Gordon :
not jumpy
about
practice
lack
by STEVE KADEL
Staff Writer
Practice makes perfect, the
old saying goes, and there
should be no more applicable
place than the competitive
world of Big Eight track. But
when you ask NU's Hopeton
Gordon how work on his triple
jump is coming along, all you
get is a blank stare and the
reply, "I don't practice."
It's not that the sophomore
from Kingston, Jamaica, is
lazy. The problem is lack of a
pit to jump into.
When the football program
expanded operations in
Memorial Stadium with the
Astroturf field it completely
covered up the old broadjump
runways and pits. Now the
only runway on the University
campus is located under the
East Stadium in the indoor
track and it's impossible to
jump there in the spring
because it is too dusty and hot.
BUT GORDON accepts his
fate philosophically. And he's
found some other ways to get
ready for his specialty.
"I do a lot of running now,"
he said, "and I work on
stadium steps. But there's no
way to practice getting my step
down on the runway."
He's even gone to Nebraska
Wesleyan to practice, but since
they have a dirt runway it
doesn't help when he jumps
from tartan at the big meets.
"You can't practice on one
type and compete on the
other. You run much faster on
a tartan runway than a dirt one
so Wesleyan is no help in trying
to get my steps down,"
Gordon said.
Spring practice-
Passing game suffers
by JIM JOHNSTON
Sports Editor
NEBRASKA'S PASSING GAME, suffering from a lack of
liming after a week's vacation,was not at its best Wednesday.
But head coach Bob Devaney was pleased with the running
g-ime and the overall performance of his squad.
"Our overall play is improving," observed Devaney after the
Cornhusker units went through 15-minute scrimmage sessions
Wednesday. "Our passing is bad. We're not throwing the ball
well, but it's probably the layoff that hurt us."
Another thing that could be at fault, according to Devaney,
is the overemphasis of new plays in spring practice and the
failure to examine individuals.
"WE CAN'T OVEREMPHISIZE new plays and stunts in
spring ball and overlook individuals," said the head coach.
"We're always trying to get down finesse a little too much in
the spring."
But two individuals Devaney didn't overlook Wednesday
were fullback candidates Bill Olds and Maury Damkroger.
"All the fullbacks ran well," said Devaney. "Olds and
Damkroger probably looked the best. They're coming along
pretty well."
DEVANEY WAS ALSO pleased with the performance of
the younger players. Depth, especially in the defensive
backfield, was a problem last season. Devaney's concentrating
on improving the situation for next fall.
"This is the best our third and fourth units have looked,"
said Devaney. "Our younger players are improving and it's
really going to help us."
Few changes were made in the first team offense. But the
most notable was at center where Doug Jamail handled first
string duties because starter Doug Dumler is sidelined with the
flu.
Hopeton Gordon. . . the Huskers' Jamaican Flyer watches as spring football practice continues on the Astro
turf that covers his former practice grounds.
The result is that if he gets
into competition and can't
correlate his steps to the board
he keeps scratching and has no
way to correct the situation.
This happened at last week's
Kansas Relays. Gordon had
several jumps near 52 feet but
all were nullified because of
scratches.
STILL, HE HASN'T done
too badly. Last year he
finished 11 th at the NCAA
Outdoor Meet, triple jumping
50 feet 3lA inches. And already
this season he leads the Big
Eight Conference with a
50-6'j" leap, only 4V4 inches
short of his own school record.
He's hoping for a legal jump
of 52 feet, this weekend at the
Drake Relays., last stop for the
Nebraska thinclads on the
Midwest relay circuit. That
distance would have won at
Kansas, but Gordon faces
tougher competition at Drake.
"I was sixth at the NCAA
Indoor this year," he said,
"and four of the five who beat
me will be jumping Saturday."
ONE OF THE BEST may be
fellow Midwesterner Patrick
Onyango of Wisconsin.
Onyango, a freshman at the Big
Ten school, came to the United
States from his home in
Nairobi, Kenya, one of the
fastest rising powers in
international athletics.
Onyango just edged Gordon for
the fifth place medal at this
year's NCAA Indoor meet.
Barry McClure of Middle
yi-V
Tennessee, Charles Steffe of
New Mexico, and University of
Southern California's
Henry Jackson also beat
Gordon indoors and will be
competing at Drake. But the
NU ace is welcoming the
challenge. He's always wanted
to compete against the best
and his ultimate goal in track,
participating in the Olympic
Games, underscores that fact.
He doesn't talk much about
things as far away as the 1972
Olympics, but when he does he
speaks confidently. The Husker
triple jumper won't be satisfied
with being third best when the
Olympic year rolls around, and
he'll be taking another step
down the long road toward
Munich this weekend at the
Drake Relays.
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Ambassador tapes
Ambassador John Hugh
Crimmins, deputy assistant
secretary of state for
Inter-American Affairs, will be
in Lincoln Thursday, April 22
to appear on a program for the
Nebraska Educational
Television Council for Higher
Education, Inc. (NETCHE).
Crimmins will videotape the
program entitled, "Latin
America" on the Peru State
College campus.
"Latin America" is the last
in a series of eight hour-long
presentations entitled
"Problem Areas of American
Foreign Policy." The series is
telecast to Nebraska colleges
Vs12" Woofer Dual
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NETCHE program
and universities through the
facilities of the Nebraska
Educational Television
Network.
Crimmins is a career Foreign
Service officer who has made
Latin America his speciality.
Although now a resident of
Maryland, he was originally
from Massachusetts, where he
graduated from Harvard
University in 1941.
NETCHE is a non profit
corporation of Nebraska
colleges and universities which
provides both credit courses and
supplemental television lessons
such as the foreign affairs series
for its voluntary member
schools.
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at
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PAGE 8
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
THURSDAY. APRIL 22. 1971
