Coaching and Care of Athletes

INTRODUCTION legs. The arms should be carried flexed; but, again, their position varies with the event in which the athlete is taking part. Sprinters carry their arms more flexed and swing them with each hand rising to a point in front of the opposite shoulder, whereas the arm action of the distance man is lower. During the arm-swing the elbows should be fixed, and the elbow action should not be changed. Even the action of the hands is important. Some sprinters clench them·into fists, and these men undoubted.ly derive benefit from the old-time use of running-corks. Nowadays many sprinters run with their hands open and fingers extended, but it is to be noticed that when the hand is carried in this position it is almost invariably fully tensed. Distance runners very wisely carry their hands loosely, and keep the arm almost fully relaxed. This, of course, is in keeping with the proper free-arm action of the distance runner. Normally the hand on the backward swing of the arm should not be all0wed to pass more than 2 or 3 ins. behind the sprinter's hip. The arc of the hand-swing, however, will vary with the speed at which a man is travelling. When the coach is discussing leg action with his athletes he should impress upon them the necessity of parallel foot-placing. This not only lengthens the stride, but, he should point out to the athletes, the muscles of the legs cannot function properly and at full efficiency unless the athlete, by using the parallel foot action, is able to produce a straight leg-drive. Whatever a man's distance may be, the coach should train him to run with full relaxation of those muscles not immediately in use. This applies to the whole body. No better example of this has ever been seen than that of J. E. Lovelock in the Olympic final of the rsoo metres at Berlin. Lovelock must have worked literally for years to obtain that smooth flow in contraction and relaxation which represents the very poetry of motion. Muscular tension of an even nature must be developed, and the athlete should be taught to get a full ~extension of the rear leg at the end of each stride, as this is a great help in producing the correct knee-flexion that follows. Sprinters will be taught to pick their knees up higher than do the distance men, but all athletes should learn to keep the knees well in. A man who either 'toes out' or 'knees out' is a bad runner. The coach will lessen considerably his own work, and also that of his athletes, if he will teach them proper reflex action in the preliminary period of their general training:. The knee reflex in . !63