Fielding Yost

“ Strength, weight and aggressiveness are as essential to a good guard as speed is to an end. A slow, lumbering guard is of no use; in fact, a slow man has no place in the game. Upon the center and the two guards depends the strength of the line and the strength here must be that of a stone wall, in order that the various offensive plays may be gotten well under way before the opponents can get through to break them up. The work that falls upon the guard calls for great exertion and instant action. ”

“ The tackle is the "work horse" of the eleven. He is called upon to stop most of the plays of the opponents, since nine-tenths of their attack is aimed at his position or just outside of him. On offense, in the various "tackle-back" or "tackle-over" plays that are so extensively used in the present development of the game, he is required to head the interference or to plunge through the line with the ball like a full back. He has become the important man in every play, and success and failure depend on how he performs his duties. ”

“ No back should ever run toward his own goal; his duty is to gain ground, not to lose that already made.
Carrying the ball is not more than one-third of the work required of a half back on the offensive. ”

“ The center, like all the other members of a football team, should be active and fast on his feet and should above all things be strong and steady. No one but a man who is absolutely cool in all his work should attempt to play the important position of center. No play can start without first having the assistance of the center, and if he fails in any way the play will generally result in no gain or the loss of the ball. The center must follow the ball all the time; wherever the ball is, there the center must be also. No team can play a clean-cut, fast game if the center is slow. ”

“ To do all that is required of him, a tackle must have the speed of an end and the aggressiveness and all-round ability of a good back. It is needless to say that he must have courage, weight, strength and wonderful endurance to fulfil the requirements of his position. ”

“ The tackle should take care and satisfy himself that the kick is not a fake, which may result in a play coming through the line inside of tackle or, more likely, since the full back may carry the ball on a direct pass beyond the line of scrimmage, around the end. The tackle should always go through hard and fast, using his hands to ward off the men protecting the kicker. He should then spring, with arms extended, high in the air in front of the kicker and try to block the kick, which he can often do. If he cannot block the kick, he can often compel the punter to kick almost straight up. ”

“ In going down on a punt, the end must determine about where the ball will fall by the general movements of the men in the backfield or by snatching a glimpse at the ball over his shoulder as he runs. He should be very careful not to over-run the ball, which he is very likely to do in the case of a short kick. The end should always keep well outside the catcher, so that, if he does not down the man himself, he can at least turn him in toward his own men, who are following down the field close after him. ”

“ What the general is to the army, the quarter back is to the football team. He directs the battle and success, in a large measure, depends on his plan of campaign. He must be a man of the highest mental and physical qualities. He must be a man who can inspire confidence in the mind of every player on his eleven. Mentally, he must be of quick thought and judgment and must have plenty of nerve. Physically, the quarter back must have strenghth and clean activity and, above all, an unlimited amount of endurance. ”

“ An end must possess great speed and endurance to enable him to make long dashes up and down the field in pursuit of punts, and occasionally to relieve the back in carrying the ball. He needs strength and weight to enable him to sustain singly, as he frequently must, the charge of several men in a body, and to break up rapidly moving interference. He needs a quick eye, long practice and good judgment to solve the tricks and fake plays of his opponents, for many of these tricks are especially designed for his deception. ”

“ Whoever plays quarter on the defensive should be very alert in watching opponents for the direction of their plays. He should always keep his men watchful and active in breaking up the attack of the opposing team. He should watch for fake plays, call out to his men where the attack is to come, and keep them on tip-toe, ready to smash up the coming charge.
The quarter back must be the leader of the team when it is in action. He must do his own work coolly accurately and swiftly, and at time same time do all that he can to keep his men up to the fighting pitch. ”

“ It is his duty to get in promptly to save the ball in case of a fumble, to protect the runner from a rear attack and to pull or shove the runner along or interfere for him, as the opportunity presents itself.
When his team is on the defensive, the work of the end is very different. He takes up a very different position on the line, moving away from his tackle from three to four yards, the distance depending on the formation of the opponents. He should play as closely as possible, just far enough out to make certain he cannot be boxed in. ”

“ When a kick is blocked there is great opportunity for a touchdown. If the ball is bounding and can consequently be easily picked up, the tackle can frequently snatch it up and race on over the goal line. Sometimes he can kick the ball forward along the ground until it is kicked in goal, where he can fall on it for a touchdown. ”

“ At the kick-off, after the kick, a guard should go down directly under the bail to prevent any return and to be on hand to line up instantly when the ball is downed. When the opponents are kicking, the guard is in one of the best positions to block kicks or to aid in getting the center or the other guard through for that purpose. The three center men should work together to get one of their number through. ”

“ He must be strong, heavy and full of courage, ready to go up against the opposing line with an abandon that would be in evidence were there no line there at all. The important part which he has to perform in every play makes it imperative that he be a man of iron endurance and in perfect physical trim. ”

“ One of the pronounced benefits of a charging machine is the fact that it also gives the coach or trainer an excellent opportunity of securing data regarding the relative speed of his candidates in charging. ”

“ He it is who is commonhy the man projected into the mass of players in the center, and a player must have rugged endurance and ability to withstand the hard usage incumbent on a man who plays this position well and conscientiously. The full back is also often used in the interference, of which he is a member on practically every play when he is not carrying the bail. ”

“ The dummy should be held about six inches off the ground, and the rope should be long enough to allow its being paid out as the player makes the tackle.
The practice dive at the dummy should be varied in length. The long dive which is often necessary in a real game should be taken straight from the spring, not up in the air and then down at the dummy as many players will try to make it at first. The short dives should be made with such force that the dummy will be carried back in the player's arms for a considerable distance at the finish. ”

“ A player who is behind the rest can be picked out with ease and placed side by side with a faster man for the purpose of cultivating his speed. In this way a line can be taught to charge together and with speed, to keep low, to use the hands in getting through an offensive line and to cultivate form in general. ”