Concepts about sport that seem so obvious to us today were just beginning to dawn on people at the beginning of the 20^th century.  In the earliest days of the Olympic Movement, the new science of sport psychology began to gain insights into a practical understanding of the benefits of regular athletic exercise, sports and games.  Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a pioneer in the field, or perhaps more accurately, a popularizer of the data emerging from studies at universities across Europe and the U.S.  In his 1901 essay, Sports Psychology, which appeared in the book Notes on Public Education, the Baron summarized some of the findings of this new science, including this point.      

“I believe that, in general, all other things being equal, those who master sport gain a certain clarity of judgment, and somewhat more tenacity in their actions.”