February 7 Cushing General Hospital at Framingham

February 10 M.I.T.

One of the key men in Harvard's war-time athletic program is energetic Floyd Stahl, head baseball and basketball coach, as well as assistant football mentor to Henry Lamar.

When formal intercollegiate sports were discontinued by the Crimson in the spring of 1943 and head basketball coach Earl Brown left for Dartmouth, the Athletic Association picked Stahl, then in his sixth year as Varsity baseball coach, to fill the breach left by Brown's transfer.

Fine Hoop Record

Contrary to popular belief, Stahl is not merely a baseball man filling in as hoop mentor. His basketball coaching record is nearly as full and impressive as his baseball work, and his experience just as extensive.

Before coming to Harvard, Stahl worked for eight years with Harold Olsen at Ohio State, where his coaching played an important part in lifting the Buckeyes high up in the Western Conference. Pre- viously, he had coached basketball for four years at Stivars High in Dayton, Ohio, and had in that time developed three state championship teams.

Stahl believes that a team's method of play should be moulded according to the material available. He personally favors a shifting man-to-man defense and likes a fast breaking attack centering around the pivot man, provided he has a tall enough, strong enough center pivot.

Informal Basketball

As for informal wartime basketball, he considers the play a little less polished than in peacetime, with less veteran material to draw on. The short, efficient hoop mentor points out that on last winter's starting lineup were two men who had never played basketball in secondary school.

Commenting on basketball and the part it has played in the wartime conditioning program, Stahl says, "No game we play is more strenuous than basketball. No game requires more coordination or better reactions than basketball. For these reasons the game has had a prominent part in the conditioning of our various combat forces.