Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES mark. Tell him that he is to jump, that you will clap your hands at the right time, and that when he hears the report he is to carry his left foot (if he jumps from the left foot) up and out towards the left standard, and at the same time to turn his head from right to left in an attempt to see what you are doing. You should clap your hands a fraction of a second before his hips rise to ·bar– level, to allow for the sound to reach him and for him to react to the stimulus. I used this method very successfully at 'the Shop' in pre-War days, and R. M. Bonham-Carter, whose jumping had to be im– proved if R.M.A., Woolwich, was to beat R.M.C., Sandhurst, went up in one afternoon from 4 ft. g ins. to 5 ft. 5 ins., or just under. I do not remember the exact height he cleared, but the rudiments of style which he learned so quickly are shown in Plate XLII, Fig. 127. In the next stage I teach the athlete to take a look at the cross– bar while he is on the starting-mark, and then to fix his eyes on the four-stride check mark. As his take-off foot hits the check mark I have him lift his eyes to the bar, on which his gaze should remain focused throughout the jump. If he does this it will help him to get a proper lay-out. I do not yet teach the full sweep of the left (take-off) leg to the left, but tell the athlete to draw up his left knee and push his left foot forward across the bar. In Plate XLIII, Fig. 131, M. Oda, Japan, portrays the action in this phase of instruction. Note how he is watching the bar and the manner in which he has drawn up the left knee preparatory to thrusting the left leg across the bar, to which this action will square his hips. When a fair degree of proficiency has been gained in the transitional style I teach the athlete to thrust the right leg strongly across the bar, to drop the head and square the chest to the ground, and to sweep the left leg up to the left, with the leg almost straight and the left foot extended on the ankle, with toes pointed and the foot inverted. This phase is well shown in Plate XLIII, Fig. 132, by D. F. Shetliffe, Australia, who jumped 6 ft. 3 ins. while he was still at school. Finally the back sweep of the left leg until it is at right angles to the bar, the drop of the left foot to the pit, and the swing-up behind of the right leg, in natural reaction to the dropping of the left leg, must be taught phase by phase. · The Western Roll style is comparatively simple to teach, provided 356