Coaching and Care of Athletes

bbAb.HYNG Al'{b CARE bF ATHLETES methods is all moonshine and waste of time. But they should also consider how much of the time, not only of themselves, but of their athletes, will be saved if the coach himself is able to say at any stage of the training period in what shape his athlete is keeping. Further, these tests will be found extremely valual>le 4n <telling the coach when to lay an ·athlete ·of(beealise he shows signs df going ·stale. A iirrip'Ier form of test can be carried out by the eyes of the coach, who sets his team to lifting their feet alternately in .a standing position with a loose reflex action, so that he may watch their reflex action, in which the heels rise at the back while the other foot is put down straight below the athlete's knee. A little more elaborate, but equally important is the testing which is associated with the Sargent Jump. To obtain an index for estimating potential track and field ability, and from this to build up a table of scores and indices for the grading of individuals, it is necessary to make the computation upon the following formula: (2oXA)+(6xH)+W+(roxS.J.) - that is to say, 20 multiplied by the athlete's age in years, plus 6 multiplied by his height in inches, plus his weight in pounds, plus ro multiplied by the Sargent Jump result in centi– metres. Ages over seventeen should be counted as seventeen. To work out the Sargent Jump result, which is the only un– known quantity in the formula given above, the ath_lete to be tested should stand within a circle close to the gymnasium wall, upon which a centimetre scale has previously been set up. He then swings his arms down and to the back, at the same time inclining his body forward and bending his knees to about a goo angle. Immediately he has secured this position the athlete springs as high·into the air as possible, aiding his upward rise by the violent forward and upward swing of his arms to a vertical position. The only real technique involved in this performance is that just before the athlete reaches the highest point of the jump he should swing his arms forward and downward. This will leave his body in a vertical position and his head opposite the highest point of the centimetre scale that he is able to reach by means of his spring. The difference between the. athlete's own standing height and the height he has jumped represents the Sargent Jump score. Potential athletic ability for the individual of eighteen years of age and upward is given in the following table: