{"id":3957,"date":"2024-03-20T20:30:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T01:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=3957"},"modified":"2026-01-08T09:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:27:42","slug":"the-monthly-meathead-for-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=3957","title":{"rendered":"The Monthly Meathead for March, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Jalani Davis won the NCAA weight toss and finished 3rd in the shot.
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

36 the hard way<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ole\u2019 Miss throws squad, led by the venerable John Smith and his protege Dempsey McGuigan, finished the indoor season with a flourish, sweeping the weight and shot at the SEC Championships, then adding two more individual NCAA titles to Smith\u2019s voluminous resume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fun began in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 23rd when Jalani Davis<\/a> launched the weight a PB 25.09m to break the meeting record she set in 2023. Teammate Jasmine Mitchell<\/a> came in second with a toss of 23.73m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the men\u2019s weight, sophomore Tarik Robinson-O\u2019Hagan<\/a> took the title by dropping three of his six attempts past the 23-meter line, including a best of 23.55m. Four of Tarik\u2019s throws would have been good enough to put him ahead of second-placer Ruben Banks<\/a> of Alabama, who finished with a top toss of 22.54m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Davis and Robinson-O’Hagan delivering early knockouts, the weight comps lacked drama. It was a different story in the shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the 2023 SECs<\/a> Florida\u2019s Alida Van Daalen<\/a> snatched the title from Davis with a sixth-round PB of 18.66m. Davis also PB\u2019d in that comp, with a toss of 18.43m, which foreshadowed her stunning performance at the USATF Outdoor Champions<\/a> where she would hit 18.62m to win a spot on the US team for Budapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Van Daalen had the lead going into round five with a best of 18.25m. Davis, meanwhile, sat in eighth place with a scorecard that read: 15.56m, 16.08m, Foul, Foul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of series at a championship meet can make a coach regret his choice of career, but Smith never lost faith that Davis would hit the big one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJalani,\u201d he explained, \u201cgenerates a lot of power. But sometimes she has trouble getting left at the back and sometimes she forgets to get up out of the middle, so she plows everything forward and can\u2019t keep it in. But if she gets out of the back early and gets up at the finish, it’s gone. I’ve seen her struggle then put it together and go ten feet farther.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s essentially what happened on her fifth throw in Fayetteville, when Davis launched a new indoor PB of 18.61m to take the lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To her credit, Van Daalen produced her best throw of the day in round six, but still finished two centimeters shy of Davis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Smith, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith, Jalani Davis, and Dempsey McGuigan. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Going into the SECs, Smith thought Robinson-O\u2019Hagan was in shape to throw 20 meters. It turned out he needed to do just that to hold off a strong field which included Roje Stona<\/a> of Arkansas, John Meyer<\/a> of LSU, and Dylan Targgart<\/a> of South Carolina.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stona (19.80m) and Meyer (19.78m) held the top two spots after three rounds, with Robinson-O\u2019Hagan (19.59m) and Targgart (19.33m) at their heels.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bombs dropped in round five. First, Florida\u2019s Kai Chang<\/a> busted a 19.36m PB which, back in the day, might have put him in contention. Just for fun, I looked up the 2014 SEC Indoor results<\/a>, and the winner that year, Kentucky\u2019s Brad Szypka<\/a>, finished with a best of 19.47m. Alas, those days are long gone, and Chang\u2019s chuck would lift him no higher than fifth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robinson-O\u2019Hagan stepped in two throws later and smashed 20.38m, an all time PB and his second career toss over the 20-meter line.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe got himself turned in the middle better on that one,\u201d explained Smith. \u201cAnd he really attacked through his right side at the front.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer answered with 19.84m to briefly jump Stona, but the big Jamaican–a remarkable athlete who holds a discus PB of 68.64m– replied with a 19.94m SB. (Note: A few days after SECs, Stona wowed the football world by ripping off a 4.69 40-yard dash at Arkansas\u2019 pro day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Targgart found his form a round later and launched a PB of 19.99m to vault into second. But, in the end, Robinson-O\u2019Hagan\u2019s 20.38m held up for the win, giving Ole Miss the second throws sweep in SEC Indoor history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NCAA Championships were held in Boston two weeks later, at a facility called \u201cThe Track at New Balance,\u201d whatever that means. Unfortunately for the throwers competing there, the ring at the Track at New Balance\u2013try saying it slowly, in your best announcer\u2019s voice\u2013was notoriously slick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith credits Dempsey\u2013who is Irish and therefore extremely reliable\u2013with gathering intel on the facility weeks in advance. Based on Dempsey\u2019s findings, they decided to order Velaasa<\/a> shoes for their crew as Velaasas tend to be grippier than the standard Nikes. That would turn out to be a wise decision if not quite a cure-all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly before the SECs, Robinson-O\u2019Hagan had begun throwing the weight with a full windup and four turns, but they considered switching him back to three turns at NCAAs due to the treacherous ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan took fifth in the NCAA weight. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tarik, though, adheres to the “Go big, or go home!\u201d philosophy of throwing, and with Banks, Northern Arizona\u2019s Garret Bernt<\/a>, and Harvard\u2019s Kenneth Ikeji<\/a> heading a strong field in Boston, it would clearly take 24 meters to nab the win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarik felt like he was in 24-meter shape, but he\u2019d need to employ four turns to reach that distance.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s so competitive,” Dempsey explained. \u201cTo Tarik, there\u2019s no difference between second and eighth place. He was gunning for the win, so we stayed with four turns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Tarik fouled his first attempt, and could not quite find his rhythm the rest of the comp. Dempsey says the ring was not to blame, an assertion that would be supported by Tarik’s performance in the shot the next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was,” according to Dempsey, “just one of those days. Really, it was the only bad meet he\u2019s had in the weight. It just happened to occur at NCAAs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, both Ikeji (24.32m) and CSUN\u2019s Trey Knight<\/a> (24.14m) went big. So did Bernt (23.09m) and Banks (23.05m) to round out the top four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarik ended up fifth with a best of 22.97m. The good news though, according to Smith, was that Tarik\u2019s performance in the weight got him angry going into the shot. More on that in a bit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up was the women\u2019s weight where Jalani Davis, like Tarik, was determined to go for the win. The difference was that Davis would not need a PB to contend. She\u2019d won in 2023 with a toss of 24.51m, and her 25.09m from the 2024 SECs denoted her as the clear favorite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teammate Mitchell and 2023 NCAA second-placer Shelby Frank<\/a> of Minnesota had both reached 24 meters this season, but neither were likely to threaten Davis\u2013if she could control her considerable firepower on that slick surface. To make this more likely, Team Smith made the decision that in addition to wearing Velaasas, Jalani would begin the comp using two turns rather than her normal three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a tentative opener of 21.34m, Davis climbed to 23.14m then 24.80m. With Mitchell and Frank both struggling to find their footing, it appeared 24.80m would likely be enough for the win, so Jalani switched back to using three turns on her final three attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meet and collegiate record of 25.56m had been held by Smith pupil Brittany Riley<\/a> since 2007, and according to Smith, Jalani was in shape to take it down, but \u201cher speed and power didn\u2019t work on that ring.\u201d She sandwiched a 22.88m toss between two fouls, but in the end had to be satisfied with her second consecutive title. As in 2023, Frank (22.69m) finished second and Mitchell (22.15m) third. Remarkably, it was Mitchell’s fourth consecutive NCAA Championships medal in the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jasmine Mitchell medaled in her fourth consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next day, Robinson-O\u2019Hagan lined up against a men\u2019s shot field loaded with heavy hitters including the aforementioned SEC studs, Georgia\u2019s Alex Kolesnikoff<\/a>, Ohio State\u2019s Hayden Tobias<\/a>, Notre Dame\u2019s Michael Shoaf<\/a>, Wisconsin\u2019s Jason Swarens<\/a> and Andrew Stone<\/a>, and Nebraska\u2019s Kevin Shubert<\/a>. All those guys have 20-meter pop, so Smith decided to have Tarik swing for the fences in round one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew Tarik was in good shape,\u201d he explained. \u201cIn the last two weeks, he\u2019d had training PRs with several different balls, and we figured if he could hit a big throw early he could shake up the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That he did, with a PB blast of 20.57m, which put him ahead of Swarens (19.87m) and Wake Forest\u2019s Thomas Kitchell (19.73m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SEC crew got going in round two as Stona (19.96m) and Targgart (19.99m) jumped Swarens and Kitchell. Then Stona made matters veeeery interesting by blasting a 20.48m PB on his fourth attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Smith strongly encouraged Tarik not to rest on his laurels. After that sensational opener, he\u2019d gone 19.58m, Foul, 20.20m, and 20.15m\u2013an outstanding series, but one that left the door open for Stona and perhaps others. Targgart, for example, climbed to 19.95m in round five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter his opener,\u201d Smith explained, \u201cTarik was sliding off to the left on his finish, so I told him to stop being a wuss and stand up at the front and nail it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan found firm footing in the NCAA shot. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Round six turned out to be anticlimactic as Kitchell, Swarens, and Stona all fouled, and Targgart settled for 19.89m. So when Tarik stepped in for his final attempt, he had the competition sewn up. That did not, however, prevent Smith from giving him a quick \u201cass-chewing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Smith, Tarik is an old-school type putter who thrives on emotion and prefers to compete angry. \u201cHe actually loves to get chewed out during competitions. He gets pissed at me if I don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it was the quality of the ass-chewing or residual disappointment from his performance in the weight, Robinson-O\u2019Hagan found the fire he needed to close the comp with a new PB and facility record of 21.05m.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final throwing event was the women\u2019s shot, with Colorado State\u2019s Mya Lesnar<\/a> coming in as the favorite. She was the only collegiate woman to crack the 19-meter barrier during the indoor campaign, but figured to be pushed by Oregon\u2019s Jaida Ross<\/a> who hit a PB of 18.84m at the Razorback Invitational<\/a> in January, and by Jalani, who according to Smith was in 19-meter-plus shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the slick ring caused trouble from the get go. Mya opened with 15.36m, Alida Van Daalen with 15.14m.\u00a0 Jalani hit 18.15m in round one, which would have been fine had she been able to build from there, but her living-on-the-edge approach to shot putting was not a good match for the facility and she fouled her five remaining throws.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She even earned a rare \u201cyellow card\u201d after one failed attempt when she expressed her frustration with a certain four-letter word. This, according to Dempsey, was quite a surprise. \u201cTarik cusses all the time,\u201d he marveled, “and gets nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jalani Davis finished third in the NCAA shot. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sitting in eighth place after three rounds, Lesnar finally found her balance in the fourth and banged out an 18.53m winner. Ross responded with 18.47m to lock up second place, while Jalani\u2019s 18.15m held up for third. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What with the competition and the unpredictable nature of a ring that seemed manageable at times and impossible at others, the points did not come easy in Boston. But in the end, the Ole Miss throws squad hauled in 36, a mark they’ll be looking to beat at the outdoor championships in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memory keeper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be hard to contest the discus or javelin in most indoor venues without sending paying customers sprinting for the exits, so meets like the recent Indoor World Championships<\/a> trend to skip the decathlon in favor of a heptathlon featuring the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1000-meter run. In Glasgow, Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer<\/a> took gold in the event, finishing with 6418 points, 11 more than Norway\u2019s Sander Skotheim<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bronze medal went to an Estonian named Johannes Erm<\/a> who, since last November, has been trained by a team of coaches and support personnel put together by Raul Rebane<\/a>, a journalist and communications consultant.  A quarter century ago, Raul assembled a similar team around Gerd Kanter<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raul first became aware of Gerd in May of 2000 when he stopped by a local competition in Tallinn to watch the decathlete Erki Nool<\/a> try to sharpen his discus technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had never heard the name \u2018Gerd Kanter,\u2019\u201d Raul recalled later. \u201cI had never seen him. He was very fast in the ring, but he had terrible technique. In this competition, he threw a personal record of around 53.50m, which was nothing special for a guy who was already twenty-one years old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there was something about young Gerd that set him apart from most of the other competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis eyes,\u201d Raul says, \u201cwere burning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty years spent covering sports had taught Raul an important lesson about identifying talent. Great athletes, he observed, are not like you and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey cannot be normal,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey must be people for whom achievement is more important than life. Every training to them is a possibility to get better, to take a short step towards their dream. They are always hungry to do more. There is no question about going to training. They just go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raul invented a name for this type of ferocious determination. He calls it \u201cachievement brains,\u201d and his formula for evaluating athletic potential is simple: \u201cFirst brains, then muscles. When they are together, jackpot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something Raul saw in Gerd\u2019s eyes at that meet in Tallinn suggested to him that this tall kid with lousy technique might have what it takes to be a champion. A couple of weeks later, he spotted Gerd walking along the street and decided to check his \u201cbrains.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cYour name is Gerd Kanter?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are a sportsman?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho are<\/em> you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a discus thrower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you kidding? Fifty-three meters, what kind of discus thrower are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a discus thrower!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, let\u2019s go have some coffee.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t drink coffee!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen we\u2019ll have water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the start of a beautiful relationship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long story short, Raul set about helping Gerd pursue his discus dreams. First, he convinced V\u00e9steinn Hafsteinsson<\/a> to take Gerd into his training group. Over time, he rounded up sponsors, and put together a support team that included a physiotherapist, massage therapist, and sports psychologist. One day, Raul noticed that a teenager named Hans \u00dc\u00fcrike had created a Gerd Kanter fan page online, and Hans was drafted into the cause as well. (After contributing his talents to Team Kanter, Hans went on to manage the careers of Daniel St\u00e5hl, Sarah Mitton, Fanny Roos, Simon Pettersson, and Fedrick Dacres.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight years after Raul and Gerd sat down for that first glass of water, Gerd stood atop the medal stand at the Beijing Olympics<\/a>. It was the second most impactful day of Raul\u2019s life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most important event in my life,\u201d he says, \u201cwas 20th August 1991, when Estonia got independence. The funny thing is that I was in Japan covering the World Championships and all the journalists there wanted to interview me about what was happening in Estonia. Russian tanks were 80 kilometers from Tallinn. Fortunately, they finally agreed to withdraw, so I went to Tokyo as a citizen of one state\u2013the Soviet Union\u2013and came back citizen of another state, a free Estonia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estonians had suffered terribly under Soviet occupation. Russian troops first arrived in 1940 after Stalin and Hitler signed a pact dividing up eastern Europe. The arrests and deportations began immediately. Police officers. Public officials. Intellectuals. Military personnel. Anyone around whom resistance might coalesce. In just twelve months, an estimated 60,000 Estonians<\/a> were murdered outright or deported to Soviet gulags. That number included Raul\u2019s grandfather and his grandfather\u2019s three brothers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Estonia finally regained its independence, Raul helped establish the Institute of Historical Memory<\/a> to remind future generations not to take freedom for granted. The wisdom of that sentiment became evident when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estonians like Raul harbor no illusions about what Vladimir Putin intends for the rest of the former Soviet Bloc if he succeeds in Ukraine. Over the last two years, they have committed to providing aid to the Ukrainians valued at more than two percent of the Estonian gross domestic product. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My wife, Alice Wood, with Raul Rebane at the Memorial to the Victims of Communism in Tallinn, Estonia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Putin expressed his displeasure by placing Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas<\/a> on a \u201cwanted list\u201d for \u201cdesecrating historical memory\u201d after her government ordered the removal of old Soviet monuments left behind from the fifty-year occupation. This was alarmingly similar to accusations Putin directed <\/a>towards the Ukrainian government on the eve of the Russian invasion two years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Paris Olympics approach, Raul hopes to provide Estonians with a welcome bit of distraction by helping Johannes Erm contend for a medal. But the war in Ukraine and the tragic past of his own country will never be far from his mind. \u201cThis is our history\u201d he once explained<\/a>. \u201dInvasions and a flattened country. It’s in our collective memory. We won’t forget, and never will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wind keeper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Odyssey<\/em>, a gent named Aeolus is in charge of the four winds. In the world of American discus throwing, that would be Caleb Seal, who runs Throw Town Ramona<\/a>, a facility near Tulsa, Oklahoma, which Caleb describes as \u2018the windiest part of the United States in April.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Throw Town facility was constructed with those winds in mind. It features three cages facing different directions so throwers can best take advantage of whatever Mother Nature has to offer on a particular day. Coach Seal believes the spring weather at Throw Town can provide a high-level thrower with a five-meter bump\u2013which can come in handy in an Olympic year when the qualifying marks<\/a> are 64.50m for women and 67.20m for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Josh Syrotchen, Alex Rose, and Coach Seal celebrating big throws last April at Throw Town. Photo courtesy of Coach Seal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On April 12-14, Throw Town will host a World Athletics bronze-level comp where athletes can take a crack at those qualifiers while picking up ranking points and possibly a chunk of the $30,000 in prize money available that weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thrower sure to appear is two-time Olympian Alex Rose<\/a>, who broke the 70-meter barrier at Throw Town last April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex works full time as a sales engineer, and he\u2019d been especially busy in the days leading up to the 2023 Throw Town comp. A training seminar allowed him time for exactly one hour of lifting and zero hours of throwing the week of the meet. But one aspect of his throwing style might have made Alex the perfect guy to take advantage of the Oklahoma winds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI throw very low compared to most guys,\u201d he explained recently. \u201cAnd my disc travels very fast. At the Worlds in Doha, I was clocked at one of the fastest speeds ever on a 61-meter throw that stayed twelve feet off the ground. But at Ramona, the winds lifted my throws up to what for most people is the normal height. I took a warmup on the first day that weekend, and said, \u2018Oh my god, that looks like how I\u2019ve always wanted to throw!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first of two competitions that weekend, Alex raised his PB from 67.48m to 69.41m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day was sunny and maybe ten degrees warmer, which allowed Alex to wear his spandex kit. Properly attired, he hit 70.39m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That throw, he said later, meant \u201ceverything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a huge goal of mine to break 70 meters. It\u2019s one of those bucket list throws that you never think you\u2019re going to get. But it was the best wind I\u2019ve ever seen, and I hit it well and it just kept going and going. It was a career moment for me, especially with everything I\u2019d been through the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That would include the birth of his son and managing the stress of driving approximately 750 miles per week for work. Alex says his efforts to find throwing and lifting facilities while on the road have made him a \u201cmaster at Google Maps,\u201d but he considers himself lucky when he\u2019s able to squeeze two lifting and three throwing sessions into a week. That\u2019s a clear disadvantage when competing against athletes who train full time, but he\u2019s never regretted his decision to start a family and career during his prime athletic years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a moment when I had to make the choice,\u201d he recalled. \u201cDo I focus on throwing and risk a late start to my family, and maybe struggle to help support my family, or do I try to do my best given the circumstances?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He chose the latter option, and has somehow managed to balance family, work, and throwing well enough to make the final at the last two World Championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer, he hopes to make his first Olympic final, and will begin his season back at Throw Town where he is likely to be joined by other world class throwers looking to smash PBs while picking up valuable world-ranking points.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Mother Nature cooperate? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeck yes,\u201d says Coach Seal. \u201cThey don\u2019t call it \u2018tornado alley\u2019 for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Book Update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training for Gold, the Plan that made Daniel St\u00e5hl Olympic Champion<\/em> is available in both print<\/a> and eBook<\/a> editions! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Coach Garry Power of Ireland kindly posted the following review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This maybe a niche book in terms of being about a discus thrower and the plan to achieve the ultimate in sport – an Olympic Gold – but it is so much more. The book provides a philosophical insight into meeting the needs of an individual athlete. It is open and honest. Both authors have excelled in achieving a balance of theory and philosophy or art and science. I loved it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With fifteen-hundred years of literary tradition behind them, the Irish know what they’re talking about when it comes to books, so I’m not going to argue with the man. Nor should you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Local News<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My dear friend Jim Aikens built a hugely successful throwing program at Fremd High School in the suburbs of Chicago before retiring to Dallas, Texas, to hug his grandchildren and dodge fire ants. He left behind a legacy of excellence and kindness, which I am happy to report has been continued by one of his finest throwers from back in the day, Ken Kemeny, who is currently coaching at St. Charles North High. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken and I are fortunate to also be friends with Joe Frontier, founder of the Madison Throws Club<\/a> and the Throw Big Throw Far Podcast<\/a>, and like Jim a great coach and better human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, we like Joe so much, we have decided to steal his idea and form a summer throwing club, this one to be called the Throw Big Throw Far Chicago Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expert instruction will be available in the shot, disc and hammer beginning in June, along with ample opportunities to compete. It’s a great chance to spend the summer months sharpening your throwing technique while hanging out with fellow throws nerds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the TBTF Chicago Instagram<\/a> page for more info!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me on the left. Coach Kemeny–a man with great taste in literature–on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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36 the hard way The Ole\u2019 Miss throws squad, led by the venerable John Smith and his protege Dempsey McGuigan, finished the indoor season with a flourish, sweeping the weight and shot at the SEC Championships, then adding two more individual NCAA titles to Smith\u2019s voluminous resume.  The fun began in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February … Continue reading The Monthly Meathead for March, 2024<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,9,7,11,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meets","category-musings","category-ncaa","category-rotational-shot","category-shot-put"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8knIb-11P","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3957\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}