Top Tips from the Throwing Pros

BY THROWERS UNIVERSE

As athletes progress through their careers, they will inevitably learn lessons along the way at all levels. This most certainly applies to professionals as well. On average, the length of a professional’s career, from the time they started throwing, spans approximately 15 years – which is a very long time to learn.

Today, we will be going over some tips and tricks that some of the most elite throwers have given from their time as athletes.

"IT'S JUST CONSISTENCY OVER TIME" - Reese Hoffa

This is the most straightforward piece of advice someone could give, but if you follow it correctly, the payoff could be astronomical. 

Of course, he was athletically gifted, but Reese Hoffa was not a particularly physical specimen compared to other elite throwers. He scraped 6ft and put his massive success down to consistency over some time. You need much more than solely physical attributes to get to the top, and Reese is a testament to this. He was able to dominate the pro scene for a decade and, even at the age of 36, threw well over 21m. Consistency + time = Results.

"UNDERSTAND THE THROW" - Jordan Young

It sounds like a cliché, but it is easily one of the most important factors in your progress.

In each throwing event, there are a few positions that, biomechanically, you must hit to optimise your technique. It is very simple. If you understand these positions and find a way to hit them, you will throw further. 

If you are in a position where you don’t have a coach, check – are you hitting certain positions? Elite throwers all get to these positions in their own way, but most importantly, they hit them. Let’s take Reese Hoffa, for example. He did not and could not throw the same as Ryan Crouser. One is 6ft, and one is 6ft7 – it is physically impossible. But the key positions are the same. 

Another example, Adam Nelson. Now, Nelson was an extremely unorthodox thrower, but the principle remains. He hit the right positions to allow him to throw far, regardless of how he got to them. Carry this into your training and get comfortable with understanding the throw.

"DON'T GET TOO STRONG TOO FAST"

Wait, but if I’m throwing a heavy implement, won't being as strong as possible help me? The short answer is it can. However, you cannot rely on just getting strong to be a successful thrower.

When Mykolas Alekna decided he was heading to America to compete in the collegiate ranks, his father and discus hall of famer Virgiljus Alekna asked only one thing of his son’s new coach – “Don’t get him too strong”. Mykolas, at 18 years old, was extremely athletic. His sprinting, lifting and jumping numbers were through the roof. Once he got to the University of California, this did not change! He became even more athletic and powerful, which guided him to throw shy of 70m in the discus as a 19-year-old.

This serves well as a lesson to young throwers that you must develop all-round athletic ability if you want to maximise your potential as a thrower. 

In many cases, strength alone cannot get you there.

There is a lot more knowledge from throwers that we can and will share. But first, carry these points into your training and continue to develop your throwing knowledge!