Association Football and How to Play It/Chapter 6

by John Cameron

CHAPTER VI.

 

Hints to Junior and Amateur Clubs.

 

It is an old adage that the boy is father to the man, and this applies casually to football circles. The boy of to-day has a great advantage over a boy of say ten or fifteen years ago. Every possible opportunity is put in his way for developing his play, as schoolmasters take a bigger interest in their boys than in olden days. Schoolboy Internationals and shield competitions are the order of the day, while years ago boys used to meet together, pick sides, put their jackets down for posts, and go full speed ahead without any referee or any official. I have followed closely these schoolboy competitions, and in my heart think they are really a mistake. A boy of twenty years ago had to do all the initial work, which amounted to carrying the goal-posts to the field of play, whether it were a common or any other open space. They had to find their own ball, and many times I have given a few pence to an aspiring club. The blowing up of the ball was another great event, and in those days it took a lot of doing, the youth with the strongest and biggest lungs having the privilege of giving the ball its last few blows. The captain always had the honour of carrying the ball to the field of play, and could do practically what he liked with it. Nowadays things seem completely altered. The boy, instead of doing everything for himself, has everything done for him, and all he has to do is simply turn up in time to change and go on to the field of play. I think this is a great mistake, and if the youth of to-day had to go out of his way to a great extent for his Saturday pastime he would be all the better for it. When I was a youngster it was nothing unusual for an enthusiast to get out of bed at an unearthly hour in the morning and make all the preparations for the day's game, go back to breakfast, and then turn up at the office at the usual time. To do this one must be very fond of the game, and such a spirit will carry any club or player right to the front. I have been secretary to both amateur and professional clubs, and my sympathy goes out to the secretary of the first-named. The professional secretary or manager has only to say to the player "Do this," and he does it, like the centurion of old, but the man who holds the reins of an amateur club has to put up with many disappointments through the thoughtlessness of members of his team. I should like to put this point very strongly before these players, and ask them to consider their secretary in every way. Charles Reade wrote a very fine novel, Put Yourself in His Place, and this applies to the case in point. The hon. secretary of an amateur club as a rule is a very busy man, and takes the position from mere love of the game. It must be admitted that it is rough on him to find on Saturday morning that many players cannot put in an appearance at the match and could have saved him all the trouble of wiring and sending round the district for another player if they had only let him know a day or two before, so that he would have had a chance of filling the places they had vacated. It means a great deal of trouble to him which, for the sake of a little thought, could have easily been avoided. I am speaking feelingly now, and if any player happens to read this chapter I hope he will consider this matter seriously. Junior and amateur clubs have a few failings that I might be permitted to point out. I might start in the first place with punctuality. Although this is considered by many a virtue, it is not so considered by them. Probably

PASSING WITH THE INSTEP.

before a match starts twenty players have to wait for the dilatoriness of the other two. Of course there are exceptional circumstances which are excusable, but the unpunctuality of the players in junior and amateur matches has done a great deal of harm from a spectatorial point of view. Professional clubs soon realise this point, and much of their success in league matches is due to players and officials being invariably ready to start at the advertised time of kick off. If a professional is late a severe penalty is imposed upon him, and the Football League are most autocratic in knowing that the referee and linesmen are always there at the correct time, and if they are late they are liable to be fined. Regarding training for juniors, it only behoves a boy to be thoroughly fit and well. If he indulges in some summer game, such as cricket, tennis, or golf, or if he plays regularly lawn tennis, he should start the season quite fit and well. If, however, he feels in the summer not inclined to follow any of these pastimes, he ought to go in for walking or swimming, so as to reduce his weight, and thus enable him to go on the field and play as usual. In recent years one has heard and read a great deal about special training, and I may remark that special training is not really necessary, even from a professional point of view. What is necessary is to keep the players well together, regular hours for meals, and off to bed in good time. It is the esprit de corps that must be cultivated. The junior who is at business all the week should require but little training. His match on the Saturday, if he leads

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a regular life, should be quite sufficient to enable him to turn up on that day as fit as possible. Still, if he has a little time to spare a few short sprints once or twice a week will do him a great deal of good. He may probably add two or three yards in a hundred, and speed is a great asset in modern football. Probably one yard in twenty is of infinitely more advantage than say five in a hundred, and for that reason alone I have always encouraged a player, if he can possibly do so, to go in for short sprints from twenty-five yards to fifty. Should he not be able to run on an open piece of ground there would be no harm in putting on a pair of canvas shoes at home and sprinting for fifty yards on the pavement opposite his house or on the road if the district is fairly quiet. Nobody will take any notice, especially after the first once or twice, and on coming indoors take a hot bath; if going out again never forget to have a cold plunge afterwards. I am a great believer in hot baths for taking away any nasty knock or soreness, but they must be taken with the greatest possible care so as to avoid catching cold. There is no finer sensation after having a hot bath than to jump into a stone cold one or to stand under a shower. It makes you tingle all over, and after having a rub down you feel like a giant refreshed. "Am I a believer in Turkish baths?" is a question often asked me, and I must admit that I generally qualify my reply. Once now and again does no harm; to indulge in them regularly to me seems a great mistake, as they are certainly most lowering. Another point I should like to dwell upon is that the junior of to-day makes a practice of playing with his cap on, especially in wet weather. I must honestly state that I hate to see anyone playing with a headgear. It seems to me strange, and I know many a player who has caught a very bad cold through playing in this way, and after changing, going home in the same. If he has a change it is not so bad, but it takes a longer time for this cap to dry than his hair, and it is some considerable time before the former is fit to wear after getting soaked. Just a word in conclusion to the juniors. Play the game as it should be played. Do not hold your opponents up to ridicule by beating them two or three times when once will suffice. Get as many goals as you possibly can, for a team will prefer to be beaten by double figures rather than know that their opponents were toying with them and could score whenever they chose. Be loyal to your club and clubmates, and do not forget that enthusiasm is the great thing that will carry you to the front in football as well as in other spheres in life. Unselfishness is also another great point. Should your captain or committee choose another man as your superior, do not grumble, but turn out for the second eleven, and play with all your heart and soul, and if you have the merit you will soon regain your old position in the first team. Above all, play the game fairly and squarely, and you will succeed either as a professional, senior, junior, or amateur.