Why? The Science of Athletics

224 WHY? - THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS In other words, if the head and shoulders do not go down, then the hips cannot come up. It is through the non– observance of this fundamental principle that so many high-jumpers remove the bar with their buttocks with monotonous regularity, when the lath is still inches below the height which the coach knows that the athlete could clear comfortably, if only he could be persuaded to carry out instructions. Figs. 52- and 53, Plate q, show H. A. Simmons, the schoolboy International, in the days before he mastered the proper "turn-and-lay-out" style. It will be seen that his original habit of dropping his chin on to his chest completely prevented him from getting his head and shoulders down to his centre of gravity. In fact, tne forward bending of his head is actually forcing his buttock down on the crossbar at 5 ft. g I/2 ins., which height he exceeded by 4 I/2- ins. when he learned to use his head to steer his seat across the lath. In Fig. 56, Plate r5, upon the other hand, he is seen jumping 6 ft. with consummate ease, because the correctly balanced placing of his head has allowed him to lift his left leg and to raise his buttocks well above bar-level. Figs. 6o and 6I, Plate r6, ofD. Shetliffe, New Zealand Scliools Record Holder, are even more interesting. Much the same state of things obtains in pole vaulting. The secret of negotiating the big heights successfully lies in the athlete's trick of getting over th~ bar in such a way that the lath lies safely in the concavity ef the body at the stomach as he goes over, but this can only be done if the feet are dropped simultaneously, as shown in Fig. 84, Plate rg. Here, again, it is necessary for the athlete to drop his head. Where the throwing events are concerned everything depends upon proper ste~ring, and here, perhaps, the guidance of the head is more important than in any other branch of athletics. The discus thrower must travel on a direct line in his waltz-like turn from the back to the front of the