The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland
TRAINING. 133 of over-exertion. The greattendency ofyoung men from eigh teen to twenty-two is to over-exert themselves. A young man of eighteen or nineteen, if he wins a few prizes, begins to hear injudicious onlookersobserving that,by the time heis five-and- twenty, if he keeps on as he gives promise ofdoing, he will be hard to beat. The consequence generally is that before his bodily powers arematured, he indulges in an amount of practice that would take the elasticity out of and render stale an experi enced and matured athlete of thirty yearsof age. The inevitable result is that by the time he is twenty-five he finds his best days as an athlete are over, instead of, as they ought to be, only beginning. Next to strength the greatthing foran athlete is a good style. By good style ismeant the art of concentrating the strength in the right manner at the right time at any particular feat. By bad style at any feat is meant than an athlete atthat particular feat has not acquired the art of applying his strength in the right manner at the right time. So much difference may the possession or want of a good style makethat an athlete of 11 stone, with a good style, has been known to beat anathlete of 15 stone, with a bad style, 10 ft. with a 16 lb, hammer, while at putting, the 15 stoneathlete, with a good style at that, could beat the 11 stone athleteabout in proportion to weight. As a rule a good style comes naturally ordoes not come at all. We do not mean to say that there areno instances of an athlete who began with an awkward style acquiring by persistent practice a good style—the careerof Kenneth M'Rae isproof to the contrary— but it is a rule towhich there arefew exceptions. Some havea splendid style at one feat, and a comparatively bad style at others. William Stewart, Owen Duffy, and George Mearns, models atputting, never acquired a good style athammer-throw ing ; evenJames Fleming's style at the hammer was very poor compared with his extraordinary knack as a putter. Others again, notably Alexander M'Culloch, are first-class hammer- throwers, and comparative failures at putting. William Flem-
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