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By OR. JAMES NAISFather of the Came(.CeryfiiGHT »3oa bv jo*cpm b bowlies )I —New Elements in the Game*Since I was accorded the honor ofevolving the game of basket ball some 20 years ago, many now elements, which then were remotest in my mind, have grown into the winter pastime and given a new' field for effort. If my .Massachusetts friends had told me then that a quarter of a century later athletes would be planning effective manners of attack and defence and conceiving schemes of play to bewilder and hoodwink opponents, I would have doubted, but such events have come to pass. Year by year the clamor for plays of new variety is becoming stronger, and the more intricate the better liked bycoaches.So I have set about to tell you—coaches, fans and players alike—where to centre your efforts, how to adjust your players to the best advantage during the progress of plays and where to direct your attack in this game where strategy and science are outdoing themselves.Science Not All in ScoringTo the spectator, who watches basket bail play for the privilege of indulgingin ecstasies over the wild movements of ever-moving legs, arms and indoor-trained muscles, the science of the game constitutes itself in scoring ability—accuracy in lodging the leather spherewithin the net.We will endeavor to demonstrate that the science of this game lies in the ability ! of the guards, forwards and centre to I work up to a highly efficient point in the movements which precede the efforts atlt;rOiilS.I These articles on “Basket Ball Strategy.” therefore, will deal with the moves of the players about the floor, the passing of the ball and the most effective manner of puzzling opponents by a series of plays which has become known as “left forward to right forward in left forward’s position.”defence this makes, providing your right forward fails in his effort to land the hall within the net. You have covered every point toward which the ball may bound as it carroms away from the goal.Lose Your Opponent”Signals NeededOf course your team must have a set of signals, shouted to the players bv the captain of the team or they may be“silent signals.”In the ease of number signals the same course is pursued as that used in football. Suppose that the series of numbers which tells the direction ofis the second uttered by vour Your signal for the play to right forward in leftt lie playcaptain.forwardward’s position” would be 2(5, 312, 88. centre's number being three, the leaves him to gowhose number isplayer to receive;e* • *IIiti-nits-’si;6.9,initr-l-i-v,it“left for-The ballto the left forward, one, while the last the ball before theshot at the goal is attempted is the rightforward or No. 2.Or you may use a movement of thehand or foot to indicate a. certain play.Of course the man who gives the silentsignal must give it unconcernedly so that it may not be noted by opponents and made use of to advantage thereafter.Placing the PlayersTt is the placing of players immediately after completion of the play which proves especially effective. The guards are idle if the centre of the team represented as the aggressor “gets the jump” on his opponent and knocks the ball in the direction indicated by the captain’s signal. In this case the centre slaps the sphere to his left side, where the left forward receives it and shoots it back to the right forward, who in the meantime has taken up a position to the left of the basket, from which he tries for agoal.Then the truly scientific part of the combination takes place. The centre after jumping spurts for a position to the right side of the basket, while the left forward, having handled the ball before the goal tosser secured It, makes abee line for a point directly In front ofthe basket.By studying the accompanying diagram you can readily see what an excellentTt. is then up to your men to leap into the air and again attempt a goal. It is a noticeable feature that in this, or any other play for that matter, the plan is for every player to “lose” his opponent, and to do so, he must accomplish his part of the combination from a point other than that in which he places himself at the moment the referee tosses tho sphere up for the centres at the start of the play.Should the opposing centre leap Into the air higher than your centre, thus batting the ball toward the opponent s goal, it remains for your guards to secure the sphere and follow out the play as signaled.Must Have Plenty of SpeedEvery move must he made with tho utmost celerity. Tho forward to receive the ball from (lie centre must take it on the run and the man under tlie basket should do the same and shoot for tho goal before his progress lias stopped and the pursuing guard of the opposing team reached him to block his pass.In the diagram to the right is shown the play reversed; that is, lrom the right forward’s position. The same rules for covering the bound of the bull, following a possible failure on tho part of the goal-shooting forward is also observed,the positions of the three men used being reversed.Now tiiat we have considered plays which are the first taught to teams at the opening of each season, we will endeavor to aid the player In preparing physically for a gruelling season.“Wind” the First RequisiteIn the first place, a successful basket ball career finds “wind” the first requisite, and this cannot lie obtained in any other way than by hard playing for perhaps a little less than a month before the match games start. The “wind” which you acquire in football season, track season or baseball season is not “basket ball wind.” Participation in those sports of course aids in putting the athlete in better physical condition.but the “wind” which he needs is not to be secured in any manner other thanthat of hard indoor play.Uses All Musclesv tScientist account for this by declaring that different sports bring different sets of muscles into play and in consequence the start of the basket ball season finds some parts of the player's machinery weakened by months of inactivity. But basket ball uses every muscle of the body, and that continuously. Hence, the lungs and heart have a heavier part to play in purifying the blood and building up tiiese unused muscles. As soon as the athlete begins to get into basket ball trim, these muscles are strengthened, he breathes easier when dashing about the basket ball floor and constant exercise puts him in shape for a hard season.The basket ball player also needs a stomach which is not susceptible to hard jolts. That is a requisite which cannot be neglected if the player intends to put forth his best energies. Sweet stuffs, coffee, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, pastry and late hours must necessarily be blacklisted. Also, before practice and games the athlete should eat lightly and of foods which contain t lie largest amount of nourishment in the smallestbulk.In future articles we shall outline more plays which are absolutely essential and when these are impressed will add what coaches recognize as “feature plays,” that is, combinations out of the ordinary run, which added to the repertoire of teams, give a varied and complicated style of attack and defence.it\n,gg0-ffavertmr Or Brtu—O TIM* 7b Tjhcctvt 'B*ufftwr/tf/vrOrTjfatrJo*'fjmrff Is 7?rse£
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