The Joy of Throwing

The following was posted on "The Ring" on October 4, 2006, by someone calling himself K-Fitz. I've never read a better description of why I love throwing.

Sometimes when you are training you have days where you feel great, technique is on, the wind is blowing just right, and the discus just fly’s far. To say that those days have less significance just because it was not in a competition is just wrong. To some throwers watching the implement fly far and knowing that they produce this result is the beauty and lure of the event. I can personally say that I had practices where I was throwing well beyond my pr and I could not pull myself away from the practice. This also got me in trouble with my training cycle, but the beauty of the day will always remain in my memories when I am too old to move. I remember Jay Sylvester recalling a story of him driving somewhere in Utah and the wind blow so hard that it felt like it was going to blow the car off the road. Of course we all know the rest of the story; he pulled off to the side of the road, made a circle, and threw over 240’. This was told to me at a discus camp in a room full of the US’s best throwers at the time and we all smiled and some scoffed, including myself, at the size of the fish tale that we were just told. But the one thing that has always remained with me about that story is the way Jay told it. He told the story with the passion in his voice and fire in his eyes as if he was still in the moment. As if he just release the throw, watched it sail out, and seen the dirt kick up when it hit. Now we may or may not be able to confirm if this was true, but that’s really not the point. The point is, is that this is a memory that no one can take from him. When he told the story you understood that this is what he saw as the beauty and the lure of the event. This is why he loved the discus so much. I can say that I understand for I have experienced practices like this that will always mean more to me than a lot of my competitions. And when I tell these stories they might sound like fish tales, but in my mind they will always be another great day in my life.