In response to a question from the moderator Dr. Art Boland, Harry Parker replies that as a coach, you don't really need to do anything to push the athletes to compete. By and large, they love their sports and with a little positive reinforcement they keep doing it. In the scheme of things, he doesn't really see the Olympic as a huge sacrifice and believes that players are often motivated in part because they indulge in it - whether their support comes from their families or the military as in his case. In the end, they compete at the highest level they can and the ones who really enjoy it get the best reinforcement.
At the '76 games in Montreal, steroid use became an issue. The clearest example was the German women's swim team, who blew away the other teams in the competition. Bobby Hackett was at the games as a swimmer and remembers seeing the American women's team get distracted wondering about their opponents and doubting themselves, which kept them from swimming at their best. He remembers thinking it was a shame that some people had to resort to drugs to keep themselves at a high level. And for those who compete against them, "as an athlete, you do what you can do ".
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