Over the course of the past couple days, I have received a lot of feedback about my previous post about post-collegiate throwing. I have engaged in great conversation with a former thrower and SUNY Brockport standout Dom Gonzalez. Dom is a multiple time Division III All-American in the 35lb. Weight Throw and Hammer Throw. At the time of his dominance in the mid 2000's, I was at the tail end of my post-collegiate throwing career. Since then, Dom and I have kept in touch, but most recently we have began discussing our "old" throwing days. Above you can see the correspondence we had on my Instagram page. With all due respect intended, I asked Dom if he would have continued to throw post-collegiate if he had thrown farther in college. His college personal best is just under 60m (196'). We have exchanged a few text messages since our conversation on Instagram. The researcher in me enjoys talking to people, learning more about them, and asking questions. I will be traveling to Albany in a couple of weeks for school related business. While in the Albany area, Dom has agreed to an interview in which we will discuss post-collegiate throwing, as well as the following questions. For some context, Dom also spent a few years as a throwing coach at a local Division III institution in the greater Rochester area. My follow-up questions regarding post-collegiate throwing are as follows: How far does someone need to throw in college in order to keep the dream alive after college? Is it worth-while for someone to continue throwing after college if their personal best in the Hammer is only 60m, or if their best Discus throw is 53m? Where would you draw the line on moving forward and trying to achieve your throwing dream? I think it is safe to say that maybe 10% of throwers continue throwing (Shot-Put/Discus/Javelin/Hammer/Weight) after graduating from college. If the "dream" is not to qualify for and compete at the biggest stage imaginable, i.e. Olympic Games, then why continue throwing? Jud Logan, 4x American Hammer Olympian, provides very valuable insight below in a tweet to me when I asked him what to consider when thinking about training as a post-collegiate thrower. Does anyone else have any thoughts on the subject? If a thrower approached you today, and asked you to coach them through the 2020 Olympics, what would you say? What factors would play a role in your decision?
As always, thanks for reading. My best, Charles
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When I first started coaching, I never thought I would have the opportunity to coach post-collegiate throwers. I guess I always thought that I would coach college athletes. The notion of working with high school throwers never really crossed my mind as well. The more time I spend traveling with our college throwers and talking with other coaches, I have come to the realization that post-collegiate throwers within Western, NY are few and far between. Besides the two post-collegiate throwers I coach, I cannot name many other throwers chasing the goal of qualifying for the USATF Indoor or Outdoor National Championships. Very rarely, if ever, do unattached / post-collegiate throwers compete in meets within the greater Rochester area. This begs the question, where have all the post-collegiate throwers gone? When I graduated from SUNY Fredonia in 2004, there were many more post-collegiate throwers in the greater Rochester area. A handful of throwers that had graduated from UB as well as from SUNY Brockport were very active. One prominent thrower and graduate of SUNY Brockport competed in multiple USATF Indoor and Outdoor National Championships, including the 2008 Olympic Trials in the hammer throw, Jesse Doty. There may have been more throwers in the mid to late 2000's because of the annual New York State Empire State Games. The Empire State Games served as an Olympic type festival held in New York State every July-August. The state was broken into six regions. Athletes had to qualify to compete at the games, with the top two athletes from each region advancing to the games. I was fortunate enough to make three Empire State Games teams (2005, 2006, 2008), earning a Bronze medal at the 2006 games held in Rochester. The Track & Field portion of the games was held at the University of Rochester. The Empire State Games were discontinued in the early 2010's. Empire State Games 2006 held at the University of Rochester. My proudest throwing achievement, finishing 3rd, and earning my first ESG medal. 2006 Empire State Games in Rochester, NY. The only track and field meet my grandparents both came to watch me compete in, ever! Empire State Games 2008 held at SUNY Binghamton. Was in 3rd place going into round six. I did not improve. My competition did, and I ended up finishing 4th. Now, getting back to the original comment, where have all the unattached throwers gone? Rochester was a hotbed for very good post-collegiate throwers. Like I mentioned before, Jesse Doty, along with Luis Rivera are probably the best ever. Jake Basher was another great thrower from SUNY Brockport that threw at the Empire State Games and was a Division III All-American. I do not consider myself to be held to the same regard as the three throwers mentioned above. For a couple of years I was competitive. That is about it, competitive.
If it is a facility people are looking for, we have an indoor facility at Nazareth College that is able to accommodate throwers who are chasing their dreams. The reason why I started Forza Athletics is to give people an opportunity to continue throwing after college, in an indoor facility that is welcoming to them. Any throwers are more than welcome to stop by and get a practice in. Most recently, world class Highland Games competitor Matt Hand, another SUNY Brockport graduate, stopped by the indoor facility to get out of the cold before the North/South Competition. You can be the next thrower to pass through our indoor facility. All you have to do is ask. If you are interested, please email me forzathletics@gmail.com. My best, Charles Luis and I left first thing Friday morning. We left at 5am to be exact. A lake effect snow advisory was sitting right over Erie, PA. Leaving that early in the morning, especially the day of the meet, would give us some time to get down to Ohio with plenty of time to prepare. With good conditions and no snow, the ride from Rochester to Columbus would take about 6.5 hours. In our case, it took just over 7 hours. We didn't lose that much time. Driving through Erie, PA did make me a little nervous. How could I be nervous when the first stop we were going to make was at Rogue Headquarters. Rogue Headquarters in Columbus, OH is everything you would expect it to be, and then some. Tucked away in a small industrial park, you wouldn't even realize it was there. The people working inside were helpful, engaging, and well informed about the history of Rogue. Our next stop was checking into the hotel to relax for a few hours, get some lunch, and then head to French Field House. French Field House is located on Woody Hayes Drive, directly across the street from the football stadium. Walking around inside French Field House was pretty amazing. Everyone working inside the facility was welcoming and helpful. The field house has two seperate throwing areas. The shot-put competition took place in the infield of the track. The weight competition took place just off the back stretch of the facility. From what the throwers were saying, it seems the circle was faster than it looked. A simple wooden circle with a metal ring that would produce the leading Division II men's weight throw. Luis had two warm-up throws before the competition began. His first warm-up throw, pictured directly below, was an interesting one. He very rarely, if ever, releases the weight early. On this particular occasion, the weight slipped out of his hand. Luis' second warm-up throw went much better. Not as crisp as we have been experiencing in practice, but just another warm-up throw. We knew a big throw was inside of him today. Above you will find Luis' competition throws. Round 1 was a foul down the left sector line. Luis experienced a similar problem at the USATF Niagara Championship meet the week before. Luis was letting the weight get past his belly button after his right foot came down on his release, which meant that he was going to pull the weight outside the left sector. In practice we work on accelerating through the finish once his right foot comes down on his third turn. This explosion into the sector would typically produce a throw just right of center in the sector. If you notice in the proceeding throws in the video, Luis slightly rotates his feet in the circle. This little rotation would offset the possibility of Luis pulling the weight outside the left sector. Round 5 would be his best throw of the competition, finishing 5th out of 9 with a throw of 19.76m, a new seasonal best. So far this season, Luis has more 19.00m+ throws than he had all of last season. His throwing distance average is much higher this season than last, however Luis has yet to achieve the USATF Indoor National automatic qualifying throw of 20.00m+. He is slowing inching his way to that throw. Thanks for reading. I hope you are able to find some value in this blog post. If so, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you and what you found most valuable or interesting from this post. My best, Charles After four short practices over the course of the past couple of weeks, Forza Athletics thrower Savannah Cook opened her season at the 2016 USATF Niagara Indoor Track & Field Championships. The calm before the storm. Women's weight got the throwing events started. A majority of the women competing were unattached, with a few collegiate athletes, and one high school thrower. Our goal for the meet was to have fun, get some good marks, and build upon what we have been working on over the course of the past couple of weeks. Savannah started out a little off balanced, not being patient with her right foot. As you can see through a couple of her throws, she does not allow her right foot come open up to the sector, thus causing some errant throws.
Our wins for the meet were:
I'm very proud of Savannah and what she was able to accomplish in her first meet of the 2016-17 season. I look forward to coaching and mentoring Savannah through the remainder of this indoor and outdoor seasons. Thank you for reading! Charles As 2016 comes to a close, I reflect back on my accomplishments and failures. It may sound harsh to say, but not all went perfectly well in 2016. In a blog post I wrote around this time last year, I wrote a brief list of what I had to look forward to in 2016. You can see that list below. To recap, I wanted to:
Well, I definitely accomplished numbers 2 and 3. I successfully defended my dissertation proposal in March, 2016. I don't believe I have ever felt more nervous and scared in my life. Even more nervous than my wedding day, I knew that a poor presentation to my dissertation committee would set me back a couple of months, something I couldn't afford. The good news is that I pretty much received a perfect score, the highest score my dissertation committee have ever given. August 8th, 2016 will always be a special day in my life. On this day I successfully defended my dissertation. I felt much more calm on this day. My wife, oldest son, parents, brother, his girlfriend, both research directors at Children's Institute, an RCSD administrator, and a work peer were in attendance as I wrapped up two years worth of research in 30 minutes. One of my proudest accomplishments. I felt pretty good going into my dissertation defense. At this moment, I was reflecting back with my dissertation chair on where I started and how I got to that point in time. I was blessed to have the dissertation committee I had. I could not have asked for a more supportive, trusting, open, receptive, and mentally challenging (in a good way) pair of researchers to mentor me through the dissertation process. Completing your dissertation is no small task. Two years of research and writing that lead to a 30 minute presentation that is open to the public result in you becoming or not becoming an Ed.D. When I first started the DEXL program at St. John Fisher College, our cohort consisted of 21 individuals all with the same goal of defending their dissertations by April, 2017. Well, up to this point in the program, our cohort has 17 individuals remaining. Some of us have already successfully defended our dissertations. For the others, they have until mid April, 2017 to defend in order to be eligible to walk at our graduation ceremony in May, 2017. I attribute my success in the program to grit. A term I have heard many times before, but never really looked into the true meaning of what it really entails. Angela Duckworth wrote a book about grit. Urban Meyer, in his new book, refers to grit in a passage before he begins to discuss their football season at The Ohio State University. Grit, in some respects, can be defined as working diligently and hard on something for as long as you can. Typically, being engaged with a similar task/project for as long as it takes to complete without turning your attention to something else. Finishing your dissertation takes grit. You need to remain focused on the same task for as long as it takes to complete, for example, spending two and a half years writing and reviewing your dissertation. One of my favorite podcasts of 2016 was an episode of the EntreLeadership Podcast. In this particular episode, Brian Buffini was interviewed. An Irish immigrant that has become a very successful real estate businessman. In his podcast, he says, "How much do you get out of an hour as opposed to how many hours does it take?" I interpret this phrase as not wishing your time away, but living in the moment and getting as much accomplished as possible, rather than wishing time away or wanting it to fly by. My focus throughout the first half of 2016 was on my doctoral work and dissertation. I did not spend as much time focused on my family as I should have. However, once I completed my dissertation in August, I was better able to live in the moment and spend quality time with my family. That is my focus for 2017. Spending more quality time with my family, enjoying every moment, and not wishing time away. Rather, getting the most out of the time we spend together. As you reflect on 2016, what were your successes? What were your accomplishments that you are most proud of? What are you going to focus your time, attention, and energy on in 2017. I'd love to read what you have to say. Please post your comments below.
Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy 2017. As always, thanks for reading! Charles J. Infurna, Ed.D. Two weeks out from the Buckeye Classic to be held on the campus of The Ohio State University, Forza Athletics thrower Luis Rivera has been focusing on his speed progressions through his turns. Below you will find video from our most recent practice together, held on December 22, 2016. As you can see from the video, his progressions and transitions are becoming smoother and effortless. Not all of his throws are perfect. All throwers have some miscues in practice from time to time. How throwers move forward from those setbacks is key and instrumental in how practices progress from one to the next. Dwelling on past practices can only hinder progress, especially when working with young or new throwers. As Lance Deal stated so nicely last year at the 2015 National Throws Coaches Conference, there is always the next throw! Luis plans on competing at the 2016 USATF Niagara Indoor Track & Field Championships on December 31, 2016, to be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The following week Luis will be competing at the Buckeye Classic on Friday, January 6, 2017. Forza Athletics is happy to announce that Savannah Cook has joined our post-collegiate throwing club, beginning with the 2016-17 season. Savannah most recently competed at SUNY Brockport where she was a multiple time SUNYAC Champion in the Shot-Put. She is now putting her focus on the 20lb. Weight Throw, in which she has a personal best throw of just over 16m. Above you will find video from our most recent practice on December 22, 2016. Our focus for this practice was to initiate a flatter entry into her first turn, while also increasing the speed of her second wind. After not throwing the weight since March, 2016, Savannah has made steady progress this week. She opens her season on December 31, 2016 at the USATF Niagara Indoor Track & Field Championships, to be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
For more information about the meet, please visit https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/UpstateNYHolidayClassic Forza Athletics sponsored athlete Luis Rivera opened his 2016-17 season on Friday night, December 9th, 2016 at Houghton College. The 2016 DIII Indoor Weight Throw National Champion competed in his first post-collegiate meet, opening the season with a throw of 19.52m (64'). Luis opened the season a full meter farther than he did last year, as a college senior at Nazareth College. The goal for the meet was to open a meter farther than last year. We were successful in those regards. His big throw came in round 4 of the competition. His throw of 19.52m set the facility record, a record that Luis set last year as a college senior. Our plan is to next compete at the Buckeye Classic at Ohio State on Friday January 6th, 2017. As always, thanks for reading! |
AuthorCharles Infurna, Ed.D., is the owner and lead coach of Forza Athletics Track Club. Dr. Infurna has coached National Record Holders, National Champions, All-Americans, and Conference Champions at the Post-Collegiate, Collegiate, and High School level. Archives
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