He graduated in 1887 with an A.B. degree in theology. Intending to be a minister, he continued his theology studies at Presbyterian College in Montreal for three years and graduated from there in 1890.
Naismith had always been an athlete. He played football and lacrosse at McGill and directed undergraduate gymnastics classes during his last year at Presbyterian College. His interest in athletics contributed to his decision to go into physical education rather than the ministry; he decided he could do more good working with youth on the athletic field than he could as a clergyman. So in 1890 he enrolled in a two-year course in physical training at the new Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. He served as the director of physical education at that school from 1890-1895.
From Peach Baskets to the Olympics
It was at Springfield that Naismith came up with the idea for basketball. One of his assignments as a student there, given by Luther Halsey Gulick, superintendent of the physical education department, was to create a game that would occupy the students during the wintertime, between the seasons for football and baseball in the fall and lacrosse in the spring. Naismith worked out a game that prohibited the roughness of football and eliminated the bunching of players around a goal, such as in hockey or soccer.
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