A hand operated shovel system for moving materials that uses spring enhanced human power to increase force during the flinging part of shoveling. A user adds propulsive force to a shovel having a spring located between the handle and the blade. Motion of the handle and blade rotates the spring to store energy expended during the initial acceleration of lifting, and applies the stored energy back into the material during the deposition step, increasing the ballistic trajectory of the material. If material deposition can be accomplished without flinging, the shovel acts as a substantially rigid body for standard shoveling.