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powers, courage, and will @re so intimate that psychologists, educators |
and dictators alike join them, in the almost instinctive phrase, strength
and character--modern engineers and industrialists exhaust every means +t?
measure and isprove the strength and endurance of material. Why not then
at this critical hour consider the conservation of physical fitness. It
should be the prime cancery of any rational thinking individual. The pioneer
psychologists of early days dwelt upon this thought, G, Stanley Hall said,
"man is an omnibus in which all of his ancestors ride", Schiller and Spencer
innit the idea of the surplus energy theory of play. The child played
because it had an abundance of surplus energy.

The biological theory of play finds its followers supporting the
premise that the lower animal develops of muscles in play which enable it
at later times to catch its prey. The cat toys with a leaf or its own tail
to devedop its. muscular responses so it can eatch a mouse at a needful time.

Running, jumping, leaping, vaulting and climbing are the fundaméntal
activities of man. The big muscle agtivities produce strength and ee
The smaller nuseles activities, coordination and skills. But upon the |
strength of the big muscles activity is dependent the finer responses of
the smaller muscle groups. |

So, as the boy learns to play the quickly bounding ball instead of
permitting the ball to play him, he is learning quick and correct reactions
to difficult situations. The uncanny forward passers in football or the adept
basketball passer has developed an unsaual peripheral or depth vision which
enables him to locate his team mate and to pass the ball successfully at a
rapidly moving target at the exact iinet, :

The biological theory of play is brought into practical use in this
CASE, This athlete by developing such ugusual depth perceptions is seabtet
to judge the speed of an dnnoning uxteoshiie and to determine the speed of

his own car, when passing a truck, so as to avoid any semblance of danger.