Goals - Post 'em if ya got 'em

[Yaish]

Since we have a bunch of throwers on the board, post your goals for the year. Especially our new throwers, what is it you're working towards?

Personally I want to get to some competitive "A" class numbers by the end of the year. To that end I need:

Braemar Stone 33 ft - currently 31' 5.75"

Open Stone 42 ft -currently 37' 7"

HWD 28 ft - currently 24'

LWD 50 ft - currently 46' 9"

Heavy Hammer 70 ft - currently 68' 7"

Light Hammer 90 ft - currently 87' 10"

WOB 12 ft - currently 11'

Come on guys, what are you working towards?

[Arizona Scot]

How about giving some of us newbys some numbers to shoot for my first games will be in Nov. in Tucson. If you could give me some ball park numbers to shoot for in my training that would be great. I can practice for those numbers or better than be ready for Tucson.

[Alan H]

Tell you what, Arizona Scot, I will post results from last years Woodland Games, in the C class, and point out my marks. I can't post them all, but I'll post the winning mark, the "last place", the mark set by the guy in the middle of the pack, overall, and MY marks. Woodland was my first Games. Tim C was 5th of 21 entrants (some guys didn't come back after lunch) and I was 8th.

Open Stone
winner; 34' 5" (the winner was a young guy in his second Games, but he's an animal)
last place; 20' 1"
median; 29' 9"
Alan: 25' 2"

Braemar Stone
winner; 29' 7"
last place; 15' 11"
median; 24' 3"
Alan: 23' 1"

28 pound WFD
winner; 44' 8' (this is a B-level toss, really, same guy as won stones)
last place; 20' 8"
median; 37' 1"
Alan: 33' 0.5"

56 pound WFD
winner; 22' 6"
last place; 10' 3"
median; 18' 6"
Alan: 16' 5"

Heavy Scottish Hammer (22 lb.)
winner; 59' 7" ( I won this event)
last place; 23' 3"
median; 44' 11"
Alan: 59' 7"

We didn't do a light hammer that day, there wasn't time, but add 10-15 feet to the heavy hammer numbers and you're there.

56 pound WOB
winner; 11 feet...same kid that won stones and WFD, really a B-level thrower.
last place: couldn't clear 8 feet , and about 1/5th of the field couldn't do it.
median; 9
Alan: 9

Hope that helps!

[Yaish]

SAAA (Scottish American Athletic Association) has a pretty good 'move up' guideline posted.
http://www.saaa-net.org/old%20site/saaa_moveup.htm

For a first timer, try to get somewhere close to the C class numbers. A few feet short is no big deal, but you probably want to be around 75-80% of whatever they are throwing.

For a C/Novice you would probably want to throw around these numbers:

Braemar 24ft

Open 27ft

HWD 18ft

LWD 35f

Heavy Hammer 50ft

Light Hammer 60ft

WOB 10ft


Don't get discouraged if you aren't hitting those numbers, or even getting close right away. Those are actually pretty competitive numbers in most C competitions, so it's a goal to work towards, not a minimum standard to meet.

[Alan H]

My goals...

In these first two Games of this year I've achieved three goals that I set right near the beginning.

1. turning a caber in competition
2. breaking 40 feet in the light weight for distance
3. breaking 80 feet in the light hammer

I'm not throwing in competition again until September because of the TransPac race, so for the two-three Games I'll do in September and October I want to.

Braemar Stone: get better! My marks are so rotten that ANYTHING is an improvement!

Open Stone: get better! 30 feet is in there, I've done 28's and 29's in practice, last year.

Light Weight for Distance: this is a two-part goal. I throw 40 feet in practice a LOT. So I want to A.) do it AGAIN in a Games and prove that Woodland 2008 wasn't a fluke....and B.) See a 42 before the season is out. But mostly I want to FEEL that I'm 1.) "stovepipe" in the first turn, 2.) well extended throughout, 3.)balanced all the way through the action, and put all that together so that I can start to be 4.) AGGRESSIVE in the second turn. That will be a huge turnaround, to get to the point where I can forget the "control, control, control" and let go and wail on it without going wild....whatever the distance is.

Heavy Weight for distance 42 lbs: 28 feet, which is eminently do-able. I don't focus hard on the heavy weight for distance.

Heavy Hammer: I want to repeat my 65+ throw and prove it wasn't a fluke. But more than distance, I want to transition to three spins and really *SNAP* the last power stroke and release. If I only get another foot or two that's OK, because I will have GOTTEN BETTER.

Light Hammer: I have an 84 inside me. I KNOW it's in there. I've done it in practice. I can do it in a Games if I really, really *SNAP* the last power stroke and release so that I pull my right foot around and follow through. I want an 84 this season.

caber OK, so I want to turn another caber...of course. So My goal for the season is to turn a caber AGAIN and prove that Livermore was no fluke.

42 pound WOB This is tough because I don't think that 14 feet is realistic. But 13' 6" IS....the problem is that nobody ever sets the bar at 13' 6" So my goal is to repeat 13 feet, and do it with room to spare and prove that Livermore was no fluke!

[Alan H]

And this might sound nuts, but these are also goals.

To help my fellow athletes get better.

To cheer and encourage every guy or gal on the field, from the newcomer who is just figuring it out to the guy who beats me by 6 inches on the last throw of the event.

My goal is to remember that it's not a number on a piece of paper that counts. No matter how good I get there's always someone else who's better. No, what counts is challenging myself, what counts is getting out there and participating and not spending life on the sidelines.... What counts is helping myself and others achieve their goals. When the smaller guy who's new throws twenty feet and I throw forty, but that's his PR, then I shout WITH him and I buy him the beer, because what it really comes down to is... there are no losers on that field. Not in my book.

[Yaish]

And this might sound nuts, but these are also goals.

To help my fellow athletes get better.

To cheer and encourage every guy or gal on the field, from the newcomer who is just figuring it out to the guy who beats me by 6 inches on the last throw of the event.

My goal is to remember that it's not a number on a piece of paper that counts. No matter how good I get there's always someone else who's better. No, what counts is challenging myself, what counts is getting out there and participating and not spending life on the sidelines.... What counts is helping myself and others achieve their goals. When the smaller guy who's new throws twenty feet and I throw forty, but that's his PR, then I shout WITH him and I buy him the beer, because what it really comes down to is... there are no losers on that field. Not in my book.

Ok, so Alan set me some new goals too. Really, that's one thing I miss about the C's is being able to help all the new guys. By the B class most have got it down, and I'm too busy to stop over by the C's. Fortunately this board and my practice sessions give me an outlet to help others, and that's what it's all about.

[emolas]

I really like this post as it's answering a few things I was wondering. I have been throwing stuff around for about a month now and just started measuring since I have some consistency to my throws. Knowing these numbers makes me feel better about competing for the first time.

Here are my bests:

Braemar 20ft

Open 25ft

HWD 18ft

LWD 33f

Heavy Hammer 62ft

Light Hammer 72ft

WOB 9ft (roughly)

Comparing those to the numbers you give is a lot more heartening than watching videos on youtube of people throwing half again those distances. The WOB is the one I feel I need the most work on. That is the one that needs more strength than I have because it's a pretty unused muscle group. When I started I could barely clear my shoulder with the weight and I've worked my way up to it going a little higher than I can reach in just over a month so I should be able to bring that up another foot or so. The rest of the events have more to do with my lack of technique limiting me than physical capabilities. As far as goals, I really haven't set any but I would think a 5%-10% increase across the board over the next year would not be too unreasonable.

[Arizona Scot]

You guys are great I appriciate the number to shoot for, your enthusiasm and your willingness to help. I said thank you once in another thread but I will continue to say it until I get the chance to buy you a beer in person.

[Yaish]

until I get the chance to buy you a beer in person.

There's always Flagstaff...

Emolas, those numbers look really good. As I said this week I am working on a Stone tutorial, and I think that might help get those numbers up a good bit. Your other numbers actually look really good for a start.

On the WOB, remember it is NOT a shoulder/arm event, it's a LEG event. The power comes from your legs. Check my Prescott thread and look at my WOB videos. See the extension in the legs? Same for Alan, it's the STANDING UP that generates the power, the arm is just a simple lever that transfers the power to the weight.