Harper's Round Table, September 8, 1896

by Various

FIG. 11.

Dropping on the Ball.—There are two kinds of balls the player must learn to drop on—a moving ball and a dead ball. There are just four ways of falling upon a ball: first, dropping upon the knees, to break the fall, then covering the ball with the chest; second, dropping straight from the toes, breaking the fall with the elbows and by landing upon the ball with the chest; third, diving upon the ball, by leaving the ground and leaping in the air, the fall being broken by the elbows and the ball; fourth, sliding, feet foremost, and taking the ball under the arm in passing it. Take first a moving ball. A ball moving away from the runner may be obtained in any of these ways; the first method is the simplest and preferable. Let the player run to within reaching distance of the ball, suddenly drop upon his knees, and then gather the ball up under his chest. A moving ball should not be dived for unless its motion has nearly ceased, because the player is likely to either overreach or underreach it.

FIG. 12.

To obtain a ball dropped in the rush-line or at the player's feet, the player should throw his feet straight out behind him, falling upon the ball with his chest, breaking the fall with the elbows and ball. There is another moving ball, which the player, strictly speaking, should not fall upon at all. To obtain a ball moving directly towards a player from the front, he should meet it at right angles, throwing the body right across the path of the ball and gathering it up in his arm, as in Fig. 10.

The ball is very seldom "dead" in a game, but it may sometime occur that twenty-two men are after a ball that has lost nearly all motion. In that case the most skilful man at diving upon the ball will be more than likely to get it. The player should run to within about once and a half his length from the ball, and then leave the ground, the same as a swimmer makes a dive, care being taken to land upon the ball, to offset the force of gravity.

Kicking.—Kicking is one of the fine arts of football. It requires considerable skill, which is only to be obtained by constant, painstaking practice. The requirements for good kicking are cool-headedness, a good eye, a good leg, and a good square-toe shoe. There are three kinds of kicks—a punt, a place, and a drop. Of these, the most important is the punt. There are two kinds of punts—a common punt, which is generally used, and a "twister," or "floater." The latter, which is not of much importance, is made by dropping the ball so that the longer axis will be horizontal, or at right angles to the body (ends resting to and away from the body), and giving the impetus to the ball a little to one side. As to the common punt, there are two styles, known as straight kicking and round kicking. The straight punt is made by facing the direction in which you wish the ball to go. The kicker stands from twelve to fifteen yards back of the line—that is, when the punt is made from a line-up. As the kicker receives the ball, he should step back with the right leg, and bring the body a little forward, and then he is ready for the swing. The kicker ought to be able to make his kick without moving out of his tracks, unless it is necessary to avoid a forward who has broken through; then he should step to the side. The ball should be adjusted quickly, the lacings being turned up, or out, away from the point of contact of the ball with the foot. There are three methods in vogue for holding the ball for a straight-leg punt. One way is to place the right hand under the lower end, and fingers of the left hand on the upper end, holding the ball either vertically or diagonally, with upper end canting away from the body, as in Fig. 1. Second, hold the ball by placing one hand on each side, lacings up, the ends pointing to and from the body, the inner end being higher than the outward one, the ball slanting downward, as in Fig. 2. The third is just the reverse of the second, the end near to the body being lower than the outer, as in Fig. 3. The player should choose the method of holding the ball which is most natural to him and in which he can attain the highest efficiency.

The round kick, or side kick, as sometimes called, is made by a round, instead of a straight, swing of the leg. The ball may be held in any of the three ways, generally the first. A step or two is taken to the kicking side and forward, a kind of right-oblique, and the leg brought into contact with the ball in much the same way as a man makes a swinging blow with the arm, the aim being to get the weight of the body into the drive. The ball should be kicked at about calf-high.

A drop kick is made by letting the ball fall from the hands, and kicking it at the very instant it rises from the ground. If a drop kick is made from behind the rush-line, the kicker should stand about fifteen yards back. The ball should be held as in the first case, by the ends, or by the sides, as in the second case. The ball should be directed towards the ground at just the angle you desire, and then let fall naturally from the hands. The exact spot upon which the ball should be booted will be obtained by practice. Just below the stringing is a good place, but here comes in again the angle at which the ball is dropped. Don't punt your drop kicks. Let the ball strike the ground first.

Blocking.—Good blocking is one of the primary essentials of the offensive game. No play can be started unless the opposing rushers are prevented from breaking through. Its rudiments, therefore, should be thoroughly mastered by every forward. The player should get his body into a position which is mechanically the strongest, his build and playing position considered. Generally the position of the body which is strongest is the angular form. A fair position is that in which the blocker's body is high enough not to give his opponent a chance to grab him by the head in going through, and low enough not to expose the sternum to a straight blow. The blocker should take his position squarely in front of the man opposed to him. He should stand on his toes instead of his heels, or flat-footed. This position, the rusher will find, gives agility and activity, strength and speed, enabling him to move quickly in any direction, to follow his opponent, in order to block him; besides, the heel striking the ground when an opponent happens to get in first enables him to recover himself, action being equal to reaction in contrary directions.