SPORT IN SCHOOLS

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1935, Page 12

SPORT IN SCHOOLS

CRICKET . AND RUGBY

TEACHERS CAN HELP

(By

“Off Spin.”)

There is in New Zealand a dearth of brilliant footballers and of first class bowlers. • It has not needed outside criticism to make this plain, but the fact remains that both cricket and Rugby in the Dominion are no longer of the same high standard -s they were several years ago. No one can'say there are five-eighths in the country equal in brilliance to Mark Nicholls and ACooke, a full-back 4 approaching the George Nepia of 1924-1930, or a bowler approaching Merritt's class. , There are promising players, it is granted, w'hp may within a year or two be fit to rank with the best New Zealand has produced in both sports, hut that must not prevent every step being taken to improve the general standard. From what angle can the problem best be tackled? The logical answer is, “in the schools, and the primary schools particularly.” ' In-making a definite assertion such as this “Off Spin” is not unmindful of the work being done in schools, secondary qs well as primary, for the promotion of cricket and football, but those who devote much of their spare time to the control of sport will be the first to admit that they are handicapped in a task that has their enthusiasm as its sole motive power. It seems that cricket pnd Rugby authorities throughout the Dominion, all of whom realise the falling off there has been, must realise that through the schools and the schools only lies the best approach to an improvement in .the respective sports. n Secondary school masters in charge df sports have better opportunities of ■moulding pupils with possibilities into good players. They have older boys to deal wifh, boys, who have already a groundwork uporu which to build, better facilities for practice and coaching and possibly a more receptive audience to the finer points of the game. They, however, can deal only with the material as they find it, and if a boy, who shows signs of being a natural cricketer Has had no grounding in the rudiments of a game at a primary school it needs months to make up the lost ground. But. what is the position in the primary schools? Lacking the secondary institution’s organisation and facilities, the master in charge, js dependent upon his own enthusiasm '■ and knowledge in making the best of a job not officially recognised. He may not have . had the opportunity of becoming a good exponent of the game he is trying to teach his pupils and, although conscious of his own shortcomings, can do nothing to overcome them. A first class cricketer or a footballer may be born and not made', but the stuff that is in him must be brought out. Excellent work Is being done in Taranaki by the Primary Schools Rugby Unions, and there ar< large numbers of enthusiastic teachers turning out on winter afternoons with their boys. Similarly cricket takes up much of their time in the summer. The time is now ripe for Rugljy and cricket controlling bodies in Taranaki to de rote more time and money to helping the teachers. • A prominent Wellington Rugby authority has stated definitely that the decline in junior Rugby in his "district is due to the fact that the teachers there have not the ability they thornselves would dpsire to teach, boys how to play. ■ The same applies, to cricket. Baiting is the most popular branch of the game, and it is possible there are not many teachers who are capable of instructing boys in the rudiments of bowling. There is at present in Taranaki a cricket coach who knows indubitably what he is talking about. Why cannot the cricket association arrange a gathering of all teachers who, can spare the time so' that the coach can provide them with the wherewithal to improve the bowling of the schoolboys of the province? v ;