SECRET PRACTICE

The reasons for the institution of secret practice at the Stadium are invariably more mysterious to the undergraduate body than any of the actual plays which are taught behind the closed gates. The word "secret" always implies to the democratic student that he is being deprived of certain privileges which in his mind he has every right to enjoy. The University team is his college team; he supports it at every game; why shouldn't he be allowed to watch the team's progress from day to day?

There are a few undebatable reasons which show that the custom of secret practise is merely logical. Nearly everyone has attempted, usually unsuccessfully, to take down lecture notes with two or three friends discussing an interesting episode within hearing distance. In a similar way the players on the football field cannot get the maximum amount of help from the coaches, nor can they carry out the suggestions of the coaches properly when their attention is being diverted by the presence of observers on the side-lines. One of the greatest features of the Haughton system is the ultimate polish which every play must have before it is of any use to the team. The task of developing this essential polish demands an atmosphere in which concentration upon the immediate problem is easy for coaches and players. Such an ideal condition exists when the hundred or more casual observers are kept out of sight and beyond speaking distance.

With secret practice every day the policy of other colleges sending scouts to learn the individual personality and tricks of different players loses its principal value. If daily practice were open to everyone, colleges would be certain to send men to act as scouts, and an unhealthy side of the game would be fostered instead of discouraged.

The players on the team desire the support of the undergraduates, but hearty and enthusiastic cheering on Saturdays means much more than the observation of a few hundred men during the week. Lastly, any individual ought to be willing to sacrifice the pleasure of satisfying his curiosity when the success of the football team is at stake. Therefore, let the undergraduate body no longer veil the word "secret" with mysterious, undemocratic meanings.