The Handoff Volume i Issue 3

The Handoff Texas Track & Field Coaches Association

March 2011

Volume 1, Issue 3

Collegiate Conference Champions and More …

University of Houston Men’s team for its 5th straight Conference USA crown, while the Aggie Men celebrate their first-ever Big 12 Indoor title.

In this issue:

PV Tip of the Month

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Interview with Ryan 4 Crouser

UTSA Men Celebrate a 6th Straight Conference Title; A&M Men Celebrate 1st-Ever Indoor Title—pictures courtesy of the Southland Conference / Texas A&M

Congratulations to South Plains College, winners of the 2011 NJCAA Women’s National Indoor T&F Championships. South Plains captured 10 event championships and 18 All-American honors while totaling 180.5 points, far ahead of second-place Central Arizona’s 88.

Congratulations to UTSA’s Men’s squad for its 6th consecutive Southland Conference title. The SFA Women have now captured 3 straight Southland titles. Congratulations must also be extended to the

athletes, coaches and contributors with Texas ties. Many of the enshrined represent Track & Field. This partnership, over time, will prove beneficial to further the visibility of track and field athletes and their significant state and/or national achievements while consistently helping to promote the ambitions of the

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Lone Star PV Camp

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Special points of interest:

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Barry Briner of Humble Summer Creek is the newest TTFCA Board Member

T T F C A / T S H O F M a r ke t i n g P a r t n e r s h i p The Texas Track & Field Coaches Association is proud to announce a marketing partnership with the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. The Texas Sports Hall of Fame, located in Waco, Texas, dedicates its energies to the promotion of

UIL Update

Texas Sports Hall of Fame. The TTFCA and TSHOF look forward to a long and fruitful relationship. More information about this marketing partnership will be forthcoming in the months ahead. To visit the Texas Sports Hall of Fame online, go to: www.tshof.org or call 800-5679561.

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159 high school student athletes have committed.

See the complete list on the TTFCA website. If you know of any more, please email ttfca@hotmail.com

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750 meets—and growing— listed on the TTFCA website.

From the President We were fortunate to have Traci Neely and Sheila Henderson from U.I.L. as presenters at this year’s TTFCA winter clinic. Not only did they meet & greet coaches, but they also shared a few interesting statistics about our sport. According to the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) 20092010 report, Track & Field had the 2nd highest number of participants of all sports contested in Texas.

This does not surprise me. As coaches, we have done a terrific job building programs, increasing participation and providing every opportunity for student-athletes to grow as young men and women and graduate with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

But have we done as much as we can to increase the fan base? Yes, there are dedicated parents who work their fingers to the bone in booster clubs and attend every track meet, but not enough of them. There are former athletes who attend meets or an occasional practice, but not enough of them. And then there are runners who gained their appreciation for the sport after high school who may never have even thought of attending a high school track & field meet.

How can we change this? How can track and field attract a larger audience at the high school and/or collegiate level? This is a question the TTFCA would like to help answer, but we need your input. Share your ideas with us. Call or email suggestions to the association director at ttfca@hotmail.com. The TTFCA will compile all ideas and publish a report in one of the following newsletters. From these ideas, you can help us prioritize methods by which to grow the spectator side of the sport.

The TTFCA is at the forefront, bringing coaches together throughout the state of Texas, helping with education, shared resources, technology and innovation. Thank you for your time and fortitude in helping us develop new ways to promote our sport.

See you on the track!

Mike Sheaner

Pole Vault Tip of the Month—Bruce Caldwell, XLogic Sports / ESSX Poles The elusive bar just sits there and drives vaulters crazy as it moves higher and higher pushing the vaulter to run faster, be stronger, use more finesse!

Several tricks can be used to get your center of mass over the bar and maybe even under the bar! (Using Physics) 1. SIMPLE TOOL TO CLEAR THE BAR: When you push off there is this tendency to drag the crossbar off with the elbows. A simple turning of the thumbs down after release of the pole rotates the arms and the elbows turn upward and away from the bar.

2. USE A LITTLE PHYSICS If you are using a pole rated over your weight you may be able to clear higher than the pole can throw you. Staying close to the pole during the pull-turn phase you can ride the return energy.

It is like this where is the center of mass of a donut? The hole; so if you strive to clear the bar (looking like a donut with a bite out of it) and the hips go over the bar the parabolic path of the center of mass being a point in the center of your peak (or located below the bar) could travel under the bar while the body goes over. Thus you have vaulted higher than the path of the center of mass!

3. TO LOOK OR NOT TO LOOK Looking at the bar keeps you in the bucket and you cannot swing back. Throwing the head back causes other problems, however if you allow the shoulders to roll back as you pull this portion of a well-executed vault should provide a little weightlessness so you can pull and turn with very little effort.

4. SIMPLE GRIP CHANGES THAT WORK (You must be on a pole rated over your weight to accomplish this task)  If you peak and you just cannot get over the bar, you may need more penetration. You can fine-tune the pole with an increase of the grip by 1 inch to give you that edge.  If you blow through the crossbar and you do not have a stiffer pole, you can move the grip down one fist and drive the box this will give you at least a 4 lbs stiffer pole that might make the difference.

If you are over bending your pole and you do not have a stiffer one, immediately move the hand grip down one and one half fist, you will be surprised how this will get you through the meet and you might even get a PERSONAL RECORD.

TTFCA Interview with Ryan Crouser: US All-Time Champion Indoor Shot and Future Texas Longhorn 1. Can you summarize your feelings as the all-time Indoor Shot Put leader?

It feels really great; there have been some great athletes that have thrown the shot put, and it is an honor to be on the list with them.

2. Just a few weeks earlier (January 28), you threw 73-1. To what do you attribute the 4-foot jump?

Most of it was just training; I worked on speeding up the throw and trying to find a better rhythm. Also, I cut back lifting the week prior to the meet, so my legs were feeling explosive. I had a solid week of practice and things came together really well in the meet, and it was a good atmosphere at the meet for a big throw.

3. Your outdoor PR is a shade under 70'; have you thought about Michael Carter's outdoor record of 8103.50?

Yes, a lot! That is my goal outdoors. With my pr now at 77’, I think that I can still improve 4 feet by this summer’s outdoor season.

4. You throw the disc 200+ - which is your favorite event and why?

It depends on the day; usually it is whichever event is going better. I would say discus if I had to decide, because I like to see it fly, and it is aerodynamic and so it is fun to watch a good throw, but shot is a really close second.

5. Your cousin Sam (University of Oregon, freshman) owns the (new) national javelin record at 255-04. You own the indoor shot record. Can your cousin Haley (sophomore at Gresham, OR HS) capture the javelin record? [She has a current PR of 16106 and the national record is 176-05 by Rachel Yurkovich of Oregon in 2005] I think she definitely can. She threw 161’6” last year at the state meet, and I think that she has a really good shot. She has a really good work ethic and so I think that that will make her successful.

6. Would you like to see your throwing career beyond college, perhaps pro or Olympian?

I would like to try and make an Olympic team and maybe go pro after college and try and get my masters degree while I am competing professionally. It is still a long way off though, and I will just have to see how things work out in the future.

7. You're going to be a Texas Longhorn next year. What convinced you UT is the school for you?

Academics was the deciding factor for me. I narrowed my college choices down to UT and Oregon. I want to be an engineer, and Oregon does not have an engineering program and UT has a very strong one. Also, Texas has a very strong business program which is also something that I am interested in. * Picture courtesy of DyeStat

Come join us—January 6-7, 2012—at the Track & Field Coaches Clinic of Texas (Addison’s Crowne Plaza Hotel) as we welcome Clyde Hart, Earnest James (not pictured), Randy Matson, Billy Olson, and Louise Ritter into the Texas Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame. A fantastic clinic (speakers to be announced soon) and a magnificent Hall of Fame class. Mark your calendars. This is a class you’ll want to be in attendance for.

Track & Field Commissioner for a Day You’ve just been nominated the Chancellor of Track & Field for the State of Texas. What rules changes would you implement? How would you alter the sport for the better?

Eliminate the 4x2 in favor of the 4x8?

Bring in the steeplechase and allow an extra event to any athlete who participates in it?

Send your ideas to ttfca@hotmail.com and we’ll publish the complete list.

From this list, we’ll prioritize and voice your legitimate concerns.

Enjoy—be creative—better the sport

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