Coaching and Care of Athletes

MAKING A CHAMPION the plunge or shower with cold water is not for them. A sponge– down in cold water may not have the same effect, but if it does, then a tepid bath should be substituted for what is considered the more robust cold bath. Most athletes, I am sure, enjoy some sort of a shower or plunge when they come in from training still sweating. It is, indeed, neces– sary that they should bath at that time, or the pores of the skin are likely to become clogged. If a too hot bath is taken in this condition exhaustion will become more pronounced, because the sweating will become profuse, and the body will be drained of moisture. I think the best plan is for a man coming in from train– ing to lie for a few minutes completely relaxed in a warm bath, and then to follow this by a quick, cold shower. This is one of the greatest temporary restoratives that I know of. As regards bathing, in contradistinction to taking a bath, it has long been a first principle with most coaches that no athlete should be allowed to swim while he is in training. The principles and performances of J. E. Lovelock, Olympic champion and world's record-holder at rsoo metres, have, however, gone a long way towards changing this point of view. Lovelock, who is an excellent swimmer, finds that an easily relaxed, slow swim after train– ing suits him splendidly, and, indeed, acts as a form of muscular massage. I do not suggest that Lovelock's practice will suit all athletes, but it is a point for coaches to consider in connection with individual athle~es who come into their charge. In any case the swim should be of short dwation, the strokes slow, and the whole body easily relaxed while in the water. Massage is another important matter. Personally I am a great believGr in massage, as a medium for building up the athlete, for resting him after violent exercise, and more especially for removing from the muscle substance the waste products of exhaustion. Remedial massage is very necessary in certain cases, but is a subject for a separate chapter. I would pause to interpolate, however, that in every case of an athlete being injured it should not be left to the masseur, or even the coach himself, to diagnose the injury and prescribe the remedy. I have known a first-class athlete to lose a whole season of training and competition through a masseur presuming to diagnose and attempting to cure an athletic injury which should have been referred to a medical man. · Sports injuries are often difficult to treat, since the derangement gr