s

HOWARD C. CANN, Coach of New
York University, is a graduate of
N.Y.U. Voted the greatest all-around
athlete in N.Y.U.’s history, he dis-
tinguished himself by scoring thirty-
two field goals in the National
A.A.U. Basketball Tournament in
Atlanta, Georgia in 1920. That feat
won for him the Atlanta Constitu-
tion Trophy Award as the greatest
basketball player in the world.

PHYSICAL FITNESS IN BASKETBALL

T° BE a successful basketball player an athlete
must possess these five things: determination,
courage, physical fitness, mental alertness, and ex-
perience. I’m devoting this article to the factor I
consider most important—physical fitness.

The old proverb that “a chain is no stronger than
its weakest link” applies very well to this sport.
A basketball team is no better than its least physi-
cally fit member. And I believe that a great player
in poor shape is not as valuable as a mediocre
player in good shape. So it is of utmost importance
that every member of the squad be in perfect physi-
cal condition for every game.

In colleges which are located in large cities, it is
almost impossible to keep watch over all the mem-
bers of the team, so the honor system of training
is employed. In such cases it is very necessary that
the importance of physical fitness in basketball be
impressed upon the minds of the players. By call-
ing attention to the fact that when they are tired,
shooting and passing become poor and unreliable,
and also that athletes in poor condition tire very
quickly, they will see the necessity for living up
to the rules laid down by the coach.

‘In striving to get into shape two things are of
paramount importance. They are: eating regularly
and getting plenty of sleep. Both of these can be
supervised at colleges located in small towns where
all the players eat together at a training table.
That’s where the non-metropolitan college has a
great advantage.

Practice sessions should be started early, but
it is wise to bring the team along slowly. The

_ players should reach the peak of condition just at

the time their playing season begins—not two or
three weeks before their first game.
One of the weaknesses in basketball today is that

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we spend so little time in actually exercising.
Instead, too much time is devoted to the playing
of the game itself. I believe that work on chest
weights, rowing machines, arm and wrist devel-
opers, along with rope skipping, should be carried
on throughout the season. And if a player is really
serious about.the sport, he should work out before
and after the season, too. A real athlete, in my
opinion, is one who is in top condition all year
’round.

I doubt very much if men go physically stale.
Staleness is usually caused by a mental condition.
A player may have been engaging in too much
practice, or he may merely lack interest in his
workouts. Before the opening of the schedule, such
a condition can be overcome by scrimmaging with
outside teams instead of playing inter-squad games
only. Another way is for the team to forget about
basketball for a day or so and play volleyball or
indoor baseball. To ease the mental condition of
the players before an important game, it might be
well for them to see a motion picture or get their
minds off the contest in some similar manner.

When a man adheres to all training rules, he
experiences no risk to his physical condition even
if he stays in the game for forty full minutes. And
not many are called upon to put in as much time
as that in a single game.

To sum up, there are several important things to
remember. The strain of playing basketball re-
quires that all participants in this sport be in first-
class physical condition. Achieving this condition
means hard work on the part of each player and
intelligent planning on the part of every coach. But
the results of these efforts show up in that all-
important “win” column at the end of, the basket-
ball season.