Quadrennial Plan

for Collegiate

ThrowersBy: Willie Danzer

Brian Sklenar

End Goal of Program

• Entire program determined by looking at end goal and

working way back

• Nationals

• Raising general strength characteristics

• Transfer numbers give concrete goal

• Ideally every athlete will progress to the point of being moved

off of generalized “Team” program

• Higher training level and/or higher competition results

Major Influences of

Philosophy

• Charlie Francis- Hi/Low model, load management,

vertical integration

• Anatoliy Bondarchuk- Transfer of training, range

throwing

• Yuri Verkhoshansky- Shock method, Stim method,

dynamic correspondence

• James Smith- Load Management, Program Management,

Psychological Preparation

General Program

• Goal of general program is to obtain transfer numbers with the least net cost to recovery

• Ultimate goal is to raise throw results to highest level by any means appropriate

• Ideally, general characteristics and competition results will improve in parallel

• Realization must be made that we do not control majority of variables at this program level, so control what can be controlled• One variable we control from the beginning is reduction of the

gap between current abilities and maximum transfer numbers

• This stage represents the typical role of a Strength and Conditioning Coach for throwing

General Transfer Numbers

Model Characteristic of General Physical Preparation of High

Level Athletes Specializing in the Shot Put

Exercises Result

Men Women

Standing Long Jump (m) 3.40-3.60 2.90-3.10

Triple Jump from Place (m) 10.00-10.50 8.50-8.60

Vertical Jump (cm) 95-100 85-90

20m Run from Flying Start

(sec)

3.1-3.2 3.4-3.5

Power Clean (kg) 180-190 110-120

Throwing the Shot Backwards

(m)

Men-7.260 kg

Women-4 kg

21.50-22.50 21.50-22.50

Squat with a Barbell (kg) 270-280 180-190

Bench Press (kg) 240-260 140-160

Barbell Snatch (kg) 135-140 100-105

Taken from “Transfer of Training in Sport” by Anatoliy Bondarchuk. Table 17.

General Program

Qualities

• 4 day per week upper/lower split

• Box squat and bench press are main lifts/indicator

exercises

• Submaximal loading

• Auxillary work serves dual role

• Support main lift

• Support general physical development

• Athlete may stay on general program from 1 to 3 years

Example General Team Program

Divergence from General

Program

• At some point, for any multitude of reasons, the athlete may be progressed to a more individualized program

• Some reasons for this switch may include but are not limited to; increasing sport result to a certain level, advancement of general qualities up to or around maximal transfer levels, increasing disproportionality between general characteristics and sport result, physical limitations

• Nature of program from this point forward is completely contextual based dependent on athlete, athlete history, needs, goals, input of throws coach etc.

Personalized

Intermediate Program

• At this point, program may or may not resemble the general team program

• Main goal is to further increase sporting result with more emphasis placed on the specific areas of need of athlete

• Majority under this category of programming are in the category of having increased general qualities beyond proportion to technical ability/sport result

• Loading would be reduced to allow for more allotment of stressors to technical advancement

• Ideally, most athletes would spend as little time as possible in this level of programming

• At this stage, suggestions are made to the athlete on more global scale

Personalized

Intermediate Plan

Generalities

• 3-4 days per week, usually 3 days per week

• Loading is lessened

• Main lifts become variations that are more difficult

variations that will lessen the overall load

• Lifting takes on even more of a supplemental role to

allow even more to be put towards practice

Example Intermediate

Program

• Showed up very strong for a Freshman, now a Junior

• Since in the general program, has achieved a 725 box squat and 380 bench. Current maxes

are 725 and 435

• Deadlift replaces one squat main lift session to reduce load with a familiar movement that is

not as developed

• Squatting is very submaximal, but as he is from a powerlifting background, the term

dynamic effort is used to lessen overall concern on bar weight/lower training loads

• Bench press can still be improved, but at time of this program was not a limiting factor to

sport result. Decided to concentrate on bench at other time than the season. Therefore, bench

still receives two sessions/week, but loading is reduced

• Auxillary work used for structural support, as well as to address some specific issues

• At the time, he is very fast in the circle and had tendencies to blow through the block,

couldn’t handle his own speed. So training designed to allow greater volume of throws in

practice to work on technical abilities, the biggest need. Also was designed to help

strengthen block positions to help achieve the ability to handle his own forces created going

in to the block.

• It was suggested to him that he take a greater volume of throws, and to focus on improving

his block

Example Intermediate Program

Personalized Advanced

Plan

• This represents the ideal end goal from a

planning/programming perspective

• Assume Program Manager role

• Control or have big say in all stressors, planning, programming

• Work closely with throws coach as one staff

• Athlete, context, needs, and central governing way of

thinking/methods becomes the only necessities

• Means, methods, philosophies just become tools to be used

• Athlete becomes the philosophy

Program Manager

• Role in which the person in this position manages all stressors, programming, planning, etc. and oversees the developmental process

• Concept taken from James Smith, who has written and shared his ideas on the topic extensively

• Must be in a global mindset where everything exists holistically, and all factors interrelate and interact collectively. Nothing exists in independence of anything else

• Main driving thought is the development of the athlete, betterment of sport success, and achievement of competition goals, both short and long term

• Essential to the success of a program manager approach is the support of the sport coach, as well as the understanding of the process

Athlete Context

• Context is everything

• As it pertains to the athlete, training age, training history, history in sport, developmental history, all important

• The needs of the athlete to achieve goals, technical deficiencies and strengths, physical deficiencies and strengths

• The intermediate to shorter term training past, present and future

• Goals both of the athlete and for the athlete

• Temperament and personality of the athlete

• All are important considerations to keep in mind at all times

• If work with an athlete long enough, much of the context becomes second nature thought process

Philosophy, Means,

Methods

• A cartoon metaphor

• All of these things become nothing more than tools to use when needed

• No Dogma

• Never be married to any means, methods, systems, or “philosophies”, and this is never more important than with an elite athlete. No emotion, no attachment

• Bruce Lee esque approach to programming

• All context, athlete, needs will determine what is used, and only with best fit

Athlete is the Philosophy

• At this stage, the athlete is the philosophy

• All means, methods, philosophies are applied to the

athlete, the needs, and all context and factors. The athlete

is never fit to a system/philosophy/method/dogma

• If the athlete is the philosophy, there is great freedom.

Everything can be a potential tool to be used if needed

• If an athlete is fit into a system, it greatly limits training

solutions

Example Elite Shotputter

Example Elite Hammer

Thrower

Example NFL Athlete