Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES (iv) Knee of leading leg partly flexed; toes of leading foot dorsi-flexed-not pointed. (v) Use double-arm shift forward until body-dip is perfected. (vi) Make body-dip by bending lumbar region, not by thrust– ing out head and neck and curving dorsal region. (vii) Retard action of rear leg to get 'splits' position of thighs when crutch is centralized over hurdle. (viii) Evert rear foot as thigh rises to parallel-to-track position, to prevent toes rapping top rail. (ix) Bring rear knee right round into forward line under chin for next stride, maintaining proper forward inclination of body. When the athlete begins to show some degree of hurdling form run him over two flights of 3 ft. 6 ins. hurdles. Set up high-jump standards or posts at either end of each hurdle, with worsted stretched between them at a height of 6 ft. 3 ins. above the gro_und. The hurdler must learn to pass under the worsted and over the hurdle without touching either. As the athlete improves lower the height of the worsted line to 5 ft. gt ins. above the ground. A good hurdler, dipping and spreading properly', should pass easily through the space of 2 ft. 3! ins. without touching the worsted or the top rail of the hurdle. The head of a man standing 6 ft. should be several inches under, and never above, his own height at the highest point in hurdle clearance. (e) Run athlete over two hurdles from a crouch start, working · on landing and rear-leg action, the first stride after clearance, and the continuation of running action. (f) Train a man to get first of the field to the first hurdle, using greatest speed consistent with steadiness during the sprint. It is the initial advantage gained on the first run that carries the man through his race. The coach in training hurdlers must keep them properly relaxed in action. He should not allow a man to run fast over only one hurdle: the secret of hurdling training lies in the repeti– tion of a well-cadenced rhythm. He should see that an athlete doing a good deal of practice over three flights does not develop the habit of holding his breath: if he tries to do so in a race he ·will be thrown out of rhythm when forced to take a new breath. The coach must insist on complete concentration and the inhibition of external stimuli, but must be watchful for unnecessary 294