How to transition from high school to college

One of the top three questions I get asked by high school coaches and athletes has to do with how to properly coach their high school senior in order to make their transition to college easier. My answer is simple and it involves three easy steps.

• Step 1: Unless you are practicing proper technique when in the weight room, don't do it!! The reason for this is because there is nothing worse for a college coach to do than having to unteach all the bad habits and horrible weight lifting technique picked up from improper training methods. Put yourself in a college throws coach shoes and think about how much more difficult it would be to develop an athlete who lifts improperly, which brings about constant fear of an acute or chronic injury.
  
• My advice to the high school senior would be to stay away from lifts that you don't know how to do properly because this will lead to injury. Stick to the simple lifts such as the bench and squats. Unless you have a great, and properly trained lifting coach who will ensure you are executing proper technique, you are bound for disasters such as injury as I mentioned earlier and slower transition in college due to bad habits that have to be retaught.

• Step 2: Spend at least one day a week practicing the college weight. This can be done through taking a hand full of power throws and half turns at least once a week. Although it might be tempting to do a full spin with a 2k discus, stay away from doing them during your season because it may mess up your 1.6k technique. A lot of high school seniors that want to throw in college are too anxious and as a result, begin to throw the 2.0k discus too often during their last season, which creates problems for them in their technique with the 1.6k.
  
• If you feel as though you have to start throwing the 2.0K, do it the summer break after your last high school season.

• Step 3: Be humble and open minded. A problem many high schoolers face is their inability to let go of their high school mentality, which causes them to bump heads with their college coaches because they feel that their new coach is not doing the right things because they still have a strong attachment with their high school coaches way of doing things.
  
• Come to college with an open mind and trust that your new college coach has a lot of experience, much more than you do. Be humble and willing to learn but also don't be afraid to ask questions because you will be more open to doing new things if you know its purpose.

Transitioning from high school to college is very challenging but I hope my points will help you soon to be college throwers. Also, give yourself time to transition. Some high schoolers think they will start off where they left off in high school but this is highly unlikely. Give yourself time to get physically, mentally and technically sound and you will achieve success in the end. Remember that it is not how you start, it means nothing if you have a breakthrough first year because you wont be remembered if you don't finish strong. Discus heads dismissed.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! or email me at 0a4w@virginia.edu