Not so good...

What can I say? Things didn't go quite as planned. I had an off day on the biggest meet of the indoor season. I felt good going in and my numbers in practice definitely show that I'm in shape to throw a big PR. In the meet this weekend, I can't explain exactly what went wrong. I just didn't have any explosiveness and my technique was different on every single throw. I ended up throwing 19.32m (63'5"), finishing in 8th and two centimeters behind 6th.

Results are here:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAIndoorTFChampionships/schedule.asp

Although I am disappointed, I will not dwell on this meet. I know that you will have bad meets and good meets, and this just happened to be one of the bad ones. So now I'm looking forward to outdoors. I will hit the weight room hard for about six weeks now and will look to open my outdoor season in mid-April. I still feel like I will have a big season outdoors (and indoors isn't really important anyways).

I now have this meet to motivate me through the tough weight workouts ahead. I'll update you on my practices in about a week.

Steve

The Last Practice of the Indoor Season

The last practice of the indoor season turned out to be the hottest - pun intended. Not only was it 77 degrees and humid, but I also threw a new PR with the 15# shot. (For those who don't know, you gain 2-3 ft for each pound lighter depending on the athlete.) This bodes very well for the indoor meet, and I am excited to throw on Sunday. The practice started out well and I was feeling ready. I had a SB from the half-turn with a 63' throw. I had planned on taking 10 throws from the full position with the first 2 or 3 being used as a warm-up. My fourth and fifth throws were near my best at around 68'. My technique got a little shaky on 6 and 7 because I was too anxious out of the back and really pressing it. On 8 and 9 I tried to slow it down and just hit the finish. My ninth throw was technically great but with no intensity (and 68'). My tenth throw was the same. I had the intensity, but I stepped on the inside of the toeboard, which always throws me off. So there I was, with my ten throws that I had planned on all done. I decided to take one more throw, making sure I was controlled out of the back with a huge explosive finish. Well, I accomplished that and yelled out a cry that started as a normal yell and then became an 'Owww!'. The shot came off my fingers badly, but I still drove through it (which made it worse). :) Anyways, my hand and fingers are fine. And the throw went much farther then my group of 4-5 68' throws. We measured it at 21.22m (69'8"). My old PR with the 15#, from last year, was 68'4" on this same week (I ended up throwing 20.29m [66'7"] at USA Indoors). It was my first (maybe second) real finish of the year (feeling totally connected with the ball and efficient). My other time was my 65'7" from my last meet. So, in summation, I am ready. My body is ready. My mind is ready. Now I just need to put it together in the meet.

I'm off to Houston tonight and will not update until after the meet. We get in on Friday around 1pm and will be sure to hit up Qdoba. On Saturday, I will be watching the weight throw and the pole vault. My friend Brad Gebauer is pole vaulting (he is leading the NCAA right now with a jump of 18'4"). There is an article on us at:
http://mcneesesports.cstv.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/022107aaa.html.
I throw at 3:30 pm on Sunday so I'll have just enough rest.

I'm Ready!

5 days left...

I got outside and practiced on Monday. The weather was a nice breezy 60 degrees. It is so nice being somewhere warm this time of year. It was great for my training last year not having to stay inside until April. I threw the 15# shot and had my best practice of the year. It still isn't up to par with my practices from last year, but I threw about four times as much leading up to this meet in 2006. My bests from last year with the 15# all came the week before Indoor Nationals (I kinda got burnt out last year after indoors). So this year, I have focused on outdoors and started having normal throwing practices in January as opposed to September. My bests were 53' from stand, 64' from half, and 68' from full. On Monday, I had a 53' stand, 60' half, and a 68' full. I worked on technique for about 10 throws and then tried to bomb six. Each throw of the six was a little bit farther, ending with a 68' and all throws over 66'6". What is weird, is that I have thrown 60'+ from the half turn three or four times with the 16# this year (in meets and intense practices). I still haven't timed up the little ball. Some say you can throw the 16# what you can throw the 15# in practice. Let's hope that is true!

Today, I did about 30 minutes of drills along with some sprints and box jumps. I felt like I could have thrown today, but I need to throw tomorrow. I will treat tomorrow's practice like a meet. With about 2-3 full throw warm-ups and six intense throws. I'll update you on how that went tomorrow. We will be heading out tomorrow night for Houston as our flight leaves at 7:45AM on Friday.

Anyways, I'm still feeling great - actually, better than ever. It is early in my training and this weekend will be a good time to set a precedent for the coming year. Make sure you tune into ESPN2 on Sunday at 4:00 PM ET!!! Or check www.usatf.org for results. You'll hear most of the results before I can get them on here.

Ciao!

One week to go...

Well, we just got back from Houston for the Southland Conference Championships. Although we didn't perform really great, there were some highlights from the meet. Our heptathlete won the meet with 5216 pts (and a 41'8" shot put). One of my throwers, Jessica Rutherford from Ogemaw Heights HS, had over a 2' PR and threw 41'3". And one male shot putter, John Jamail, threw 53'10", which was good for 5th place.

Right now I'm enjoying a nice relaxing Sunday. The past week has been kinda stressful but I was able to get in some good practices. On Tuesday I threw the 15# shot. I haven't been able to connect with it this year yet, but I had about 5 throws over 67'. On Thursday, I got in a very short practice session at the Houston track. My technique is getting better and I am feeling more balanced each practice. I will practice next on Monday morning to prepare for the big meet this coming weekend. I throw on Sunday, the 25th of February at 3:30pm. My friend and fellow 'McNeeser' Brad Gebauer is pole vaulting on Saturday. The meet will be televised on ESPN2 from 4-6pm on Sunday. You might be able to see me in the background. :)

Well, I'll try to update you on how my practices are going before I leave for Boston on Friday morning. I feel very good about the meet. I am seeded 5th out of only 8 athletes going into the meet. It is a small meet this year and leaves the door open for good oportunities. Here is the entry list:

Christian Cantwell 21.88m (71'9")
Dan Taylor 21.57m (70'9")
Reese Hoffa 21.31m (69'10")
Sheldon Battle 20.18m (66'2")
Steve Manz 19.98m (65'7")
Vincent Mosca 19.71m (64'8")
John Godina 19.25m (63'2")
Rhuben Williams 19.07m (62'7")

Well, I will report back soon. Wish me luck!

Indoor Season so far...

Since I have competed for almost a month now, I figured I would update everyone on how the season is going so far. I headed into this season with the best fall training I've ever had. My strength levels are at an all-time high and I am optimistic of the season to come. I got my first real taste of international competition this past summer and I want more!

Well, I started throwing in practice again in December. I kept the practices short and once a week. I just wanted to have fun and get a feel for it. The last time I touched a shot was in July in Slovenia. I came back from Michigan in early January and started 'real' practice on January 8th. Needless to say, things did not go well, as the weather was very cold and our indoor facility is inadequate for a good practice session. I opened up on January 13th at LSU with a throw of 19.30m (63'4"). I had only had one practice since my return so I wanted to make the meet more of a practice than anything. It was my best opener so far, topping my opener last year of 18.99m (62'3"). Then the weather got really cold. As the nation was hit with a huge cold front, I was only able to get in one throwing session in two weeks. I threw again at LSU with a great atmosphere and some claps from the crowd. I was able to throw 19.88m (65'2") and had a pretty big foul at 67'6". The next week, at Houston, I threw 19.52m (64'1") on pure adrenaline. There were no big fouls and my technique was still very shaky. I managed to throw that far with intensity. I'm losing the shot off to the right very badly as a result of poor technique out of the back of the ring.

So now we are on to this past week. The weather was great! I got in two throwing sessions, focusing mainly on cleaning up my technique and balance. They were frustrating sessions but I am starting to figure things out. I traveled to Houston (without the McNeese team that I coach) for their All-Comers Meet. I felt very good about the meet. I did not have the responsibilities of driving a van at 6am or coaching all day before I threw. I had a nice meet opener of 19.38m (63'7"), along with throws of 19.59m (64'3") and 19.98m (65'7"). My technique was poor on all but the farthest and I was a little too intense. On the 19.98m throw, I stayed balanced and controlled. It was not an intense throw, but much more techniquely sound. I am very excited about my throwing so far. I feel that once I get balanced and in control, I will be able to see some very far throws. Next week I will be in Houston again, coaching my athletes in the Southland Conference Championships. In two weeks the USA Indoor Championships are to take place in Boston. I am peaking for this meet as it is the last one of the indoor season for me.

Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my blog!!! This website will serve as a resource to let everyone know how my meets are going and what I am up to. I will post here on my upcoming track meets, results, training, and more... Please check back for more updates as they should occur weekly.

I know that it might be somewhat rudimentary, but it is easy and inexpensive - a big plus for a struggling shot putter in the U.S.! Feel free to leave comments and I will reply if need be. Also, feel free to contact me at stevemanz@hotmail.com at any time.

Thanks for your support,

Steve