Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES ( r r) Twists his trunk by whipping his rear knee too far forward. ( r 2) Rushes the last fence, is out of balance when landing, and so spoils the run-in. Notes. Training over hurdles should always be done with the inner side of the knee and the inner ankle-bone of the rear leg padded for protection, until the hurdler is fully proficient in hurdle clearance. Novices should have one spike in the heel of each shoe and rubber heel-pads inside the shoes. Top-class hurdlers use sprinting-shoes without heel-spikes. When a man has acquired good style his trammg schedule should contain at least 6o per cent. sprinting and starting practice. At this stage he can be given pistol starts, sprints between roo and 220 yds., and 300 yds. striding runs; he should train over three hurdles, occasionally over five, and seldom over ten. Minor com– petitions should be made to serve as time trials in training. Here are some suggested training schedules for a week in each of the four periods into which we have decided to divide the total training and competition season: PRELIMINARY-SEASON TRAINING Monday. Jog a slow 88o yds. on grass. Tuesday. r hour in gymnasium. Bending, stretching, and suppling exercises. Hurdling form exercises. Apparatus work or body-building exercises. Wednesday. Jog with muscles relaxed IOO yds. at a time; repeat twelve times, with a rest interval between each jog. Practice to occupy about I hour. Thursday. Walk 5 miles, jogging IOO yds. in each mile. Later in day spend I hour in gymnasium doing hurdling form, bending and stretching, and agility exercises. Friday. Rest. Long, steady massage, or Turkish bath, avoiding hottest two rooms. Saturday. Jog a slow 440 yds. -on grass with muscles relaxed. EARLY-SEASON TRAINING Preliminary training, designed to improve stamina and to get the athlete into a state of thorough physical fitness, should be – followed by instruction in actual hurdling, for which the practice 296