Coaching and Care of Athletes

SPRINTING get the feeling that they are not going fast enough. Proper relaxa– tion does produce this sensation, but the coach can always prove to his sprinters by the stop-watch whether they really are losing speed or not. It must be remembered in connection with this coast, or ease-up, that even if one does lose a fractional amo:unt of time, that loss is preferable to the 'tying up' which frequently comes when a man attempts to run roo yds. at full tension. The coast is not essential to the roo yds. dash, but must be intro– duced into the furlong run. There is very little difference in the method of locomotion as employed by the roo yds. and the 220 yds. runners. The furlong man, however, must take care that he does not run himself right out before reaching the home stretch. This circumstance imposes upon the coach the duty of inculcating in his sprinters a certain amount of pace judgment. If a man is to run more than roo yds., and possibly up to 300 yds., he must do one of two things-relax or tie up, on account of the tension which is required to run a sprint at full speed. Besides teaching the fur– long man pace judgment, the coach must get him into good shape in striding. In accordance with the nature of the race, and this must be a matter for consideration in the training schedule, the furlong– runner may have to go all out from 75 to r 20 yds. He must then be taught to stride easily, but without very much loss of speed, for the next 40 or so yds. In this way, and in no other, will he build up the ability to maintain his proper form throughout the con– cluding stages of the race, with an additional burst of speed on approaching the winning-post. A valuable part of the furlong– runner's training is the introduction two or three times a week into his programme of runs of rso yds., in which he will swing easily, with comfortable strides, through that distance. Since there are very few stadia in the world which afford the athlete the opportunity of running a straight furlong, it follows that the coach ;must be at some pains to teach the furlong men the art of cornering. It is quite possible to maintain full speed round the curves of a quarter-mile track, and it is not necessary to chop the stride in so doing. The proper inward lean, together with a slight dropping of the inside arm and the turning out of the toes, will look after this part of t-he race, provided the men are well practised. The coach can very quickly tell when an athlete has mastered cornering, or curve-running, because he will then be able to hold the line without any loss of power in his leg-drive. r8s