Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES then all that is needed is for the athlete to do the usual limbering up, the breathing exercises, and a few starts below full power without the gun. If there are no trials on the Friday and there is no important competition on the Saturday, then the athletes may jog about and sun-bathe, but should not, in my opinion, do too much actual train– ing. The coach, however, may give them a talk of the kind which will best lead up to the time trial or competition which is taking place upon the morrow. The idea of this talk should be to get the men in an optimistic frame of mind, in the first place, and also to concentrate their attention upon performing the routine part of their job when they get out on the ground for the competition with no coach to look after them. Points which the coach should concentrate upon in this pre-competition, leading-up talk are that each man must limber up according to the routine to which he has been accustomed for the purpose of building up the staircase effect; that he must dig his holes properly and see that the foot-spacing to .which he is accustomed is accommodated by the position of the holes; that he must think out all the points relating to the elevation of his hips when given the order "Get set," the cessation of breath– ing, and the proper drive out of the holes. Above all else fix it in the minds of the sprinters that they must finish out their races to a point I o yds. beyond the actual winning-post. Saturday. Whether a time trial is to be run or a competition to be taken part in, see that the athletes limber up and make their preparations according to the preconceived plan. After which"they will compete in their heats and final. After each effort they should jog sufficiently to cool down and to allow for the readjustment of bodily functions. The relay race usually comes last on the programme, and if your athletes have already taken part in roo yds. and 220 yds. individual competitions it will be as well for you, as coach, to give them the little hint that a good sprinter very often returns his best time for the day in a relay t:ace after having taken part in his own individual events. You should warn them also against try– ing to make up lost ground too quickly in the event of an opponent getting what looks like a very long lead. This applies, of course, more to the people taking part in the 4 X 220 yds. relay than to those in the 4 X 110 yds. relay. Whatever trials or competition the men have taken part in, they must conclude the day's work with a cooling– down jog, a shower-bath, and a good massage. The weight chart for each athlete must be kept up during the week, and it is well for the coach, in a Saturday evening talk, to analyse the weight chart and the training graph of each athlete, and also to discuss with the team what has been done and what progress made during the preceding week. rg8