Coaching and Care of Athletes

THE SHOT PUT of the left shoulder, and an arm-drive in which the elbow does not come in behind the shot after having been raised outward to shoulder-level as the hips were rotated. Again, the shot may be put into flight too soon; the athlete may drop his forearm, thus decreasing the angle of delivery; he may reverse his legs before the shot is in flight; he may break to the left; he may fail to go forward and to the right in the reverse, through lack of sufficient left-leg drive; or he may not support the effort by pressing his right shoulder forward and up beneath the shot as it is put into flight. If the shot-putter plays a team game or runs, walks, or does gymnastics to keep himself generally fit during the winter one month of preliminary training should be sufficient, since indoor shots are obtainable. The missile for use in a gymnasium may be either a metal shot covered with rubber or a spherical leather case filled with dust-shot to the required weight and laced tightly. In a hall or gymnasium, therefore, the shot-putter can learn most of his craft. If, as happens with our Oxford or Cambridge University athletes in England, the unfortunate shot-putter is forced to train and compete out of doors in the depth of winter he will be well advised to immerse the shot in a bucket of boiling water until the metal is thoroughly warm. The shot retains its warmth for a long time, to the great benefit of the muscles of the athlete's hand, and it is more easily dried after each plunge into the muddy turf. PRELIMINARY-SEASON TRAINING The following is the suggested schedule for one week. Each day's work is_to commence with a suitable limbering-up process. Monday. Four sprints at three-quarter effort up to go yds. 1-0 mms. of work on apparatus or resistive exercises. Learn hand-hold, initial stance, and starting position. Practise the transition from starting position (Plate LV, Fig. I 76) to delivery position (Plate LV, Fig. 177). IO mins. of rhythmic agility exercises. Tuesday. Jog 88o yds. out of doors. Rest. Go to gym and practise standing high and long jumps. Practise the transition from starting to delivery positions. Make twelve very light effort standing puts. Wednesday. Stride an easy 220 yds. on track. Go to gymnasium. 5 mins. of form exercises or ro mins. of apparatus work. Practise the shift six times to right foot-landing only and six times to delivery position (Plate LV, Fig. 177), but do not release the shot. 4 1 5 • I