Shot Put

Shot Put: For everyone who still hates running, you're probably a shot put kind of person. Shot put is for the kids in track who are focused on bicep curls and pec-deck rather than going for an easy 3 miles. Shot put, however, is more based on technique than strength. The strength doesn't hurt to have but it's definitely less important than faulting every time you go to throw. 

First let's talk about shot put technique since everybody's probably wondering. Well the first thing you should know is that there's two forms, but for beginner's sake we'll stick to the basics. The first thing is that you should prop the shot (the thing you throw) on your neck with it placed in your dominant hand. If you're a guy the shot will weigh 12 pounds or 8.8 pounds for girls. Once you have the shot positioned step into the ring on the ground. The ring will have a guard standing about a 6 inches to 1 foot off the ground on the side of the ring facing the the grass. This grassy area is marked with white lines spreading from the ring outward in a cone like fashion (see Figure 3.16). Now this is where you starting leaning and gain some momentum. And once you feel ready you shuffle forward sink your hips, shoulders, and arms and fire the shot as far as you can, without leaving the ring or having the shot exit the painted lines. If you do step over the wall of the ring or throw outside the lines the attempt is not counted. Also, don't be worried if your first throw is bad, you have 3 attempts total to throw it as far as you can! Then your best throw is the one they keep. 

For throwing events this area is truly blessed. We are coached under Mr. O, who has an outstanding track record( Literally!). Mr. O has sent countless numbers of athletes to Individual States and even has trained up a State Champion! You may know him as Riley Norman, AKA the huge guy who used to go to Cadillac who had blonde hair and was Tanner's cousin. Riley won State Championship's in his 4 year career at Cadillac, and a lot of that is due to Mr. O and his stellar tips and exercises. Besides the fact that Mr. O has formed a Champion he also has turned many people into good shot put throwers who have never lifted or even heard of shot put. The fact that were able to work with someone who makes the activity fun and knows how to help in every way possible is truly amazing! 

So if you're ever not in the mood for running try picking up a huge spherical ball of steel that ways anywhere from 8 to 12 pounds and try giving it a toss! Who knows, maybe you'll even turn out to be a State Champion in the end, but you won't know unless you try! 

Figure 3.16 

RILEY NORMAN!!! 

(Tanner Christensen's cousin)

Pole Vault

Pole Vault: Undoubtedly the most dangerous field event offered in high school and also one of the most iconic events in track. That's why most medals for track have a person running on them and a person pole vaulting next to it. It's probably the most iconic event due how fun it looks. Just imagine it. You're standing in front of a bunch of people with a long pole in your hands. You're bouncing back and forth from the front of your foot to the back of your foot just waiting for the right time to take off. Once you take off you sprint toward a bar positioned 11 feet in the air and ram your pole into the ground and find yourself trying to bend and wiggle over that bar (reminding you that you're 11+ feet in the air) and free falling down to the soft, plush mats below.

Now that sounds like a lot of fun but it's easier to imagine it than to actually do it. To be a good pole vaulter you need lots of upper body and core strength. Flexibility never hurt anyone, but getting up to the bar is your first task. To start off pole vaulting you need to get down your steps just like high jump or long jump. The only exception is that at the end of your steps you plant your pole and jump instead of only jumping. Once you get a good plant all you have to do is ride that pole to the top and try to dance your way over the bar. More advanced pole vaulters like Lisa Metzger, collegiate athletes, and professionals try to bend the pole on their way up to the bar so that way they get "sling-shoted" up and over the bar, rather than trying to wiggle over it. 

Cadillac Track's best pole vaulter, Lisa Metzger,  was on of the best pole vaulters in our region for track and field. She made an appearance at the MHSSA Track and Field state meet last year which is phenomenal considering you have to place within the top two at regionals or meet the state standard. The state standard is a set height or time for each event that if beaten qualifies an individual for the state meet. So that way if the winner of pole vault jumps 12 ft. and second and third place both jump 11 ft. 6 inches (but second place beats third place by attempts) all three girls go to states! Lisa's tips on how to be a good pole vaulter include lots of all around strength in the core, legs and upper body. Her next tip is practice, practice, practice. Lisa's takes a lot of her time to pole vault, no matter what season it is! 

On the funny side of pole vaulting seeing kids wipe out is hilarious. It's also pretty scary to watch but depending on how severe the wipe out is determines whether it's comical or frightful. If you've ever watched YouTube or TV before you've probably seen somebody wipe out while pole vaulting. An example of a funny video I saw was when a girl tried to plant her pole an ended up missing the plant and hitting the official on accident. It was more of an embarrassing moment than a wipe out but anything more intense than that just makes me cringe. So if you're ever pole vaulting remember the wise words of R.L. Stine, "Jumper beware! You're in for a scare!" 

Long Jump

Long Jump: This event is just high jump on the X-axis. This event is like the "800 meter run" of the field events meaning that everyone ends up doing this field event. This event requires a lot of speed and a good broad jump. The goal is pretty obvious, to see who can jump the longest. The event is usually in the infield or in a separate area away from the track. The long jump area consists of a runway and at the end a worn, withered board that the long jumper has to jump off of, and after that board you have a long patch of uneven sand that you land in. Now if you step a tad bit over this board it's called a fault and your jump is not counted. You get 3 jumps so make sure your steps are down. Now maybe you're thinking why don't they rake the sand so its even? Well I don't know, maybe everyone working long jump is already preoccupied with other things like measuring the jump or spotting the person measuring or maybe even supervising the whole thing. I don't I guess someone will have to investigate one of these days. For the withered board, however, it just gets withered due to exposure to the elements and over time it obtains its gnarly look. I just wish we'd replace it like every two years so it isn't so slippery and dangerous. Also you never know how wide the board is going to be. Some meets the board is like 5 inches wide and at another it's like 2 ft. A good thing remember is the board width changes from place to place so be wary.
Now that I'm done talking about the board let's talk about the technique and approach of long jump. Like high jump, long jump also requires a set of steps that you guess and check on. Once you've found your steps you mark them out with chalk and do a few run-throughs. These are running your steps as fast as you can but instead of jumping you just run into the sand. It's very important once you hit the board to really exaggerate your running movements by maybe making a grunting sound and by stepping aggressively and flailing your arms. All the best athletes do this. I seriously don't know why but it apparently works really well for getting warmed up.
Once you've gotten your steps down and you've ran-through a few times you're ready. When you get to the actual jump at the end it's not all about powering forward. I've heard Laura Dahlquist yell many a time at how you got to get up and out at the same time. I mean saying you need to do both is way easier than actually doing it. When the competition is going on and the pressure is mounting down on you it gets hard to do both. If you're William Spence, Cadillac's best long jumper/sprinter for the 2013-2014 season, this is easy as 1 2 3. When it comes down to it just make sure you relax, say a little prayer and envision Todd Baker yelling these relaxing and soothing words, "Just Jump!"

High Jump

High Jump: I couldn't have picked a better field event to start our shift into the field side of track, AKA the more enjoyable part. High Jump is pretty self-explanatory, you jump. The main point is to run at the bar which is placed in front of some mats and jump off of one foot and make it over the bar and and to the mats without knocking the bar off the standers. It seems fairly easy, but the concept and the actual jumping technique are two very different things.

When first doing high jump you must measure yourself some steps. These steps help form a curve that you run on your approach to the bar. To find your steps you use trial and error and try a different starting place each time until you find a place that's comfortable. Once you have this spot you immediately use a tape measure to measure your distance, from the standers, how far out your steps are and how long they stretch down the apron( Apron: the no circle part of the track where kids are found to be most happy.) of the track. When you get these measurements recorded its best to calculate the angle that you create by doing the mathematical formula known as the Pythagorean Theorem. Basically you just take your two measurements and square them, add them together, and square root the sum to get your final measurement or the hypotenuse of our triangle(see figure 2.4). 

Alright so now that we've done the math portion, and obviously marked you down for your work, we're ready to jump! On your run at the bar you wan to keep a tall posture and don't hunch while also increasing your speed. When you in front of the bar and parallel to it that's when you make your giant leap and go flying over into the soft mats. Sometimes, however, you may find yourself brushing your rear end on the bar and thinking to yourself, "Ohh crap Ohh crap!" In this small window of time one will usually find themselves getting out the way of the bar because if you land on it you get a nice big bruise and somehow a tear in our skin. To this day I still am clueless on how landing on a bar can tear your skin off but hey it's about the victories not the failures. 

Now hopefully from what I've described you aren't thinking you jump and you magically appear on the other side because if you are you might as well go do long jump like everyone else. After the jump comes the hardest part of high jump which is arching your back and holding it for the right amount of time. If you hold for the whole jump your legs will it it on the way down but if you snap out of your arch too soon your butt will come down on the bar. 

All this stuff going on at once is very overwhelming but the best advice I've ever gotten is, "Just Jump!!" - Todd Baker. Another good thing to remember is before you take of at the bar just flow forward and backward a few time and scan the area. Maybe even say a little prayer to yourself? That never hurts. Every kid I've seen do all of these usually does pretty good, like 6 Ft. good.

figure 2.4

Relays

Relays: They can either be your favorite part of track or the thing you dread most. When it comes to relays, there's only 2 sprinting relays and 2 distance relays. For sprints there's the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x200 meter relay. The other 2 distance relays are the 4x400 meter relay and the 4x800 meter relay. What's true for all relays is the fact that any individual running a leg of the relay usually runs a faster split rather than an open event time. For example Someone could run a 4x800 split of 2:08 minutes and only be able to run an open 800 meter run time of 2:11. The only exception to that though is Max Stebbins, who oddly ran a faster 800 split during the mile than his split for the 4x800.

 When people wonder why they run faster in relays there's usually two major theories. The first theory is you run faster because 3 other guys on your relay are counting on you to do your best. So that pressure subconsciously affects your endurance and your drive during your leg of the race. The other theory is that instead of starting and ending at the finish line you receive and give hand-offs in a designate lane portion which can range anywhere from in front of the the finish line to 10 meter ahead of the finish line. The hand-off lane varies on what relay you're in. In my opinion I believe that the first theory is more accurate. In my case always feel excited or even anxious before every relay because I'm afraid I'll lose it for us or do the worst out of the other 3 people in your relay. Also when the stakes get higher and higher the thought of Winning a relay or placing really well motivates you and subconsciously gets you moving faster. 

When it comes to hating or loving something in track (which is a reoccurring theme) Most people tend to like relays more than individual events because for an individual event you need to rely on your skills alone and talent to win. On a relay, however, you don't need 4 superstar athletes. A relay of 4 decent kids could beat a relay with 1 great runner and 3 bad runners because it's more about having 4 guys who run consistent times and times that are all about the same. If your team is inconsistent you could run a really good race one day and do completely awful the next time you run. For those who hate these relays it's probably because they tire you out so quickly that you can't recover for your individual events. I can't remember how many times I've gotten a persistent cough from running the 4x800 just one time. 

For the most part relays are a good way for kids to bond and share success as a team, or sometimes get really mad at one kid for blowing the race and having the complete opposite effect. It's really all up to chance and dedication to determine how good a relay will be.  

Hurdles

Hurdles: Just when you thought running couldn't get any worse someone decided to come along and make it 10 times harder. Hurdles are hands down the scariest and most dangerous event in track. I can remember countless times where kids think they've cleared the hurdle but end up face planting right into the track. This is usually super funny at first but once you see the blood dripping out of the person's mouth you can't help feeling bad. I've only seen a few people get knocked out from face planting and that's just down right scary. To get a good visual aid for how bad falling in the hurdles hurts just go ask Makayla Boersma, and she'll show you all her scars from doing hurdles. Makayla is Cadillac's top hurdler and also holds the record for most injuries received from hurdles. Her record is way over 100 injuries, ranging from knee scrapes all the way to shin splints. Chances are if you can name it, she got it.
There are only two hurdle races in high school track and field: the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles. The 100 meter hurdles are usually fun to watch because all the kids in that event are fast and have a crazy good vertical. Hurdle races are usually very close and come down to who has the best hurdle form on the last two hurdles. A funny thought is that sprinters think running 100 meters is a tiring sprint but hurdlers, however, think it's easy and a lot of fun even though they're doing an event that's way harder than a regular sprint. Now 300 meter hurdles are the complete opposite because just like the 400 meter dash, everybody hates this event. The athlete's hate this event because it is about as tiring as a 400 but with a twist that'll send you into a state of calf cramps and coughing fits by the time you reach the finish. The spectator's hate viewing this event because it starts on the very opposite side of the track. Even Cadillac's esteemed hurdler Jake Maier, more commonly known as Pole Boy, isn't to particularly fond of this event. When asked why he does this event even if he doesn't like it he said, "Well Mr. Baker puts me in it and if I don't run it then I can't do pole vault, and I LOVE pole vault! I also do it because there is no one else in Cadillac who does hurdles." Just when we thought Jake was right a miracle happened right here at Memorial Stadium. A man named Austin Carlington stepped up and became one of our best 300 meter hurdlers. You might even say he's better than Pole Boy, and that's because unlike Pole Boy, Austin likes running the 300 meter hurdles. Even after testing negative for any mental illness, Austin still says he likes both the hurdling events.
The Hurdle events are very hard and dangerous but for any athlete that is willing to attempt them I salute you for you are truly an animal. Make sure to thank your local hurdlers soon!

Distance......Long Distance

Distance: Probably the biggest stereotype about track. When people think track they usually think of kids who are good at running long distances, but I'm here to bust this myth. In fact the Distance category is what most people struggle with. It isn't the endurance training people struggle with, it's actually the the apathy they suffer from running in circles for an extended period of time. The two distance races in high school track are the 1600 meter run and the 3200 meter run, more commonly known as the mile and two mile. These races truly test not only the physical endurance of a runner but the mental endurance as well. Let's visualize ourselves running the 1600 and get our mirror neurons firing! Bang! The start gun fires and you and the rest of the 30 kids ( yeah there's usually at least 20+ kids in each of the distance races) group up and settle into a slightly uncomfortable pace that's making you breathe slightly hard. After the first lap you think hey this isn't that hard, but then the pace slowly increases little by little. You're on your second lap now and you notice.... well that's just it, you notice nothing! The scenery around you appears to be frozen in time and the more you realize this the more your pace drops due to lack of focus on the race and more focus on being bored and exhausted. Finally it's your last lap and on the last straight away you sprint as fast as you can! Not to beat the person near you, or to the run a personal best, but to finally move on to something else!
The 3200 has the same effect, except the boredom lasts twice as long! Now I realize this is contradictory because this article is to encourage you to appreciate track more but let's be real, I don't even appreciate these races. Actually I've really only met a select few people who honestly like running the 3200. On Cadillac's track team the 3200 is used mostly as a threat to encourage practice productivity. For example when any thrower is messing around Mr. Baker will point at them and say, " There's our new 3200 guy!" This makes everyone in earshot stop and drop their jaw in sympathy for whatever young chap just got assigned to such a fate. Now Mr. Baker doesn't really follow through with making these kids run the 3200 because even he knows that this particular race is cruel and unusual punishment to any thrower who hasn't been running everyday. The runners, however, are actually the ones at risk for being "drafted" for this race. Many runners are signed up for the 1600, 3200, or both during tri-meets (which are essentially unimportant) so that they can get some endurance training for their other events. This actually helps a lot in all other races. Not only does it build endurance strength but it also motivates you to run faster in your usual events so you don't have to run any distance races again.
Now for those of you still reading that are actually interested in the 1600 or 3200 and potentially running it, here are some tips for improving your times. These tips are all from the great Trevor Thiebaut, Cadillac Track's beloved distance go-to guy, so you know their legitimate. Tip #1: Always start out a little faster than the people around you and seat yourself in the front of the pack. This will help prevent getting boxed in by other runners. Tip #2: Make your move to pass somebody or increase pace on the second to last lap so that way you don't wait too long and lose your opportunity. Tip #3: If it's cold out where little white 100% cotton gloves for well I don't know but he always wore them. Also don't wear under armor to keep your muscles warm and loose. Like Trevor always said, " Under Armor is for the weak!" pretty ironic if you've seen Trevor's figure, but hey he was pretty dang quick. Instead of Under Armor wear arm sleeves as substitutes because these almost identical to under armor articles of clothing won't make you look weak while also keeping you warm. (Refer to Figure 2.73-2.74) Tip #4: Always be focused on the race. Not the competitors, the hot girls watching- well okay maybe- not the boredom or even the weather because this will slow you down.
In general the distance races are loathed by mostly all but if you're actually good at distance then good for you because you posses a skill that most don't. As for liking distance races, that's a skill that is rarer than the super memory skill.

Figure 2.73            Figure 2.74

Middle Distance

Middle Distance: probably the worst kind of race to run in track. The middle distance races consist of really only the 800. I guess you could argue the 400 and the 1600 (mile) for middle distance but the 800 meter dash is vastly different from both races. The fun thing about the 800 meter dash is that it's the only race to be known as a sprint-stance, a sprint and distance mix. Is it more like a sprint? Is it more like a distance? It's more like 2 laps of nothing but blood, sweat, and tears in a non-stop, action packed race that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the runners are passing out across the finish line! Freshman runner Brendan Shannohan likes this race so much he yells, " I'm so jacked for this race man! I'm all loosened up too, I mean I'm so loose that I'm.. FOOTLOOSE!" Motivational stuff right there. If that doesn't make you want to run then you're crazy. Since this race is so much fun it's unfair to keep anyone from running this race. That's why when kids start out in track whether it be their first year of track or their first meet of the season, everybody ends up running the 800 at least once every year!
 While the 800 meter run is fun it is also quite the enigma. You see since it's a combination of a sprint and a distance event no one to this day, including me, know how to pace. Is it a hard first lap and a slower second lap? Or maybe it's vice versa? Whatever the case this race is anything but easy. A famous quote on the mysterious pacing problem comes from Max Stebbins stating, " Yeah I don't know man... my first 800 meters for my 1600 was faster than my actual open 800." This is exactly the case. Max's time for a single 800 came out to be 2:16 while his first 800 split for the 1600 was 2:10. Another weird thing about the 800 is that you never have a good feeling about your performance. There's been times when people feel like they absolutely shattered their old time when realistically they did worse! It also works in the opposite effect when people think they ran terribly then they come to find out they ran a personal best by several seconds.
On the serious side of things the 800 is my favorite race because I excel at it more than the 400 meter dash or the 1600 meter run. I also like it the best because on the last 150 meters of the 800 most kids are usually running low on energy and I'm usually turning on the back burner and passing a few kids right before the finish line. This usually angers everyone in the race but hey, what are ya going to do?
The real key to dealing with the 800 comes down to mental toughness. By the second lap everyone is usually cramping but the runners who block this pain out are the ones who go one to be all state, all conference, all area, etc. That's why it's important to train hard and with maximum effort. That way you don't end up like Ex-statistician, Ben M, better known as Ben with a bad Polish name. The reason Ben never excelled at this race is because his attitude toward the race was always, "Ugh I hate this race." Well when your attitude is terrible so is your time! That's why the key for this intensifying, all out, race is mind over cramps!

Sprints

Sprints: undoubtedly the easiest category of running in track and field. Sprints offer a number of events that involve well... sprinting! The thing to know about sprinting events is that it's not only about who is the fastest, but how long a sprinter can hold their top speed. A sprinter that isn't as fast out of the blocks as another sprinter still has a chance to get the gold if he or she has a greater endurance power. I'm not saying sprinters should run 70 miles a week to build up their endurance but I'm definitely saying it's overlooked by many sprinters and coaches for that matter. An example of how overlooked it is, is when a sprinter crosses the finish line and flops around on the ground gasping for air for about two minutes when they only ran a half or a quarter of a lap. It doesn't make much sense to me but from their perspective and training a half a lap feels like a mile because most of their training is done in shorter distances like 50 meter sprints to work on speed.
The 3 main sprints are known as the 100 (quarter of a lap) 200 (half a lap) and the 400 ( full lap). The sprint relays involve the 4x100 (everyone runs a 100), the 4x200 (everyone runs a 200), and the 4x400( everyone runs a 400).Cadillac's program has very few natural sprinters, but with the help of the "Triple Entente" of coaching starring Mr. Todd Money-Maker Baker, Laura Speed Demon Dahlquist, and "Miles" Michelle Brines, After only a couple of weeks of training anyone can be a sprinter! I mean I'm not just making this up because we desperately need sprinters. I'm saying this because our good coaching needs to be appreciated! If you don't believe me take Lisa Metzger's word for it. Lisa is one of Cadillac's number one sprinters of all time. Lisa has many conference and regional titles showing that Lisa is living proof of our flawless sprinter program. A quote from the amazing Lisa about her opinion on sprints in general and her training states, "I do sprints because I am naturally fast. I learned this my freshman year when I was thrown into several varsity relays because of my speed. After years I am now even faster and hungry for another regional, conference, and hopefully state appearance." Wow, inspirational to say the least. Now that we've introduced you to our local athletes and their program let's cover the basics of sprints!
Event: 100 meter dash. This is the shortest of all the sprints and it is exactly 1/4 of a lap. This event really shows the true speed of any athlete since it's focus is on acceleration out of the blocks and a tad bit of endurance.
Event: 200 meter dash. This is the middle sprint, and just like the middle child of a family, this sprint is usually ignored or not watched. It's lack of spectators stems from the shift of the start line from the head of the track near the fans to the complete opposite side where no one is.
Event 3: 400 meter dash. This is my favorite sprint of all time because usually about half way through most runners are gasping for air, thinking about quitting track, or feel like they're dying in general. Evan Lee, Cadillac's fastest 400 runner says, "Ughhh I really don't want to run this..." before every race to get himself jacked out of his mind to win!
The thing to remember about sprints is that you have to run a lot of sprints to become a good sprinter and there's always going to be a guy from Rockford that'll be faster than you.

Track & Field: The Story Untold

Track & Field: The only sport that involves rigorous leg drive and a passion for turning left. Track isn't a very popular sport among most high school students, but I can assure you that it has many perks. For starters Track and Field has a fashionable and comfortable uniform layout. It consists of a lightweight blue and Vegas gold tank top and spandex shorts, just like the volleyball players wear! Another perk about Track is that it has no playing time, making it fun for anyone of any skill level. That way everyone gets to run at meets no matter if you're a rookie or veteran runner. Another great thing about track is that just by participating you're gaining strength, endurance, and speed which is helpful in any other sport. The real hip part about being on the track team is that if you win you get some pretty dang cool medals. Now some people say that seeing all the pretty girls from different school at the track meets is a huge perk, but who has time for the ladies when there's a freshly painted, smooth, and bouncy track right in front of you? Just seeing a nice track should make any boy or girl want to get there run on immediately!
 While track seems like a care free sport it actually can be quite serious. Before every race, athletes warm up and stretch, some even vomit because of the pressure they feel, but most of the athletes tend to throw up after the race. All these feelings of apprehension and fear of letting themselves, teammates, or coaches down are all worth it once the starting gun goes off. As soon as the race starts you can't think about anything except going faster or keeping your pace. The best part of the race is the last straight away, when it comes down to who wants it more. Once you cross the finish line you feel yourself overcome by a multitude of emotions. Accompanying these emotions are usually cramps to every part of your body below the waist. This is just one little drawback to track compared to all the fun opportunities it beholds.
The running events are split in to separate categories depending on the length of the event. All the running events and relays fall under one of the four distinct categories: sprints, middle distance, distance, and hurdles. The non-running or field events are what most track and field athletes love the most about the sport. A memorable quote from Cadillac's best high jumper, Quinn Kaspriak says, "High jump is my favorite thing about track because it keeps me away from events like the 800 meter run or the mile!" Very, very powerful words words from one of Cadillac's finest. While field events are a great way to run away from running, however, they require lots of skill, speed, strength, and mastery of technique. Most field events revolve around jumping like high jump, long jump, and pole vault to a certain extent. The other high school field events are shot put and discus which both revolve around throwing. All of this is information is just a scratch on the surface for all the parts of track and field. With my next posts I will go more in depth on the four categories of running events and all field events.