US Hammer Throwing
Harold Connolly
In 2002, after retiring as Director of US Programs for Special Olympics, I made a decision to devote my 23 years of hammer throwing competitive experience and subsequent 26 years of hammer throw coaching toward establishing a strategy to motivate and help American boys and girls attain the victory stand in the hammer throw at the 2012 or 2016 Olympic Games. In the year of the 2012 Olympic Games, I’ll be 81 years old.
My personal goal is to attend the Olympic Games when a boy or girl I assisted wins an Olympic hammer throwing medal. This is a major factor that keeps me committed to my training, followed faithfully if not as vigorously as throughout my own Olympic career. In this regard my role model and good friend is the oldest Olympic gold medalist thrower, Wilbur Moose Thompson (London Olympic Games 1948, shot-put) now 88 years young and still coaching.
It’s the general consensus among the most successful hammer throw coaches that it takes 8 -12 years for a hammer thrower to attain Olympic victory stand status. By 2012 – 2016, my passionate hammer throw quest will have covered 10 – 14 years. Will the ebbing decline of American top level hammer throwing have turned by then and potential American Olympic hammer throw medalists have emerged? In 2016, I’ll be 85, and I want to be in the Olympic Stadium to witness the positive results I confidently expect.
In September, I received a message from a man I coached in college with his pledge to match contributions made to the 2009 USATF Youth Hammer Throw Fundraiser up to $5,000. He said that he wanted to support our efforts to advance continued youth participation in hammer throwing, the event that positively influenced the course of his life.
To continue disseminating authoritative hammer throw coaching information across the country and to add a donation incentive to the 2009 USATF Youth Hammer Throw Fundraiser, I recently completed the two most effective Hammer Throw Technique and Coaching Instructional DVDs I have ever put together:
Hammer Throw Training, 3 Turn – 4 Turn (3.68 GB)
Youth Hammer Throwing, A and B (2.70 GB)
After reading this appeal, I hope you will log on to: www.hammerthrow.com/grants/
There you will find detailed descriptions of:
Training and Coaching DVDs;
USATF Youth Hammer Throw Development Project;
USATF Youth Hammer Throw Grants Program;
2009 Training Grant Application Form; and
How You Can Support American Youth Hammer Throwing
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