To this day, I distinctly remember my first day of track and field practice. The day before, I had no plans of joining and had never even considered the thought. I was in my first class of that day when my friend turned to me and said that I should join throwing. I had no idea that throwing was a part of track and field or anything about it, but for some reason I said, “Sure,” and now the rest is history. I went on to participate in throwing for the rest of my high school career, and it completely changed my life.
For my high school, throwing in track & field consists of three events: shot put, discus, and javelin. There are many stereotypes about throwers: we eat all the time, we are huge, or we are lazy. While some of these can be characteristics of throwers, they do not define us. Throwers are strong, determined, and ready for challenges. Not to mention, throwing is a lot harder than it looks.
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So, here are eight reasons why throwing is the best.
1. Your throwing crew becomes your family.
When you join a throwing crew, you gain at least twenty new brothers and sisters. You learn about everyone’s interests and get super close with everyone, as you suffer through workouts or goof off with each other. Some of my best memories from high school are from being on the throw crew.
2. We're totally cooler than the runners.
Sure, runners get all the headlines and kudos, but I argue that that is because no one really knows what throwing actually is. Throwers will always be the coolest and sassiest people you will ever meet. We have many qualities that we like to let shine through every practice, meet, and day. If you ever get the chance to be friends with a thrower, don’t give it up.
3. We can eat.
Throwing is this awesome sport where you can get away with eating right before your event. You can’t wolf down an entire box of Cheez-its right before the 100m dash, or you risk throwing them up. With throwing, you can go from laying in the shade, snacking, to throwing like a boss in under 15 minutes.
4. You get to be super strong.
One of the coolest aspects of throwing is that you get to witness your body turn into a super strong throwing machine. It is one of the greatest feelings when you realize that you just threw that 8lb. metal ball five feet further than when you threw that same ball three weeks ago.
5. Throwing makes you feel like a badass.
This relates a lot to my last reason on getting to be super strong, but feeling super strong and accomplished leaks into other aspects of your life. When you feel strong during throwing practice and during meets, you start to feel strong during school or your job. Feeling and being strong gives you confidence, and confidence can help you in any part of your life.
6. You get to feel like a gladiator.
Gladiator probably isn’t the correct term to use because throwing started out with the original Olympic Games in Greece. But that is how I feel. In my mind, gladiators are warriors. They fight for their lives and don’t back down no matter who their opponent is or what their end goal is. When you’re a thrower, performing feats of strength and power is simply part of your daily routine.
7. You learn mental strength from throwing.
Track & Field as a sport is a test of mental strength. You have your teammates around you for support, but your performance depends entirely on you. You learn to be strong as an individual with the love that your team gives you.
8. Throwing allows you to be creative.
Track meets are long. Like really long. They can last upwards of eight hours, and when you are only there to throw three times, then you’re done, you tend to have a lot of free time. This is where creativity comes into play. I can think of several new games that were invented on those especially long meets. Like the time some of my teammates made a volleyball court with javelins and lawn chairs. Being on a throw crew is always interesting.
Joining throwing on a whim was probably one of my best decisions to date. Don’t listen to anyone that says that throwers are lazy, or that it’s easy being a thrower. Like any sport, throwing is hard, but the family and experiences you gain are worth it.
