Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES When the receiver's arm is extended back, with palm and elbow up just below shoulder height, the incoming man should aim at making the exchange by a downward movement of his left arm at the same tim~ as he completes a right-leg stride. The incoming runner employs the same action when the receiver's fully extended arm is held out slightly to the right of his body at hip-level. The exchange is made on the upward swing of the incoming runner's · left arm when the receiver's arm is extended to the rear at just below hip-level, with the palm to the rear and the thumb pointing downward. Runners handing over must be taught to remain in their own lanes until all runners in their own leg of the race have handed over their batons. During training the coach must constantly study his men. He must check their speed ability by the stop-watch, and should thoroughly appreciate their peculiar traits-i.e., which man is a fast starter, which man can best hold his speed, who is ·the best finisher, which man cracks up when called upon to make good lost ground, who has the best judgment in a dangerous situation, which men work best in pairs on baton-changing, and which will be the best men for the centre exchange in the body of the race. The coach must pay just as much attention to the temperament of his men and their mentalities as he will do, naturally, to their physical development. An intelligent analysis ofboth strength and weakness will enable the coach to balance the factors and to deter– mine the best baton-passing and racing combination to aim at. Having got thus far, it will be necessary to grade the men in order of ability as r, 2, 3, and 4, bearing in mind always that the centre runners should be the more proficient in handling the baton, because, in transferring the baton from ,the right to the left hand on the first stride after receiving it, they will have to perform one more action than the first runner, who starts with the baton in his left hand, and the last runner, who can carry the baton in the right hand, in which he received it. When the athletes have been graded according to temperament and mental and physical ability the coach can begin to consider his policy as to the order in which he will run them normally. The word 'normally' has been emphasized in the preceding paragraph because when competition comes along circumstances may decide the coach or team captain to vary the normal order of running. For example, in indoor competitions, when space 270