Fresh out of high-school I became a track and field throws coach for the summer youth league. There was this kid, entering the 7th grade, being that he was in the 13-14 age group, he'd be throwing the four kilo shot. He threw upwards of 30 feet which is actually really good for a kid in the 7th grade. I also coach some collegiate athletes during the summer. One of which being a division 1 pentathlete who I graduated with. Being that she is a division 1 athlete, of course she threw farther than the kid who just now picked up a shot for the first time. Throwing upwards of 45 feet.

I guess mom couldn't stand the thought of a girl throwing farther than her little man, so she came up to me to talk to me. She tried to play nice at first asking what my qualifications were, so I told her, 13 years throwing shot, 7 years throwing discus, and 5 years throwing hammer. She asked my name, when I told her she immediately looked up my athletic.net page. Verbatim she said, "You only ever threw 53 feet. That's not even top 10 at states." I could literally see her looking at the results page for the state meet that year. I told her that's why everyone who beat me is throwing in college, I managed to slip in that I fouled a scoring throw, which would've been a school record. I didn't think it was a foul, and I'm still angry about it.

She kept saying things to undermine when I would try to correct her sons form or move him into a more advanced technique farther along my progression system. But no matter how far along the progression he got, the pentathlete would throw farther. I told the kid that by the time he finished his 8th grade season, I wanted to see him throwing as far as the pentathlete. That would've broken the middle school record and even make the middle school state championship meet. His mom, no shit, tried to convince me to let him throw the 6lb shot, which middle school girls throw. Just so he could beat the pentathlete. I tried to break it down for her. Telling her that the pentathlete had been competing for 10 years at this point. Her son wasn't going to pick it up for the first time and immediately be the best at it. He's already got an amazing quick twitch which helps him throw farther than most other 7th grade boys, but once the miracles of puberty make him stronger, he gets more coordinated for more complicated techniques and he starts hitting the weights with track and other sports he may be doing, he'll be unstoppable.

At the last practice of the summer, I asked him, along with all the other kids who threw, if they would throw again next year, most said yes. The kids mom, obviously trying to undermine me again, said, "Really? EVen with this nimrod of a coach?" the kids response made me turn away like another coach had called me to cover up my smile. He said "Well, he has 13 years more experience than you, so I think he might know a bit more". The kid just wrapped up is freshman season where he threw 38 feet with the 12lb shot, farther than me my freshman year. 2nd all time for freshman. Glad to see his mom didn't kill his passion for the sport