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TEACHING PROGRESSIONS FOR
BEGINNING SHOT-PUT
PART II
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Article
By: Don Babbitt
University of
Georgia, Athens, GA
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 Part
I of this two-part article illustrated a five-step teaching progression
that taught beginning throwers how to standthrow. Once a thrower
is able to standthrow and feel comfortable with the motion, he is
able to advance to either the glide or the rotational
technique. Part II of this article will cover teaching progressions
for both techniques, beginning with the glide technique. All descriptions
of technique will be for the right-handed thrower.
THE GLIDE TECHNIQUE
The first step in teaching
the glide technique is to have the thrower perform the A-drill.
To begin this drill, the thrower stands straight up, with his hands
on his hips, in the back of the ring. From this position, the thrower
slides his left foot backwards along the ground toward the toeboard.
While the left foot is reaching back for the toeboard, it is facing
out the back of the shot ring. After the left foot is extended backwards
about 4-6 feet, the thrower should stop reaching with the foot and
stop all movement. At this point the thrower should be in a "split"
position across the center of the shot ring, with his hands on his
hips, and his upper body and head facing toward the back of the
ring. In addition, his right toe should be lifted up so only the
right heel is in contact with the ground. This is the first half
of the drill.
Once the thrower has
achieved the "split" position, he pulls his right foot in underneath
him so that it is in the same position that it would be when performing
a standthrow. Be careful to note that the thrower has turned his
right foot so that it is pointing out the side of the ring at this
point. This finishing position should see the thrower have almost
all of his weight balanced over the ball of the right foot. When
the beginning thrower first performs this drill, he should perform
it in two distinct parts as just described. When he starts to get
the hand of the drill, he can gradually speed up the two parts so
that the A-drill becomes one complete movement. When this movement
is achieved, the thrower should be ready to attempt a full throw
with an implement.
I would like to suggest
a couple of drills that can be used to teach the various aspects
of the glide technique. The first one is called the standthrow
from a stretch. This drill is designed to emphasize the
quick push off the right leg from the standthrow position after
it is recovered underneath the body following the glide across the
ring. The thrower begins the drill by starting in the standthrow
position with a base that is roughly 12 feet wider than his normal
stance. From this position, the thrower pulls his right leg underneath
his body into his normal normal standthrow base. As soon as the
right leg is recovered, the thrower performs a standthrow with as
little delay on the right foot as possible. The primary emphasis
of this drill is to recover and react the right leg as quickly as
possible.
The second drill that
can aid in teaching the glide technique is called the glide
and stop. This drill basically splits the full throw into
two separate parts. The thrower begins the drill in the same way
that he begins a full throw. The only difference is that after he
glides across the ring, he stops in the standthrow
position. At this point, the coach can take a look at the thrower
and see if he is in the proper position to perform a good throw.
This drill essentially asks the thrower to freeze himself in the
middle of the throw. When the coach has finished looking to make
sure his thrower is in the proper position (usually after a couple
of seconds), he can tell the thrower to finish the throw by either
saying "go" or clapping his hands. This drill is designed to let
the coach assess how well his thrower is "hitting" his positions
after he glides across the ring. The one thing that this drill does
not do is work on a quick transition from the glide
to the actual throw. Because of this, the coach should make sure
that the athlete does not get too used to stopping in the middle
of the ring when he isn't working on this specific drill.
THE
ROTATIONAL TECHNIQUE
The basics of the rotational
technique can be taught once the beginning thrower can perform a
standthrow. The first drill that can be introduced is the half-turn
or 180-degree turn drill. This drill teaches the thrower
how to pivot on the right foot in the middle of the
ring. The thrower can actually begin this drill without the shot
so he can focus his concentration on the pivoting action of the
right foot and the turning of his body. The thrower should start
this drill with his right foot placed in the center of the ring
with almost all of his weight bearing down on the ball of his right
foot. The right leg should be bent as it is at the beginning of
a standthrow. In fact, the whole body should be lined up in a position
that is similar to that at the beginning of a standthrow except
that the thrower is lined up to throw out the back of the ring.
It is also suggested that when the thrower is performing this drill
without the shot, he should have his hands on his hips to minimize
the use of the upper body to gain rotational momentum.
Once the thrower is comfortable
with the starting position for this drill, he begins by rotating
his right hip, knee, and foot in unison to cause his body to start
rotating around. The body of the thrower will be balanced over the
ball of the right foot, which will be pivoting or turning as the
body turns 180 degrees. At no time should the heel of the right
foot touch the ground. During this time, the left leg will be pulled
close to the right leg, causing the knees to almost touch together
in an effort to increase the speed of the body's rotation. As the
thrower is finishing his 180-degree turn, he shoots the left leg
out into a straightened-out position that is similar to that seen
at the beginning of a standthrow. At the end of the 180-degree turn,
the coach should take note to see that the thrower has maintained
the following positions:
- The feet are in a
heel-toe alignment
- The thrower's back
is facing the throwing sector and his chest is facing toward the
back of the ring.
- The thrower's weight
is balanced over the ball of the right foot (i.e. pivot foot).
- The right leg is bent
and the left leg is almost straight, while slightly flexed. The
thrower should be in a position to deliver a solid standthrow.
Once the thrower has
mastered these positions following a 180-degree turn, he can advance
to a series of half-turns to solidify his right foot pivot. The
next step is for the thrower to perform this drill with the shot
placed under the jaw. The final step is to perform this drill with
a release at the end. It is important for the coach to emphasize
the smooth transition from the half-turn to the throw. The thrower
should not stop or stall after the half-turn before going into a
release. The coach should also watch to make sure that the thrower
does not initiate the half-turn with the upper body--the most common
mistake made by beginners during this drill.
Once the half-turn has
been mastered, the beginning thrower can go on to the step-in.
This drill begins with the thrower standing at the back of the ring
with the ball of the left foot placed inside the back
edge of the ring. As with the half-turn, the thrower should start
this drill without the shot and with his hands on his hips to minimize
the use of the upper body to gain momentum. To begin this drill,
the thrower steps with his right foot into the center of the shot
ring and settles his weight down onto the ball of the right foot.
At this point, the thrower should be in a position similar to the
starting position for the half-turn drill. The thrower proceeds
to perform the half-turn and throw. As the different parts of the
step-in drill become more comfortable, they can be molded into one
complete movement with no pauses between positions. It is essential
that the coach makes sure that the heel of the right foot never
touches the ground once the full step-in drill has begun. The emphasis
of this drill should be the continued pivot of the right foot. It
is also important that the coach makes sure that the thrower is
stepping down on the pivot foot and that the thrower initiates the
180-degree turn by pivoting the right foot. The general rule of
thumb is that you pivot to get into position to throw and not to
pivot as a reaction to the throw.
The next drill that follows
the step-in is the South-African drill. This drill
begins just like the step-in except that the thrower drives his
right leg into the middle of the ring as he pushes off with the
left leg to generate power out of the back. This is an excellent
drill to teach the thrower how to drive across the ring using leg
drive from both the right and left legs. With this drill it is important
that the coach is careful to make sure that the beginning thrower
does not initiate the start of the throw with the upper body, which
is the tendency of a lot of beginners. The coach will also want
to check for the following things:
- The thrower keeps
the upper body relaxed as he leads with the right leg into the
center of the ring.
- The thrower pushes
off with the left leg out the back of the ring as his chest is
facing the right sector line. At the same time, he sweeps his
right leg outward and across his body as it's driven toward the
center of the shot ring. These points are extremely important
to remember to make sure that the thrower does not over
rotate out the back of the ring. Many throwers mistakenly
wait until they are lined up and facing toward the center of the
ring before they drive toward the front of the ring. When this
occurs, the sweeping action of the right leg causes
them to land about 12 feet to the left of where they were trying
to drive. This results in over rotation. This is
why the thrower should drive down the right sector line, to compensate
for the sweeping action of the right leg which will cause him
to land in the center of the ring.
- The thrower should
land in a balanced position on the ball of his right foot near
the center of the shot ring.
- The thrower should
always be on the balls of the feet during the throw.
Once the thrower is able
to perform the South-African drill, he is ready to attempt a full
throw. Before attempting a full throw, there is one drill
that can be used to introduce the turn out of the back of the ring.
This is the 360-degree turn drill. As with the 180-degree
turn drill, the thrower can perform this drill without the shot,
and his hands on his hips in an effort to eliminate the upper body
from initiating the turning movement. This drill begins with the
thrower standing almost straight up while having all his weight
balanced on the ball of the left foot. The feet will be slightly
wider than shoulder-width apart with the left leg flexed while the
right leg is only slightly bent. From this position the thrower
pivots in a complete circle on the ball of the left foot and comes
to a stop in the original starting position. The coach should pay
careful attention to the fact that the right leg should stay wide
as the turn is being performed. Many beginning throwers pull the
ankles together in an attempt to gain more rotational speed. This
should be discouraged since it will not allow the thrower to turn
out the back of the ring during a full throw.
When the thrower is able
to perform a complete 360-degree turn without much effort, he can
attempt a full throw. To begin, the thrower lines up at the back
of the ring with his feet on either side of the center portion of
the back of the ring. This position is exactly like the starting
position for the beginning of the 360-degree turn drill except that
the thrower holds the shot under the jaw. When the thrower starts
the throw, his weight should be equally distributed over both the
right and left legs as he performs a small windup
with his upper body to gain a little momentum to start the throw.
As the thrower starts to come out of his windup and turns out of
the back of the ring, he should shift all his weight over the left
foot so he can pivot on the ball of the left foot. This allows him
to turn easily out of the back of the ring. Once the thrower has
shifted all his weight to the left foot and is beginning to initiate
the turn, he should sweep his right foot out away from the ring,
making a wide circular sweep. When the thrower has turned 90 degrees
out the back of the ring, he will find that he is in the starting
position for the South-African drill. At this point, he should complete
the rest of the throw in the same way that he performed the South-African
drill.
One of the hardest things
for a beginning thrower to get used to is having a balanced turn
out the back of the ring. It is critical that the coach makes sure
that his throwers do not initiate the turn out of the back with
the upper body, and that they use a driving left leg and sweeping
right leg to generate the impulse to get them across the ring. The
upper body should be relaxed during the whole rotational process
until the delivery phase of the throw.
GLIDE
VS. ROTATION
Both the glide and rotational
techniques have their merits and their drawbacks. The glide technique
is probably a little easier to teach and to perform for the majority
of athletes. I think it is a good starting technique for all shot-putters,
even if they know they are eventually going to want to be spinners.
In teaching throwers, I think that it is essential that they hit
the proper power position and that they develop the
proper release positions. For this reason, the glide technique,
in my opinion, allows the beginner to achieve these positions with
greater ease. Once these proper positions become established, the
thrower can advance to the rotational technique. I feel it is much
more difficult for a thrower to hit a good finish using the rotational
technique, since it requires more intricate timing
than the glide technique.
The question as to what
type of technique each individual thrower should perform has been
raised many times. The answer to this question is basically: it
depends on the thrower. Gliders generally appear to be the taller
and more rangy type of thrower, while the spinners tend to be a
little shorter and compact. It is sometimes hard for the larger
throwers to turn in such a small space as a shot ring, so they choose
the glide technique. The rotational technique, on the other hand,
is usually used by smaller throwers who are trying to use rotational
speed to compensate for short levers. There are exceptions in each
case. Randy Barnes and Augie Wolf are examples of tall throwers
who spin. Mike Spiritoso (68-3.5) of Canada was a shorter thrower
who glided. The bottom line, though, is use what works best.
SETTING
UP TRAINING
The amount of throwing
that a thrower does per week will be a function of how much time
can be dedicated to throwing practice and how many throwers are
participating in a throwing session. In a normal throwing session
lasting one hour, a group of 8 to 10 throwers will only be able
to take 15-18 throws each. Ideally, your throwers should take anywhere
from 20-35 throws each.
As far as setting up
a throwing workout, it depends on how much time has been set aside
for throwing. A lot can be accomplished by throwing three times
a week. This includes throwing in meets as a throwing session. The
actual types of throwing and drilling that is performed each day
will also vary, depending on what type of throwers you have. It
is possible to have ten different throwers doing ten different things
during a workout. Some throwers may be working on how to release
the shot, while others may be working out their timing on a full
throw. This is very difficult to coach. The coach should try to
avoid having all his throwers do the same thing on
a given day, since this does not take into consideration the individual
differences and skill levels of each thrower. This may be convenient
for the coach, but it does a disservice to the throwers who are
working on skills that they have already mastered or who are trying
to perform a technique that is beyond their capability.
The following is a typical
throwing workout schedule for an intermediate thrower (who spins)
during the competitive season with a meet scheduled on Thursday:
| Monday: |
7 standthrows, 5 half-turns, 10 step-ins (to work
on the right foot pivot), 5 full throws. 27 throws total. |
| Tuesday: |
No throwing; just conditioning. |
| Wednesday: |
5 standthrows (easy), 3 half-turns (easy), 3 South-Africans
(easy), 5 full throws (easy). Easy workout, concentrating on
a smooth flow from position to position to get ready for the
meet. 16 throws total. |
| Thursday: |
Competition. |
| Friday: |
Same workout as Monday; still concentrating on
the right foot pivot in the middle of the ring. |
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