centre-rush must be a man of sense and strength. Brain and brawn are
here at their highest premium. But there is another element of character
without which both will be overthrown, and that is patience. Practical
experience has taught football coaches that none but a thoroughly
self-controlled man can make a success in football in any position,
while in this particular one his disposition should be of the most
equable nature. He will be called upon to face all kinds of petty
annoyances, for his opponents will endeavor to make his play as
difficult as possible; and never must he allow himself for one instant
to lose sight of the fact that his entire attention must be devoted to
his play, and none of it distracted by personal feeling. Moreover, while
he must be able to play the ball quickly when called upon, he can never
afford to be hurried by his opponents. With the present excellent
rulings of umpires regarding interference with the ball before it is
snapped, much of the most harassing kicking of the ball from under his
hand has been stopped; but, for all that, he is indeed a lucky centre
who does not feel the ball knocked out from under his grasp several
times during a game. In addition to this, every man who breaks through
gives him a rub. Sometimes these knocks are intentional, often they are
given purely by accident, and the latter are by no means the lightest.
Then, too, a man is pushed into the snap-back just as the ball goes. It
may be his own guard, but the blow hurts just as much; and a centre who
is not amiable under such treatment soon loses his head and forgets that
he should care for nothing except to accomplish gains for his own side.
The object of placing so much stress upon this qualification is to
impress upon a coach the almost inestimable value of the quality of
patience in any men he may be trying for this position. He can never say
too much about it.
As regards the duties of the place, they differ from those of any other
position in the line on account of the constant presence at that spot of
the ball. The centre is either playing the ball himself or watching his
antagonist play the ball at every down; so that while he has all the
other duties of a forward to execute, he has the special work besides.
Here is the weakness of so many centres. They are snap-backs only or
forwards only, the former being by all odds the more common. A good
critical coach of experience will see nine out of every ten men whom he
may watch in this position playing through day after day with no more
idea of doing any forward work than if they were referees. Putting the
ball in play at the right time, and properly, is a great achievement,
but it does not free the centre-rush from all other obligations. He must
protect his quarter; he must aid in making openings, and perform any
interference that may be possible, as well as always assisting a runner
of his own side with weight or protection. He must always get down the
field under a kick, for it is by no means unusual for him to have the
best opportunity in these days when end rushers are so carefully
watched. When the opponents have the ball, he must not be content with
seeing that the opponent does not roll it to a guard, but must also see
that there is no short, tricky passing in the scrimmage. Then he must be
as ready as either guard to meet, stop, or turn a wedge. He must make
openings for his comrades to get through, even when he himself may be
blocked, and always be ready to reach out or throw himself before a
coming runner to check the advance.
[Illustration: JESSE RIGGS.
Princeton.]
The details of the special work of the centre are many, and thorough
knowledge of them can only come from experience. During his early
progress a new snap-back usually sends the ball against his own legs,
or, if he manages to keep them out of the way, is upset by his opponent
for his pains. It is no child's play to hold a ball out at arm's-length
on the ground in front of one and roll it back so that it passes between
one's feet, and still preserve a good balance in spite of a sudden push
of a hundred-and-eighty-pound opponent. But that is just what a centre
has to do every time the ball is down and belongs to his side. The first
thing to teach a centre is to stand on his feet against any amount of
jostling. Then he must learn to keep possession of the ball until ready
to play it. Both of these acquirements take practice. The most finished
and experienced centres have a way of playing the ball just as they are
half straightening as though to meet a charge from in front. This
insures their not being pushed over on to the quarter, and yet does not
cause them to lean so far forward as to be pitched on their noses by a
little assistance from the opposing centre. When a man stands so as to
prevent a push in the chest from upsetting him, he naturally puts one
foot back some distance as a support. When a centre does this he is apt
to put that foot and leg in the path of the ball. A second objection to
this way of standing is, that the centre does not offer nearly as much
opposition to any one attempting to pass as he does when he stands more
squarely faced about with a good spread of the legs. As to holding the
ball, some centres prefer to take it by the end, while others roll it on
its side. It can be made to rise for the quarter if sent on end, whereas
if played upon its side it lies closer to the ground. The quarter's
preference has, therefore, something to do with it. It requires longer
practice and more skill to play the ball on its end, but it permits an
umpire to see more clearly whether the ball be actually put in play by
the snap-back or played for him by the surreptitious kick of the
opponent. It has also the advantage of sending the ball more narrowly
upon a line, so that its course is less likely to be altered than when
rolled upon its side. While the snap-back is seldom held to the very
strictest conformity to the rule about being on side when he puts the
ball in play, it is necessary for him to practise with a view to this
particular, because he is liable to be obliged to conform every time if
the opponents insist. The reason for carelessness in this respect is,
there is no penalty for infringement except being obliged to return to
the spot and put the ball in play properly. A certain laxity, therefore,
is granted rather than to cause delays. But, as stated above, a centre
must be able to put the ball in play when fairly on side, and must live
up to this with some moderate degree of regularity, or else the umpire
will call an off-side and bring him back. A centre ought to practise
putting the ball in play with either hand until he is fairly proficient
with his left as well as his right. Not that he should use his hands
alternately in a game, but that an injury to his right hand need not
necessarily throw him out of the game. It is by no means an unrecognized
fact that the greater amount of experience possessed by the regular
centre is so valuable as to make it policy to keep him in his place so
long as his legs are good, even though a hand be injured, rather than to
replace him by the substitute with whose methods the quarter-back is not
so familiar.
[Illustration: W. H. CORBIN.
Yale.]
A coach should see to it that his centre has a variety of men to face,
some big, some tricky, some ugly. If any old players come back to help
the team in the way of coaching, and among them are some centre rushers,
they can do no better work than by donning a uniform and playing against
the "'Varsity" centre.
THE QUARTER-BACK
The quarter is, under the captain, the director of the game. With the
exception of one or two uncommon and rare plays, there is not one of any
kind, his side having the ball, in which it does not pass through his
hands. The importance of his work it is therefore impossible to
overrate. He must be, above all the qualifications of brains and agility
usually attributed to that position, of a hopeful or sanguine
disposition. He must have confidence in his centre himself, and, most of
all, in the man to whom he passes the ball. He should always believe
that the play will be a success. The coach can choose no more helpful
course during the first few days, as far as the quarter is concerned,
than that of persuading him to repose confidence in his men. Many
promising half-backs are ruined by the quarter. There is nothing that
makes halves fumble so badly, get into such awkward positions, start so
slowly, and withal play so half-heartedly, as the feeling that the
quarter does not think much of them, does not trust them, or believe in
their abilities. Every half-back can tell the same story--how he is
nerved up by the confidence of the quarter, and what an inspiration it
is to good work to see that confident look in the eye of the man who is
about to pass to him. But not alone in the work of the half does it make
a great difference, but in that of the quarter himself. When he lacks
confidence in his man, his passing is unsteady and erratic as well as
slow. He allows the opponents a far better chance of reaching the man
before he can get started, both by irregular and slow passing, and also
by a nervous looking at him before the ball is played.
In practice, great stress should be laid on quick handling and sharp
passing of the ball. A quarter can slow up in a game if advisable, but
he can never do any faster work than that which he does in practice
without throwing his men completely out. In order to make the play
rapid, a quarter must be figuratively tied to the centre's coat, or
rather jacket, tails. As soon as the centre reaches the ball after a
down, he should know that the quarter is with him. Usually there is an
understood signal between them, which not only shows the centre that the
quarter is on hand, but also when he is ready to receive the ball. One
of the most common of these signals has been placing the hand upon the
centre's leg or back. A pinch would let him know when to snap the ball.
In spite of this method's having been used by opponents to fool a
centre, it has been, and still is, the most common. One of the best
variations of it has been for the quarter to put his hand upon the
centre and keep it there until he is ready for the ball, then take it
off and let the centre snap the ball, not instantly, but at his
convenience. Should anything occur making it advisable, for some reason,
to stop the play, the quarter puts his hand upon the centre again at
once, and until it is once more removed the snap-back understands that
the quarter is not ready to have the ball come. Almost any amount of
variation can be made in the signal of the quarter to his centre; but in
arranging this it should be constantly borne in mind that the signal
should not be such as to give the opponents the exact instant of the
play, because it gives them too close an idea of the moment when they
may start.
[Illustration: ALEXANDER MOFFATT.
Princeton.]
The speed of a quarter's work depends upon his ability to take the ball
close to the snap-back and in proper position for a pass. In merely
handing the ball to a runner, one might suppose that there would be no
particular position in which the ball should be held; but in that he
would be in error, for a ball so handed to a passing runner as not to
settle properly in his arms or hands means in many instances a
disastrous fumble, or at best a slowing-up of the runner's speed. In
giving the ball to a passing runner, it should be held free and clear of
the quarter's body and slightly tilted, so that it can be taken against
the body, and without the use of both hands for more than an instant,
because the runner must almost immediately have use for his arm in
going into the line. It is impossible to give in print the exact angle
and method of holding the ball for this purpose, but practice and the
wishes of the runners, if consulted, will soon show the quarter just
what is meant. When the ball is to be passed any considerable distance,
it should be taken so that the end is well placed against the hand of
the quarter, while the ball itself lies against the forearm, the wrist
being bent sharply. This will enable the quarter to send the ball
swiftly and accurately almost any distance that it may be necessary to
cover. Of course, in many cases the ball does not actually rest against
the forearm of the quarter; but this is the best way of conveying the
idea of the proper position of the hand upon the point of the ball, and
by practising in this way the correct motion for steady passing is
speedily acquired. In receiving the ball, the right hand, or the hand
with which the throw is made, should be placed upon the end of the ball,
while the other hand stops its progress, and should be placed as nearly
upon the opposite end of the ball as convenient. This is the
theoretically proper way of receiving the ball; practically, the
handling cannot be as accurately performed as this would indicate. If,
however, the quarter will in practice be constantly aiming at receiving
the ball so that his right hand grasps the end just as his left hand
stops the ball, and settles it securely against his right, he will find
that after a few weeks he can receive four out of five snap-backs in
such a way as to make any great amount of arranging the ball for his
pass, after it is in his hands, quite unnecessary. After the preliminary
weeks of practice, and when in a game, he must bear in mind the fact
that, in order of importance, his duties are, first, to secure the ball,
no matter how; second, to convey it to his own man, no matter whether in
good form or not. He must never pass the ball if he has fumbled it,
unless he has a perfectly clear field in which to do it. He must always
have it down in preference to taking the slightest risk of losing it.
Even though he receive it without a fumble, there may be a way through
in that part of the line towards which his pass is to be delivered; and
here, again, he should hold the ball for another down rather than take
any chance of the opponent's intercepting the pass. After letting the
ball go, the quarter should follow his pass; in fact, he should be
almost on the run as the ball leaves his hand. No matter whether the
ball be caught or fumbled, he is then ready to lend assistance;
whereas if he stand still after his pass, he is of no use to the rest of
the play. When the play is a run, he can do excellent work in
interfering; and when the play is a kick, he can take any opponent who
gets through, and thus aid the half in protecting the kicker. In either
case, if his own man muff or fumble he is close at hand to lend
assistance in an emergency, which otherwise might prove most disastrous.
When lining up the quarter should take a quick glance, not directly at
the player he is to make the recipient of the ball, but covering the
general position of all the men. In doing this he locates his individual
without making it apparent to the opponents which man is to receive the
ball. Any amount of disguise may be practised in the way of taking a
last glance at the wrong man, or calling out to some one who does not
enter into the play. The chief point, nevertheless, is to avoid that
tell-tale glance at the right man which is so difficult to omit.
[Illustration: RALPH WARREN.
Princeton.]
When the opponents have the ball, the quarter makes an extra man in or
near the forward line, and, as a rule, he can by his shrewdness make it
very uncomfortable for any point in the line which he chooses to assail.
No law can govern his tactics in this respect, but he should be a law
unto himself, and show by his cleverness that he is more valuable than
any man in the line whose position is fixed. One caution only is worth
giving to the quarter in this line of play, and that is, to be less free
of going forward sharply when the play is evidently to be a run than
when a kick is to be attempted. In the latter case, a quarter can always
be sent for his best.
THE HALF-BACK AND BACK
As the game is at present played, the back is more of a third half-back
than a goal-tend, and so should be trained to half-back work. It has
been well said that all that one can ask of the best rush line is to
hold the ground their half-backs gain; and when one follows carefully
the progress of the play, he sees that this is the proper division of
the work. The half-backs, then, must be the ground-gainers of the team.
Such work calls for dash and fire--that ability to suddenly concentrate
all the bodily energy into an effort that must make way through
anything. Every one has such half-backs in mind, but unfortunately many
of those half-backs who possess this type of character have not the
necessary weight and strength to stand the amount of work required.
Although a light man be occasionally found who is particularly muscular
and wiry, the constant shock of going into a heavy line of forwards
usually proves too exhausting for any but those of middle weight before
the end of a season be reached. It is not that the work of a single game
proves too much for the light-weight half. It is that in both practice
and games he is so overmatched by the weight of the forwards whom he
must meet that every week finds him less strong than the preceding,
until his playing falls off so markedly that the captain or coach is at
last convinced that there is something wrong, and the man is replaced by
some one else, often too late to bring the substitute up to anything
like the mark he might have reached had he been tried earlier in the
season. Such thoughts as these will suggest themselves to the
experienced coach when at the outset of a season he has placed before
him a number of candidates for the position of half-back, among whom
very likely there may be two or three men of perhaps one hundred and
forty pounds' weight. Likely enough, too, these men may be at that
period easily superior to the middle or heavy weights. In such a case
the very best advice that can be whispered in the ear of coach or
captain is, to make quarters or ends of them, even though it be only
substitute quarters and ends. It will leave the way open for the proper
cultivation of half-backs better built to stand the wear and tear of a
season.
Almost equally to be deprecated is the waste of time often devoted to
making half-backs of slow heavy weights. Only a quick man can perform a
half-back's duties successfully; and although much can be left to
practice, there must be some natural quickness to build upon. Slow men
can be improved far more rapidly in the forward line than among the
halves. All this regarding the weight of half-backs applies not only to
'varsity teams, but school teams as well, if one will make the proper
proportional changes in weight. That is, a 'varsity player will be
called upon to face a forward line averaging one hundred and
seventy-five or thereabouts, and men of less than one hundred and
thirty-five to one hundred and forty are too light to meet that
weight. In school teams the rush line will be some twenty pounds
lighter, and the halves can therefore be selected from even
one-hundred-and-twenty-five-pound men, if well built. In other words, a
half-back ought not to face over twenty-five pounds' difference in
weight; and the more that difference is reduced, supposing that speed
and agility be retained, the more chance there is of turning out a
thoroughly successful player. It is worth while to be thus particular
upon the point of the early selection of candidates for the position of
half-back, because, while no more work is demanded of them in a game
than of others of their side, the quality of that work must be more
uniformly good. When a half-back has to tackle, he must be as sure as a
steel-trap; when a half-back has to catch, he must be a man to be relied
upon; when a half-back is called upon for a kick, it must be no fluke;
and, although no one expects a half-back to always make on his run the
five yards, he must be a man who will not be denied when he is called
upon for that last yard which will enable his side to retain the ball.
[Illustration: JOHN CORBETT.
Harvard.]
Almost the first thing to be critically noted by the coach is the way in
which a half-back takes the ball from his quarter. The case in which he
takes it directly from the hands of this player has been already dwelt
upon at some length under the head of the quarter's passing; but when
the ball is thrown or passed some little distance, it is just as
important that it be properly received. Except when about to kick, the
half-back should be moving when he receives the ball, and, more than
that, the reception of it should have no perceptible effect upon his
movements. In other words, he must take it as easily and as naturally as
a batsman in a ball game drops his bat after he has hit the ball fairly.
No batsman remembers that he has had the bat in his hands after the
ball has been hit, and yet, when he is at first base, he has left his
bat behind him at the plate. Thus a football half-back should so receive
the ball as not to know the exact instant of taking it, but find that he
has it as he comes up to the line. It will never do for a coach to
suppose that an inexperienced half can be told that he must take the
ball "without knowing it," but it is necessary to explain to a half that
until he does take the ball naturally, and without having to stop and
calculate about it, he can never come properly up to the line nor get
his whole power on early. To acquire the habit of taking a pass easily,
a half-back should spend a little time every day off the field in
practising taking a sharp pass when on the run. By a sharp pass is not
meant hurling the ball with all possible force against a runner so that
he is nearly knocked over by it, and cannot by any possibility catch it
except at the expense of giving the catch his sole and undivided
attention. Such passing in practice does far more harm than good. The
ball should be passed with that easy swing which sends it rapidly,
accurately, and evenly up to the runner without any great apparent
force, for it is remarkable how much the appearance of force tends to
rattle the runner, who easily handles fully as much speed properly
delivered. Daily practice of this nature between the quarter and halves
accustoms each to the other, so that the regular work of the team on the
field is not disorganized by loose passing and looser catching. While
this passing is progressing, the coach should stand by the side of the
half, and watch him closely, correcting any careless tendencies of
receiving or stopping, and paying particular attention to his going in
a straight line--that is, not running up to meet the ball and then
sheering off again. The best half-backs endeavor to receive the ball at
approximately the same height relative to their bodies, no matter how it
comes, and they will correct quite a variation in the quarter's throw by
a little stoop or a slight jump. A half-back must be taught to be
uniform in starting, and in reaching the spot where the ball is to meet
him. The coach will have no great difficulty in teaching him this steady
uniformity of pace, which will enable the quarter to throw the ball so
as really to assist rather than retard his motion. There are two other
things which the half-back must practise apart from his team-play. They
are kicking and catching. The former is of sufficient importance to
deserve a separate chapter, but a few hints under the half-back column
will not be out of place. It is usually the case that of all three men
behind the line, the two halves and the back, any one can do the kicking
upon a pinch, but one of the three is, nine times out of ten, manifestly
superior to the other two. In this state of affairs there is altogether
too great a tendency to slight the practice of the two inferior kickers,
and rely almost entirely upon the best man. It is quite proper to let
the best man do all the kicking possible in an important game, but it is
a very short-sighted policy to neglect the practice of the other two
during the preliminary games. Not only should they have the advantage to
be gained in the length of their kicks by daily practice, but they
should also have the steadying experience to be acquired only in games.
It may happen at any moment in a most important game that the kicking
will devolve upon them on account of an accident to the third man, and
it is, indeed, a foolhardy captain or coach who has not taken sufficient
forethought for this contingency. The principal reason why we develop so
few really good kickers is, that coaches, captains, and players have
given so little attention to the detail of that part of the work. Fully
nine tenths of the men who do the kicking upon American teams are more
natural kickers than practised ones. Let me explain this so as to be
fully understood. As in boxing one often sees a man who, having taken no
lessons, and being therefore unable to make the most of himself, can yet
more than hold his own against a more finished opponent on account of
his natural quickness, strength, and aptitude; so in football one sees
here and there a man who is able to do some fair kicking without having
devoted particular attention to it. In boxing, however, when a teacher
takes the natural hitter in hand, he begins by putting him at work upon
the rudiments of guarding, holding himself upon his feet, hitting
straight, and moving firmly. He never undertakes to make a first-class
man of him by merely encouraging him to go in harder, and increase his
power without regard to the proper methods. In football, coaches rarely
teach the kickers the first principles, but instead urge upon them only
the necessity of constant practice in their own way. For this reason our
kickers show all manner of styles, and the only wonder is that they kick
so well in such wretchedly bad form.
[Illustration: W. BULL.
Yale.]