Football for Player and Spectator/Chapter 8

The training and conditioning of the contestants for the football team are matters of primary importance to the success of the team in its games. The men owe it to themselves to get into good condition, and the trainer can not exercise too great care in getting the players ready for the struggles ahead.

The days have passed in which men were required to go to extremes in training. The era of half-cooked beefsteak is no more. In fact, the proper training of the men requires no more restrictions, so far as diet is concerned, than anyone who desires to be the possessor of a good, healthy, normal body should observe. The men who present themselves as candidates for a football team are generally of good, moral habits, and are not broken down by excesses of any kind. They have not abused nature, and take training easily.

The worry and nervous strain incident to the training are matters which should be watched more closely than anything else. This is especially true of men who are new to the game, but most of all are these troubles apt to develop in the quarter back and captain, through the many responsibilities thrust upon them. The amount of hard work, of the sort which might possibly injure a player before he is in proper condition, should be minimized as far as is in the power of the trainer. In fact, during the very first part of the season nothing of the kind should be attempted. As the season progresses, work of this character should be along the lines of gradual development. Nor is the physical side of training the only one. It is equally important that the mental training should be watched and just as carefully developed.

EARLY SEASON'S WORK

To begin with, the coach, trainer and captain will face a mass of material of different physical characteristics. The varying ages of the men must be taken into consideration in the kind and amount of work necessary in their proper preparation for the game. The same work cannot be laid out for the rapidly growing freshman as for the fuuly developed senior who has played perhaps his four years on the team. The needs of the different individuals must be suited.

Commence with the more simple fundamentals, such as starting, passing and a little kicking. Be careful to avoid too much kicking of the ball while the men's muscles are soft, as it is very easy to develop that muscular ailment popularly known as "Charley horse" in the kicking leg, and this will not only retard the progress of the individual for the time but may prevent him from doing his best work in any game through the entire season. To be a good player a man must have a good pair of legs, and care must be taken of them.

The men must start with the beginning of the season to give up drinking water during the practice or in games. It is no detriment during a hard game to rinse out the mouth with water, but this rule of giving it up as a drink, on the field of play, should be followed all through the season.

It is almost unnecessary to add that the duration of practice time should be short at the beginning and gradually increased as the season advances.

LATER WORK

As the season progresses the amount of work to be given must be adapted to the different requirements of the players with increasing care. No two men can be worked successfully on the same plan. It is a very common mistake to attempt to train everyone in the same manner and by the same amount of work. The characteristics of each individual should furnish the data for the trainer's allotment of work.

Throughout the season the men must all, however, have plenty of work and experience at playing the game; yet it is useless to practice after the men are tired and exhausted and have lost their "ginger".

Late in the season care shouid be taken that no player becomes over-trained. The day before each hard game should be spent in putting on the final touches and toning up the men. Light work only should be attempted at this time and it is better to have no scrimmage practice at all. A man who enters the game full of energy and go will be of far greater value than one who is lame and wearied by work of this kind at this late day. The slight benefit to his mechanical proficiency, derived from this eleventh hour scrimmage work, is more than counter-balanced by the player's consequent lack of spirit and tone.

REGULARITY

The hour of starting practice should be the same all through the season. Do not have practice too soon after the meal time. Work must be exacted in all kinds of weather, as the day of the game may be just as bad as the practice afternoon, and the game must be played. The work will not hurt the men and they will become accustomed to playing in all kinds of weather. Care should be taken on bad days, however, that players do not get too warm, only to stand around and cool off quickly. Blankets or sweaters should be thrown around the men when they are not working.

The meal hours should be regular and all the men should be present at the same time. This is a rule, the breaking of which should not be tolerated for an instant. The same regularity should be observed in the hour at which the men retire at night and rise in the morning. Plenty of sleep is needed. The player should be methodical in all his habits. The men must not be permitted to smoke or use alcohol in any form.

CLEANLINESS

Cleanliness is important to the health of anyone. The conditions in which football is played demand that every man take a bath after every practice is over. A good shower bath is the best and can be easily arranged. A long, hot bath should never he taken, as it is weakening. A good rub with a coarse towel after the bath, followed by the training massage, will be of great aid to the men in getting into condition. The player's physical condition will be reflected in his high spirits after the day's work is over.

INJURIES

Serious injuries should be attended to by a surgeon at once. A football player is as susceptible to injury as is any other well conditioned athlete, and his period of convalescence will be just as long. Prompt attention will save many days in the period of recuperation.

It is also important that the minor injuries be carefully looked after by the trainer or coach, or they may result in more serious conditions. Recovery from small sprains and bruises can be facilitated by the application of hot towels, and this should be attended to immediately. Sprains can be protected by proper bandages.

CLOTHING AND PROTECTION

The players should be provided with proper clothing for the game. Special padding is often necessary for some men. This is especially true when there is a liability to injury in a weak knee or a weak collar bone. The wearing of clothes padded in a proper manner will prevent many injuries which, while they may be trivial, would nevertheless retard the work of the player.

The shoes must be kept well cleated, as the player should have a good footing. Nose guards are a source of annoyance and shouhd not be worn.

TRAINING TABLE

A training table should be provided for all the regulars and substitutes. The men are brought together through its influence and there are regular meal hours for all. The food of the men should be looked after closely by the trainer or coach. The modern training tabie should be an attractive place to the players. Thus they become anxious to be there, because of the plain, wholesome, well-cooked foods to be had. The training table should be the best place to board in the whole town. The bill of fare should be changed often, so that there will be no monotony. Pork, sweet-breads or pie should not be served. Coffee and tea must be given up. Nothing that has been prepared by frying should be found at the training table. What an array of good things is left!

THE MENTAL TRAINING

The mental training of the candidates for the football team is as important as the cultivation of the physical side of the men. This must not be neglected, although it is often completely lost sight of. There should be some especial drill for those who learn slowly. The coach and trainer will be called upon to devise many different ways to impress certain facts on the different individuals. Each man will be impressed in a different manner. No two men can be told in exactly the same way with the desired result. The players must improve each day in their knowledge of the game, for at most there are but about ten weeks to learn the lessons that must be taught, and the time is too short for a leisurely course.