Championship Speed and Power Drills: Throws

with A.G. Kruger,
Ashland University Head Track & Field Coach;
University of South Dakota Assistant Coach/Throws from 2015 to 2022;
3x US Olympian;
14x National USA Champion in Hammer & Weight Throw;
NCAA DII National Champion (hammer throw);
2001 NCAA DII National Outdoor Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year;
Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS);
Certified Functional Movement Screening (FMS)

Balance, coordination and athleticism in the ring are a crucial phase in the throwing events. The more athletic your throwers are, the more power they will put into their throws. This will lead to a more compete and successful thrower who will dominate the ring. High performance speed and power drills that teach this philosophy are essential behind a training program designed for success.

Coach Kruger explains that to be a successful thrower, it comes down to what the athlete can do in the ring. He emphasizes the main teaching points behind his speed and power drills:

• Keep everything moving forward
• Keep the chest up
• Explode the hips up and out

Kruger uses drills to emphasize that the goal for all throwing events is the distance of the implement. Components behind these drills teach how to plant, how to work on stability, and how to keep everything moving forward.

Throwing Program

A throwing program needs to have many different elements to develop speed and power. Doing throws that mimic movements to the throwing events without the strain of throwing actual implements can be beneficial in technique while also reducing injuries. In addition to common exercises for strength training, Coach Kruger's program includes:

• Jumps and plyometric drills
• Change of direction exercises
• Medicine ball throws

What to Train

Reinforce sound mechanics and explain the why, not just the how, of any exercise demonstrated. Coach Kruger presents three common flaws found in most thrower's programs:

• Throwers are true anaerobic athletes and must be trained as such. Strength, speed, power and athleticism are crucial for today's throwers and must be developed.
• Throwers don't naturally have good body awareness, therefore they will have poor balance, mobility, footwork, core strength, and coordination.
• Throwers don't receive enough information behind the specifics into programming: speed, agility, med ball throws, box jumps and plyometrics development. Coaches must be able to effectively demonstrate these athletic implements before they can teach them to their throwers.

Coach Kruger demonstrates the drills that work on skills, power, and form to develop the techniques needed by successful athletes. These drills are designed to teach power, which results in greater distance of the thrown implement.

63 minutes. 2017.