Re:The Mental Aspect - Throwing Events Discussion

This is my first post on the board, but I have been coming on this site for years now. I just wanted to get some different perspectives on my topic.

Anyway, this is my 7th year coaching on the college level. I am at a very small DI school, so we don't have the budget to recruit the "blue chip" athletes like the bigger schools, but that hasn't kept us from doing very well and finally going to regionals last year. One of the problems that some of my throwers, especially newer ones have, is to grasp the mental aspect of throwing and competition. I've talked to them until I was blue in the face, about the importance of being mentally strong and sound for your training and competitions. To be mentally prepared for practice and focused on your goals for the day, and visualize what it is that you want to do. I've tried to keep them from depending on me too much, because when they get out of school, I'm not going to be there to tell them what to do, as well as I can't be there at every meet for every throw. If they get into a mental "funk", it is hard for them to climb their way out of the hole and get back to where they were. If I am not there to watch them, they have a mental block, and forget even the simplest of things. Does anybody have any ideas on how to combat this and make them mentally stronger? Thanks

This is a very tough question but a very relevant one. I believe that the mental aspect of throwing is one of the largest components of your success and is very difficult to teach. Many times the mental toughness and ability only comes with maturity and experience but my experience has taught me that if you as a coach have a very structured plan and approach to your season and a methodology for your athletes to follow that is consistent, they can then believe in that approach, believe in their training philosophy, and not put as much pressure on themselves... I strongly feel that belief in the 'system' you are working under goes a long way. Your athletes should understand that under certain training conditions they may be a bit too worn out to PR but there is a method to your madness and your approach is based on sound training principles.

Again, the more they believe in you as a coach, leading them through the season and the more they believe in your approach to the season, the easier it is for them to be mentally prepared and have the confidence needed to compete in a very difficult, technical event. Once they have experienced success through these means it is easier for them to become more confident in themselves and they won't be as dependent upon you... This is very similar to my personal experience in training through college and also what I experienced as a coach.

I'm a high school throws coach and I have a problem with two of my discus guys. They throw far and consistent during practice and warm-ups but choke under the mental strain of real competition. Is there something I can do to help them relax so they don't fall apart? I've entered them in every meet possible to try and get them accustomed to competition but they've only gotten worse. Now were starting the stretch of district and post season meets and our team could really use the points these guys are certainly capable of winning. Short of hypnosis, does anyone have some advice?

In case you didn't see this previous post check it out. This is a very similar topic about the mental aspect of throwing...

www.throwfarther.com/index.php...e-Mental-Aspect.html

Yes, that's what I was thinking. The older ones with more experience are better off for the most part. The younger ones are the ones with the problems. Sometimes it's just hard to get a kid to believe that the mental preparation is just as important, especially if they've never heard it before.

This is a very difficult topic... Based on my experiences competing and also coaching I feel that many high school athletes these days are not adequately prepared to be 'competitive' which is also a significant contributing factor to 'choking'. I found that the athletes I coached were very enthusiastic about throwing and worked very hard at practice but their success was significantly impaired because they weren't experienced competing as an individual athlete and didn't really have that competitive 'spirit' in them. For most of their lives they had been taught only team sports and competing in a team environment versus competing against their teammates and competitors from other schools in one on one competition. I believe there is a very big difference between the two that often takes several short high school seasons to even begin to figure out.

I addressed this by trying to coach my athletes to be competitive in other ways on a daily basis. I tried to get them to compete against each other in their lifting, in the testing we would do, and many other aspects of their training. My opinion is if they could learn to be competitive with each other and practice that on a daily basis then they would be more likely to adequately deal with these situations and pressures in meets vs. just choking... Obviously an athlete's ability to appropriately deal with this comes with experience and unfortunately a high school season and a high school career for that matter often isn't long enough for them to adequately mature in these events. I have seen way too many throwers just start to 'figure things out' and achieve success in their senior year of high school or college. This always seems to happen right before their last meet (and throwing career) is over. It is a shame because they never get to realize their full potential and therefore don’t continue with their interest in the sport.

Sorry for the ranting... I'm interested in other thoughts on this.

I agree. As a coach, it's hard to watch a young athlete not get the job done at a meet. Especially when they are the best in the school and capable of throwing far and winning. If anybody has a technique they use to help elite throwers relax and stay confident at meets I'd be interested to hear about it. The throwers that are "in the pack" perform their best at the meet, so that proves what you were saying about competition.

Great topic! I had a very similar problem with my athletes. They would all have impressive marks in practice but fail to perform to those same standards come meet time. I think it's because they all have this idea or expectation of how far they should be throwing instead of just competing, and if they don't come out and hit close to that expected mark they start to go into panic mode. When this starts to happen, they try to hard and comprimise their technique. So, a couple of weeks ago we were at our conference meet and I told all of them that there are no numbers today, I don't want anybody thinking about how far they want or should throw...NO NUMBERS. I told them to just compete and give it their best shot, and if they do that the numbers will take care of themselves. I had my male shot putter PR by nearly four feet! He was seeded 19th going in and finished 10th. He also had a PR in the discus. My female hammer thrower had an amazing PR, she went from 44.56 meters to 51.01 and won the conference championship. Our Javalin thrower had a PR of two meters. Everyone else came very close to their PR if they didn't PR. So, somehow the athlete needs to learn to clear their minds and just compete to the best of their ability. We spend all week doing drills and learning technique and thinking a lot. When we get to the meet, it's time to stop thinking and just do it.

I have had two HS throwers break 55' and be very different on meet days. You need to find out what their relaxing mindset is. Is it jokes, or music, or alone time, or...? My kid this year was a self-motivator, but my previous kid liked to be left alone, prepare himself to throw, get cues between throws, and be successful. I wonder, and worry, that the kid who performs well during practice may not be taking the whole thing seriously. Are they truly upset or disappointed in themselves? Is a track meet a social event? The flip side is a kid who thinks a 5ft PR every week is the only way to be happy. He/she goes 110% on every meet throw.

Really, I don't know, but I like and tried the individuality of the thrower technique.

you just gotta do it. you have to find it in yourself. i was a college freshman last year and was in a few sticky situations that got even stickier. i should've won my conference in hammer; i didn't get a mark. i fell apart that meet. its just something you have to find within yourself. i've learned not to panic. for the kids who chase the big mark, which was me last year as a senior in high school, don't. it will only disappoint you if you don't get what you want. train hard, put in work in the weight room, drills, quality throws at practice and the marks will come. trust me. winning is better than chasing a big throw. we can't win them all, so consistency is our second best option. athletes-have faith in your coach, the system you're on, and yourself and you'll be one hell of a thrower