Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES synchronize the leg and arm actions will always detract from total distance in the triple effort. Hereunder are given suggested schedules for one week of training in each offour seasonal periods. Each day's work in training and competition must commence with a limbering-up process which has been proved suitable for the particular athlete in question. The limbering-up process for those training for the hop, step, and jump should include a fair amount of hopping on alternate feet -the H.A.F. exercise. In this exercise the athlete, with trunk inclined slightly forward, should make three to six bounding hops on the right foot and three to six on the left foot, covering 25 to 50 yds. without stopping in a succession of hops on each foot in turn. As the hop is made from one foot the other-free leg swings back in relaxed, natural reaction, although when a man is hopping – hard one is apt to get the impression that he is shooting the other leg equally hard out behind him. Judge the degree of his relaxa– tion by watching how the heel of the free leg swings up behind. It will not rise a great deal if the leg muscles are tensed. PRELIMINARY-SEASON TRAINING Two months, with the same work as for broad jumpers. See Chapter XXIV. / EARLY-SEASON TRAINING Work on the style practices already mentioned for the first two weeks of this month. Thereafter as follows: Monday. Practise the run-up three times at half effort. Three H., S., and J. (hop, step, and jumps) on grass at quarter effort to build up style.! Three H., S., and J. into sand-pit at half effort to correct faults. Three broad jumps at half effort for landing technique. Massage. Tuesday. Train with the sprinters. Wednesday. ' Practise the run-up at three-quarter effort twice. Do H., S., and J. training on soft turf. Three hops at half effort for ball-of-foot landing. Three H., S., and J. at quarter effort, with ball-of-foot landing and uninterrupted transition. Two H., S., 1 For a 40-ft. distance the corresponding efforts would be three-quarter effort 37 ft. 7 ins., half effort 32 ft., and quarter effort 24 ft. The proportion between the hop, step, and jump would be nop I4 ft. IQ ins., step IQ ft. 4 ins., jump 14 ft. IO ins. in the xo: 7: 10 ratio, or hop 14ft., step IO ft. 4 ins., jump· 15 ft. 8 ins. in the xg: 14:21 ratio. Tables of effort are given in full detail in my Athletic Training for Men and Boys.