STEVENS RAPS NEW YALE PROGRAM FOR SPORTS REDUCTION

In an unexpected statement yesterday, revealing his disapproval of the measures that have recently been taken by Yale officials to cut down on extramural contests, Malcolm Stevens, Director of Athletics, declared that the changes proposed to revise and simplify the football practice and schedule were impractical, and would hamper the team in many ways.

Commenting on the elimination of preseason practice, which was included as one of the main features of the program to decrease the emphasis on contests with outside colleges, Stevens said that the fact that Yale had suspended preseason activities would mean losing many opponents not under the Yale system. Besides this, he believes that the result would be a certain drop in early season conditioning games with the smaller colleges, which were condemned as "staged" in the report. With two or three weeks less practice, and no easier trial games, Yale would be outclassed physically and otherwise when it faced the strong teams of its regular rivals later in the season.

Going on to defend the professional coaching under the old system, Stevens maintained that the paid coach is an export, that he has to know his job, and finally, that so far they have proved satisfactory. Also under the new program, if Yale were not to scout the teams which scout her, an extremely embarrassing and unjust situation would arise.

Taking up the defense of the players themselves, and how they would be affected by the reduction of games, Stevens declared that the students have always felt the games to be the most pleasure of the season, and accordingly ought themselves to decide how many should be played.

"The existence of the Jayvee teams" he concluded, "are of absolute necessity for the maintenance of the Varsity, and should not be eliminated."