Secondary PE: Discus and javelin introduced

By Ed Piper

Maybe Yoshinobu Yamamato's javelin workouts are having an impact on American culture.

The Dodger pitcher's regimen includes hurling the pointed, imposing piece of metal--which is pretty dangerous, if you think about the average Southern California school campus or park. People get impaled by those things.

I recently viewed disci (what is the plural of "discus"--discuses?) and plastic/rubber sticks with propeller blades set out for a physical education class at a local middle school. I told the instructor who was setting up for the day, "I never saw a discus (or javelin) when I was growing up."

She replied, "It's a new thing."

Andrew Mitchell, an LJHS Class of 2015 graduate and three-time NAIA All-American in the javelin, told me last year how he had never been exposed to javelin-throwing during his high school years, so he had to learn it when he moved to the Pacific Northwest. (He attended and competed for Southern Oregon University in college.)

One factor in the javelin not being a common part of the sports culture in Southern California, Andrew said, was the lack of open space. There are too many people here to be throwing a tipped metal rod safely.

His "PB" (personal best), according to athletic.net, is 67.53 meters, his senior year at Southern Oregon. That was top eight (I think he said he was third) in the javelin, which qualified him for All-American status. At 39.37 inches per meter (a little longer than a yard), that figures out to 2,658 inches, .8561 carried out to four decimals. That converts to 221 feet, 6 inches plus. Imagine an object traveling that far, and how much space you would need to safely hurl it--at high speed! (That would require a lot of open space, like in the Pacific Northwest.)

Anyway, young people's exposure and experimentation with the discus and pseudo-javelin at such an early age could yield good results. How many local proficient javelin throwers (besides Andrew Mitchell) do you know, as opposed to good discus throwers (like our very own Viking, sophomore Janae Stanley-Castillo)? Stay tuned.