HOW TO HOLD THE SHOT=
Balance the shot in his=
hand
so it is resting at the point where the fingers are con=
nected
to the palm of the hand.
Keep their fingers toge=
ther
and allow their thumb to gently rest against the side of the shot that oppo=
ses
the other four fingers.
The shot should be plac=
ed
underneath the jaw, roughly one inch in front of the ear. The hand should be
pressing the shot against the neck to support it in this position. It is ve=
ry
important that the throwing hand is behind the shot and not u=
nderneath
it.
Once the above is maste=
red
the athlete is ready to proceed to the 5 step approach to the full throw
STEP ONE
In the first step, the thrower stands in the shot ring with his whole body facing the throwing sec= tor and his toes touching the inside of the toe board. The shot is positioned u= nder the jaw, as described earlier, with the intent to throw straight away from = the chest. From this position, the thrower will push the shot away from the che= st using only the throwing arm. This first step will isolate the throwing action of the arm so that the proper mechanics of this motion can be emphasized. The coach should be careful to note that the thrower is keeping= the upper arm behind the forearm as he pushes on the shot and that the arm is at roughly a 90-degree angle upon release. The thrower should also be releasing the shot off the end of the middle three fingers so the shot will snap off = the throwing hand. A proper release will cause the shot to spin very little and= it is not desirable to have a lot of rotation on the shot upon release. Once t= hese steps have been mastered, the thrower is ready to advance to the second ste= p of the progression.
STEP TWO
In the second step, the
thrower starts from the same position as in Step One, but with one modifica=
tion:
to rotate the trunk 90 degrees so that his chest is facing the side of the =
shot
ring. From this position, the thrower rotates his trunk back to the original
starting position to give a little momentum to the shot before beginning the
throw with his arm. This step isolates the trunk rotation and=
the
throwing action of the arm so that the proper mechanics of th=
ese
two actions can be emphasized. The proper execution of this drill will resu=
lt
in the thrower coordinating the movements of the trunk and arm to realize at
least a five-foot gain in distance from the first step in this teaching
progression.
STEP THREE
In the third step of th= is progression, the thrower starts from the same position as in Step Two, but = with one modification: to bend his legs into a quarter squat position while putt= ing all his weight on the balls of both feet. From this position, the thrower initiates the throw in the same manner as in Step Two, while extending his = legs up out of the quarter squat position. This step introduces the action= of the legs into the throw, while coordinating the extension of the le= gs with the trunk rotation and throwing action of the arm. Proper coordination= of the legs, trunk and arm should result in another five-foot increase in dist= ance from the technique used in Step Two
STEP FOUR
In the fourth step, the
thrower performs exactly the same movements as in Step Three, except that t=
his
step is performed at near maximal effort. The coach may allow=
the
athlete to explode out of the starting position to such an extent that they
"blow out" of the shot ring. This may be allowed to teach the ath=
lete
to be aggressive in throwing the implement. Step four is the first time that
the beginning thrower focuses more on the quickness of execution<=
/b>
and the explosive elements of shot putting. The first three s=
teps
focused on the coordination of body segments and proper
throwing positions. It is crucial for the coach to make sure that t=
he
thrower is executing all elements of the throwing technique correctly, beca=
use
each step of this progression builds on the previous step.
STEP FIVE
The final step of this five-step progression leads the thrower into the stand throw.= The athlete begins in the same position as in Step One. From this position the thrower steps back in toward the center of the ring with his right foot to = make a "base" that is a little wider than shoulder width. The width of this base may vary depending on the dimensions of the thrower and what feels comfortable to him. There is no steadfast rule as to exactly how far apart = the feet should be. The thrower's feet should also exhibit heel-toe align= ment, meaning that the right heel should be lined up with the left toe along the = line that extends down the center of the ring from front to back. This alignment= is critical, because it allows the hips to "square up" when the shot= is thrown, and allows full trunk rotation for maximal involvement of the back = and leg muscles.
After the thrower has established a base with his feet, he should bend his right knee and allow a= lmost all of his weight to be balanced over the ball of the right foot. One way to check if the weight is over the right foot is to have the thrower lift his = leg completely off the ground and balance himself on the ball of the right foot. The thrower should then turn his trunk so that his shoulders are squared up= to the back of the shot ring. At this point, the thrower is in the basic posit= ion to perform a stand throw.
Other technical details= the coach should look for in the stand throw position is:
PERFORMING THE STANDTHROW
The legs, followed by t= he trunk and then the throwing shoulder, should initiate the stand throw. The first movement will cause an upward extension of the right leg (also known = as the drive leg), while the right leg and right hip rotate around to square up the right hip. This will result in a corkscrew movement of the right leg and hip. Once the legs and hips are in motion, the upper body will start to rotate around to square up the chest toward the throwing sector. As this is happening, the left arm will gradually extend out from the body and reach out down the right sector line of the throwing sector. At this point,= the final rotation of the hips and shoulders, along with the complete extension= of the legs will result in the release of the shot (just as in Step Three). As= the shot is being put with the right hand, the left elbow will be pulled back toward the left hip to further help with the squaring up of the shoulders to the throwing sector.
As the right leg is fin= ishing its extension and the hips are squaring up to the throwing sector, the left= leg (also known as the block leg, or post leg) will lock out and "post up." By firming up the left side of the body in this way, the right si= de can be accelerated even further as the shot is released. This action is kno= wn as "blocking" and is critical to realize the best possible throw. Other technical details the coach should look for during the execution of t= he stand throw are:
TEACHING THE REVERSE=
Once the stand throw wi= th a non-reverse finish has been mastered, the thrower can advance to the reverse technique. The reverse allows the thrower to follow through and "chase after" the shot a little more than the non-reverse. The reverse will s= ee the thrower turn his body 180 degrees as the follow through on his throw so= he is facing out the left side of the ring after his throw. The reverse is performed by kicking the block leg out the left side of the ring while replacing it with the right leg. This simultaneous action will cause the thrower to rotate 180 degrees as he follows through on his release of the s= hot into the reverse position. It is important that the thrower does not watch = the shot as it is released, since it will cause his center of mass to move forw= ard out the front of the ring. This will result in the thrower fouling by falli= ng out the front of the ring. Many long throws have been lost because of this technical error.
Many beginning throwers= tend to reverse too soon when they attempt to reverse for the first time. Theref= ore, it is recommended that beginning throwers start by non-reversing and only graduate to the reverse when they show that they can consistently reach full extension of the arms, hips and legs on their non-reverse throws. For throw= ers who are not able to reverse all the way, the simple drill of having them ju= mp (with their hands on their hips) and turn 180 degrees at a time may give th= em the feel for the reverse.
Once the beginning thro= wer is able to complete a full stand throw under control, he is ready to begin dri= lls to learn the glide and/or rotational techniques. Many throwers throw much farther in warm-ups with their stand throw than their full technique and th= en go on to use their full technique in the meet! It is okay for throwers to s= tand throw in meets and it doesn't make sense to have a thrower rush to the glid= e or rotational technique before he is ready.