Your kid wants to get into hammer throwing. What are coaches looking for?
Work ethic, other sports experience among things coaches scout
Sean Doucette couldn't be happier to see Canadian throwers succeed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"This is pretty epic, and not just from a Canadian standpoint, but in a sport standpoint," Doucette, a throws coach at the Hamilton Olympic Club, told CBC News.
"It really solidifies Canada's throws program."
Canada had only won three throwing medals — and no golds — prior to the 2024 Paris Games. But this year's Olympics have been a different story.
On Aug. 4, hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., became the first Canadian to win gold in a throw sport when he hit a distance of 84.12 metres on his first try. In doing so, he became the first Canadian to win a medal in hammer throw since 1912.
Days later, fellow B.C. native Camryn Rogers, of Richmond, became the first Canadian woman to win a medal in hammer throw when she threw a distance of 76.97 metres to secure the gold.
These feats of strength are just some of the track and field performances that have captivated Canadians during these Summer Games, which could prompt more young athletes to take up some of the specialized sports.
But that raises some questions: How does someone get into them? And for coaches like Doucette, what are some of the qualities they look for when trying to identify potential talents?
Scouting other sports
Because of how niche some of the track and field sports are, most new athletes don't actually start with athletics at the forefront of their sporting goals.
"Track and field is often looked at as a secondary or supplementary sport," said Kurt Michael Downes, head coach at the Border City Athletics Club in Windsor, Ont. "So when kids come over, it's like: 'I want to get fast for hockey, I want to get more dynamic or move better for this.'
"What they end up realizing is, 'Oh man, I do really well at this,'" he said.
"It's an access point for them to do some different things."
Not every athlete joins on their own accord, though. Sometimes, coaches like Downes identify potential prospects from other sports and try to guide them to athletics.
Downes has a lot of experience doing this. He's an elementary school teacher by trade, and he'll sometimes spot potential track athletes during school gym classes.
In one case, Downes said, he was watching a Grade 6 student playing basketball who had the right acceleration and first step for track, but didn't have any formal training. So Downes invited him to be in one of their meets.
This year, that same student competed in the 100 metres at the OFSAA track and field championships, a competition for Ontario high school athletes.
"His dad said to me that it's amazing that he still wanted to be involved. He said he doesn't even love basketball as much anymore … he just loves track and field," Downes said.
Making a transition
Although there are clear differences between specialized sports and more popular ones like basketball, Downes said athletes transitioning to track and field sometimes have a good athletic base that will help them in their new pursuit.
Border City has had "a lot of success," Downes said, transitioning athletes from gymnastics to hurdles and other jumping sports.
"They've developed a good basis for using power development because they've done lots of plyometric activity [and] they've focused on flexibility."
It's similar in throw sports. When looking for potential throwers, Doucette said he'll scout athletes in gymnastics, softball, hockey and even figure skating.
"In the hammer throw, you have to be very aware of your body because you're counterbalancing against the weight of the hammer," he said. "So you have to have your core mass at the opposite point of the hammer."
With figure skating, he added, "because you're doing a lot of movements where you're actually [swinging] other people… you're naturally learning how to counterbalance and figure skate."
Work ethic first
Coaches also look between the ears to see if potential athletes can handle the mental challenges of specialized sports.
"It's not a team sport," Doucette said. "You're on a team so you get that team environment, but you're competing with yourself.
"If you have a bad day in the circle, that's it. There's not another winger or another defenceman to pick up the pace to try and help you.… There's only one person that can do it in the ring and that's you."
That's why work ethic is key for every new child athlete with whom Doucette works, even more than their ability to throw.
"I'm never looking for someone that picks up a shotput and throws it far, because we can teach that," he said. "I'm looking for someone who wants to work hard, comes to practice, grinds it out, but also has maybe like an accelerated strike speed or is athletic."
Work ethic is something Downes also emphasized because there are pain and fear factors in specialized sports, such as hurdles.
"You're going to fall in hurdles. You're probably going to have some cuts, scratches and bruises because hurdles are hard," he said.
"I think it's also important for us to look at if they don't get it the first time or the second or the third time, are they willing to continue to work?"
With Canada winning medals in three throw events, Doucette said it's very exciting to be involved in the throwing scene now. He sees a "good future" for throw sports in Canada.
Downes hopes the 2024 Olympic performances change how Canadians see specialized sports like track and field.
"Track and field is an amazing sport," he said. "I think of it being cast away and thought of as a supplementary sport, [but] I think that it really should be the gateway sport."
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