How Young Athletes Should Enter And Leave The Shot Put Circle
From where can kids enter a shot put circle? Is it true that they must walk out the back? What should we teach kids? Let’s look at the answers to these three questions.
Enter From Any Direction
Athletes may enter the shot put throwing circle from any direction. This includes stepping over the stop board at the front of the circle.
Exit Out The Back
Athletes must exit from the rear half of the throwing circle. Failure to do so results in a foul.
The athlete’s first contact with the surface outside the circle is considered as leaving.
Entry & Exit Tips For Kids
The entry and exit rules apply to children involved in any type of formal competition. (Depending on the level of the competition, any leniency is at the discretion of the event organisers and officials!)
To avoid confusion when they are learning at a grassroots level, it can be helpful to teach kids to enter and exit the circle through its back half. Place two markers (e.g. traffic cones) at the back of the circle to form a “gate”. Instruct the kids to use the gate to access or leave the throwing circle.
Other ideas include:
- On leaving the circle, the kids touch an object (e.g. a traffic cone) placed outside the back of the circle.
- A coach, teacher, etc, stands outside the back of the circle. The kids need to give this person a “high five” on leaving the circle.
Summary
- Athletes may enter the circle from any direction.
- Athletes must exit from the rear half of the throwing circle.
- It can be helpful to teach kids to enter and exit through the back half of the circle.
Further Reading
How To Teach Shot Put To Young Athletes E-Book (plus bonus cheat sheet) by Coaching Young Athletes
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Darren Wensor is a sports development professional, coach educator, specialist coach of young athletes, and founder of the blog coachingyoungathletes.com. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or via email. Check out Coaching Young Athletes on YouTube, the Coaching Young Athletes podcast, and the Coaching Young Athletes E-Book Series.
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