Learning to throw javelin- help!
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Anonymous
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My 8th grade DD has decided she wants to try out for the throws team for Track and Field. She wants to focus on the javelin.
We are completely clueless about how to support this. DH and I are both hopeless athletically. I’ve been googling and it looks like javelin throwing is correlated with throwing footballs and baseballs maybe? So is it possible that practicing throwing a football would help prepare for javelin throwing? We don’t know how to throw a football either, but it seems safer to practice football throwing in the backyard. It also seems like strength training would be a good idea, but we don’t know where to start with that either. Help! DD is been a musical theater kid so we are completely out of our depth here. We would appreciate any suggestions!! |
Anonymous
| Ummmmm…maybe email her coach just to ask for recommendations for how to foster her skill development ? |
Anonymous
| I threw D1 jav in college. It is all about the hips and core strength and is very technical. Definitely try and find a coach willing to show your daughter the basics and how to train. People think you can wind up and throw a javelin but you must use proper technique or you risk blowing out your shoulder. Good luck! If she can pick up the basics, it’s a very fun event to compete in. |
Anonymous
Thanks for responding! This was what I was afraid of- DD is very enthusiastic and doesn’t have a coach. There are no Field events in our MS, the HS athletes visited recently and she was very impressed by the young women on the throwing team. She said they seemed both strong and nice. We aren’t in DC anymore, and when I search for Track and Field coaches they all seem running related. Do you think if she could find a high school student who currently throws- they could show her the basics? So far she is watching videos and the throwing an arrow from her bow and arrow set. She is treating it like a dance she is learning, which I guess may not be a bad approach. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| In many states the javelin is banned through the high school, such as here in Virginia where I live. My kids learned to throw a "turbo javelin" which was used at meets including the Junior Olympics. Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/TURBOJAV-Made-begginners-Intermediate-throwers/dp/B01L9B1EYY/ref=asc_df_B01L9B1EYY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312131999420&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13595093678760011525&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008142&hvtargid=pla-567598230136&psc=1&mcid=8401d7d0bd24352b9a341d01afdda4a2&gclid=CjwKCAiAuNGuBhAkEiwAGId4aknQku0Ux9cHB-2zTGYBNbXXDo_i_2M6wR_-EuRQLyFiLrUAKyCIDhoCFGgQAvD_BwE |
Anonymous
| Confused - do they have a track coach who helps with the field events? Most kids don't know the jumping/throwing part of track and field until high school. They should have someone show they how to use the equipment. I don't think you need a special coach to do this. I think it's great your daughter is trying something new but she can't be the only new one to javelin (or turbo jav). |
Anonymous
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Hi! My DS also came to javelin via musical theater. There aren’t many resources for kids out there, sadly. He learned mostly through watching videos, trial and error, and the HS coach helping out at the summer rec track program once or twice.
To start, get her a turbo jav to practice with. You can find one for $40-50 on Amazon or the local sporting goods store. Usually beginners start with 300g, but at her age she can handle 500g. The longer shaft is more stable and easier to fly. There are three different grips for the javelin, which you can google. Have her try out each one to see what she’s most comfortable with. The throwing technique is more like flying a paper airplane than throwing a football. Start with “throwing darts”. Before working on distance, have her stand still and throw in a straight line. Set up a target or a trash can outside and let her work on aiming and hitting it. Gradually move the target father away. Once she’s proficient at that, she can work on getting a little more power into the throw. The javelin isn’t so much thrown as pulled over the shoulder. It’s important to throw through the tip. It’s hard to explain without a diagram, but throwing through the tip means that when getting ready to throw, whatever angle she’s holding the jav at (usually 30-45 degrees), she needs to launch it into flight through that same angle. Many beginning throwers make the mistake of holding it at the correct angle, but then throwing it straight forward. Or, the tip is off to the left or right at launch, causing it to yaw during flight. It helps to identify a landmark, like the top of a distant tree, and use that as a target. Once she masters flight, she can start to add 5-7 steps, with a crow hop at the end, and then eventually crossovers. The speed of the runup is what transfers power, like a whip, into the throw. She’ll need a strong block on the left side (if she’s right handed, or vice versa if left handed). Strength training helps here. There might be throwing clinics or camps in your area, but they’re usually aimed at high schoolers. Maybe your local high school coach would give her some pointers? We found a private coach through Coach Up, which was really helpful. Taking slow mo videos of my son throwing also helped identify bad habits. Good luck! It’s a fun event. |
Anonymous
Why was it banned? |
Anonymous
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NP. The event itself isn’t banned at the middle school level, it’s the implement. Javelins can be really dangerous (for obvious reasons), so as a safety measure they have younger kids start off with a safer plastic version that has a blunt nose.
I still wouldn’t want to get hit by a turbo jav though! |
Anonymous
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My ds learned to throw a javelin in HS. Oddly, also a theater kid!
Anyhow, the school he went to didn't have a javelin pit (which I guess is a sandy fenced for safety area to throw it?) so when his track and field team (he was on it) went to a competition at another school that had one that school's coach showed him how. He got to throw a few times before he had to compete-yes, he came in dead last lol but he had fun. So my advice is-see if she can learn at school if it has a javelin pit, or maybe at a local college if they have one, see if a student you could pay for some lessons. |
Anonymous
| They don’t do javelin in public school |