By Allison Metschke
Track and field. Everyone knows about it. They know about the running and jumping, the 100m hurdles, and 4 by 400. When Usain Bolt set the current 100m record of 9.8 in 2009, he made headlines across the world. Because of this, Track and Field is an incredibly popular sport for many high schoolers. At Ames High School, the team is made up of 200+ students. Out of these 200 students, 30 of them make up the throwing team. Yet, nobody seems to know anything about throwing, its rules, or that it even exists. Discus and Shot Put are events held at Drake, but they don’t receive nearly as much attention as the running or even other field events, such as high jump. As a thrower myself, whenever I tell people I'm in a spring sport, of course I get asked what events I run in track. Whenever I explain I am a thrower, all I get are confused looks. The average person may not know much about throwing, or that it even exists. Being the "black sheep" of the T&F family sometimes isn't much fun, but throwers often have their own small, supportive communties. Oftentimes, they're much like a family of their own.
If you don't know much about throwing, let me explain. Throwing at the Iowa high school level consists of shotput and discus. both sports require the thrower to launch the shot or disc from a medium-sized ring. Falling out of the front of the ring immediately scratches the turn. The implement landing outside of the 40-degree marked zone will also result in a scratched score. The shotput itself is a round metal ball. women's and men's shotput are different sizes, as women's shot is 8.8 lbs, and men's are 12 lbs. The discus is a flat, metal pancake. Women's disc weighs 1 kg, and men's weigh 1.6 kg. Both shotput and disc require huge amounts of training, strength, and technique to truly become good. While throwing may look simple, a lot of time is spent practicing to perform well for the few short seconds you're in the ring.
The Girls' Throwing team bonding session. Teammates decorate white bucket hats with white lies and inside jokes written on them. Stories and laughter are shared among teammates as they find themselves in this small, yet supportive community. Photo by Janiah Proctor.
The girls' throwing team celebrating the first outdoor meet of the season. Surrounded by candy and pizza, the girls feel at home surrounded by teammates. Photo by Morgan Wahl.
Head T&F coach Erika Douglas holding a pre-practice meeting with the team of 250+. Such large numbers make it difficult to find your own community or feel included. Photo by Jack Sailsbury.
Exhausted after a long week of school and practice, Senior Noah Garr crashes on the bus ride to a track meet. Photo by Jack Sailsbury.
One of the AHS discus rings next to Fellows Elementary School. Fellows Elementary is about a mile-long run away from the High school, forcing the team to make the trek to and from practice. This run is on top of regular practice and lifting. Who says throwers don’t get their miles in? Photo by Allison Metschke
Head throwing coach Tara Stemsrud (left) and shotput thrower Eli Cosby (right) shivering as they watch teammate Skylar Calhoun exit the discus ring. The team has been outside in the cold for hours. Cold temperatures reduce the effectiveness of warmups and cool down the joints quickly. Despite this, Calhoun was able to set a PR of 86.11 feet. Photo taken by Allison Metschke.