Coaching and Care of Athletes

' COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES of even the most minute muscles is quite sufficient to destroy an athlete's form. In these circumstances a doctor should always be consulted, and, if the disability persists, the advice of a specialist should be sought. There are distinguished surgeons who have themselves been famous athletes. Men like these understand athletes and their injuries, and I am quite convinced that the shortest road to recovery is by means of the l;>est surgeons this country has produced. The question of athletes being treated by osteopaths is highly · debatable. There are far too many totally unqualified people prac– tising manipulation and bonesetting. These people, I am sure, do far more harm than good, although they may occasionally, by a hit-or-miss method, bring about a cure which looks something like a miracle. The men whom I most mistrust are old athletes and football trainers practising as 'manipulative surgeons' without any qualifications to do so, and, indeed, with little knowledge of anatomy or physiology. A first-class surgeon, on the other hand, will always diagnose an injury accurately, and prescribe the right treatment, which usually includes remedial massage and remedial exerCises. Recreation, rest, and relaxation are intimately associated. Recreation has a good deal to do with the athlete's state of mind, and that in itself is an important matter. The coach, in his anxiety for the athlete's success, is over-prone to talk of nothing but athletics. Nothing, I think, could be worse. The athlete must be kept interested in topical matters, and should be given the pleasure of recreation totally dissociated from track and field athletics, including visits to plays, concerts, and cinemas, provided he does not spend too long in a stuffy atmosphere or sit up too late. In speaking of relaxation and rest I have it in mind ,that the athlete should, for a certain period of not less than an hour each day, lie down, or occupy an armchair with his feet up, and con– sciously relax all parts of his body. It is necessary that this rest period should be accompanied by mental relaxation also. Reverting for a moment to the .question bf recreation, this, I think, in some ways, includes feeding. So many athletes after an important competition enjoy a really hearty meal; hut here there is a danger against which the coach must safeguard the athlete. It is a well-known fact that there is only a certain amount of blood in the human body, and if that blood is in the digestive tract, then it cannot also be in the muscles, providing them with the fuel 92