Why? The Science of Athletics

r8 WHY?-THE SCIENCE ·OF ATHLETICS rt 1s pointed out that messages are continuously pas·sing from the brain to different parts of the body in order that various purposes may be fulfilled and if, also, we bear in mind the circumstance that the nervous system is in two parts. There is the central nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. The. former is under the control of a person's own will, the desired movements of the muscles being actuated ·by will transmission from brain to muscle by way of the motor-nerves. That is why conventional form exer~ises, such as are set out in Exercises for Athletes (Webster & Heys) play such an important part in the training of the athlete. Perfection and practice of the proper movements involved in the performance of a physical skill, widen and wear smooth by much traffic the paths of the J?.erve impulses travelling from brain to muscle-substance. The sympathetic nervous system, however, does n,ot come under the control of one's own will ; but this ~ system does control the action of that important involun- ta-ry muscle, the heart ; and having mentioned the part the heart plays in athletic success, it at once becomes apparent that the way in which training -affects the sympathetic nervous system is a matter for primary– consideration. Formerly trainers, or coaches, had two objects ' ever in view : one was to create endurance, the other was the development of muscular power. Like the Greeks of old, these trainers knew that certain methods generally produced certain results. They saw the effect,. but remained in ignorance of the .cause. Then came the discovery that the skeletal or loco– motor muscles are controlled by the central nervous · system; and, since· it is no bad thing to let the athlete know as much about himself as is good for him, boys in particular are recommended to indulge in a small experiment in biology. With the aid of a microscope and the body of. a dead frog, the athlete can examine a nerve for himself. He will find that it is made up of