Why? The Science of Athletics

306 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS good technique, the quickness ofmovement being governed by the nervous factor, just as, to take a material point, if the shot putter is to exert the best leverage he must have his feet firmly planted when he starts the put, because that is the stage when he will have the greatest difficulty in overcoming the inertia of the shot. In this respect we again have Newton's reaction law, since it is the extension of the legs, by leverage, which pushes the body up from the ground against fhe shot, the missile having inertia to react against the drive, as resistance. Coaches and athletes, alike, should remember that the main object of the shot putting evolution, as a whole, must ever be to add the velocity of the shot during the glide to the velocity of the push, or arm-delivery action.