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Show When an entry quivers once in seme competition where the spotlight is trained upon the scene there is always al-ways a widespread human tendency to drag in the old phrase, "Lack of nerve." The study of nerve In competition is easily the most interesting of all subjects connected with sport, as It has a deep, general appeal. Yet upsets occur oven more frequently in this department de-partment than In any other adjacen1. to the field of play. Take the case of Holderness, present pres-ent British amateur golf champion. For years Holderness has been one of tho great shot makern of the game As a stylist he was ranged by on!: one or two from tho top crest Yet Holderness had a way of Weakening at the finish, of slipping with tho( goal in sight, of Just losing it when he peemed to have victor within easy reach The result was that Hoi-j derness some time, back found himself him-self unconsidered when probabh- win ners were discussed. And then, the British championship of 1922 gets under way. Through match after match the same Holder ness battles along with courage and unusual fortitude. He is face to face with extremely critical moii..iiti- month mon-th an once, only to rise above them and fight his way out. He comes to the final test, where the call upon nerve control :-nd fortitude, as well as upon skill, is loud and clear. Yet Holderness Hol-derness survives the issue by one of the gamest of all finishes, being forced to sink a twelvo-foot putt at a moment when he seemed to have the match easily in hand. Holderness happened to be a player who Is not physically stronK This physical lack is frequently responsible responsi-ble for weakening where the defect is charged against nerve or courage One man may come to a critical spot strong and fresh and break his way through. The other may come to the same l98t well worn down, with his vitality at a low ebb, where he finds it impossible to respond to the call He may be even more courageous or stouthearted than th.- oter man, and i yet break down in the stretch. One of the most peculiar physiologi cal upsets that we know of involves the Lenglen-Mallory match In any figuring from past performance charts the former, possessing greater skill, was supposed to be the one who would show greater nervouseness at the moment mo-ment of impact. The latter's grim fighting qualities and strong determination, determi-nation, mixod with coolness, were too well known. Yet at the big test of their careers it was Mile. Lcnglen who seemed to be cooler. Apart from her great skill, whic was generally known, Mllo. Lenglen had never been able to control her temperamental emotions when tho situation sit-uation became a trifle tvivid. Yet at tho great moment of her tennis career ca-reer she was as cool as if nothing important im-portant was at stake and only a minor issue was to be considered It may be that before the match she felt herself her-self to bo at the top of her best form Or it may bo that a spell of early nervousness ner-vousness and excitement, through ltd intensity, had worn away, bringing back a new serenity of mind. This matter of nerve control Is often oft-en beyond any diagnosis. Each competitor com-petitor finds moments wheu ho In extremely ex-tremely nervouB, when there is no apparent ap-parent reason for the same. Again, at other tests, be finds himself cool and collected where he had expected to find a nervous crash. Part of this may be duo to a physical condition and part to a mental state that has slipped in upon him without warnlug. There is ono state of mind in football foot-ball that is general. This is extreme nervousness upon the part of evory playor Just before tho kick-off We have never seen any one who was not hit in this way. Yet In almost , every instance this nervous tremor I wears away after the first tackle or I the first rush. The violent physical I contact may Jar the whirling emotions back into place or the swift rush of j combat may make one forget everything every-thing else It is a rare occasion when ! any football player, however nervous I before action starts, remains in that state after th first play or two. un j less he happens to be the back who ! is booked to handle kicks in a puzzling puz-zling wind Under these conditions if he misses the find punt lie may re-1 re-1 main upset throughout the entire con-I con-I test. The tendency to refer to many f-on tt-stants as yellow is badly overdone A player may frequently weaken ly through the knowledge that he hasn't the necessary skill to meet the, test at hand This Is bound to breck up his confidence to a certain extent We have seen stout-hearted golfers weaken badly at certain intervals, because be-cause they knew for that one day they were badly off and were not hitting hit-ting their shots properly. There are certain days in an sport where a mm may seem to have ah the ni-rve and courage in the world, and there are other days wli-.-n ht may break down and seem to quit under fire. These nerve shifts come with far greater SWlftnesi than any shift in physical ability No small part of nerve control QOmee from physical skill. We have seen several star ball players, cool under fire when trying to cut the cor nT in a world sereis game, show a wild flutter of nerves when trying to sink a three foot putt, with a few dol- 1 1 1. T V,, Hr-ct s.no T.Uya l.WB .11 BlIMkW IIIO lltoi 1.1WV, Juo- ical ability gave them nerve control and confidence In the second case, lack of physical ability broke down! their control and left them floundering1 I adly, unable to get back their mental I balance II After all, one big basis of nerve K. control is physical skill, and without th I itter the former may easily crack C into a number of scattered fragments. mt' oo I |
