Coaching and Care of Athletes

CARE AND CONDITIONING athlete who prefers, and, I think, wisely, a substantial breakfast and a very much lighter lunch. For the more or less heavy break– faster they suggest two slices of toast with butter, fruit with a large helping ofsugar, cereal with cream, and two well-done lamb chops, with one glass of milk as the breakfast beverage. In this case the light luncheon would consist of a glass of orange-juice, three slices of toast with butter, and weak tea with plenty of sugar. The man who likes a light breakfast would get his grape-fruit with plenty of sugar, a small portion of cereal and cream, again with plenty of sugar, two slices oftoast with butter, a couple ofpoached eggs, and a glass of milk. This would be followed three hours before the" competition by a luncheon consisting of a half-portion of cereal and cream, two slices oftoast and butter, two broiled lamb chops well done, and weak tea or hot water with an ounce of cream and a tabiespoonful of sugar. The evening meal following the competition is very important. In my opinion it should be essentially light, for the reasons I have already explained. Good American coaches like Bresnahan and Tuttle, however, suggest a fairly heavy meal, starting with soup, followed by celery, eight ounces of steak or six ounces of roast lamb or beef or chicken, peas, beans, asparagus, spinach, carrot, or beetroot-a choice of one of these, of course-and butter, then baked, mashed, boiled, or creamed potatoes, with a tablespoonful of butter over them, lettuce or tomato salad, rolls or bread, ice-cream with either sugar-syrup or fruit-syrup, and, as a beverag~, weak tea, chocolate, or water with cream and one tablespoonful of sugar or milk. What I_have said in this chapter should give !he coach, and also the athlete himself, plenty to think about, and should certainly make it possible for tlie proper sort of clothing and equipment to be chosen at the beginning of the season, and also for a sensible scheme of dietary to be prepared. In the next chapter I p:wpose to deal with some other matters which will have an important bearing upon the pre-training period of preparation for the season's work. I am very much in favour of the coach's taking his future charges into his confidence as far as possibl~, because I have found that if athletes are allowed to take an intelligent interest in what they are going to do the results achieved finally are usually far better than if the men are kept in the dark,and simply expected to obey the coach blindly. I2I