The Grind ...

Its that time of year, the mad dash to get in the last serious volume cycle before the competition season starts. This usually means practices are very long, rehab is tedious and getting out of bed in the morning gets harder and harder... On the good side of things, Southern California has warmed up and it is definitely beach weather!

My training is at lifetime best in every aspect, except the one that counts...throwing. I am still planning to open up in early June at the New York, Adidas Diamond League. I will scramble to find a meet if I feel like Im up for it but I don't have any plans on throwing just for the heck of it and will take a page out the world record holders book..."throw when I'm ready to throw, not because I have to."

The High Tech High track squad had another exceptional week that included 4 personal bests and a few 1st place finishes. They had a pretty chill week this week because of their quarterly exams, but Monday was quite the treat. Somehow, the team found out that it was my birthday (Im guessing facebook tipped them off) and they surprised me with cupckaes and a nice birthday cake. It was alot of fun to step away from the track for a day and just hang with some genuine kids.



This week should be a bit more hectic as the competition season approaches and the stress levels and intensity of the workouts begins to climb. It is also a current European invasion at the training center, as UK Athletics has brought in 70 athletes! Germany, Estonia, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands are all on their way in. My close friends from Finland will be here in a few weeks and so will my Norwegian training partner Andreas Thorkildsen. Until next time,
M++

Track Season is Here!

Last weekend I had the chance to watch the High Tech High Chula Vista track and field team dominate their opening track meet of the year. I have been working with the High Tech High Bruins since early February and have seen some pretty cool changes in their technique and performance. My throwers took the following results:

Mens Shot Put: 1st Place
Mens Discus: 1st Place
Womens Shot Put: 1st and 3rd place
Womens Discus: 1st and 2nd Place







Unfortunately, they don't throw the javelin in their league...However, I wish they did because I'm sure we would have a few throwers move all the way up the ranks on the prep USA list!

The kids have progressed very well and are just now learning how to apply force in the right positions and I expect to see even bigger results this weekend at the next meet. The only struggle I have now is fighting to keep my kids in the program. There are so many other activities that these brilliant kids are involved in. It makes it hard to keep them all coming back everyday because they are spread out over so many different social activities. Thats just the selfish coach in me coming out! ;)



My training is going amazing, the shoulder is pain free and I'm doing everything I can to not do anything too much or drastic and to make sure that I'm ready for the big meets later on in the year and into 2011 and 2012. We had a national team camp here last weekend as well and it is easy to see that we are the deepest we have ever been in the mens javelin. We have a few young guys that have more talent than they know what to do with! There will definitely be some BIIIIIG throws by USA javelin throwers this summer...stay tuned!

M++