from drowning unless you are a good swimmer yourself; remember that a drowning person is generally insane for the time, and is liable to drag you to your death unless you are capable of swimming with a heavy load. ”

“ The best of swimmers have often attained this feat only after long and persistent practise. It is possible to learn to float without being able to swim, but in that case only by persons not subject to the least nervousness. As a means of securing rest during exercises in the water, floating gives an ideal position. Without the ability to float one lacks the absolute self-confidence in the water so necessary in order to perform numerous aquatic feats.
As a rule, women learn to float more quickly than men, because their bones are lighter. ”

“ As long as the head is under water the legs will not sink. It is surprizing the confidence one gets in doing these leg movements with the face under water. It takes away all fear, especially if the eyes are kept open. When the pupil's breath gives out, he or she should bend backward by hollowing the back, bringing the arms around in line with the shoulders, when the [p. 51] feet will slowly sink and the pupil can easily regain a standing position. ”

“ The sudden motion will press the air out of the other's lungs, as well as push him off, no matter how tightly he may be holding.
Should the drowning person act sensibly and not try to grab his rescuer, he can be brought in by placing his hands on his rescuer's shoulders and kicking out his legs behind him while the rescuer swims in toward shore. Another method is to pull the person on his back by holding him under the right arm-pit with your right hand and using the left hand and legs to swim with. ”

“ The leg movements are very difficult and a great deal of practise is necessary before the pupil will be ready to combine with the arms.
The legs are spread apart and snapped together as in the side stroke, but instead of stopping with this scissors kick make an extra small circle kick.
Breathing.—Inhale by turning the head as the left arm is swept down to the left side; exhale under water when the left arm is extended forward. Pay great attention to breathing on each stroke, as this is a great deal more essential than acquiring a little speed, if you wish to swim any distance. ”

“ To roll in the water one has to be able to float well; to roll easily the body must float as high in the water as possible. No movements of arms or legs are required at all, the balancing being done with the head.
ROLLING
First get into a floating position, the arms extended beyond the head, the ankles crossed as in the illustration. Then fill the lungs well with air, and gently rock the body from side to side, increasing the motion until the body rolls nearly over on its side. ”

“ SWIMMING LIKE A PORPOISE
A sudden inclination of the head toward the chest will assist the body in rolling over, when the back and legs will become visible after the head is again under water, the legs being the last to sink. By carefully regulating the breathing, this movement can be effected a number of times. [p. 124]
THE PENDULUM
This is another very clever trick, requiring considerable practise; the main essential is ability to float. The "pendulum" is primarily a balancing feat, a well-inflated chest being the main requisite. ”