Coaching and Care of Athletes

SPRINTING faults, among novices at any rate, for the coach to guard against. At this stage of scientific investigation it is not well to say too much about the length of the first stride, because the old school still favours five to ten strides, made in short, quick steps, while Boyd Comstock is looking for almost the normal stride-length very soon after the man is out of the holes . According to the style he teaches, the coach will need to .watch for faults in this connection. There is al,so a debatable point in regard to knee action. The old school maintains that the runner who has not sufficient knee pick-up is bound to kick up his heel too high behind. Comstock, on the other hand, pays little attention to the height the heel rises behind the runner, provided it does not exceed the limit ofnormal reflex action. Definite faults for which the coach should watch are: (a) The direction of the body is not properly maintained by the right use of the arm-swing. (b) An exaggerated cross-arm swing or too low a carriage of the arms is hindering the sprinter. (c) The position of the body is too upright. (d) The sprinter alters the length of his stride, thereby re– ducing the driving-power of his legs. Fundamental errors which the coach may detect are that the hand is allowed to drag too far behind the hips on the arm recovery, that the athlete does not plant his feet down straight ahead in the full length of his stride, that the shoulder follows the arm forward, instead of the chest being kept square to the tape, and that the body inclination throughout the race is wrong. The coach should remember that the sprinter's shoulders should be kept approximately 4 ins. in front of his hips. . In the finish of any race the coach must watch to see that the runner does not ease up too soon, that he does not throw up his arms, drop back his head, or make any fantastic movement in the hope of gaining extra power to breast the tape. Where the 220 yds. is concerned, the main faults the coach is likely to have to correct are the chopping of the stride in taking a curve and the misinterpretation by his pupils of the purpose of the coast. He must see that they do not actually ease up in this perio~ of the race, but simply relax as a safeguard against tying up. Another fault he must guard against is the use of the coast too early in the race, or, on the other hand, too much delay in putting it into effect-i,e., when fatigue has begun to set in. 187