Hello Throws Enthusiast,

This is Jim Aikens with some “Throws News You Can Use”. I hope all of you have had an enjoyable fall so far.  That Men’s Shot Put competition in Doha was amazing. The top three throwers all throwing over 75’ WOW! Here is a clip from You Tube of some of the best throws in case you haven’t seen them yet. https://youtu.be/32pgvYrU5HM

Some Great Resources:

IThrow.com: https://ithrow.com This website has a lot of resources that coaches can use. This site has the “All Time” top Throws performance list for Illinois, All The “Long & Strong Throws Magazine” issues, Current and past “Throws News you can Use” issues, Job postings and more.

Mac Throws: If you haven’t had the chance to look at it yet you need to check out Mac Throws. https://www.macthrowvideo.com There are some great videos of different throws competitions around the world.

Mcthrows.com:  You should check out the various interviews and articles that are written by Illinois’ own Dan McQuaid. Dan has a great website “The Wonderful World of Throwing”. https://mcthrows.com Dan does a great job writing about the various competitions and has many interviews with today’s throwers & coaches. There are also some great coaching webinars available on this site.

Throw Big Throw Far Podcast:  If you are into podcast you need to check out the Madison Throws “Throw Big Throw Far Podcast” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/throw-big-throw-far-podcast/id1449291795  Joe Frontier from Madison Throws has some amazing interviews that he has recorded for this great podcast series.

Some Great Clinics that are coming this year:

Ryan Whiting’s Learn By Doing throws camp is on December 14^th & 15^th 2019:

Burlington Central High School is hosting Former World & National Champion Ryan Whiting and National Indoor Champion Chase Ealey and the rest of the Throws Lab staff will be there as well.  This is for athlete and coaches. I suggest you sign up sooner rather than later since there are a limited number of spots.  The link to the registration site is below. Saturday 12/14 is discus and Sunday 12/15 is shot put.

https://campscui.active.com/orgs/AreteNorCalThrowsClub#/selectSessions/2534603

This year’s ITCCCA Track Coaches clinic is January 10^th & 11^th 2020:

This clinic is a must for throws coaches: This year speaking at the clinic is

Dane Miller from Garage Strength & Throws University he will be presenting at multiple sessions. Check out Dane’s bio: https://www.garagestrength.com/pages/coaches

Scott Cappos Built a successful throws program at Iowa and now is building a dynasty at Nebraska he will also be presenting at multiple sessions. Check out Scott’s bio: https://huskers.com/staff.aspx?staff=38

This year’s A-Z Learn By Doing Throws Clinic is on Sunday, January 26^th  2020:

If you haven’t been to the A-Z Throws clinic you don’t know what your missing.  This clinic has been running for over 15 years. Multiple state medalist have attended this clinic over the years.  The great thing about this clinic is the excellent coach to athlete ratio. On average there is one coach to every 5 athletes.  The throws coaches who volunteer to work this clinic are some of the best in the state of Illinois. Your athletes and you will experience some major hands on coaching. (Sign up sheet will be available soon)

 1^st Annual Burlington Central Throws Camp Sunday, February 16^th 2020:

This camp will be tailored more to what individual throwers and coaches need in order to help make them successful.  This camp will use video to help analyze what is needed to improve your throw and you will be shown the drills to help you to improve in that area.  The clinic will be directed by Coach Jim Aikens (Fremd HS & Burlington Central HS.) and Coach Scott Bennett who has been coaching the field events for over 40 years. He has coached five Olympians (1 gold medalist), National Champions, Olympic Trial Winners, NCAA Champions and many more. He has coached on the Division 1 and Division 3 levels as well as the high school level. He has developed a great system for teaching & correcting throwing technique. (Sign up sheet will be available soon)

I hope you found this Information helpful.  Please tell other throws coaches you know about this newsletter and have them contact me to get them on the list. You can contact me at Jimaikens@hotmail.com

Thank You for your time.

Jim Aikens

Burlington Central HS. Throws Coach

IThrow.com

Scott Bennett:Coach Bennett has been coaching the field events for over 40 years. He has coached five Olympians (1 gold medalist), National Champions, Olympic Trial Winners, NCAA Champions and many many more. He has coached on the Division 1 and Division 3 levels as well as the high school level. Coach Bennett has a masters degree in Bio Mechanics which along with his trained eye to identify technical movements has enabled him to be a very successful Field Events Coach. Coach Bennett coached Olympian Andy Bloom who threw over 71 feet in the shot put and over 224 feet in the discus. He also coached one of the United States greatest female discus throwers Olympian Aretha Thurmond-Hill. Most recently Coach Bennett has worked with Curt Jensen who threw over 70 in the shot put in 2018 and coached Tim Glover over 84 meters in the javelin. Coach Bennett’s college athletes have included 7 men over 60 feet and 2 women over 57 feet as well as many other successful throwers. Coach Bennett has spoken at multiple state track clinics including Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and several others. He has also spoken at multiple National Throws Coaches Associations Clinics along with presenting at the USATF development camps.. Coach Bennett has the unique ability to easily identify technical faults and can correct those faults with a simplified drill based approach.

This week starts the season for all of us. I don’t know about you guys but I’m ready to start coaching. below are a few items that you might find useful.

Either way, I can’t think of a better place to be on Sunday, January 28th than Wheaton North High School, new home to the A-Z Throws Clinic.

Athletes will receive expert instruction in the shot put (glide or rotational) and discus.

And unlike many throws clinics where each instructor is responsible for a couple dozen athletes, the A-Z features small group instruction. We have 15 excellent coaches with many years of experience (Jim Aikens, for example, began his stellar career teaching the rotational technique to Union soldiers using cannonballs) so every athlete will get plenty of individual attention from a knowledgeable professional.

Follow this link for info about the clinic schedule and registration.

3. All the notes from the ITCCCA Clinic are up and available on the ITCCCA Website. This is a good resource I go back to quite often.

4. FYI state qualifying marks for 2018

Girls Shot: 1A= 35′ 8″ / 2A= 37′ 2″ / 3A=38′ 2″

Girls Disc: 1A= 108′ 8″ / 2A= 112′ 10″ / 3A= 117′ 6″

Boys Shot: 1A= 47′ 9″ / 2A= 49′ 6″ / 3A= 52′ 7″

Boys Disc: 1A= 141′ 6″ / 2A= 145′ 10″ / 3A= 154′ 7″