Page:Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic Games.djvu/21

Rh in this period. The reason for this, as developed by Dr. Gulick, is most interesting.

" 'Recent investigators tell us that during the first one, two or three years of life, the spinal cord, together with certain lower parts of the brain, comes into its most complete activity; that it is the period for the acquirement of all those activities that depend upon the spinal cord. These we will know are the reflex activities. They constitute activities dependent upon the "lower level," so-called, of the nervous system, according to the Hughlings-Jackson theory. Thus, this period of development is the instinctive and the reflex period. Habits are being formed. "The best development of the later life is related to the best development of the earlier life."

" 'The second period of play life is from seven to twelve. Here the activities whose centre has been exclusively one's self changes to those plays whose centre of interest is one's self in relation to others. A glance through the list as outlined in this period will show what is meant. It is the individual competitive age. "The great group of tag plays — cross tag, wood tag, prisoner's base, black man, and the like — exhibits the hunting instinct. The great group of ball games of which the most common are One Old Cat; Rounders; the Marble games; these vary in details all over the country."

" 'The whole group of track and field sports acquire interest at this period — racing in its various forms; throwing in competition, jumping and pole-vaulting in competition, etc. This period should be watched as developing ethics, morality, justice — in fact, the higher development of the individuality.

" 'Coming now to our third major division, we find still more highly organized plays and games. These begain approximately at twelve. As I have remarked before, they may begin earlier or may be postponed; in some individuals they doubtless never begin. Attention is called to the characteristics of this group of games — base ball, basket ball, foot ball, cricket, hockey, are the chief games of the Anglo-Saxon young man.'

"Dr. Gulick goes on to describe this period as one of gangs,