Various

“ Formation counts for little. It is not the play, but the stuff that is put into it that makes it succeed. Without this spirit a team may know all that it is possible to know of the game, and may be in perfect physical condition, but cannot hope to win. It is one thing to know how to fight; it is another to be able to fight; but greater than either or both is the fighting spirit.
The whole team, each and every man on it, should enter a contest or match imbued with a just sense of the responsibility resting upon him as the chosen representative of his school or college. ”

“ John was a man of quick decision and resolute action. All the meaning of the situation flashed upon his mind. They were but two, and outnumbered six or eight to one; they had but one gun, that empty, fifty feet distant toward the foe. But the way was open to the fort, across the clearing and through the woods. Had he been alone, he would have sprung to the path in a moment and gained a good start on the savages. But Stephen had the unfortunate habit of hesitating in emergencies. Whenever startled or surprised he seemed powerless to act, and would stand as one dazed. ”

“ For a moment Elizabeth was speechless with indignation. Then, before her aunt Rebecca could reply, she started from her chair.
"Aunt Caroline," she cried, stamping her foot, "you are a horrid old thing! I will go there to school. I will be friends with Patsy! You won't let me have a thing like other girls! I wish my father would come home and take me away from here!" And she ran crying from the room.
"Her frightful temper again," exclaimed Miss Herrick; "and the doctor said she must not be excited! What shall we do, Rebecca?"
"You are very foolish to allow yourself to be so agitated. ”

“ Every plum clung selfishly to its twig, and piggy could have cried with vexation. Surely plums were made for pigs! Why could he not have his share? Angrily he flung himself at the base of the tree, but he was not as heavy as before he became a circus pig, and nothing was hurt but his back. This was too much. Was he to be lamed and bruised by a scrubby old tree just because he admired its fruit? In a rage he took a running start, and struck the tree head first a fearful blow. ”

“ Football is the most vigorous and hearty of all our athletic sports. When properly played, it is also the most exhausting. It requires the quickness and speed of the sprinter, the endurance of the cross-country runner, the strength and power of a first-class wrestler; in fact, when critically analyzed, football seems to be a sort of composite of many sports. As to the proper style of training for an eleven, perhaps no two persons have exactly the same ideas. But, in general, there may be said to be two schools, the old and the new, or the old style and the new system. ”

“ What has happened to a one-horse chaise might very easily happen to a bicycle, particularly on a joggly hill. Nothing will loosen bolts and screws more quickly than joggles, and if it should happen some morning that while you were coasting down a hill full of thank-you-marms your wheel should suddenly come apart in every bolt and bar, you would go sailing through the air like a cannon-ball just from the cannon's mouth, and alighting finally on the ground, while not at all difficult, might prove painful. ”

“ A thought came to the pig, and creeping close to the side of the tree, he said softly to himself, "I wonder if this orchard belongs to yonder farm?" The tree kept very still. "For," said the pig, "it seems a shame, but I heard the farmer say to the hired man, 'John, go over to-morrow and cut down that scrubby old plum-tree in the path. It is no good; chop it up for fire-wood. The plums are not fit for a pig to eat.'" A mighty fear seized the tree as it heard the dreadful words. ”

“ He owes to her the very best and all that there is in him. Her honor, her athletic prestige, are at stake, and she demands nothing more nor less of her sons than that they be retrieved or maintained. Hence the team should go upon the field with a do or die spirit, with a determination to win at all hazards. ”

“ Elizabeth was speechless. She could only look at him.
"Come," exclaimed Valentine, impatiently, "don't stand there staring. Your eyes look as if they were going to pop out of your head. Let us hurry!"
"But, Val, I can't hide you there. I have been forbidden to go near that room, and I don't believe I can get the key now. Aunt Caroline keeps it in her desk, and her desk is nearly always locked." ”

“ It has been urged against the old system that it is impossible to carry eleven men from A to E in good condition; that the team, as a whole, will come to the final game overtrained. The individual may go below the line occasionally, but the team as a whole must be better, because the weaker individuals who are unfitted for the game will be eliminated early, before the team is made up. The team training on line A E, the new system, is just as likely to be undertrained, and lose half of its best men before an important match is finished. ”

“ Any correct system of training for a team comprises three separate and distinct elements—the physical, mental, and moral. An eleven should be physically fit to play a hard, fast, and aggressive game from start to finish; and it should be mentally fit in the sense that it thoroughly knows its own game from beginning to end. Every man should know every play, and his place in every play. After being able to play the game both physically and mentally, the next and final thing is to play it. ”

“ The amount and kind of work a team should do will perhaps be best considered under mental training. The problem in training is really how to do the work necessary to learn the game without impairing the physical condition.
By mental training is simply meant the process of learning this game. One broad rule may be laid down for learning the game, and that is to play it. There may be different methods of teaching men how to play; hardly any two coaches or captains will begin the season in just the same way. But each captain should have some plan, schedule, or method of teaching. ”

“ The Governor, who was a fussy but well-meaning man, began, as soon as the formal greetings were over: "Major Washington, I have work in hand for you. I am told by my Lord Fairfax and others that you are the fittest person in the colony for the expedition I have in hand. It requires the discretion of an old man, but it also requires the hardiness and strength of a young man; and you see, therefore, what a burden I lay upon you."
George's face turned quite pale at these words. ”

“ The old school is one of Herculean labors and Spartan discipline. The idea of the old school is physical development and bodily discipline. The idea of the new school seems to be that sport is simply a recreation. Work as little as possible seems to be the new creed. Periods of rest are emphasized rather than periods of work. The aim of the new system is to train the men for the final match, to bring them to the highest physical condition by the end of the season, which sounds rational enough. ”

“ Naval apprenticeships have nothing whatever to do with the Annapolis Academy. They are enlistments for young men above fifteen and not above eighteen years of age, who may remain in the navy till they are twenty-one. These boys must have the full consent of parents or guardians, be of good character—for apprenticeships are not to reform bad characters—be sound of body, and be able to read and write English. Having been sworn in, they are sent on board naval vessels, where they are given the elements of a common-school education and taught naval seamanship. ”

“ In general, one broad, comprehensive rule may be laid down with regard to training for athletic contests, and that is this: All training must be adequate to the demands of the particular kind of contest to be entered into. For light athletic contests, light training; for heavy contests, heavy training. The same training requisite for baseball would not be sufficient for rowing; nor can training for track athletics be at all adequate for football. Different sports make different demands upon the physical man. And the training for each must be adapted to meet the demands of each. ”

“ The captain and coach should notice each man, and see that he can make the simple straight-arm pass correctly, and catch the ball properly. Next, let the men line up in pairs, forwards with forwards and backs with backs, and try a half-dozen mutual scratch starts. The purpose of this exercise is to make the men quick on their feet, and to secure quickness and agility. That done, line the men up, and have them fall upon the ball. Having them in line instead of in a circle, the captain and coach can see that each man is taught how to do it correctly. ”

“ There had not been a doubt in the mind of John about his own ability to outrun the Indians. The question from the first had been how to save Stephen, and this new discovery made the situation desperate. The boy could run very swiftly for a short distance, but he lacked the endurance of a fully developed man. In spite of his brother's encouragement his steps began to flag. Bigfoot was easily gaining upon them, and three others were not far behind him. Soon he came so near that John feared he might, by a quick rush, be able to throw his tomahawk with deadly effect. ”

“ A great deal of the militia force had been drawn down the State to the city of New York, owing to the fears then entertained that the British intended to make an attack upon the city from their fleet. It was Sir George's plan to destroy forever the power of the Americans upon the lake, and for that reason it was necessary to capture the naval force which had been for some time under the command of Macdonough. The English leader arranged a plan with Captain Downie, who was at the head of the squadron, that simultaneous attacks should be made by water and land. ”

“ A team trained under the new system will play with considerable life and dash while it lasts, but the team trained under the old system stays, and comes in the winner. Let us notice some fallacies of the new system. As an argument for less work, the case of athletic teams is often cited, where men train very little, and still play very good games. Any reasoning by analogy from such cases is absolutely misleading. Men who play on athletic teams are for the most part matured men, many of whom have played on college teams for years. ”

“ Rules governing the Saratoga are similar to those governing the St. Mary's. Graduates of these nautical schools look about them for positions just as do graduates of other schools. The New York Board of Education say: "The passage of the 'Postal Subsidy Bill,' requiring all vessels receiving such subsidy to be officered by Americans, and to carry a cadet for each 1000 tons burden, enables graduates of this school to obtain a situation upon graduation, where the education obtained at this school will be of great advantage to them. ”

“ The North Division team played an eleven of graduates, and defeated them, 12-0, but a few days later, on the return game, the graduates came out ahead by the same score.
John Freter, Yonkers, New York.—If the ball, being kicked, passes the line of scrimmage and is not stopped by an opponent, any one of the kicking side can pick it up and run with it, providing he is on side. Of course, to be on side he must either have been behind the ball when it was kicked, or he must have kicked it himself, or he must have been put on side by the kicker. ”

“ A little grit mixed in with the oil and the balls of the bearings is quite enough to wear the bearings themselves as well as the balls, and in a short time render the wheel practically useless, unless an entirely new set of bearings is put in. Even if you have not been in the country, the fact that you have used the wheel a little each day, and only wiped off the outside of the machine and reoiled the bearings occasionally, is enough to prove that the machine should be taken apart before you begin the fall and winter season. ”

“ In this time the captain should arrange to get in some work on the fundamentals each day. It will be impossible to take them all up in one day, but some can be taken up one day and some another. They are easily forgotten if not brushed up occasionally.
The first three weeks in October should be largely devoted to position-playing—picking the team. The captain should do all the experimenting within that period. Much straight football may be learned in the mean time. In that period, and that alone, should the coach be allowed to stop the play to coach the individual. ”

“ If the wheel is thus examined twice a year—in the fall and the spring—any little irregularity which may be wearing away vital parts of the machine can and will be corrected; whereas many a fault in a bicycle is not perceptible to the average rider until the injury has actually been done, when an entirely new part is necessary; and the larger the number of replaced or new parts, the less stable and firm is the bicycle. It therefore pays to have this renovation done twice a year, whether the wheel appears to need it or not. ”

“ If a man is afraid of over-exertion or of getting hurt, he had better [Pg 1199] play marbles. A player may have strength in abundance, but without sand it profiteth him nothing. High moral courage and unconquerable spirit are the prime requisites of a good football-player. By moral training, as has been said, is meant the mental state, the spirit of the eleven. ”

“ The practice game with the second eleven should not vary much as to the time of play from the matches. Two twenty-five or one thirty and one twenty minute half are not bad.
Toward the end of October the team should begin preparations for the final matches, which generally come off the last of that month, and little beyond mid-November. Team-play then has the field. The team should begin to learn its repertoire of plays, signals, etc. It should be taught the theory and practice of offensive and defensive team-work. In the odd moments the individual should have all the expert coaching possible. ”

“ Graduates of this school, with few exceptions, are competent to navigate a vessel, understanding thoroughly dead-reckoning, and how to find the latitude and longitude by the sun, moon, planets, or stars; they are also taught the duties of seamen, they have practice in handling a sailing vessel, in steering, heaving the lead, in handling boats, both under oars and sails, the rule of the road, and in fact everything that may assist in their advancement in the profession they have chosen. ”