9195S THE MICHIGAN DAILY 'Wr' Leads to Tank Success Michigan's NCAA Swimming Champions Devote Many Hours to Tireless Practice handled wi tl the y're d z) By DICK MINTZ ".Champions are made not born," is a maxim that finds its greatest truth in the swimming world. The Wolverine swim team, NCAA and Big Ten title holders, know all too well after an exhaust- ing day of practice what work forged the crown that now sits on its head. "Work, work, work, and those that work the hardest gain theI most success," is the proven phil- osophy of Coach Gus Stager. Team members estimate that they average two miles of hard swimming each day, grinding out length after length in the Varsity Pool. Conditioning formulas vary among the coaches. Bob Kiputh, Yale's reknowned swim mentor has his athletes do calisthenics on land for months before they ac- tually take to the water. Others have their swimmers work with weights to limber their muscles, while most combine these prac- tices to best develop the individual potential of their charges. An intensive training schedule, however, is all too likely to burn a swimmer out before he has a chance to fully develop his poten- tial, Intensive Schedule It is theintensity of the train- ing schedule, not the period of time one has been swimming, that brings the swimmer to the point of dimirnishing returns, said Pete Fries, Wolverine long-distance star. Fries started his swimming when he was 18 months old and still remains 'enthusiastic about the sport. Paradoxically, while swimming is recognized as an individual sport, Fries and most members of the team won't practice their swimming alone. They need some- body swimming alongside them of comparable ability to drive them to the point of exhaustion. "It's like chasing a rabbit I have' to catch," Fries said. Swim Own Race At the same time Fries added that it's important that a swim- mer be able to swim his own race when competing rather than his opponents. The younger swimmers on the team he said haven't yet developed this internal clock mechanism that enables them to establish their own steady pace. In doing the 440-yd. freestyle Fries said, he can judge his finish- ing swim time within a couple of seconds. John Smith. the Wolver- ine ace backstroker, demonstrated his own uncanny sense of timing by swimming 50-yd. lengths in times demanded by Stager, who hovered nearby with a stop watch. Smith's own estimate of his time was to the tenth of a second in agreement with the stop watch. Australians Devoted Commenting upon therecent sensational successes of the Aus- tralian swimmers, Stager said he can't find they're doing anything really different in their stroke, thougroh " redo hae watendency A HARD WORKER-Michigan swimmer Dick Hanley, who in his Americans. past two years on the team has earned various Big Ten and NCAA Fries found the difference in the victories in free-style events, is one of the many proponents of Australian's devotion to the sport. plain "hard work" in training. MEET AT DETROIT OLYMPIA: Icers To Compete Against Russians By HAL APPLEBAUM 'I for two games with Minnesota, one On Jan. 6 the Michigan hockey at Minneapolis and the other at team will skate on the ice at De- Hibbing, Minn. The tour concludes troit Olympia to face a select with a game in Philadelphia, squad ofRussian players. where that city's representatives, The game will be part of a six- the Falcons of the Eastern League, city tour by the Russian squad, will test the visitors.......... which toured Canada last year. The tour opens in New York, Dec. Michigan Coach Al Renfrew and 31 when the ,U.S. National team members of the team are eagerly, will cballenge the invaders. awaiting the clash with the Rus- sians. Russians Play Harvard "Last year the Russians showed Following the Madison Square us how fast and good they are but Garden lidlifter, the tour will move fthey were still beaten by the more at Boston where Harvard's Ivy experienced Canadian squads. League champions will oppose the They play a different style -game Russians. From there they move than we do. We in Notth America on to Detroit, and then they travel play a hard, checking game, whilej in Europe there is less body con- tact and more emphasis on speed and precision. They are techni- cally outstanding players," Ren- f red commented. r Canadians Find Thaw Last year the Russians opened their tour in Windsor against the Whitby Dunlops and with speed and precision they took a quick 2-0 lead over the dumbfounded Canadians. Midway in the first period the Whitbys found out that the Russians did not know how to handle a team that checked all over the ice and they began to.take advantage of this fault in the Russian's defense and piled up, a 9-2 victory over the befuddled and bruised foreigners. The Russians obviously. have been practicing the art of defend- ing against checks since last year and they will not be caught with their guard down again. Win, lose or tie the game on Jan. 6 will be a highpoint in Mich- igan hockey annals. . 9 JOHN SMITH . backstroke star FERRY FIELD RENOVATED: Track Repairs Nearly Complete { a I# a By STEVE ROGERS Michigan alumni who haven't been around for a while might have quite a problem recognizing Ferry Field as the same famed place where Jesse Owens set three world records and equalled another back in May of 1935. That historic site is now in the final stages of a face lifting opera- tion that will make it one of the top six track and field plants in the country. For Big Ten Meet It is fitting that this sprucing-up program, which actually has been going on for nearly two decades, should come to its completion this year, because next spring Michi-' gan will host the Big Ten outdoor track championships. Coach Don Canham also hopes to have at least three dual or triangular track and field meets for the home fans in 1959. Latest improvements on Ferry Field have been the installation of asphalt runways for the varied field events. Drawing heavily on asphalt-runway research per- formed by Purdue Track Coach Dave Rankin, Michigan now has all but eliminated the problem of mud for field-events competitors. Special Mix Each runway's specially mixed two inch top-dressing sheet, un-I derlaid by three inches of black- topping, which is over a six inch prepared base, is slightly crowned to speed water runoff on rainyI days. Spectators have been taken into consideration in the Ferry Field rebuilding program. All the ,field events have been laid out in such a manner that they are now per- formed in front of the stands where all fans can see them. Pits Moved Shortly after Canham became coach in 1946, the pole vault pit was moved to the south side of the infield directly in front of the stands and the broad-jump, high jump, and shot-put pits and run ways also were set up in the in field where they, too, could b seen along with the races .A discu ring has been placed in the infieli although its use will probably b limited to exhibitions. Another recent change, althoug not so readily apparent, is tha the position of the Ferry Fiel track itself has been change Long ago built into one of th nation's finest by the hard work o Michigan Equipment Man Han Hatch and the late grounds-keepe Charlie Mutter, the track has no' been moved almost 30 yards wes This was necessary with the con struction of the Varsity Swim Poo a few years back. Curves Widened Prior to the National Collegiat championships held here in 1959 about 20 feet of concrete platforr in front of the Ferry Field stand was blasted out of the way to allov the track to be widened to nin lanes. Later on, the 'curves wer widened so that all races coul be finished in front of the stands "Now," Canham grins, "we ca say truthfully that wf have one o the finest track and field plants i the country. Of course, we stil have to build a team to go with it. OnIly Fitting That Ferry Field is now one o the great track and field sites i the country fits in with the fac that Michigan, under Canham, ha become the nation's collegiat track headquarters. Canham i president of the American Trac - - - - I- Coaches Association located in - Ann Arbor. . His part in the Canham Dia- ae s mond publishing scheme has d. blossomed into a money-maker for e the national organization. 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S 4.95" e~crblock's Special For T1' day f. . . ..A.S 3.50 # 1ullfig ht ....# .... . # # ., . . . $ . 10.00 fGream Stories From The World of Sports *i.......#...... ..11.95 The Second Fireside Book of Baseball . . 6.50 Complete Stock of 2500 Pairs DON CANHAM ...a new track area CORDUROY IVY PANTS .,..