Coaching and Care of Athletes

CHAPTER IX CARE AND CONDITIONING WHEN a new track and field season is in prospect there are a number of matters to be considered. Before any schedule of train– ing can be drawn up it is necessary to find out what the men have been doing throughout the winter months. Have they been running cross-country? Have they been doing preliminary preparation in a gymnasium? Have they been playing games? Have they sus– tained any injuries, and if so, have their disabilities been properly treated, and have they completely disappeared? Which event does each man want to follow? What are his views of his event? Yes, there are a great many problems for the coach to take up. The problem which we had perhaps better deal with first will be that of equipping the athletes who are going to make the team for the forthcoming season. Each man, of course, will have his own individual preferences. One may well say in connection with everything concerning _ athlet'ics that only the best is good enough. This is a counsel of perfection which all of us cannot follow. In many cases the class of equipment purchased must be governed by the depth of the athlete's purse. Shoes should, I think, be our first consideration. There are many makes and many patterns. Again, if the athlete can afford them only the best shoes should be purchased. They should not only fit his feet, but be suitable also for the event in which he is going to take part. Excellent but expensive shoes come from A. G. Spalding and Bros., U.S.A., and the best shoes obtainable in England are those made by Laws, of Wimbledon, and also the Simlam shoe, imported from Finland, which is particularly suitable for the field-events men. If the athlete's shoes can be made of realiy first-class kangaroo, then he will have shoes that are likely to last him a long time, will give excellent service, and will ensure a most comfortable fitting. They are, moreover, the lightest footwear on the market. Cheap shoes can, of course, be purchased, but they are seldom satisfactory, nor do I think that they represent true economy in the long run, because a pair of 106