The Pennridge track and field team is a successful and crucial part of Pennridge’s athletic program. Although the throwing events are often overlooked, my group and I had the opportunity to try them out. In high school, the throwing portion of track consists of three main field areas: discus, shot put, and javelin. These events date back to 708 BC when discus and javelin were introduced in the Ancient Grecian Olympics. Shot put is even older, as it can be traced back to prehistoric times when opponents would compete to see who could throw boulders the farthest.
The first event we tried was discus. Discuses, which resemble a frisbee’s circular shape, are often made from wood, metal, and rubber. The discus has a weight of one kilogram for women and two kilograms for men. While throwing the discus, you are surrounded by a net that has a wide opening facing the sector, where you are aiming the throw. You are standing on a square concrete slab in the center of the net. There is an engraved circle on the center of the slab which tells you where you need to stand. You can not step outside of the circle while completing your throw. The net is there to protect others from getting hit while the athlete is in play. Nicole Rindone, a current thrower for Pennridge, holds the girls’ record for furthest discus thrown at 103’9 feet. Rindone was able to teach us the basics of discus as well as the techniques needed to have a successful throw. These techniques consisted of footwork, hand placement, and the “spin” approach. Our group thought discus was the most enjoyable even though we had a tough time grasping the feel of it.
The second event we tried was shot put. Shot put consists of a metal ball that is first held on your neck and pushed off to complete the throw. You do not throw the ball but rather push it off your neck. This action is known as a ‘put’. Emily Fila, the assistant athletic trainer at Pennridge, grew up competing in throwing events. When asked about shot put and how it is played, she states that “This uses one hand to ‘put’ usually from a stationary position, or a position where you don’t move much at all. Shot put is usually all about power or ‘static strength.” Similar to discus, the goal of shot put is to reach the farthest distance. Techniques of shot put today consist of a glide or spin. The ball is 8.8 pounds, which can be hard to work with. We gave up shortly after learning the basics because the ball hurt our wrists.
We then moved on to the last area: javelin. The javelin itself is a spear that is gripped and thrown overhand. Most throwers utilize a run-up to gain the most amount of momentum possible before releasing the spear. For the throw to count, the javelin must land within the two sector lines. Something that we found challenging about throwing the javelin was the hand placement when holding it. Although it wasn’t very heavy, mastering the technique behind holding it was difficult because of how long it was. Sally Walsh, a sophomore at Pennridge and a thrower on the team, agrees that the most difficult area to grasp is javelin. She explains, “Javelin is the hardest to master; you can wing it, but you can’t really wing it well.” Walsh enjoys participating in every field event, but javelin is her favorite.
Participating in these events gave us a new understanding and appreciation for all aspects of track and field. These events take a tremendous amount of time, hard work, and dedication to achieve. Fila similarly explains, “Also, remember practice doesn’t always make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” It is crucial that field athletes stay motivated and engaged at practice so that they can perform well. The persistence and devotion of the Pennridge athletes never go unnoticed.
https://www.britannica.com/sports/javelin-throw
https://www.britannica.com/sports/athletics/The-shot-put
https://olympics.com/en/news/discus-throw-rules-regulations-records-and-all-you-need-to-know
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_and_field#:~:text=As%20one%20of%20the%20events,revived%20for%20the%201896%20Olympics
https://www.athletic.net/trackandfield/SchoolRecords.aspx?SchoolID=6564
