Coaching Young Athletes

Learn The Basics Of A Sound Throwing Grip

The way a shot, discus or javelin is gripped can have a huge impact on a young athlete’s ability to generate optimal forces on the implement.

A poor grip will restrict performance. It can hamper improvement and can even lead to other associated technical errors.

Let’s look at the basics of a sound throwing grip for three common kids athletics events.

The Shot Put Grip

The Shot Put Grip

When gripping a shot, a young athlete should:

• Sit the shot on the base of the fingers.
• Hold three fingers behind the shot.
• Hold the thumb and little finger to the sides.
• Not touch the shot with their palm.

The shot in the hand resembles a scoop of ice cream sitting in a cone.

The Discus Grip

The Discus Grip

When gripping the discus, a young athlete should:

• Hold the discus flat against their palm.
• Sit the edge of the discus on the pads of their fingers, next to their first finger joints.
• Rest their thumb on the back of the discus.

The discus should “rest” or “sit” in the hand, rather than be held firmly. (It should fall out of the hand if the hand is turned over with the palm facing down).

The Javelin Grip

A Javelin Grip

The javelin grip that I like to teach is the “One-finger” grip.

When gripping the javelin using the one-finger grip, a young athlete should:

• Hold the javelin at the back of the grip.
• Rest the javelin along the palm (rather than across it).
• Wrap the fingers firmly around the implement, with the index finger and the thumb behind the binding.

Over To You!

Have a go at teaching some kids these grips. I would love to hear how it goes! Let me know by leaving a reply/comment or by using the contact details below.

Further reading

E- Book:

How To Teach Shot Put To Young Athletes E-Book (plus bonus cheat sheet) 

Articles:

How to Teach Shot Put to Young Athletes

How to Teach Discus to Young Athletes

How to Introduce Javelin to Young Athletes