CORRESPONDENCE

Grey River Argus, 15 August 1934, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

HOCKEY AT THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL. (To the Editor.) Hir, —I fed bound to reply to the very iiuHportsmanlikc HUggCHtion.s made nt the last meeting of the Board of Governors of th r . Greymouth Technical •School, by Mr Kyle. I notice that a very (•oriHidernblo portion of your report of the meeting i« occupied with reference (mostly by Mr Kyle) to the apparently heinous crime, of flowing Ihe boys nt the Technical School to play hockey, and to be coached by members of my A.Mweiation. In the very first place, it is my duty to point out, for I ho. guidance of Mr Kyle, that Ihe suggestion of a Technical Schoo] hockey team did not originate with my Association, nor for that matter with any of the teachers at the School. It was only after a number of the boys had expressed, privately, a wish to play that 1 interviewed Mr who pointed out to irn- that already

two winter games engaged the atten tion of the boys. He said he would, however, put the matter in the hands of the boys themselves, and the result was that about 20 wished to play the game. An important fact .we med to be overlooked by Mr Kyle, and it is this. No request has been made for the boys to have lime off to play hoekey, nor is it likely that such a request will be made. The whole of their playing and their coaching is done out of school hours, not on the school ground, and 1 suggest that Mr Kyle would be doing the boys a great service if he bothered less about trifles, for no one can seriously suggest that what the L">ys do out of school hours i- anything more than a trifle. Surely any boy who has a desire to adopt any sport, should be allowed to follow his own course, and not be hampered in that desire by anyone, Board member oi otherwise, who perhaps doesn’t see eye to eye with another code. If Mr Kyle only realised th c amount of valuable training hockey can give a footballer, I feel sure that he would be very sorry he had raised thc question at all. So far as I am concerned myself one sport is as good a- 41 another, and I will not for one moment admit that I am biased in favour of hockey as Mr Kyle evidently is biased in favour of Rugby. The major consideration, that sport makes a man, has been sadly neglected by Mr Kyle, who. I noticed, was not prepared to move a motion on a question he had no need to raise. I am etc., W. J. BUTLER. Secretary West Coast Hockev Assn.