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Show TRAINING A BOAT CREW, Walter B. Peet tells how it is done. THE MOST HEALTHFUL ATHLETIC SPORT Practice in a Gymnasium. Starting a fiace. That rowing is the nrt-t healthtul ! and Hie mul heiieticiil of all athletic sp irts can not I.e. denied by any one having a knowledge of the subject. City boys who have started in as strip-hu(.s strip-hu(.s to work fur a freshman crew, and have kept up rowing through their college course, have developed j iiao strong. symmetrically formed , men. such as they never would have l.een had they not gone in for this ! branch of athletics. Especially is this ; true in a few of our leading universi- j ties, where the training and coaching of the men are, .systematically and intelligently in-telligently managed. If you are a. boy who intends to go to college you ought by all means to "try for the crew." Kven if you fail to get on your freshman eight, the time is far from wasted, as the work will do you incalculable good. In this article I will tell you how a college crew is trained, from the tirst work till the linishing touches are put on just before the gieat 'varsity race, and you will see what you would have to go through if you should take the advice given above. As a rule the freshmen crews supply the material for the 'varsity eight, the best men of the former filling the vacancies in the latter boat each year. Sometimes, however, it happens that a man will row two or even three years un his class crew before getting a place on the varsity, and once in awhile a shell, generally an old one. the new one not being used until a short time , before the race. Kaeh day after the row a shower bath and u hard rubbing is given to the men, From five to lifteen miles are gone over each day in greater or less stretches. 1'ieces of four miles on time are rowed ahoat twice a week. , On the-e rows and during impromptu races with class crews or local clubs j the men are watched very closely. As soon as the college duties are over the eight goes to the scene of the great contest. The rows are made shorter to allow the men to pick up a tittle in activity, but these short rows are taken at the highest possible speed. At last the day comes, and if you ever sit in a bout at the starting post of a great college race as the referee steams up toward your shell, these thoughts will perhaps Hit through your mind: "Is the result of all this work to be victory or defeat'.' We must win." "Are you ready'.'" shouts the referee. ; The three seconds seem an age. "Ho," : comes to your ears at last. The boat jumps. you remember to make the first three strokes short to get a good start, and then you j settle down, all nervousness gone, on I tne journey whivh is to bring to you ! and the v. hole college joy or sadness, j according to your boat's position at the i finish line, and if you win well, few ! will he the events of your life to make ; you happier. j Wai.tjck 11. Pket. man who has had no previous rowing j will have that honor, but to accomplish accom-plish this he must be exceptionally good in every way. .Just after the Christmas holidays comes the first work on the set of men from which the crew is to be selected. Sometimes twenty or thirty men pre- . sent themselves as candidates to the . captain, who has been elected by tho j crew of the previous year just before ; disbanding. He takes them to the ) gymnasium, where they are to work - with him for two or three months. He directs their exercise, their diet and their hours; in fact, he j hits complete control over them from the time training is begun until tho crew breaks up after the race. It is , easy to see that the success of a crew i depends greatly upon the captain. Above all he must have good judgment, and he must be firm without being overbearing. Besides this, he and the coach inuit agree perfectly. else,should x no hit come up on which they do not have the same opinion, one or tho other loses the confidence of the raeu, or worse, perhaps, there comes a split Thf WtUTT iii-wtg-gyiniiaaiuiij, i""vir lasts two or three hours ench day, consists con-sists of hard general exercising ou all the apparatus, but principally on the heavy pulley weights, the object being to bring as many muscles into phiv as possii le antl to develop the body symmetrically. sym-metrically. Look closely at the next wood university crew you see and notice the depth of their chests and how beautifully their muscles are rounded: note their carriage and their springy walk and you will see the good of this work. Each day after the gymnasium work the men row for about twenty minutes on rowing machines or in the "tank." In the middle of the tank, which is rilled with water, is a long narrow box fitted up with sliding seats, "stretchers"' "stretch-ers"' (foot rests), and outriggers (tho irons which hold the rowlocks). A large hole is cut in the middle of the blade of each oar, so that when the men row tho water rushes through these openings, giving the crew a very good indoor substitute for actual rowing. row-ing. After the row the men take a run of two or three miles, which develops their staying powers and enables them to stantl hard, sharp work without getting get-ting out of breath. This routine is gone through day after day, until it is warm euough to row on the water. The men take hold of the oars with about a hand's breadth between the hands. The stroke is commenced by reaching forward toward the stern of the boat with both body and arms and putting the b'ade in the water, great care being taken to swing forward from the hips without bending the middle of the back any more than possible. pos-sible. The shoulders are kept down and back, as there is not somuch power in them when they are "haunched up." and when they are allowed to more forward too much they ma':e the cli.'it hollow, lessening the lung and heart ;'oom. iu dropping the oar into the water the b ade is not put in straight up : nd down but at a bevel, the lower part oi it being turned slightly to war .i. to bow of the boat. The sliding seats enable the men to get a longer stroke and to util ze the great power of the legs. On the "full reach' the seat is brought toward the stern of the boat, and it is held there till the shoulders have come up a lit-t'ch lit-t'ch jhe puil. This is done to give ihc body a. good position- before the ha id push is made with the legs. (i; the ' recover" the body. hands and slid' arc started at the same time, and grca care is taken to make Hie last part o the "recover" slowly and smooth! ele the force with which the eigh-i;e.ivy eigh-i;e.ivy mon come against their ftro oiicrs ' or foot rests when stop j ii.g the slides ou the recover will stop the In adway of the boat. ThU iIumi is the stroke which the co ich tries to teach the men. He follows fol-lows close to their bo it ou a fast stcain launch, tirst on one side, then on the other, and again behind, and sees a great many im perfections. This man ben.!s his buck instead of swinging from the hips: that man does not swing straight fore and aft, but leans to one sine of the boat when he pulls; oue drops his shoulders forward on the full reach: another ''ties down in a bunch at the end of iXie stroke, as it he had no baekione: others feather their oars under water, kick down v ith their legs before their bodies are in position to stand the strain, rush their slides toward the stern, stopping the boat, and in fact seemed to do everything wrong. The coach works hard and persistently, however, and soon has the satisfaction of seeing pome of these faults begin to disappear. i At about the time the crew goes on ; the water for the first time the men go to the "training table," where they all take their meals under the eye of the captain. As soon as the crew have unproved enough, they give up the barge for the |