This is part two of a monthly series in which Maggie Ewen, one of America’s top putters, will break down her technique step by step.
Hello! This is six-time World Shotput Finalist, Maggie Ewen.
Let’s dive into position two! In my opinion, this is one of the most important phases of the throw. This position sets up how I will drive into the middle. Do I over-rotate into the middle? Am I on balance in the stand throw? Do I move down the middle or find myself in “the bucket”? So many vital technical questions can be answered by how I set up this position.
Continuing from position one. My upper body is still locked into the position I started in. I want to avoid initiating the rotation with my left arm as that will almost certainly lead to opening up or over rotating out of the back. Therefore, I initiate the turn with the left leg and the belly button. I realize how silly “the belly button” seems. It’s a reminder that I want my torso moving with my left leg. At this point in the throw I am not looking to create separation between the hips and the shoulders. If my hips are turning, I want my upper body to turn in unison with them. As the upper body turns, the left hand should arc towards the back of the ring and then out and around the left leg. I don’t want to shift laterally over the top of the left foot. I want the system to turn around the left.
As I rotate the left leg I am trying to achieve two things. First is to keep my weight about 50/50 between my right and left foot. Second is to turn the left leg/ knee/ heel/ toes as far as possible without lifting the right foot. By turning the left without lifting the right, I am creating a stretch reflex across my hips. It’s the same concept as the stretch reflex across the chest on the strike. With the stretch reflex I build across my hips in this position, once I lift my right leg it will want to snap around to catch up to the rest of the system naturally.
Through all of this,
the left glute is still engaged.
It is preparing to lock the left leg into the pillar that the right leg will sweep around in the next phase.
My rhythm is still slow and steady. I compare the entry to doing a power clean. Through the deadlift portion of the clean, as you’re bringing the bar off the ground to the thighs, it doesn’t really matter how fast you move the bar. You’re more concerned with setting up the right position to properly hit the bar and be athletic in the second half of the clean. It’s the same on the entry. Yes, I’m building a little momentum when I start turning, but primarily I’m focused on smoothly setting up a position that I can later explode out of.
Tune in next month to learn about the right leg sweep!
About The Author
