Outdoor Sports and Games

by Claude Harris Miller

The manner in which they line up is shown in the accompanying diagram.

The weight and size of the men on a football team largely govern the positions where they play. The centre rush and the two guards are usually the heaviest men on the team, as extra weight in the centre of the line is important to prevent what is called “bucking the centre.” The two tackles should be strong, stocky players, not too tall, but still with sufficient weight to enable them to keep their feet in a mass play and to offer strong resistance to a united attack on their position. They should also be quick and agile and be able to advance the ball by rushing when called upon. The two ends must be fleet of foot and quick, sure tacklers. With the constant changes in football rules the position of end has become more and more important, until now a team with weak, slow ends is almost like a baseball team with a poor pitcher.

Many people regard the position of quarter-back as the most important on the team. He is virtually the field captain. A good quarter-back must be an all around player of the highest order. He must first of all have a good head and be able to run off the plays of his team without confusion. He must keep his head under the most trying circumstances. He must watch for weak places in the opposing team and direct the play of his men against them. He must offer encouragement to his own team and be always on the alert to capture a fumbled ball, stop a runner who has eluded the tacklers or to catch a punt that may come within his reach. In nearly all the big college games the quarter-back is one of the star players. The nature of his many duties is such that he is forced to be a grand-stand player and to be conspicuous even though he may not desire to. In running back punts the quarter-back will often be used because he is sure in catching them, which is a matter of the greatest importance. And all of this work is required of a man who is usually the smallest, lightest man on the team and who alongside of the giant guards and centre sometimes looks like a pigmy. There is no higher honour in football than to be a good all around quarter-back.

The half-backs are chosen because of their speed and their ability to advance the ball and to elude the tackling of the opposing team. They come in for a very large share of the work and must be boys of superior strength and agility.

Next to the quarter-back the player of the greatest importance is full-back. His duty first of all is to attend to the kicking end of the game. For that reason he must practise constantly both with punts and drop kicks and be able to put the ball between the goal posts from all angles and distances within reason. A great many games are won by a good drop kicker making a field goal at a critical time, and such a man is of the highest value to a team. As drop kicking, like pitching in baseball, comes largely from practice, the captain or manager of a team should see to it that any member of his team who shows any ability at all in this department should be given every opportunity and encouragement to develop his skill. A good drop kicker can be used temporarily from almost any position in the line, whether he be guard, tackle or end. As a rule, however, the full-back is the player who does most of the kicking. He must also be a good line bucker and be able to gain the required distance when called upon.

In general, then, we choose the three centre men because of their weight, the tackles and ends for speed and ability in tackling, the quarter-back for his all around ability and his generalship, the half-backs because of their skill in rushing the ball, and the full-back for the kicking department. Any man on the team may be chosen captain. As his work is largely done in practice and in perfecting plays, unless a team is in the hands of a coach it is better not to add the duties of captain to the already overburdened quarter-back. Otherwise he is the logical and ideal man for the position.

A football gridiron

There is no game in which team work is more important than in football. Eleven boys of moderate ability and comparative light weight who can execute their plays with skill and precision can beat a team of heavier boys or superior players who may lack their skill and organization. In the case of a school team it is almost always possible to secure the services of a coach from among the graduates. If such a one has had experience on a college team so much the better.