I WISH I HADN’T…

by Mike Byrnes

Usually when a coach writes an article about him/her self, they tend to highlight the good moves they've made, the things they've achieved…you know, the good stuff. Well, I don't have enough "good stuff" to write such an article but stories! I've got a million!

To most people the discus is an event they read about after having attended a meet. Usually held in a field where, hopefully, the cows have long departed and watched by four sets of parents, two tafnuts and an assistant coach or two, the people who throw the thing are a colorful lot and bring a wealth of stories to the table.

One such, JAY SYLVESTER, world-record holder and genuine good guy. One day he was practicing and I was going about my business in the infield. The landing area for the throwing events had been cleared despite the vociferous objections of the California Parks Department. To them, EVERY twig, every stone, every blade of grass was absolutely indispensable and had to be preserved. Thus, a compromise was reached. I could request permission to move a tree, stone, boulder but the Park guy had to approve. He was not a track guy. When I outlined the area that had to be cleared for the landing of the various implements, he gasped, staggered and had to be resuscitated. But, he finally gave a partial OK. I could remove whatever had to be removed BUT a small copse of trees about 220' out had to be left. There was no appeal. On this particular day Sylvester was throwing quite well. Most of the throws landing well, close to or over 200'. Now his WR back then was 218-04 (66.54 — Modesto Relays). Interested, I watched as he stepped into the circle, spun and let fly. The disk hit the tree about 15' up! The tree was 220' from the circle. Had it not hit the tree, the throw would have been close to the 230'-240' mark, I'm certain.

The discus guys were unique in other ways. Virtually every day one of them would call down to Reno. They were checking the…wind. If the school where the discus circle was had the proper wind, all the discus guys would climb into a van or a couple cars, head off to Reno and try and get a super throw off. Quite often they succeeded as evidenced by Sylvester's 224-05 (68.40) set in September…in Reno!

I was a young (36) high school coach and almost awed just being a part of the scene. I mean imagine, I arrive in Reno, hop a bus to South Lake Tahoe, call the office to get picked up, go to the slots to lose a few quarters and suddenly hear a voice, "Hi Coach, need a ride?" It's my driver, GERRY LINDGREN! He takes my bag, I want to carry HIM! No doubt about it, I'm awed.

Back to coaching. Quite often, the athletes would ask you to watch them and see if you could spot a flaw. Randy Matson, world record holder in the shot, did so with me. Now I want to show him I know a thing or two about the event. This is wrong, speed that up, move your left toe, drop the elbow. I know it all! Every throw has a flaw and I'm spotting them all. Randy gets in the circle and lets one fly, it's awesome! I gasp. He turns to me and says, "How was that one for distance?" I shut up, lesson learned, humble pie devoured. I WISH I HADN'T…

I could tell stories about those six weeks and take up 9-10 pages but this piece is about more than that. So, let's move on.

(Ed. Note: I'm using the '68 T&FN issue for research. Black and White, primary writers covering the Olympics, Dick Drake, Joe Henderson, JON HENDERSHOTT ( a VERY young Jon Hendershott! Who also provided me with much statistical info for this piece as well as others), Don Potts, the great CORDNER NELSON, brother BERT, JIM DUNAWAY and ED FOX. T&FN contest winners included Jack Shepard and Garry Hill. - Advertised for the upcoming indoor season, Cleveland KofC meet, Mason-Dixon Games, Philadelphia Track Classic, Oregon Invitational, Albuquerque Jaycee Invitational and the NY Knights of Columbus Meet. Gone…all gone.)

It was sometime in the early '80's or so and my team, Wantagh HS on Long Island, was in contention for the Nassau County championship. A key event was the 55mH. I had a good kid but no gold medal guarantee. The facility was terrible and the equipment worse. The hurdles varied from good, solid Gills with the big weights on the bottom to flimsy training hurdles that fell if you breathed on them. Going into the final, I cleverly checked to see what lane my kid had drawn then raced back to the infield and volunteered to help set up the hurdles. Every hurdle in my kid's lane was flimsy. In the lane next to him was his top challenger, every hurdle in his lane, a Gill behemoth!

They came out for the final. To my horror my kid was in the lane with the big ones! For some forgotten reason they'd redrawn the lanes. My kid made it through three hurdles. I WISH I HADN'T…

Back in those days the landing pits were big mesh bags filled with loose bits and pieces of rubber. Rather than bring them in every night, I felt they were safe and left them out. Upon returning from a meet one Saturday, the custodian saw me and remarked, rather casually, "Should a seen the fire, it was a big one." What fire? "That bag of rubber you had out there. Some kid walking through stopped, put a match to it and up it went." Result? No landing pit for a year. I WISH I HADN'T…

Coaching high school track and FIELD can be rather hazardous. One day, while working with a young girl in the discus, I saw she was holding on to the implement too long and it was flying far left of center. I took her arm and showed her the proper release point. We rehearsed in slow-motion several times. "Now you've got it," I pronounced and moved off to her side to see if my instructions had worked. Later, while lying in bed with an ice bag close to my privates, I learned you never stand to the side of a novice thrower. I WISH I HADN'T…

Sometimes an alumnus would come by and help out coaching wise. The pole vaulters needed some help and I was working with another group. A former vaulter, pretty good vaulter, parked his car, climbed the fence and began helping out. Several minutes later a loud cry went up from the vault area. "Coach, coach…get over here quick." My "assistant" coach had tried to teach by showing, landed short of the pit and broke his collarbone. I WISH I HADN'T…

In Nassau County, the big indoor track powers were Oceanside and Lawrence. Both very well-coached and in the 4x220, both finishing 1-2 literally EVERY year. Finally, after several years of finishing third, I had a team I felt could finally win. Our kid had a great start, the baton passing was magnificent and going into the anchor leg, we had about a three yard lead. I'd told my anchorman, "When you come off the final turn, drift out just a little to make it harder for anyone to pass." He did exactly that. But just a little too far and got passed on the inside and the silver medals were ours. I WISH I HADN'T…

Many of you have never been to the Penn Relays. The most prestigious event held, the 4x440 relay, better known as the Mile Relay. Why so important? When the relays were initiated 107 years ago, the main event was the Mile Relay. That tradition has continued. Countless races are run with the eight fastest teams returning for the final. So, out of maybe 300-400 teams, only eight come back. Wantagh finally had a team I thought could make it. We were loaded. I pounded into my leadoff guy, "Get out, think about nothing else, get out." They lined up for the start. To keep the meet moving, each heat has 10-12 teams and they don't run in lanes. So, getting out is vital. My kid could fly and had good endurance. If he could only get out. The gun sounded and my kid was GONE! He had a three yard lead after 50 yards and I was ecstatic! I recall shouting, "Yes, Yes, Yes!!" Suddenly, he stopped and headed back to the start. He later told me, "All I could think about was getting out." He did but made one small error, he left the baton on the track. I WISH I HADN'T…

I hope you enjoyed this piece. As I read it, in the back of my mind I'm thinking about your reaction to my many foibles and thinking, maybe
I'LL WISH I HADN'T…

 


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