Allen: Chambers: Naismith: Chambers: Allen: . Chambers: Naismith: RADIO PROGRAM November 4, 1937. PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR HEALTH "YOUTH LOOKS AT ALCOHOL AND PLay" The kaleidoscopie succession of events in the last four years, many of which seem to indicate fundamental changes in the social structure of our nation, is beginning to have e decided effect upon the thinking of many of our citizens. The repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment and the consequent cocktail hour in which many children come in contact with alcohol, in see- ing their parents indulge, has caused educators to ponder. Although there is deep-seated opposition from many quarters, forward-looking educators are beginning to realize that if schools are to meet the demands of changing times, many issues, controversial in nature, must be frankly, openly, and fairly discussed in our class rooms. The present trend is to discover a new and more effective method of apvroach- ing the alcohol question for younger neople, which will vresent materials both absorbing in interest and accurate in statements. The information must be scientific. It is rather a significant fact that the Sunday School teachers of the nation this past week ciscussed the liquor subject as their Intemational Temperance Week's topic. Twelve thousand public school teach- ers of the state of Kansas assemble this week-end in conventions to stucy problems helpful to the youth of the state. Four thousand school teachers meet here on Mount Oread tomorrow and Saturday to keep abreast of the changing trends in education. Dr. Chambers, both you and Dr. Naismith have been teachers in the public schools and the Sunday Schools. Both of you are medical physicians and you can speak with authority on the effects of alcohol on the human animal. Dr. Cnambers, does alcohol in your opinion very greatly lessen the efficiency in the reaction time of the individual? Say in automobile driving? What about laboratory tests to determine such things? A very interesting test was made on taxi drivers. The average time that it took the drivers to press the brake pedal, after a red light was flashéd as a Signal, was one-fifth of a second. Then they found that for the average person, tested when he had the amount of alcohol which one would get in tio glasses of beer, the time required was from 3/5 of a second to a full second. I imagine some people ask this question. What cifference does it make whether it tekes 1/5 or 5/5 of a second to press the brake vedal? If you get it pressed the car stops any way, doesn't it, Dr. Chambers? Yes, Dector, but death deals in split seconds. If a car is traveling at the rate of 60 miles an hour, how far does it go in one second? In 1/5 of a second? Those figures are easy of computation. The car goes at that rate 88 fect in one second, and 17 3/5 feet in 1/5 of a second. That's exactly right. -It would take a fellow with s counle of beers in him 35 to 70 feet more to stop his car than it would teke the non-drinking fellow. That would make a mighty big difference in a tight place, don't you think? No argument about that. Allen: Allen: Naismith: Chambers: Naismith: Allen: Naismith: Allen: Chambers: Naismith: Right! Yes, and even driving in the city at 25 miles an hour, that stopping dis- tance would be from 5 to 20 feet, and thet might mean the difference be- tween hitting a child playing in the street and missing him. I am in entire sympathy with these scientific tests, but can we be sure of their findings? Suppose they enptied a bottle of beer and then filled it with near-beer? Would not this psychological situation make these taxi drivers think that they had drunk alcoholic beer and might not this in- fluence their driving? The men making these tests are after the truth, ance the truth only. They give the sane kind of tests on several different days to the same persons. The alcohol was always given in highly perfumed drinks, so that it could not be tasted or smelled. On the days when the people being tested were not to have alcohol, they were given these same perfumed drinks without the alcohol. You see, the versons did not know whether or not their drink on that day contained any alcohol. Even if they thought that they were drunk, they would think the same on other days, too, so the results would be fair. Dr. Allen, what was that story that you told our group about a scientific test that was made concerning alcohol that some of the young boys entirely misunderstood? Oh, yes, Dr. Naismith, some of the very best lessons in life are always misunderstood by a small minority. The case I mentioned was when the school teacher endeavored to show her grade school class of tenement dwellers the harmful effects of alcohol by using earthworms as her demon- stration mediu. The teacher took two water classes, filling one half-full of drinking water ené the other half-full of grain alcohol. She dropped the earthworms in the plass of water and asked the class to observe the experiment for 3 or 4 minutes. Nothing eventful happened. The worms con- tinued to rove around in the water with apparently no ill effects. Then the teacher dropped some carthworms in the glass half-filled with alcohol and almost immediately they wrigrled but once or twice and all were dead. A pall of silence gripred the youngsters. Then the teacher asked the class what object lesson sny of them had learned from this class project. Quick as a flash, bright-eyed Johnny Gillis»ie's hand shot up. "Johnny, you tell us," said the tescher. mWell, said Johnny, "if you keep that much alcohol in you all of the time you won't have worms". That is a good one, but there was one about a swimmer. Yes, and the strange case about this woman was that she was a former Olympic swimming champion. She was discussing with me the ouestionable good that came out of our taking exercise to maintain our health. I[ , pointed out the benefits and the exhiliratine effects of the exerciss to be followed by a bath and a good rub-dcwn. "Yes," she interrupted, “but gin will co the same thing.” You don't suppose that she believed that stuff? ‘Whet is the use of all of your recreation fields and playgrmundis if that is so. It would make a very interesting parade to line up the men who have been abstainers from alcoholic liquors all of their lives and march them along Allen: Chambers: Allen: Naisnith: Chambers: Allen: Naisnith: Allen: aes side of an army of users of alcohol. I asked Alonzo Stagg, the former erand old man of the Midway, not long ago how he kept in such trim that he was coaching football four years after his retiring age of 70. One of the main things was that he had never indulged in any form of alcohol. Thank you, gentlemen, but thus far we have been having youth look at al- cohol during the whole discussion. Let us have a look at his play side. The love for »lay is natural, the love for drink is an acquired blight. Yes, Allen, but before we leave the first subject, let us summarize the effects of the drink habit. You can without fear of contradiction make athree noint indictment, as follows: I - Aleohol very greatly lessens the efficiency in the reaction time. II - Alcohol sreatly lessens the force of inhibition. III - Aleohol lessens the accuracy of judsment. 411 transport nlanes have two pilots and two controls should one pilot fall ill. We have but one brain, one control and one pilot. We will all agree that you have been most fair, Dr. Chambers. Dr. Naismith I am wondering if you think the boy considers thie pronosition from a morel or an efficiency standpoint. I am of the opinion that every boy wants to be a champion and he does not want to harm his body in any way. When a boy denies himself pastries and an oversupply of sweets to play on a team with a chance to win a champion- ship, then you ean bet that he is thinking of the efficiency angle. How- ever he knows that he is — the right thing when he is training and this raises his morale. Then you think that the boy is such a selfish individual that it gives him such joy to win ané pain to lose, that he will train consistently so that -he may be rewarded by winning the chempionship. Exactly, Dr. Chambers. Athletics is a bri€le that leads this fractious human broncho through the pnlastic years of his formative existence and stresses the inhibitions so necessary to his vhysical and moral growth. No real champion athlete ever celebrates a victory by becoming intoxicatec. Many pseudo-Tarzans of the mezzanine dance floor endeavor to celebrate their team's victory in this mnner, but the boys who played the game are tired ané happy in their efforts, and generally find their fun from another angle. But just the same, the srort is blamed for the antics of this lunatic fringe who generally are unable to nlay the game or act de- cently. You don't mean to say, Dr. Allen, that all of the boys who play on athlet- ic teams train as they should, do you? I am glad that you brought that un. The Kansas State Hish School Athletic Association has a requirement in their by-laws that makes any athlete in- eligible for athletic competition who uses tobacco. I know and you do, too, that many boys cheat on this score, but think of the thousands of high school boys in this state that do follow this rule. Chambers--After all, your boy is ina vretty high crade group of boys with ideals, if they take their training 2s seriously as the high school association requires. I imagine many mothers woult take a chance on a broken bone by her son if he went straicht rather than to have a chance of a broken Naismith: Allen: Nai snith: Allen: eka heart, if the boy went wrong. It looks like this procedure keeps the boy pretty much in line if he keeps his agreement with the high school that he is nlaying for. Forebel used the vrinciple of education through pley in his kindergarten theory. Isn't this the same principle that you are discussing here? Why wouldn't this be a good theory to work with the girls in their physical education? I saw somewhere not long ago that there are more girls smok- ing cigarettes in America than boys. Tell me if I am wrong. I have also seen this statement. Of course, we do not expect girls to participate in competitive interscholastic athletics to the extent thet boys do. The educator has failed to fini something that will srip and hold the girls’ interest in the perfection of her physicel development for an immediate vurnose the same as they heave done for the boys and men. Perhaps that is the next great discovery for the educator. At least, we hope so. You will remember it was Maude Royden, of England, who said, "You cannot break Nature's laws, but you can break yourself against Na- ture's laws." The joy of zestful living should be a worthwhile stimulus to any intelligent individual, @on't you think, Dr. Naismith? Yes, and do not forget these lines: "God make us wise to know How strong the stalk must erow, That rears so fair a flower." Thank you, Dr. Naismith, and you, too, Dr. Chambers, but - say, our time is up, and we heve yet to hear from Nelson Sulliven, our intramural sports announcer atop of Mount Oread. Sully, can you pinch hit, You are up to bat. Start swinging! Allen-- Plumley-- Allen-- Plumley-- ADIO PROGRAM PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR HEALTH December 2, 1937. "BASKETBALL AND ITS EFFECTS UPON HEALTH." Is league competitive basketball beneficial or detrimental to the health of the growing boy? The majority of research investigators concur that competitive play is injurious to the junior high school boy as it affects detrimentally both the physical and nervous systems of the youngstor. However for the senior high school athlete and for the college competitor in good physical condition the game seems to improve the strength of the heart and the blood vascular systems as well as its closely allied neigh- bor, the nervous system. When an athlete has finished his four years of college competition and continues to play so-called amateur or independent basketball for any length of timo, the nervous system and the kidneys then show unmistakably the wear and tear of this very strenuous game. Basket~ ball has been blessed by many professorial investigating minds which have determined both its present and its future. Throughout the years we have had such men as Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, Dre Josoph Raycroft, formorly of the University of Chicago and now at Princeton, Mr. L. We Ste John, of Ohio State University, William McKinley Barber of Yalco University, Dr. John Brown of the Y.M.C.A. of New York City, George T. Hepbron and E. A. Metzdorf, of Brooklyn, E. Je Hickox of Springfield College, Oswald Tower of Andover, Masse, and Floyd A. Rowe: of the Cleve- land Public Schools to nurture and to guide the destinies of the game. Some of the younger men who have made a definite contribution are John VW, Bunn of Stanford University, and He V. Porter, secretary of the Illinois High School Athletic Association. In pure research the investigator will attack any problem anywhere thet appeals to his fancy, and he is not con- cerned as to whether his findings will or will not have a practical use for humanity. In practical research the investigator narrows his fiold to the selection of practical problems. These problems must be submitted to the scrutinies of the investigator in order that in the end there may be an improvement of conditions. Dr. Allen, what augmented these investigations? Thore must have been much criticism of basketball before these research mon went to work. Just what caused this research activity and whet were the findings? Well, Jay, some years ago Dre J» H. McCurdy, of Springficld College, Spring- field, Mass. conducted a series of critical investigations upon his Spring- field College athletes, and the findings showed that 87% of the players had traces of heart and kidney straine Yes, Dr. Allen, but isn't it true that these Springfield College men, or most of them, had already played high school and college basketball? Most of them graduated from colleges giving the A.B. degree and then matricu- lated at Springfield College where physical directors and athletic coaches are trained. Wasn't Springfield College one of the first pioneers in A- merican training of physical directors? Allen-- Plumley-- Allen-- Plumley-- Allen-- Plumley-- You are oxactly right, Jay. Wo will discuss Dre James Naismith's findings upon high school athletes and that will show tho differonec. For tho pur- pose of illustration it might be woll for us to think of the United States Military Academy at West Point. The cadets in tho Army toam gonorally finish an academic college and then enroll at West Point for four more additional yoars. This is true of the Springfield Collegc. . Many boys play four years in high school and thon four years in college, anc por- hops the difforence in the results of the two tests was due to tho dif- ference in the ages of the two groups of playors. The wear and tear on tho older physical machine is too sovorce How lone ago did Dr. Naismith institute his series of investigations to find whether Dr. McCurdy's charge wes warranted or not? Well, Jay, back in 1930 Dr. Naismith took 9s a working besis the players entered in the annual Kansas State High School tournament which then was ‘held at tho Univorsity of Kansas. Every competitor undor wont a thorough physical oxamination. All the tests wore made by the Biochomistry Depart- ment of tho School of Medicine of the University of Kansas, which would vouch sefe for their accuracy. And strange to say that after tho fourth championshiv game the tests showed that the members of the Wichita High School team, the winners of the state tournament and later winners of theo National High School Championship at Chicago, wore in better physical condition then than at any time during the tournament. Of the monbers of the two teams that played for the championship, tho test of but ono man gave any indication of previous opinion that basketbe1l was too severe on hearts and kidnoys of tho normal high school boy. The findings arrived at by these research mon was that while you are robust and rugged the physique will stand up undor strain. Thon I guess it would be comparable to a new automobile stancing the strain. When the machine gots older it docs not function as well as it aid in its previous first class conditicn. Woll, I think that is a vory good illustrstion, Jay, end I believo that is the casicst way to explain it. at another time, in the intorests of the game of basketball, Dr. Naismith performed some very intcresting heart in- vestigations. This time he took for his clincial material a squac of young men with no previous expericnce in baskethall. For 18 woeks this group was given tho same daily fundamontal drills and tenm play that a group of regulars on the basketball squad received. Daily tracings of the heart, both before and after play, reveealed no incrense in size. In- deed, in some eases there wore decreases in the sizo of the heart. You know, many poople are of tho opinion thet Glenn Gunninchen's heart is large or hyportrorhicd, but I am told on very good authority thet the heart of Glem Cunningham, the great Kansas runner, is smallor than the normal sized heart. A heart muscle, to have tonicity on’? strongth, is not dependent upon size. Well, Dr. allen, many parcnts who qwetech thoir sons play cannot undorstand why the heart is not affected because jn their opinion their son is con- tinuously on the go. He is driving here ond thero, and it seems that thore is never a let-up in play. It sooms as if tho boys would literelly run their hearts out. ate Allen -- Well, here again, Jay, Dr. Naismith conducted another interesting investigatio: of a different nature and made some worthwhile deductions. This time he used as his clinical material four high school teams who were entered in a league tournament. He meant to ascertain the actual number of minutes that the average high school basketball player was in motion during an entire game. A separate watch was kept on each of the 20 players in the game. Whenever a player stopped, the watch stopped, and the count was resumed again when the player resumed activity. The results of the investigation were as follows: 1. The average time elapsed for one 10-minute period of play, 13 min., 8 sec 2. Shortest time of activity for any one player, 3 minutes, 32 seconds. 3. Longest time of activity for any one player, 7 minutes, 21 seconds. 4. Average time of activity for each player, 5 minutes, 28 seconds. 5. Percentage of average activity of each player to the entire playing time, 39.6 per cent. So you see, Jay, that basketball seems strenuous to as spectators because they naturally follow the ball, which is the focus of activity. It would be very interesting if any of the spectators «t a basketball game would just pick out one player and watch him throughout the contest. They doubtless would be surprised to see how many times during the game this player would be found to be utterly inactive. Perhaps he would be alert, but he would not be in motion a great part of the time. Plumley--Dr. Allen, you mentioned Floyd A. Rowe, who is on the research committee of Allen -- the National Basketball Rules body of the United States and Canada with you, John Bunn, H. V. Porter and B. J. Kickox. Just what did Floyd Rowe find out about the injurious effects of b..sketball upon the junior high school boy? Well, Jay, Floyd Rowe has done some very wonderful work along that line. He contends and has figures to prove it that basketball league competition for junior high school boys very detrimentally retards their physical and nervous development. You know, Mr. Rowe is director of the Department of Physical Education and Health of the Cleveland, Ohio, public schools, and he has done some very extensive work. He feels that it is perfectly all right for boys to indulge in the mimetics of basketball; to use motivation of teaching basic basketball fundament2zls to younger boys by illustrating to them in class how John Doe, the high school star athlete, executes his fundamentals in high school competition. In this type of motivation no one should handle the ball except the instructor who demonstrates the play. The entire class goes through the fundamental exercises as a form of calisthenics. This should not seriously affect the value of exercise as a basketball drill. All members of the class should execute the same fundamentals until each type of play, both on offense and defense, has been fairly well mastered. You see, it is sort of teaching shadow basketball to immature youngsters before permitting them to handle the ball. By watching the coach and instructor demonstrate the play with the ball and then by being directed to go slowly through the mechanics without the ball, junior high school boys will acquire the correct fundamentals of basketball before they reach senior high school. Then after the boys have acquired these skills so necessary to execute the fundamentals, the coach may nermit the boys to handle the ball. The next step is to teach the fundamentals through competition. When one boy has an opportunity to beat the other fellow, the boy sharpens his play through competitive zeal. Free throwing contests sud field goal shooting cohtests can be easily arranged which gives the boy his competitive game thrill without the physical wear and tear taunt comes in too much scrimmage. Many adults get a great thrill out of seeing tiny youngsters play a full game of football or basketball. But very few physical educators who have developed their research along these lines will approve such contests. aha Plumley--Well, then you think that as yet physical education has not outlined the proper physical game activities for the junior high school youngster. Allen -- Well, at least their theories have not all been accepted. Remerber, Jay these little fellows just want to play. It is not necessary to develop a few youngsters with super skills at this tender age. It is more apt to. make the tec highly skilled boys more neurotic than it is to benefit them. Plumley--Well, Coach Allan, your basketball season is flush upon you, isntt it? Allen -- Yes, Coach Plumley, and the same for you. You have a game tomorrow night at 7:30, do you not? | Plumley--Yes, and you have one at the same time and the same place. Allen -+ And the place is Hoch Auditorium, the basketbali field house, Plumley--Yes, you are right. The attraction is the varsity-frosh game, and E. C. Quigley and his soon Heinie are going to officiate. Allen -- Yes, and the University of Kansas bend, under the direction of Russell Wiley, will play. Plumley--Yes, and the K men of the University will have charge of the entertainment between halves. The girls of the Physical Education department are going to provide the entertainment. ‘Wade Grem, president of the K Club, has charge of arrangements. Allen -- Jay, they tell me that you have a complete starting lineup of freshmen who were members of the National Honor Society in hizh school. It looks like athletics and intelligence go together on your outfit. Plumley--Yes, Doc, I have just checked up on the freshmen and I find that twelve men on our freshman squad rere members of the high school National Honor Society in their respective high schools. Muy I ask, is the Athletic Office admitting all the students of the University to this game free? Allen -- Yes, Jay, if they present their Activity tickets at the door. The general admission is 25¢ for outsiders, md I believe it will be worth every penny of that because both the varsity and the freshmen are looking forward to this game with quite a bit of esmgerness. Yes, end I want to tell you about the Bask-o-Lite goal. This is a new goal approved by the rules committee. It is an electric basket 2nd there are three red lights attached to the goal, so when the ball goes through the basket these lights flash on and they add a lot of color to the game. Plumley--Yes, I think that three red lights would add a lot of color. -Allen -- There is another thrill for those who haven't seen a game this yeer as yet. They call it tipless basketball. You know, the canter tip has been done 4- way with except at the beginning of the game and at the haif. When a field goal is scored by one team the opponents cet possession of the ball out of bounds and start a fast break down to their own goal. Se I would suggest that you admonish the basketball fons to be on hsm for this varsity-frosh battle.