Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES world's long jump record to 26 ft. 8! ins., is a well-built negro a!fd the world's fastest sprinter, while Luz Long, his runner-up at the I936 Olympic Games, is a tall, slender German. N. Tajima, of Japan, who at the I 936 Olympic Games raised the world's hop, step, and jump record to 52 ft. si ins., -is also a tall and very slender athlete. Speaking generally, the best high jumpers have been tall, lightly built men, often with very thin legs, like those of a stag. There are, of course, exceptions, such as thickset Harold M. Osborn, U.S.A., former holder of world's records in the high jump (6 ft. 8! ins.) and the Decathlon, and B. Howard Baker, of Great Britain, a magnificent specimen of manhood, standing well over 6ft. 2 ins. and weighing, probably, more than I3 stone, who held the British high jump record of 6 ft. 5 ins. from I92 I to I936. Pole-vaulters, like sprinters, have been of many shapes and sizes, and it is not so long since we regarded as the best type for this event the compact, well-muscled gymnast of the type of Frank Foss, U.S.A., who made a world's record of I3 ft. 5 ,ins. when he won the Olympic title in I920. It was probably the advent of Charles Hoff, of Norway, who took the world's record to within a fraction of an inch of I4 ft., that first caused us to reconsider our preconceived opinions. Hoff, in his world-beating days, was a tall, slender youth with a technique of his own. Nowadays we must have our pole~vaulters tall; they must be exceptionally strong in the shoulder girdle, very fast on their feet, and have a natural gift for timing physical effort, but we do not mind if they carry a little weight. A bamboo pole will bear weight if it is not put on to it in the wrong way.. Decathlon men are almost invariably tall and exceptionally well built. In addition they must have stamina, for it is no -small feat of endurance to take part in ten strenuous events within the space of thirty-six consecutive hours. Apart, however, from the knowledge he can obtain from books, the, coach who .knows his job will soon acquire the ability to assess the merit of an athlete and his suitability for a particular event. In some cases, of course, one meets a man who is so richly en– dowed by nature that he has a variety of events to choose from. When this happens the coach should not allot the man to the event which marks the team's weakness, but should allow him 70