Show ON ATHLETICS we know of no man te iw the state of utah who has a keener appreciation of the value of regi regulated physical activity for the growing boy no DO man who approaches tile the subject with more human human interest and sympathy no man who succeeds better tn in getting in close relationship with his boys than mr james moss principal of the granite high school it Is with the greatest pleasure therefore that we are able to give publicity to the views of mr bloss as expressed at i i recent meeting of the utah physical education society views view s which we hold to bo be eminently sound and which must soon be translated into actual practice it if we are to expect the benen cial potentialities of athletics to be realized athletics in ili its true sense j Di meaning caning prize winning contests Is an evil sport for sports sake play for the tun fun the joy the physical benefit the mental stimulation the moral training Is one of the very corner stones of all true education are we to continue the prevailing habit of developing a few a at t great K reat expense leaving the many at the wayside are we to continue to cater to the sporty element outside our educational institutions sacrificing our educational ideas are we to continue to subsidize as hitherto I 1 heroes and give them the impression that they aie doing a favor to their school by consenting to play when ve ne know or should know they are the he beneficiaries we find a way of changing radically attitude school ind and college must cooperate in the matter we invite expressions pres of opinions from serious minded educators all over the state we hope mr air moss little article be only the first one of the series mr air moss says 1 I need not speak here concerning the value of athletic training for our boys we are all united in the belief that it is a necessary part of high I 1 school life but what I 1 do wish to assert most strenuously is that all the boys need and have a right to demand the beneficial effects that come from the taking part in athletic games today our interest is centered on oil from five to eleven men one of the faculty or a coach devotes two or three hours each day to the training of these members of the team they are watched carefully as to diet sleep exercise etc athletics suits sweaters etc are purchased freely tor for them thein by the student body why are we so conceited conce ined about them are ill they ey physically weak and therefore demand ing our attention as schoolmen schoolman scho olmen arp are they those whom we fear will be uni able to stand the physical strain of intellectual effort on tile the contrary they are arc the most nearly perfect physical specimens we have in school they are those who can call stand tile the roost most wearying physical work in fact they are our heroes going forth to do battle with the enemy our neighbor high school but bihy hy do we send them foith thus first to develop school spirit and patriotism second to advertise the school do we succeed sometimes it all depends on the kind ot of team we have A good team is absolutely necessary to accomplish what we ae desire then it is that we ne begin to scour wr cur district and surrounding one for athletic material we offer inducements to certain boys to conie come to school and when we get them there we nye make heroes of them V we e also look round for a coach this man is usually one whose sole qualification is that he has played on some college team As to whether lie he knows how to teach and is of proper moral fibre fabre we are silent or at least indifferent the desire to win at all hazards becomes paramount unfair tricks that are likely to be unnoticed by the officials are taught the boys they are told to study the referee and to violate the rules as far as lie be will allow them to it if the game be lost the coach coa cli usually blames the defeat to the officials the boys are told they were robbed of 0 the game and that had they had their just dues tile the winning score would have been on oil the other side of the sheet this condition has already become so aggravated in our state that it is becoming extremely difficult to get men to officiate why simply because no self respecting man likes to be called a robber officials haie haae told me that weeks atter a game in im which they have acted some high school I 1 or girl has referred to him as the that stole the game from them officials may I 1 make ke mistakes but to me it is i criminal to poison a boys mind in such a manner that everybody ever body who says h be has done giong Is dishonest and just jast recently in our state we adopted a policy that still more greatly aggravates the situation I 1 refer to tile the division of the state into sections and the or organization of leagues in each section with a final state tournament as the goal under this system each school must play the other schools of its section at certain specified times there is no choice as to schools nor as a to date when that has once been fixed tile game must be played as scheduled therefore the few boys tile coach has been working with must play regardless gardess re of their possible temporarily unfit physical condition furthermore the coach and the boys frequently feel resentful r e se towards the teacher that re requires quires an athlete to be as proficient in ili his classes as the ordinary student we are out for advertis advertising in and the development ML nt of school spirit how can we get either with some of the best men out often vc e find boys with athletic ability who are arc desirous ot of doing good class room work sometimes they plead for a rest from athletics in order to devote themselves more earnestly to their regular work in every way the rest may he be beneficial to the individual but there is no respite lie he must keep on training and right here let me say bay that tile the high school boy ahat hat trains hard every day in tile the week is no doubt being seriously injured physically the training Is no recreation for him there Is no sport in it lie he Is constantly hearing the coach call out cut out the tea party get down to business etc practices must not be missed regardless gard less of hoche duties lessons and all the men must be out regularly who can wonder if the boy has a distorted idea of the importance of 0 athletics leti cs jakob bolin in utah educational review |