Why? The Science of Athletics

WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS CHAPTER I CONSIDERATIONS IN CONDITIONING ATHLETES Work and Play Problem MoRE champions are marred than made in the days of adolescence through the enthu– siasm of parents, the ignorance of games masters or the eagerness of the young athlete himself, who trains and trains, striving always after maximum results, if he is left to his own devices, until he is tired out, both mentally and physically, and becomes utterly stale. In time this type of so-called training, which is really straining, produces a definite mental lethargy, induces a wrong outlook towards athletics, so that the function of the muscles becomes adversely affected, and the boy loses that indescribable something, call it his "snap" if you will, which is a characteristic of all great champions. The average boy, of course, likes to be athletic, it is his ambition to possess a strong, well-developed body, and subconsciously he longs to gain that social approval which is the reward of success in sport. Without social approval there can be no major success for either man or boy, and just because it is so important and because athletics among juveniles are almost daily achieving a greater degree of importance in the eyes of the 'public, there may well arise the danger that young boys will show a tendency to overdo things, by demanding too much of their immature strength. Even · without the incentive of competition and its complementary part, which is social approval, boys may