Why? The Science of Athletics

, HEALTH ASPECTS AND HEALTH TRAINING 41 hiatus. This isn't just as easy as it sounds. Even if the competition happens to be the very last of the season there are reasons, which will be explained later, why it is injudicious to give athletes a slap-up meal on .the night of a big contest. If the competition completed that day does not mark the end of the competitive season, you certainly will not want to have your at};}_letes taking their relaxation reward by going to the theatre, or a dance, and coming back to quarters after midnight. There are times when it pays to break training, notably when an athlete goes stale, but it upsets the whole scheme of things, both psychologically and physio– logically, if it is made a practice to allow athletes to sit up and celebrate after every contest they take part in. Competitions, in Great Britain and America anyway, usually take place on Saturday, and I think the right thing to do is to get the boys back to quarters, give them a light meal and get them to bed at the normal time that night. Then, on Sunday, go out of your way to give them the things they like best for their meals and arrange some sort of treat for them in the shape of an outing. Athletes react so differently to the strain of competi– tion. Some seem to take even world's championship contests in their stride without worrying, but this type is very rare ; others cannot stop talking about how they won, or why they lost, when the competition is over. That, of course, is due to pure nervous excitement. Yet others become depressed, even after a victory, and I know of one excellent young athlete, perhaps the easiest and the best boy to train that I have evet handled, who likes to sit up, _ just pottering about ·for half the night after he has been competing, and that is quite irrespective of whether he . has won or lost. Again, this predilection really represents the simmering down process which ensues naturally upon great nervous excitement and the strain of competition. It .is best, in such cases, to give the y;mngster his head. If you ordered him to