The Watertown Weekly Leader

PROVED HIMSELF BEST MAN

Attitude of Quiet Student Satisfied Coach as to Selection to Make for the Crew.

A few seasons ago, says a prominent crew in Outing, two men were competing closely for a seat in the "varsity" boat. One day I called them together, and said:

"Just now you two men are working equally well in the boat, but one has a better scholarship standing than the other, and to me that seems to indicate that one of you has a little more personal pride than the other."

As a matter of fact, the man who was not up to the scratch in his work was a bit better of the two, as far as smoothness in the boat was concerned. I thought the incident might cause him to pick up in his classes. It did not. When the time came to make a final selection of the eight I again called the pair in to see me.

"It's still hard to decide between you two. I would just as soon have you throw a coin to decide the winner," I said.

The man with the poor scholarship record was the first to speak.

"That's all right with me," he said.

The other man thought for a minute. I saw his mouth go tight. Then he said:

"No, sir, that doesn't suit me. One of us must be the best man. I want to know which, and to know why I am not the best man."

Some people would probably have thought that fellow conceited, but not if they knew what it means for a youngster to put in months and months of hard training for a crew.

The second man was of a quiet type, but after he spoke I knew the thing that every coach is most anxious to find out—that he was the kind who would be pulling hardest when his lungs were feeling like bursting in that last hard half mile. You can guess which man got the place. The man who did not was too easily satisfied.