Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 268, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1917 — MUST TRAIN AT TRAPS [ARTICLE]

MUST TRAIN AT TRAPS

To Be Successful Shot Means Lots of Hard Practice Work. Good Trapshot Is Man Who Has Kept Mind and Eye in Good ConditionPhysical Training Is Not of Big Necessity. In virtually every sport in the curriculum tons of matter hava&been written about the pi-oper methods of “training” for the event. In this respect the word training means not practicing, but, rather, physical conditioning. Nothing has been said upon the subject of “training” for trapshooting, for the very good reason that no “training is necessary in that sport in the general acceptance of the term. Good shooting does not depend upon finely trained bodies, nerves worked to a fine edge and the perfection of wind and limb. There is virtually no set form of physical standard that covers the deI scription of trapshooting champion. The good trapshot is the man who after studying the game has- kept his mind and eye in good condition, not through any special course of physical training, but by living a clean, healthy life, the only requisite to a clear eye and alertness of mind.

—ln this respect trapshooting is a blessed sport. This explains why it can be followed virtually from the cradle to the grave. It Imposes no tax upon vitality and does not place a premium upon physical strength or, for that matter, upon the best of health. But it does gradually act as a physical developer and remedial to the system. For who can spend hours out under the open sky, feeling the sun beating down upon them, the winds playing over them, and not gradually be restored in mind and body to the limit of vigor? The trapshooting line at any tournament is an interesting study. It is composed of men of the most .diverse occupations or callings, of absolutely a variety of physical and mental attributes, yet all possess, in common, steady nerves and eyes, which, after all, are the best indications,of a sound interior and a sound mind. However, despite the fact that trapshooting does not impose the necessity of training constantly or of developing the physical to an inordinate degree, trapshooters would do well to observe a few simple regulatlofis in the course of their preparations for coitapetltion, which, after all, are the secret of success in this life. The regulations are: 1. Practice] regularly. 2. Eat in moderation of things you like and that agree with you. 3. Keep outdoors as much as possible, but avoid violent exercise. 4. Get eight hours’ sleep per day. . 5. Smoke if you want to, but be moderate. , 6. Don’t worry.