Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHL:l?.TES is the sort of training I should suggest giving to half-milers in the fourth week of their first two months of preliminary training: PRELIMINARY-SEASON TRAINING Monday. Walk 3 miles, jogging 440 yds. in each mile. Wednesday. Stride through 66o yds. at an easy effort, paying attention to striding and pace-changing. Thursday. Walk 2 miles, jogging 440 yds. in each half-mile. Saturday. Run 88o yds., with a nice loose action, at well under full effort. It iS recommended that middle-distance runners should do a few minutes of deep-breathing exercises and some body-bending and stretching exercises upon rising and again before going to bed at night. Gn Tuesday and Friday they may spend about an hour in the gymnasium, doing strengthening, suppling, and agility exercises. In the next three sections, when dealing with the individual athlete, I shall g,ive schedules of something similar to the training done by Tom Hampson prior to his winning of the Olympic championship and breaking the world's record' at Sop metres. EARLY-SEASON TRAINING (For an individual athlete pointing fo: one event) By the third week of the month of early-season training I suggest that the half-miler should be following the. schedule given hereunder: Monday. Run r mile at quarter effort after limbering up; then stride through an easy 220 yds. at about three-quarter effort. Repeat this practice three times, resting between each run. Tuesday. Run 88o yds. at an absolutely level pace, judging your time at each 220 yds. Put in 5 mins. ofsuppling and agility exercises. Then stride through ,roo yds. at three-quarter speed three times, resting b!'!tween each run. Wednesday. Run r mile at quite an easy jog, rest a bit, and then stride through 150 yds. at a loose, swinging gait, well under full effort, three times, resting between each practice. Thursday. The half-miler should be given starting practice without the gun: four starts at under full effort from the holes properly dug, the coach to criticize starting faults. Then run the man 66o yds. at three-quarter effort, timing him by the watch to see how he is 234