Why? The Science of Athletics

CONSIDERATIONS IN CONDITIONING ATHLETES 15 is done when the person in charge of the play insists upon the youngster sticking to one type of event until it has mastered some particular physical skill. One can direct, of course, but the main thing is to allow the physical skills to develop naturally at that particular age. What has been said so far concerns mainly throwing and jumping, which postulates plentiful rest periods for each child while other children are doing things. Where running comes into question I do not think that a boy under I 2 should be allowed to run more than a furlong and that not often, and I think it is far better to keep him down to I oo yards. All these matters, however, I have dealt with far more fully in Athletic. Training for Men and Boys and in The Games Master's Handbook than I am proposing to do in the present volume. Where the work and play problem in relation to children is concerned, the great thing to remember is that they must always be encouraged to regard athletics as a game, and therefore you must teach them to play at athletics. The main motive for taking part in athletics, or, for that matter, any other form of sport, should be for the fun we get out of it. That is important from the scientific point of view, and the health point of view, if we define health in terms of mental hygiene, since enjoyment is a necessary attribute to both physical and mental well-being. Fun the First Essential Perhaps we might examine that pro– position a little more carefully, since it has a very definite and important bearing upon the problem we are considering. I think there are two sorts of fun to be got out of athletics ; the first in the sort of "kick" we get quite naturally from instinctive activity and the sheer pleasure of doing a thing. The second pleasure is that of doing a thing rather well, of winning and of acquiring merit. There is enough in that dual fun-motive to keep people interested in athletics indefinitely, but the fun-motive must be maintained, and that can only be done by the athlete being taught to regard his athletics as play and