Trainer

“ It is now that his real intensive training has begun without his spirit and enthusiasm having become impaired, and he is better able to fully grasp its meaning than he would had it been daily, weekly and monthly crammed down his throat by rule, and by some theoretical trainer who had never seen a battle field—never been on one—or under fire, and who would scarcely know one if he should see it. ”

“ Our team has broken training, and some of them are breaking it badly. There are the long summer months before them, with the leisure hours at seashore or mountains, and no more work until the cool winds of autumn begin to blow. Even those of the most regular habits are kicking over the traces, and some of the wilder spirits, that make a trainer's hair gray before its time, to whom the six months' restraint has been a galling yoke, are giving themselves very loose rein. ”

“ The trainer must be vigilant night and day, never leave his man, and must act according to his preaching, and be as abstemious, or nearly so, as his man, whom it is his duty to encourage in improvement, to cheer when despondent, and to check if there are at any time symptoms of a break-out from the rules laid down—but at all times he must, by anecdote, etc., keep the mind of his man amused, so that he may not brood over the privations he is undergoing. ”

“ The trainer who has been selected to create a specified group spends practically his entire time with his pupils. He feeds them, and mixes with them daily and hourly. From the beginning he teaches them that they must obey him, and not fight. ”

“ Go and talk to the trainer of the football team if you want to get an unbiased opinion of the team's work or of the value of the individual coaches. Some of our trainers know much about the game of football—the technical side—and their advice is valuable.
Every trainer longs to handle good material, but more power to the trainer who goes ahead with what he's got and makes the best out of it without a murmur. In our recollections we know of teams that were reported to be going stale—"over-trained"—"a team of cripples"—who slumped—could not stand the test—were easily winded—could not endure. ”

“ It is a long, patient progress, in which the trainer, if he is a good one, grits his teeth to hold his temper and smiles many and many a time when he would like to swear. He has three jobs which must be synchronized into one objective—to teach the animal that there is nothing to fear from this strange human who has suddenly made his entry into the beast’s life, to plant certain routines into the beast’s mind, and to place there at the same time the knowledge that, for doing these things, the animal is to be rewarded. ”

“ In all these cases the trainer needs to be experienced, patient, persevering, energetic, and positive, besides having a genuine affection for his pupil. No two horses are alike in conformation or morale, nor in the results of their first contact with man. The trainer needs, therefore, to diagnose his animal, to consider his strong and weak points, so as to pick the right place for the training to begin. If, for example, a horse is anxious and timid, before I do anything else, I give it confidence, by means of work on foot with the whip. If it is young and not strong. ”

“ It is no part of the writer's intention to describe the economy of a training stable; but the business of a trainer of race-horses is one which is fraught with anxiety; a sudden change of the atmosphere may ruin his prospects of winning an important race, or a horse ridden at exercise by a careless boy may be brought back to the stable so lame [Pg 88] that it can hardly ever again be depended on to run. The modern trainer is usually a man of some education and intelligence, a contrast to his predecessor of sixty years since, who was simply a groom and little more ”

“ Above everything else, a runner must have some love for his work and a great ambition to excel. Then he should study himself and find out just the sort of work that agrees with him in training. He should not shirk. He should take all he can stand without injury. He should consult with his trainer, and the trainer must have discernment and sense enough not to underwork or overwork that man. It requires a trainer of mighty keen discernment to determine just what is best for a bunch of five or six men with different natures, different habits, and varying ability. ”

“ Let the trainer to-morrow morning, if the horse is all right and well, request several gentlemen of position and integrity on the Turf (the more the better) to come and see him in the stable stripped of his clothes, so that they can, one and all, testify to the fact that, if he is beat, he at least has done his duty in bringing him “fit to the post;” ”

“ The actions of the trainer should, like the voice, be gentle and conciliatory. In fact his whole behaviour, when in his pupil’s presence, must be, as Turbervile recommends, friendly, lovable, and free from offence. “Sit procul omne nefas: ut ameris, amabilis esto!” And the hawk should not only like the trainer, but also respect him for his equanimity and self-control. Do you not want to convince your disciple that you are wiser as well as stronger than she? ”

“ Not the least important thing about football is the matter of training, and nearly every professional club has a trainer, whose business it is not only to get the men fit, but also to keep them so for eight months. ”

“ In track and field athletics, the pleasantness and informality of English methods of training reach a climax. In America we place the welfare of our teams in the hands of a professional trainer, who, through his aide-de-camp, the undergraduate captain, is apt to make the pursuit of victory pretty much a business. ”

“ We are sorry to have to mention that such a man is requisite as a trainer, but consider it necessary to mention it, as, if the trainer is not honest, and has not his heart in the well-doing of his man, all the pains taken by the pedestrian would be nullified and rendered of no avail. ”

“ You see, a trainer may not be satisfied his horse is top-hole. He sends him out to have a feeler, so to speak, at the opposition. The fittest horse will probably win this race. The trainer who is running against him with no hope of success will discover how near to fitness his own beast is!”
“I want to find Timbolino,” she said, looking at her card. “That’s Sir Isaac’s, isn’t it?” ”

“ Teaching the Backward Movement, Dismounted:—The trainer stands facing the horse. He takes the reins one in each hand and slightly lowers the head to relieve the weight on the hind quarters. He then makes a slight [65] movement with his hands towards his own body, sufficient to prepare the horse to move forward. As the horse is about to move out the trainer presses directly toward the horse with the bit until the horse takes a step to the rear. One step at first is sufficient. ”

“ In the most successful teacher you may detect a nervous strain like that which the trainer of wild beasts in the arena undergoes. His is a perilous position, and every faculty must be on the alert to hold the momentary ascendency. A single false motion, and the unmannerly young cubs would be upon their victim. ”

“ The animal trainer is these days a person of constant experiments, of irrepressible inquiry. It is he who must go into the dens with jungle beasts, or command the elephants in the rings. If things go wrong, he is the one who is taken to the hospital as a result of it, and so he wants to know the why of every animal’s action. ”

“ They gets to hollerin’ an’ more spearin’, but they might as well tried to move mountains. The Boss come in, an’ he tries it, but no go. They moves a lot of hay down the lot, thinkin’ it will make ’em look for another feedin’, but no go. Then one of the trainers what had been helpin’ the head trainer stan’s out an’ calls ’em by name. They flaps their big ears, but not a move. It’s time for the section to be pullin’ out, an’ we all hands is up against it.
“Well, I sez to myself, here’s your chance to be smart an’ redeem it all for Jed,—the trainer what was fired for drinkin’. ”

“ It is evident, therefore, that in many instances the trainer must be guided by his judgment, and that no fixed rules of management can, with absolute certainty, be depended upon, for producing an invariable and determinate result. In general, however, it may be calculated, that the known rules are adequate to the purpose, if the pedestrian strictly adhere to them, and the trainer bestow a moderate degree of attention to his state and condition during the progress of training. ”

“ And, as in many cases the first or second telling may not have the effect of raising the curiosity of his man, the patience of the trainer should not give way under the repetition before the slow and obtuse curiosity is roused to such an extent that the pugilist commences the interrogation in his turn, and becomes anxious in his inquiries for information, which will almost invariably be the case when he finds out the importance that the trainer’s continued repetitions have invested the apparent trifles with. ”

“ All of these mental qualities are brought into activity during every moment that a trainer is working his animals. And not for an instant may he safely slacken his courage or control. A stout heart is his only safety. To go into a cage in a state of fear is recognized among these men as a fool-hardy undertaking.
My observation is that trainers almost universally prefer captured animals to those born in captivity, so far as working purposes are concerned. This preference is founded on practical experience—for your animal trainer is little inclined to theorize or experiment in his work. ”

“ By that time horse and trainer better know one another, the horse is stronger, steadier, and better able to profit by the suppling of the flexions. Moreover, the young or inexperienced trainer is very likely to push his horse's education too hard, and to neglect some items which do not seem important to him. ”

“ On account of their association, the trainers keep pace with the men about them; not limiting their interest to athletics. They are always found entertaining at the athletic banquets, and their personalities count for much on the campus. They are all but boys grown up, with well known athletic records behind them. In the hospital, or in the quietness of a college room, or on trips, the trainer is a friend and adviser. ”

“ I was payin’ the trainer a little extry to see that the banners got on, and, say, that boy for liquor was the original reservoir. It seems that the money I’m givin’ him allus buys a drink. He keeps it up right along an’ gits many a warnin’. There wasn’t a guy with the outfit that could handle the beasts like he could, an’ the Boss was allus afeerd sumthin’ would happen.
“And it did by and by. The trainer don’t pay attention to the warnin’, and one matinee he queers the act. He gets his elephants all mixed up in his ring, an’ there comes near bein’ a breakaway but for a lot of spearin’. ”

“ One is that his trainer is his friend and means to use him well. The other is that the man is master. The trainer begins by going up near the bars, talking to the lion kindly, and throwing him some meat. It isn't long before the lion learns to know and to watch for the man who feeds him. Next the trainer,while talking, puts a stout stick between the bars. With a terrible roar the lion springs on the stick and crushes it into splinters. But the trainer keeps right on putting sticks between the bars, talking kindly to the lion and feeding him. ”

“ But there arises in the midst of our athletic world men who trained, men who safeguarded the players. Trainers have been associated with football since the early eighties, and a careful trainer's eye should ever be on the lookout wherever football is played. ”

“ So much is depending on, and so many results 8 accruing to the efficiency of the trainer, that a few words of friendly advice to that official will not be out of place; for although the veteran has learned the precepts given below by heart, yet there is always a beginning to all occupations. ”

“ It is the business of every trainer, and so of every one, for each man is his own trainer to a far greater degree than anyone else can be, to develop his individuality, and though certain broad rules can be laid down about the wrong way to do a thing, and in a less degree the right way, much should be left to natural aptness and facility. ”

“ The trainer of athletes lays down for his pupils a rigid discipline. He is as far from encouraging overstrain and excessive exercise as he is indolence. He condemns stimulants and narcotics beyond a most moderate use ”

“ The trainer or the helmsman considers the good of those committed to his care. But, when he is one of the persons taken care of, he accidentally participates in the advantage, for the helmsman is also a sailor, and the trainer becomes one of those in training. ”

“ As boys were sometimes prepared for such contests, no{123} doubt the trainer sometimes took the place of the ordinary teacher; and again, on the other hand, a competent gymnastic master sometimes undertook the training of athletes. ”

“ There was nothing artificial or unnatural about their training: the careful dieting, the elaborate massage, the rules for exercise and sleep introduced by later trainers were unknown. The trainers of those days confined themselves to actual athletics, to the art of boxing or wrestling especially, and the athletes owed their strength to a healthy, vigorous, out-of-door life. ”