Coaching and Care of Athletes

HANDLING THE ATHLETE of our jumpers and discus-throwers fell far below that previously revealed at home. F. R. Webster, and I can say this without bias, alone among our field-events men showed supreme confi– dence and complete coolness when he competed in the pole vault, cleared a height of 13ft. rt ins., 4t ins. higher than he had ever vaulted before, and tied for sixth place in the Olympic final. His coolness was simply due to the fact that he had confidence in his own technique, in the ..-training he had been given, and was further aided by the experience he had gained from his youth up in contests of ever-increasing importance, which reached their climax in the Olympic final at Berlin. In other words, I like to think that this particular young athlete had been handled in the right way. For the whole squad of athletes he is coaching the coach may prepare a set of elementary rules, with a view to conditioning the bodies and improving the minds of his pupils. Conditioning calls for personal self-sacrifice, but that is the case with most things in this life, and no man will mind giving up some of his pleasures if he has the coach's assurance of the ultimate result. A further attribute the coach must develop in his pupils is that essential quality called 'guts.' I have known many fine natural athletes, with any amount of ability, who failed to succeed because they lacked the 'fight' to see"things through in a desperate finish. Again I emphasize the point that although general plans may be drawn up for a number of athletes, each one of tFiem, in the final issue, must be treated as an individual. The athlete gets his maximum results from the eating, sleeping, and mental con– ditions which prevail during his training, and in this connection nothing is more true than the old proverb, "One man's meat is another man's poison.'' Besides balancing the athlete's work, food, rest, and relaxation, the coach has yet another consideration in the conditioning of his athletes. The greatest coaches, of course, do not themselves under– take massage, but should none the less know a good deal about this important scientific achievement. Where athletes in their charge are concerned, coaches should not for one moment tolerate the punishing work of the average club 'rubber' whom one sees doing endless harm at so many sports meetings. His method of giving 'massage' is rough and -feady, with the emphasis on the 'rough,' and is well calculated to take all the 'ginger' out of most athletes before they turn out to compete. If given after a competition 73