Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES takes the better part of twenty-four hours for the larger meals and the more solid foods to be properly assimilated, and therefore it is from what he has eaten on the day before the competition that the athlete derives the greatest benefit. On the day of competition it is mainly a matter of giving the athlete a sufficient quantity of such food as he particularly likes for the purpose of sustaining him, while at the same time avoiding overloading his stomach. With my own athletes, when they are competing on a Saturday, · I take good car.e to see that they get dishes of which they are particularly fond on Friday, but I watch carefully to see that in no case do they overeat. I am also careful to see that they go to bed satisfied with a good dinner, taken about 7 o'clock, and the~, when they turn in at IO o'clock, they have their Ovaltine and miff, with a slightly larger quantity of glucose than is normal and perhaps a rusk or some bread and butter. On the morning of competition my athletes have a normal . breakfast which is to their taste. The mid-morning refreshment at I I o'clock is omitted, unless the event in which they are going to compete is scheduled for late in the afternoon. The all-important meal on competition day is luncheon. This meal must be takeR not less than two and a half nor more than three hours before the actual time at which the athlete will be taking part in his event. Speaking generally, I like my athletes to have a couple of lightly boiled eggs, with some dry buttered toast or bread and butter and either weak tea or a cup of Ovaltine and milk, with plenty of glucose. I consider that this light meal should carry most men through their competition. Some men, on the other hand, prefer chicken or a sole, and in sB.ch cases I never deny their wishes. The views ofAmerican and other coaches vary in relation to this matter. Lawson Robertson, the American chief Olympic coacl}, suggests that the athlete's breakfast on the day of competition should consist of fruit, cereal, and egg, toast, and tea or coffee, and that his luncheon, taken two and a half to three hours before the competition, should be made up of broiled lamb chop or tender– loin steak, tea, and toast. Bresnahan and Tuttle, on the other hand, suggest that, according to the athlete's personal preference, · · the coach should have two sets of menus ready for the competition day. One is for the athlete who prefers a light breakfast and a more substantial lunch, and the other for that different rt)rpe of I20