Show FRANK FRANK K BAKER BAKER- Because the coaches persist in being so gloomy many of our athletic teams actually starve for confidence Something Is wrong with a system that depicts our athletic athletic athletic ath ath- letic directors as leaders In psychology and character builders only to turn many of ot them Into pessimistic men who complain complain com corn plain of their prospects all the time Unassuming confidence is a clear cut advantage to the athlete Golfers GoIters seldom click unless they are in the right frame of mind Bowlers find themselves slipping sUpping when they feel they haven't a chance S S S SOur Our champions represent something far greater than the physical power and brawn that it takes to gain a title Every winner has to fight a mental battle which is perhaps greater than the physical combat Let a golfer feel that he is going to miss the much needed A t- t tr fl d 1 putt u t and chances are ab about ut ten to one that he will Impress a n bowler that the pin still standing is his Jinx and hes he's on the verge of an error S I. I S S Nothing is more disconcerting to an athlete than to have hi his confidence shaken His nerves will knot and tighten up until he doesn't have the thc smooth easy modon motion motion mo mo- tion don that is necessary to successful ful performance Coaches Want to Keep Public Far Fr Too Much i ii Dark perhaps Perhaps its it's the thc mental fear that the p demands a winner if there's theres hall half a chance that induces a n coach to surround himself in a cloak of ot gloom S He knows a million and one things can happen to put a title prospect out of ot the race and that each failure is a huge disappointment to the teams team's backers Just as the spectator has a l disturbing habit of crying for a il new coach when the team doesn't live up to expectations the coach likes to gloat over trl that weren't supposed to fall his way With this thought in mind I believe man many coaches figure it 4 is is t good strategy to dish out the ballyhoo that the they haven't a il chance Keep the public from expecting too much is Ls one of ot the first axioms a coach learns S S S From the coach's viewpoint Its It's simply one way to hang hang- onto the theold theold theold old paycheck If the fans dont don't think has a ghost host of a L show they'll be patient when defeats mar the seasons season's record If the club comes through with some unexpected triumphs John 11 II Public thinks coach Is a swell guy u A wizard A craft crafty fellow And dont don't forget foret de deserving enin of a new contract S S S Its It's Great Sport to Bemoan Fate and Win Championship Naturally coach starts his nefarious campaign on the sports writer Hes He's the fellow to fool It takes too much time to put on the song and dance for e each cah ch individual fan but if coach can convince the sports writer ye c scribe will tell the whole wide world and the stage will be set exactly as 5 coach wants iLI it iL itI I have known coaches to use substitutes for key men in their teams in basketball so so visiting sports writers would not hot get too high an opinion of the team Every scribe can ii recount many instances of how coaches overdrew their tales of woe I I dont don't blame a coach for his efforts to guard against overconfidence but I dont don't see how some coaches ever expect to win a game came ame at all judging from the way they try to frighten their charges AU All week Ion long Ions the coaches coaches' picture Saturdays Saturday's opponents as a band of hungry dr dragons ions ready to swoop down upon his men spurting fire lire from their eyes and capable of gobbling cobbling them all up at one bite 0 If I 1 were a player on some teams with a little more trust rust in my soul than I have for what coaches nave to say in their pep pcp talks Im I'm afraid Id I'd be absolutely paralyzed paralyzed paralyzed para para- by game time that I would be rendered wholly useless to the club by the mentors mentor's own strategy On the other hand if It I weren't innocently gullible I imagine I would become skeptical of the whole procedure procedure pro pro- that tha I would be inclined to take all the warnings of dire fate with a grain df Of salt I would be inclined to laugh off each warning like a duck shakes water from his back Consequently I would not be inclined to take heed when the coach really was right S S S Only three months ago Coach Eddie Kimball of Jordan sought to convince a Telegram sports writer he didn't have a chan chance e in the world His ILis boys were little They were inexperienced It was a shame to put such underdogs on the same field against some of the Goliaths they had to meet this year Today oday Jordan is state football champion I S S Ki Kimball balI is not alone Hes He's jut just a notable example Coach Bill Sauri der of ot Colorado university hesitated at having me on the sidelines for forone forone forone one of t. t his practice sessions early this season because I came from the theother I other side of the conference although by his own admission he have bave a thing worth seeing That is interesting since his team beat Utah 7 to 6 On the other hand Coach Harry Hughes of Colorado pictured Aggles-pictured pictured as the most gloomy guy of the whole R. R M. M C. C C. received received me with open arms Optimistically speaking were we're as good as we were last year he said Slid His team vindicated him by tying for tor the title for tor the second year in a row Moreover I wrote my ray story about Harrys Harry's team at a desk adjoining his while he diagrammed plays with his scout and captain N No wonder Harry has remained S at C. C S A. A C. C for more than 20 years S.- S. One of the uniforms worn In the Navy Army game came ame picked up t 11 extra pounds in that quagmire mire of ot Franklin field and the pounds were were mostly mud |