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Show I fflHE 5 T RAT EG I 5T';, -IN THE . S H E L L 11 B HI 0 1 S7 H J1 RICKS by Which Coach and Coxswain of a Varsity H Circsa Gam fie Advantage in the Heart Breaking H ibtf- Afr'fe ifea? Hl Conrrlrt't, 1MI. br tie N" Terk Herald d. All richts rerred Vfl y -Ik f t FJ'h, the .bost crew won." fl "W hls remark ,s Pcueral aftcr nn ,nter H Wl QoUcate b0QC race Ev"elT one sn-TS ,t H YV but tbere aro few who actually believe H H iDeep down In his heart the undergraduate believes H that he and his companions arc In great part respou- HJ Bible for the victory, because they havo yelled their H throats raw in "supporting" be crow. m The"alurhnuB looks knowing, having growTrwlse in H tbc ways of the world Incc graduation, and says, "It's j the coaching" H The women and the girls? They think It is the riot H of. color on the observation train, the -glamour created H by the gathering of admiring femininity and the In- H splrntlon of the pretty face Hl Rut the men out on the river in the spider legged H shells know (that none of these things contributes n H the greatest degree to the winning of the race. First Hj of all there is "the power in the boat, but behind this H arc brain work, resourcefulness and the tricks of the B conch and coxswain. H .Many a crew which has skimmed first between the H balloon draped stakeboats owes Its victory to stratn- H gom, while the "best ciew" (that is, so far as power In H the boat, beef and nerve arc concerned) has trailed. H One of the hardest things for the coach to fight against H Is the regulation slump. It comes to every crew, but HL th problem is to prevent it at the time pf the race or HT Immediately before It H The men. be they giants in strength and demons H In spirit, cannot fight off that bugbear of all atli- H lelcs. "staleness." It is the function of the coach. H beside teaching the men to row, to got them in the H pink of condition just at the moment when the big H test is lo come. If a man becomes overtrained ho Is H worse tlin useless He throws the whole boat out. H Sometimes several men In a boat take a. slump at tbc H very last minute. H That lb when the resourcefulness of the coach Is m rpquiicd. Tie may have eight men working like a H perfect machine, but they are useless if they are H overtrained. One of the most efficient coaches In the H country has a very effective way of meeting this con- H tingency. He found himself a few days before a big Ivi intercollegiate regatta witli as tine a set of mcu ns B any trainer could wish to see In a shell, but three of Hl thorn nmc "stale." H The manager and coxswain were In a funk. They M argued incessantly with the coach to take the over- M trained men out of the boat and substitute oarsmen H from the "four." The graduates took, the same stand Hi and pleaded and argued for a shift The coach and tluj crew were the .only ones who did not worry. H "I'll put von bojs through that Tace," he fa id. I. "You don't need to worry. If you weren't the best M( men for 4be places I'd have some one else in your flf seats, so you just sit tight and trust to me." M They diU trust 'him and they tried not to fret Hi Every lime the manager and the cpxswalu argued H the coach only smiled knowiugly'and said "Walt." Hj At night, after all the otliers wero asleep, he crept H, ' stealthily to the .cots where the overtTalned men M tossed, unable to rest H "Quiet, now," he'd say: ""don't let the other boys H know. IC they guess you're 'stale.' it will ruin our H chances." H Then be would give them each a tumbler pf beady H Riband they would sleep for the rest of the night. HI On the eve of the race, when the little town undert Hi the long, slender, steel bridge was overrun by hordes M of undergraduates from six big universities, nud cveiy H shop window displayed as many Bets o colors, the H euterprising manager of the crew rushed excitedly into H the lobby of the main hotel, Singling oit (he owncr H he said: H "IJow soon can you give me the use of your big dln- H' ing'room for a mass meeting?" ' H Tlie proprietor stared at him, H "Lord. I can't do that," he gasped. H i "Vou'Ve got to do It," insisted the other. H ' iTll tll jou what I'll do." suggested tlie hptel man. I "I'll get -Aeolian Hall for you, but It will cost you H three bundled good bucks." , H 'Tjct her go." almost shouted the collegian. H Tvo hours later (be news had spread to every rep- H luHeutatlVe of that university In town that a mass H meeting had been called and Aeolian Hall was packed I , to its limit. H On the raised platform at one end sat the dean of H thd college, .a Supreme Court Justice, once an oarsman, H n man In clerical garb and the manager of the crew. H Each In turn harangued the crowd. The manager M' ippke lasO- H "Fellovrs," he said, "not n word of what passes m here inusrgy outside thec doors. If some of the men I in our c.rcw learn the real condition of affairs we might as well tend, our shells back. home (o-night. "The stroke und two other men have gone 'Bta'lc' , You know what that means. The 'old man' has de-H de-H i elded thej- are the bes,t men lor the places and he's I guing to leave them In the boat. I VI don't nocd to tefl you about their nerve. You : I know they'd go till Ihcy diopped. It isn't a question H of jirrre. It isn't a qupttlou of strength. Simply they've I ! gone sUile. They'll have to go out there In Embroiling H , iutji to-morrow and light with an oar for twenty mln-. H J uts when It's an effort lo lift a hand. H I 'Xow lt'a up lo jou tt'Ilows to make them go and to H ' make them win that rao Thpy've dond their part. For eight mouths they,' e gircn up the good things of H ' llfi and worked like galley slavts. Xowil'a your turn. H J You've got to stay behind them and cheer. Cheer sys- II tcmatlcally. don't just yowl. Sing your aongs and give I your yells, and wlilli- the crowd in one section of the I I train Is recovering hrealli let thp other septlon phecr. I You'll put those boys over the line first and pvcry lime I you cheer you're pushing that boat forward." H The Strychnine Sandwiches. H Next day, while the noisy, gnudy obwryatiop train H wound ltB ay up toward the starting 11b f)r the big I varsity race, eight long limbed, brown backed mci I ( tramped hevlly down tbc runway fwrn their boat-I boat-I i house, dipped the sLulI hat tie water aud took their I 1 scats. The three men -who were overtrained won? I there, looking Jut a trifle pallid, their ejes shifting H nboutwlth Just a suspicion of ne'rrousness. . Thp othpr tive men were stilL Ignorant of tbc clonq which lowerrd H ovpr their prospect of victory. I L, I'he previous night the coach, alone, had gqno to I town and'obtalneil a strychnine preparation, which h inixetf'into some raw meat. Strychnine lb a powerful I jheort stimulant, nets quickly and, unlike coffee, docs I 'not produce nen'ousncfes, H ' n i'hat It hnd kept them In the race until they reached Ihar, Ian quarter mile, thenthey''?lmply cfung to their oar& and forced themselves to, tlnish They won the racf- On shore the undergraduates told one another how It paid to keep behind the tcw They told hpw organized or-ganized cheering inspires the men aud forces life lp 3K- ' 5 "Now, It's Up to You, Fellows, to Make Them Go and to, Make Them Win -ThatRace'., Before the men had taken their places in the boat the coach lias approached each of the three separately. "Just as you leave the lloat," he said. "I'll give you a sandwich. There's a little raw beef in It an' something some-thing bitter. Never mind what's in it, but Just eat It as you pull your shirt up over your head to take it off. Remember, now, slip It in your mouth while the shirt is 'over your head. I don't want the other boys lo know about it and r don't want the people on the train to know about it.'' As the crew settled ou to tbc sliding seats and pushej their heels into the biass cups, preparatory to slioJng off from the lloat, the coach spoke a few words to each f the men. The three who were overtrained received small sandwiches about two Inches square. Those they laid on the clean floor of the shell between the shoes. Roar after roar went outlrom the observation train to tlie toon in the shell ns with oais ripping through the wat,er they rounded Kruiub Elbow on their way to ! the starting line. The men in the train were living up to HP appeal made by the manager. To the crew the eheerjng seemed to be coming from another woi Id. almost. al-most. Men who are at the starting line for a four mile race do not have much time to think about cheers. Those who were overtrained exhibited jio marked signs of nervousness. They had confidence In the coach, which Is a whole lot. They knew that were they not the best men for the position others would be sitting in their places. When the call to strip came from the coxswain the three men deftly picked the sandwiches from the floor and while the shirts were over their heads put the little bread squares Into their mouths. The bitter taste puckered their lips, but they swallowed bravely. Aftcr a lot of manoeuvring the sir shells were In position, with the men In the stnkeboats holding the rudder post of each. Off; they went at the boom of the gun-pn the sLewavd's Jj-acht. the oars gripping the water like, great long claws and actually shooting the boats forward. Although the crew -in questiou started well, oue by one th'e 'other shells nosed them out and forged ahead. 'Way ncro'ss the river Tinder tlie t.apt hank the coach in his motor .boat kept ahreast of thorn. Front the corner of his eye's he watched the crew, mit his Interest Inter-est was mainly In the coxswain. Lie seemed to be .looking for a 6ignal from the little fellow who held the rudder strings. One mile, two miles passed. The coxswains were calling to the" men. "Two miles to go. Only, two miles 'more." Ono coxswain was peering Into the eyes of the stroke ns he swung eveniy back 'and forth in front of him. It was the stroke who had gone stale. His time was, perfect. His hack bunched at just the proper secpnd. The stroke was high. The men were working like a big machine, but there was something lacking. It wan that Indefinable somothlng the lack of whlch Is "staleness." Suddenly the little man In the stern saw a bright" gleam come Into the eyes of the'-stroke. There was no appreciable difference in the rowing, but his eye?. which bad before been almost -glazed, began to sparkle. The great moment had como. Thestrychnino was acting on his heart. If it affected one man it would affect the three otherw as wejl. The coxswain dropped ono of the rudder strings for a second and held his hand high over his head.' It was a signal to the conch that the drug was taking effect. O.ver In the motor boat the coach saw the sign before the stimulation had Its' effect on the actual progress of the shelf, but he knew that all was well and settled back relieved. Slowly, inch by Inch, that crew ovorhnuled the others The men were rowing like demons. Tbo$c who had been overtrained were setting a lacc which nearly killed the others. When th'e foremost shell shot under the .shadow of the steel bridge thq men wljo had taken strychnine were In second place. Gradually btjt cer-'talnlythey cer-'talnlythey drove ahead until the whistles and the f irens sounded the last gruclllug spurt of a quarter of a mile of muscle tearing speed. It Is nerve that wins the lace in tho last quarter mile, and the men who had received the "dope" had plenty of It. It was only a question of getting them through to the Unal jprlnt. The strychnine had dooo heat and excitement of the race the oarsman does not always realize that It Is not the voice of his own coxswain cox-swain and slown down his stroke, getting behind time for a while and throwlug the entire crew out This gives a rival a chnucc lo gain that few feet which means so much. Unlike a running race, St Ik very seldom that a race is won by a crew reserving themselves for tlie last sprint The men who arc in the lead enjoy a marked moral advantage over the ones following them. When another crew begins to overhaul over-haul them they are spurred to greater efforts, while the men behind are discouraged when they cannot overtake them. It Is Impossible for a man to look over his shoulder In a race, and until one crew Is some distance abend of another the men do not know how much of a lead the other may have. The great thlug-in thlug-in n boat race Is to jjet the lead At ajiy time .and ,.tn hold U. There Is no holding back or reserving strength after once the crews have started. Coaching from the launched Is prohibited In all Intercollegiate Inter-collegiate races, and this nile Is strictly observed. There have been very few cases where it has not been lived up to, aud the coach has usually been taken to task by tho men w ho rowed for attemptlug it. However, How-ever, there hare been times when signals have been agreed upon between the coxswain or the stroke and the coach In the launch At each quarter mile mark the coxswain may look to the launch, and the coach by a simple system of signalling with one hand apparently apparent-ly trailing over tho side of the launch can let him know how the men In the boat are lasting, whether the stroke ought to be lowered or raised, or whether he is steei Ing the proper course. This knowledge is in turn communicated to tho stroke, who acts accordingly. accord-ingly. An experienced coxswain knows that much depends upon letting bis crew know bow they stand, and overy eighth of a mile or so will tell tbein how the other boats are ranged. Sometimes he will lie a little about it, just to urge the men to greater efforts. It is a matter mat-ter of Judgment. Tcrhaps they arc ahead and are leaving leav-ing all the other crew3. but tbc boat may begin to "slop." Then the coxswain will tell his men that some crew Is catching them, and they will pull themselves together. Likewise they may be astern of a boat which is still gaining on them. In this case the coxswain may notice no-tice signs of demoralization and discouragement in his men. A little fib. making them believe that they are catching a rival, may put new life into the men and save the day. Four miles Is a long pull and in order to make it seem short the men who bteer keep the crew posted on how far they have gone. No sooner has a boat -' '; f .,-'-. "v ' - " ',. ( - -sx " ICT - - .:A'?s- $&&r sg&&' u'.y w V- j TJiiHHHHr I -M vr0iiiHH9BiSHHHlB Thc Coxswain Dropped One of hml 0MmlS3SS9MKt the Rudder Strings for a Second ) "" WSaSSHtlSSMm0ZK and Held His Hand High Over ' ' o&fliHnHHBHBSssSraHHI&K- Wut into them; keeps them going despite heart breaking fatigue, spurs them to the final burst of speed when they are laterally exhausted. Out on tlie river the winning crew pulled lazily toward tow-ard thc boathouse; rowing ruggedly, but sitting straight Even then the cheers of their supporters fell ou.well nigh deaf ears. During the race they bad heard a confusion of yells nnd songs, but they bad been too much driven, 1;oo much occupied, to know what It meant. So exhausted were they that they could Jiardly realize they bad won, much less bow they had done It. Three men at the oars, the coxswain and the coach wore tbe only persons who 'knew what wus accountable account-able for the victory, who knew thort etrychinine had carried the crew the .first three and three-quarters tnlle of the race. No matter bow much nerve the men might have to finish on, they would have been hopelessly hope-lessly lost before tbe ulsh had It not bceu for tbe little trick of the coach. Tricks of the Coxswain. Very often when two crews are evenly matched a coxswain may win the race. He must pick out the eddies and avoid them. If possible he may crowd a crew alongside him over into tbe eddy, where tholr boat will be temporarily unbalanced That will give hla crew time to gain a length, and sixty feet Is a whole lot to make up on a crew which has the lead. Jt Is ulways easier for the leading crew to increase the lead than for the trailers to catch up. A favorite irfekpf the coxswain is to rattle a man in another boat In the din attendant upon a big race where six crews are slashlngihrough the water almost abreast' the men In tho.ibow. of tho shell cannot very well hear their 6vn coxswain. The little megaphone he wears trapped to hismoutb sendB all the sound dead abend, and it is blocked to a certain degree by the bodies of thc men-. On the other hand the sound of the coxswains-of the other rews can be heard distinctly dis-tinctly by thc men In any boat. Singling out a man in a rival crew, a coxswain will direct the megaphone at him and yell: "Bow, you're out of time. You're catching ahead, bow. Slower on tho catch, bow." Sometimes he will oven, call the man's name, la tho HHBHHHRHBS353SS3HH pnssed thc first half mile mark than the coxswain will begin to yell: "Como on, boys; almost a mile gone." Before the mile Is covered he is yelling: "Come on, now, fellows, buck up; only about three miles to go!" And so It Is all the way of the course. Thc coxswain cox-swain always keeps the Idea of tho finish before the men. If they stopped to think they would realize that the man iu the stern was only doing It for effect, to keep them In spirit. The first mile In a race Is hard. The men have to Hcqulre their "second wind." and they are not thoroughly thor-oughly limbered up. Perspiration makes them more supple and more comfortable, strange as It may sound, and the best time is always made on a hot day. The second mile does not pass so slowly, but tbe third Is the longest mile of the race. The men are thoroughly thorough-ly tired by the time they reach tbe two mile mark, and they know that there Is sOll another mile to go after they finish tbe third. It is during that third mile that the wise coxswain dins into their minds tbe Idea of the finish. It encourages them and keeps them on the jump until tbey reach the last mile, which is by fur tbe hardest but rasses more quickly. It Is n legitimate trick of thc coxswain tp .fib about tbe distance covered and tell the men tbey arc nearer the finish than they really are. When the last quarter mile Is reached he begins to .yell that they are almost at the line. "JusE-a few strokes more!" he cries. "Just a few strokes morel Give her a dozen, that's alii" And so tho eight steaming, dripping men go down that last quarter of a mile, always thinking, "There arc only about a dozen more strokes." ' Dozen follows dozen, and each time It is harder to ; swing back nud forth, to jam the legs down on the ' drive, but thc oarsmen do not know how much further ' thoy have to go. The thought that it is almost rhe last time helps them to hurl every ounce of strength J and fury Into each stroke. 1 The few minutes after a crew reaches the starting ( line and Is .obliged, to wait for tho other shells before ! getting Into posltlpn is the time of greatest nervous j tension. Everything Ls ready, thc men are all keyed up to the pitch, but they have to lie on their oar and ; ; ; wait Often one of the rival ciow- will delay their :: C departure from the boathouse for a quarter of nn hour ; J. or longer, keeping tbe others walling iu hopes that : tho men wll become nervous. If the wtnthcr Is windy " & ' , and tho river rough some ciew is sure, lo develop a ' i J weakness In tbe shell or go ashore to empty the boat i fj& of wnter, making tho other mm sit in the cold and W-r run the chance of having their shell fill with water. f- ?V Accidents at the Start. i y Often a man iu one of the shells will break his I & stretcher, the bar to which thc shoes aie attached, oc I fft ' an oarlock, will get out of gear just ns thc crews line ifl$v up to surti Sometimes this is purolj an accident, but fc?y often Jit is done purosely. i fiir It, an accident occurs within the first twenty strokes, x gSL or'sTometlmes within the first minute after the crews r W? start, according to the rules which the stewards hap- v K pen to havo agreed upon, the coxswain need only mle f Sk his hand in order to have the crews railed back and I K t the race started again This Is particularly demor- i? mCf nllzlng to thc men wheu it comes ns n surprise There Upl has been more thnn one ense where a coach has In- ' ffiv struclcd one man In the boat to catch a tritlc ahead ot aH the rest of the crew, throwing .nl his power onto tho IM oar.' This breaks the sweep within nud thc race has x 3fl? to be started again Tbc other men in tho bom have i cr beenMnformed of the trick beforehand, so that they Hi aro not demorn:i7cd by the false start They know i ? ' i thnt thc first start will not be gqod and, they simply ( save themselves for the second. j, ' I ' There is not much opportunity for jockeying at tho f -1 j start of an Intercollegiate boat race. The stewards ! 3 , are alwaj-s on tho alert for crews who try to beat i j thc gun, but this can be done to a very small extent s ? All the men In tho boat keep their eyes on "tbc stroke's f k oar. They are not supposed to bother about the re- y port of the gun; they must start in unison when the t -1 A stroke starts. If the stroke watches the cannon on 1 board thc steward's yacht he may see the flash Just j 'H a fraction of a second before hearing the report. It ,W is not like a running race where tho man with a pis- ' Say! tol stands directly alongside the runners. A fraction ' 2ff of a second is not much of a margin, but many races Sl ' are wen by two-fifths or three-fifths of a second. ' 2fc To get a good even start n" shell must be In perfect ELr position before tbe oars grip the water If some of ; wm the men have their sweeps further forward than the 9hKL others It is bad. If one man In the boat has his oar IjE out of the wnter he is behind the others in catching. 7 Br When the crews arc on the line, men in the stake f m boats hold tbe rudder posts to keep the shells from Y B drifting and the men dip the oars into tbe water at WL, tho proper angle, nil ready to pull. It tikes consld- v erable manoeuvring to get all the boats in line at the lit rum same Instant, and thc second they nre ready the Ae i starter gets them off. Sometimes a coxswain in one of V1 the shells will cry to a man In another boat: y r.J "Look out, you're drifting over onto us!" f Some pf thc men In that boat nre sure to look, or j" ,pfj even to Involuntarily pull a little on their oars. Thc r ' result is of course disastrous to a good start. '" c When nil ie ready the starter calls: ' "Are you ready. Columbia? Are jou ready Yale?" V '. and so on until h? has asked all the crews whether ii r they are ready. Tm, If all are ready ho aska, "Are you ready, all?" ' At this point, which Is immediately before the gun ' BJCt Is fired, some coxswain may cry, "No!" "r?h Then the whole thing has to be done over again, r. t much to tbe discomfiture of thc men in thc other "Afcl? ft boats, who were not prepared for tbe delay, as of &va $ course those who caused it nre. -j n'tut .. There are many wnye of throwing another shell off - Its keel after the race h.as once started. So long as j. $. , ' the crews are alongside one another they aro obliged : 'ej to hold to their qwn course, but when oue forges If 7;"rnL ahead It can take any course desirable. If there is t. mbla no advantage of tide to decide this tbo coxswain will .(ficce.c steer In front of a shell which Is folio whig, closely In v iKa, y order to give the other crew the wash from the oars ,' -traUi t and the "dead" water from his stern. At each polut where an oar has left tne water there is a little bum- "j . mock or eddy. These pause the oars of tho following fj;rot crew to slap the wnter on the recover and throw the g811' boat off her keel even .more than does the action of j, set; the wnsh ttself on the body of the .hclU f, Uttl While two crows are abreast one coxbwaln may yell r Aiy,Bay at tho other boat: .. ft of i "Up with your oars, starboard! I.ook out for that -. ' The cry la famlljar to all crews, and instinctively. i 'n-If1 unless thoy are quick enough to realize that It is a .fej'10'3 trick, all tho men on thc starboard side of tho boat will ' to raise their oars, and the shell will fall down on that tJ J side unless It happens to be running on perfectly even u.an keol. ; i ,75fr Altogether rowlqg Ls one of the cleanest sports In f .. nai which the colleges .indulge, aud It ls ery seldom that Jm? Wul a crow, coach or cdxswalu will stoop to anything dl& 'V cl honorable. When pne does It brings so great discredit ,J L t(J fl to the men that they are not willing to attempt such I '. br'cf a thing again. ISe S'V The many little tricks which the coxswains employ ' t;nst i are really legitimate and regarded much as a feint j . font would be In boxing. "Kidding" plays a prominent ; .J'.UI part In all games wjiere coolness. Judgment and stcadl- j ;h'n & ness aro required, and the men are trained all the year n fvVla to round to prepare for all the tricks which may be played L ; "l T on them In a race. , , J- Even when they are rowing on thc machines In tbe ; ' kJ Qa gymuaslum thoy are placed In rows' of eight ulongslde "h.3 Pti . one another and accustomed to thc sound of other 2i,f,7e!lr crews rowing near them and to the conflicting calls g,?iper( oj the coxswains. ' Ir. In thc practice rces on tho vynter they are sub- f $ au jected to. all kinds of "ragging" and tricks. One crew ? ring tries to crowd another out of tbe wuy. The coxswains " iZy 3I0 try to confuse tho men In nnother boat False starts j jjk?1 J are given an every littlo trick which Jnay be used -, ffjSes. a against "tho men on the day of the big race ls tried on T, mSv8 th? them many times Ip order to eliminate thc chances o' i L-kopu coniusing them wfyen they go to the crucial test , 4ft n |
