After what has been, by his standards, a disappointing season Ryan Whiting unveiled a new static start this weekend and used it to produce an excellent 21.68m toss.

After Ryan posted a vid of that throw on Twitter, I asked him to comment on his reasons for the switch to his new approach.

If you follow the throws (and if you are reading this post, clearly you do) you know that Ryan is very generous with sharing information about his training. It was not surprising then, when he tweeted this reply:

Jordan Clarke recommended it to me in July. My ankle was really bothering me and I couldn’t get out and around my left on my entry. Our reasoning was to eliminate one variable (the wind) and be able to work on a consistent entry which enables me to get into a more consistent power position. Once I do that I know how to finish a throw. Today my conversion from stand to full was 4.18m. Once I get used to finishing with the new start, I think that will increase quite a bit. A little over a month of work on the new start and 21.68m, A good sign.

Here is a pic of Ryan’s old start:

As you can see, he used to turn about as far to the right as he possibly could with most of his weight shifted to the right foot.

In his new start, he does not wind at all, but simply pauses here…

…before beginning his entry:

As a high school coach, I am a big fan of Ryan’s new approach. For young throwers in the rotational shot and the discus a static entry  provides less opportunity for the athlete to lose his or her way when coming out of the back of the ring.

Young throwers often feel like they are creating force when they do an extended wind, but as Ryan pointed out the key to producing long throws is a consistent entry leading to a consistent power position.

If you don’t already follow Ryan on Twitter, you might want to do that as he is likely to comment further on his switch to the static start.