Coaching and Care of Athletes

CHAPTER XII CARE OF THE ATHLETE IN TRAINING WE have already discussed diet, menus,· times of meals, and schedules of training. Now let us give our consideration to some points regarding the coach's care of the athletes he is training; or, if the men have not got a coach, the way in which they may be able to pick up some useful hints and look after themselves. The coach must, throughout the whole period of training, be not only an instructor and guide, but also the custodian of the health of his pupils. In this connection one of the most important matters for him to keep an eye on is that of elimination. The waste products of the human body are got rid of by means of urination,~ respiration, sweating, and the excretion of frecal matter. The respiratory and sweating processes of elimination work automatically in accordance with the prevailing temperature and the amount of exercise which the athlete takes. So far as healthy athletes are concerned, urination is also a natural and automatic process. The proper elimination of frecal material is of the utmost importance, and athletes should be encouraged to inform their coach of even the slightest sign of constipation. In this connection the athlete should be essentially a creature of habit, so that excretion becomes a normal process of the day at certain definite times, which may, of course, in training, be asso– ciated with speCial events. The normal athlete will evacuate frecal material from one to three times a day if he is in good health. If the athlete can train his response, then it will be better for him to go to the lavatory on rising in the morning certainly, later on either after his midday meal or at the .beginning of the training period, and, finally, as late at night as possible. I say as late at night as possible advisedly, because the emptying of the bowels and bladder before retiring to rest will have a definite effect upon the athlete's sleep. Exhausting dreams can often be avoided if the bladder and bowels are emptied before a man goes to bed. This, of course, brings us to the consideration of sleep, which is very important both to the coach and to the athlete. Coaches and team managers, I am convinced, pay far too little 139