at any member of his team who shows any
ability at all in this department should be given every opportunity
and encouragement to develop his skill. A good drop kicker can be used
temporarily from almost any position in the line, whether he be guard,
tackle or end. As a rule, however, the full-back is the player who
does most of the kicking. He must also be a good line bucker and be
able to gain the required distance when called upon.

In general, then, we choose the three centre men because of their
weight, the tackles and ends for speed and ability in tackling, the
quarter-back for his all around ability and his generalship, the
half-backs because of their skill in rushing the ball, and the
full-back for the kicking department. Any man on the team may be
chosen captain. As his work is largely done in practice and in
perfecting plays, unless a team is in the hands of a coach it is
better not to add the duties of captain to the already overburdened
quarter-back. Otherwise he is the logical and ideal man for the
position.

[Illustration: A football gridiron]

There is no game in which team work is more important than in
football. Eleven boys of moderate ability and comparative light weight
who can execute their plays with skill and precision can beat a team
of heavier boys or superior players who may lack their skill and
organization. In the case of a school team it is almost always
possible to secure the services of a coach from among the graduates.
If such a one has had experience on a college team so much the better.

A football field is 330 feet long by 160 feet wide. At each end are
goal posts set 18 feet 6 inches apart, with a crossbar 10 feet above
the ground. The field is marked off in chalk lines similar to a tennis
court, these lines being 5 yards apart. The centre of the field where
the play starts is 55 yards from either end. It is usually customary
to run lines parallel to the sides of the field, also 5 yards apart,
but as a field is but 160 feet wide the first and last of these lines
are but 5 feet from the side lines instead of 5 yards. The lines on a
football field make a checkerboard effect and have given to the field
the name of "gridiron."

Football is a game where eleven men try to force the ball back of the
opposing players' goal line by various efforts in running with it or
in kicking, while the opposing team meanwhile, by throwing the runner
or by pushing him back, try to prevent any gain bein