A Science Guy’s Almanac. Year 2. October 11, 2016
Coaching Memories (continued) - Track & Field – Field Events
I have no photographs of this coaching experience. You'll have to take my word for the veracity of all that I write.
My first foray into the world of high school track and field was with the discus throwers and shot putters in the mid-1970s. I’d taken a track and field class at San Diego State, so I wasn’t completely lost. I knew enough to correct obvious mistakes in the newbies. I knew enough anatomy and physiology to help refine some of more experienced athletes’ release points.
Things went well until the first day in the weight room.
The best male shot putters and discus throwers were members of private gyms. They refused to do the workout I’d devised for the team. After a brief “argument,” I figured it wasn’t worth the conflict and told them to “sit down and wait until the rest of us are done.” They didn’t like that, but they did comply.
My favorite part of coaching shot and discus is that you’re almost always the first varsity event to finish. All competitors throw in the first round. Only three, four, or five athletes throw for points. We had four male shot putters. Three of them also threw the discus. We had only three females total in both events.
Aside: In reality, the first event completed in a high school track meet at that time was the two-mile run. Those competitors arrived before the bus. The two-mile run was finished before any of the other events began. More on that in the next Almanac.
My top male shot putter was also my top male discus thrower. He was above average. He scored points every week. He won a couple of times. He participated in the California Interscholastic Federation, San Diego Region event, but failed to qualify for the State meet.
The big story of this coaching experience was my three-girl shot put team.
My best female shot putter was my best discus thrower, too. She was a stellar shot putter. She took first in every dual-meet. She won the league championship, finished in the top five at the CIF event and qualified for the State meet, but she didn’t make it into the State finals.
My number two shot putter was tall, graceful, pretty, and often more worried about how she looked in her uniform and during the throws than about how far the discus or shot went. Nevertheless, she scored points for the team in nearly all our dual meets. My number three shot putter tried very hard.
When you added the best throws of all three together, the total was over 95 feet. Few other schools in San Diego that year had a total of even 90 feet. We were a killer team at what are called “Relays” in track and field jargon.
These events all require either a real relay team or a combining of usually three distances or heights as the team score for that event. We entered three Relays. We won two of those and finished second in the third. The third Relay included teams from Arizona and Los Angeles. I don’t remember who beat us.
At the end of the year, at the Track and Field banquet, the boys stood respectfully as their names were called. My girls gave me a plaque engraved with their names, a thank you note, and the top distance each threw for that year. I know I had it for twenty years. I think it was lost when I left Monte Vista in 1996. I’m sorry it’s gone.
Next Almanac: Coaching memories continued – Track and Field - Track Events
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