Why? The Science of Athletics

344 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS extreme cases, will cause loss of sleep for one or more nights preceding the day of competition. One has known cases when this type of fear seemed to be ipherent and incl_lrable, although, possibly, a psycho-analyst, dealing with complexes, causes and inhibitions, might be able to diagnose and alleviate the trouble. Usually, the wrong type ofwind up ·is due to (a) insuf– ficient training, (b) wrong training methods, or (c) over– training, which is tantamount to staleness . The cure is to establish a complete sense of self-confidence in the mind of the athlete, such as comes from conscientious training of the right kind. And yet, even that will not always suffice, for there was at least one great quarter-miler who . knew that he could beat the best men in the world, but always worked himself into such a pitiful state of panic before a race that he frequently lost to men of less perfect physique and ability, but who possessed a far higher nervous potential. Nervousness is really bad, simply because it dissipates energy and is therefore wasteful. The symptoms are readily recognized by undue affability or irritability and a tendency to bodily chi.lliness. When this condition is apparent the kindly comrade– ship of an understanding coach is invaluable. It sometimes helps matters, too, if the athlete is given a small piece of hard barley sugar to suck. The coach can do a lot for an athlete in this connection, but the main consideration, when all is said and done, is for the coach to so handle his charges that each one of them will learn to know himself, so that he becomes the master of his own fate. The sensations at the root of the whole Emotion and matter are emotion and excitement, as wit– Excitement ness the phenomenal strength of a madman ; for when excitement is at maximum men can, and do, perform extraordinary feats of strength and speed. Depression has the reverse effect and makes the performance of physical feats both difficult and tiresome.