![\"casanas](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/casanas-wind.jpg\")
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From here…<\/p>\n To here…<\/p>\n From here…<\/p>\n To here…<\/p>\n Warning: If you can identify the owner of these legs you probably spend way too much time watching throws videos and are in danger of being called a “super dweeb” by your long-suffering wife. Trust me, I have experience in this matter.<\/p>\n Anyway, these pairs of photos illustrate two\u00a0important stations\u00a0along the\u00a0path to a fine throw. The\u00a0athlete must begin with a balanced windup: right foot flat, left heel up, left big toe in contact with the ground. The second photo in each set depicts\u00a0the athlete in an excellent position to run the ring: right leg wide, weight balanced on the ball of the left foot, discus trailing behind the right hip.<\/p>\n If you watch these throwers (Frank Casanas, Casey Malone and…..???) on film or in person they make moving through these positions seem perfectly natural, but if\u00a0you coach young athletes you know\u00a0how difficult this transition\u00a0can be.\u00a0Beginning throwers tend to unwind by pulling with their head and left arm. This causes the discus to jump ahead of the thrower and makes it\u00a0impossible to get the right leg out wide because the thrower will\u00a0feel (quite correctly)\u00a0that he will fall down if he doesn’t get that right foot\u00a0back on the ground quickly.<\/p>\n It seems that among the best discus throwers there are two approaches to moving from the windup to the balanced, “ready to run the ring” position.<\/p>\n Some throwers try to get their right foot off the ground and sweeping\u00a0ahead of the discus\u00a0as soon as possible. When the left foot pivots 90 degrees to the left, they want that right foot up and moving.<\/p>\n Here is an example.<\/p>\n This is Vikas Gowda. As you can see, his left foot has turned 90 degrees and his right toes are leaving the ground.<\/p>\n By the time his left foot has turned\u00a0to where it is\u00a0pointing\u00a0down the right sector line, his right leg is already sweeping past it.<\/p>\n The right leg then continues to sweep out wide with the disc lagging behind.<\/p>\n At this point, he is in great shape to run the ring.<\/p>\n Here is Casey Malone, demonstrating the same “get the right leg moving early” approach.<\/p>\n The other method of transitioning from the wind to the “ready to run the ring” position is to leave the right foot on the ground longer while turning and getting way out over the left foot.<\/p>\n If you can identify the owner of these<\/em> legs, \u00a0you are a bigger dork than me even, but\u00a0you won’t\u00a0have to worry about your wife getting mad at you because you likely will never have a wife.<\/p>\n As\u00a0you can see in the middle photo,\u00a0this thrower keeps\u00a0his right foot grounded much longer than the throwers in those earlier photos–beginning his right leg sweep only after his left foot turns to point down the right foul line.<\/p>\n Interestingly, this is the approach used by the two current Olympic champions,<\/p>\n Robert Harting…<\/p>\n …and Sondra Perkovic.<\/p>\n I suspect that the advantage of leaving the right foot on the ground longer is twofold. First, it may make it easier to remain on balance while the thrower shifts his\/her weight far to the left–a shift that is essential to getting in position to run the ring.<\/p>\n Second, leaving the right grounded while shifting way out over the left leg may create some elastic tension in the right leg that, when released, adds extra impetus to the right leg sweep.<\/p>\n I have experimented with this style the past couple of years, and some of my athletes have become quite comfortable with it. One warning though. If you attempt to teach this method, you must constantly\u00a0drill your athletes to keep the discus back as they shift out over their left leg because with the right foot staying grounded longer it is very easy to let the disc sneak ahead.<\/p>\n We are due for another snow storm this week, so stay tuned for part two of Harting v. Perkovic.<\/p>\n Any guesses on the owners of those legs?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I ask you, is there a\u00a0better way to ward off the winter blues than to spend an afternoon dissecting great discus technique? Okay, there probably are better ways, but this\u00a0one is\u00a0cheap, fat free,\u00a0\u00a0perfectly legal\u00a0and will help me \u00a0forget about that three-foot snow drift covering our discus ring. So, here goes. It seems to me that … Continue reading Harting v. Perkovic: Part 1 (by Dan McQuaid)<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n