| OCR Text |
Show THE DIXIE OWL THE DIXIE OWL Iliblislied Monthly by the Students of the Dixie Normal College . Subscription rates: Students Free; Others 75c a Year EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Elizabeth Snow Crawford Houston, Assistant Editor Business Manager Glen Snow Vilate Roundv Literary Marion Miller Local and Society Maurine Whipple Fun and and Lida Cox Philosophy Frank Crosby Athletics Schuyler Moody Debating THE SIXTH MAN IN BASKET BALL In this age of basket ball mania one hears a great deal of talk about that wonderfully powerman. On every ful sixth hand one hears that the sixth man is half the team, or the sixth man won this game, or the sixth man lost that game. But just what kind of a fellow is this sixth man and what of the game does he play? part It appears that the sixth man is the entire group that the ball team represents ; and it seems to be his duty to encourage the team and keep up the fighting spirit. It occurs to me that this extra man can be as great a factor for defeat as he can for victory. All admit that he is the heaviest man on the team. Then it seems reasonable that should he make a bad play and sit on the side of the balance that registers defeat, he can lose the game unless the team is strong-enougto win in spite of him. I believe that more games are won in spite of the sixth man than are won because of the sixth man. This man is there to keep the other five from getting discouraged, but invariably he is the most easily discouraged of all. He is too emotional. He is either so completely over-joye- d that he cant contain himself and finds the building he is in scarcely large enough, or he is down in the dumps and so long-face- d as to look out of place at a fun so-call- ed If the five men are winning the game, he can help them win ; if they are losing the game he could help them to snatch victory from defeat, but he usueral. ally makes a bad play and blocks the game. The weakness of the sixth man is best seen when the score is close. This is a most critical time for all concerned. The teams are evenly matched. A weakness in any man will be immediately apparent. The five men who play the floor are aware of this. They realize that the outcome of the game depends upon the kind of plays they make. The sixth man doesnt know that the game depends on the plays he makes. Consequently he often makes this foolish play: When one of the five makes an awkward pass, and thus allows the ball to go to the opposing team, he invariably detects the error and keenly feels that he was responsible for it. He immediately loses confidence in himself. He is hanging in the balance between losing himself completely and recovering confidence. Instead of ignoring blunder and cheering the the man who made it, the sixth man greets the unfortunate, (who is doing his utmost), with a veritable barrage of hints on the technique of passing the ball, and directions for fine playing. He tells the man of the mistake he made, as though the man who made it hadnt noticed it! The player, being naturally very sensitive because of the bungle, gives way beneath the storm of hisses from the factor potent for victory and has to be taken from the game. If the sixth man is going to help win he must play a consistent game. He must know what he is there for, and must know what to ignore and what to cheer. The sixth man needs a lot of coaching. Henry Miles. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs you are indeed a man said Kipling. Schuyler Moody was indeed a man. A few weeks ago he was asked to write an editorial on Athletics. He was so deeply interested in debating that he was slightly prejudiced perhaps against athletics but at least it seems that he had a saner view of them than the majority of students have. This is what he said Everything is basket ball now, every body is talking basket ball. The team are the heroes of the school. It is true that these boys deserve praise, but do we pay as much attention to other equally worthy activities? Do debat: ing, scholarship, social service or dramatics receive as much attention and praise? Is Dixie placing a premium on brawn and letting brains go at a discount? Does the debator who silently grinds out his brief, receive as much praise for his work? Can you imagine a debating team being carried from Chapel on the shoulders of his fellow students? The student who day after day gives his time and energy towards creating the spirit that makes possible the finance for basketball, does he receive any recognition? The basket ball star is always remembered, the student of social service is soon forgotten. A coach is hired for athletics, the faculty barely recognizes is a debating manager. The student body finances practice games in basket ball, they appropriate a microscopic sum to finance debating with the instruction not to waste anymore of it than necessary. that there When one debate scheduled for this year fell through a student body officer made the remark, There will be that much more for something else. |
