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ModeFn$ch
ATHLETIG$
(Pant
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Tom McNab is interviewed bv former General Secretarv
of the Physical Education Association, Alan Gibbon
Couldyou giveme someidea of on
.J
othleticslesson.
TM The pure "athleticslesson"is a
problem,particularlyin Year7 when
children first enter secondary
school.You cant simplydividethem
up into groups right away because
they dont usuallyhaveenough
knowledge to be left to get on with
it while you work, say,on a throw.
I would be happy if there were a
couple of five a-sidegrid soccer
games,while the teacher got on
with teaching,say,shot put. Over a
few weeks, every child could have
an experienceof three or four
events under supervision,and at
that point group work could start.
.G
But some eyentscould surelybe
introducedeorlier,in the gymnosium?
Certainly,that's a good approach.
Eventslike high jump,standingand
short run triple jumps. This would
mean that the teacher could set up
competitions or practices in these
events,while he/sheis working on,
say,javelin or shot. Alas,what I
usuallysee is rather aimlessgroup
activity,simply becausethe children
haven't enough competence or
enthusiasmto work away from the
teacher.
AG Lett stort with shot put What is your
opproach?
TM Let me start by sayingthat every
year I visit our county Schools
Championships.And every year,in
wtnte r 2o o o rH E B Rr rr sH JouRNA L oF T EAC HTN GpH ys rc a L
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the Under l5 group,the officials
usuallyhaveto show children how
to compete within the rules. By
that I mean to hold the shot within
the proximity of the neck. And
every year I see poor kids facing
backwards,"O'Brien style",without
the slightestidea how they are
goingto travel acrossthe circle and
get round to complete a put. But
that'swhat these childrenhavebeen
told to do. and that's what their
teacher was told at college.
AG So you wouldn't teach o shift?
TM Never,though I've seenWilf Paish
teach rotational technique to a
large group. But then,Wilf is
exceptional. No, my approachis a
simple frontal standingput.
E DUc a r ro N { i
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AG Whot obout shot werghts?
TM We forget any ideas about standard
implements.After all,if I askedeven
a strappingyoung PE teacher to
try to put a7.25 kg.shot, he would
be struggling! So I mosey down to
the local garden centre and buy a
dozen round rocks in the 2 - 3 kg.
territory. These are perfect for a
l2- | 3 year old, allowingthem to
immediatelyput in the 6 - l0 metre
range.
AG More sotisfoaion?
TM Exactly.Nobody gets much pleasure
in putting a lump of metal a couple
of metres beyond his left foot. Yet
if we stick to the standard imple-
ments,that's what happensfor many
children. Dismalefforts.in the 3 -
4 metre territory.
AG And everychild puts o different shot?
TM Yes.The strong ones put the heavy
stones (or eventhe standardshot),
and the smallerones a lighter stone
in the 2 kg.territory.
AG How mony in o group?
TM A dozen,all working in a calibrated
throwing area,with linesrunning
from 3 - 12 metres. This goes back
to classorganisation,in that the
teacher has to work with the
throwing event,for safety reasons.
Other groups can be competingin
field events,time trials, or playing
football.
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AG Whot ore the progressions?
TM First,the basictransmissionposition.
lf this is wrong,then everythingelse
goes down the tubes.
Fig.I showsthe classicposition
- clean palm,dirty fingers. Elbow
out, left shoulder high.
AG Would you ottempt o shift?
TM No. The first practice is a frontal
put (fig.2),feet hip-width apart,
pointingforwards. Shot is a driving,
punchingaction. I ask the children
to punch it out high,with straight
legs. Then it's all out to collect,on
command,markingthe distancewith
a peg. From the start, the "all throw,
all collect" rule must be observed.
c The fact is that it is virtually
Fig.2
AG Why no legs?
TM To isolate the basic putting action.
I dont stay long in this situation.
The main aim is to give children
plenty of puts,grooving in the
action, driving up and out.
AG And seeingtheir distoncesimprove?
TM Exacdy.This is the big dynamic.
When they've had half a dozen puts,
then I watch them in stream,one
at a time, offering advice where
required. Then it's on to a put with
knee-bend (fig.3)
AG And noturollythe shot goesfurther?
TM Yes.This shows them the impor-
tance of drivingup and out with
the legs,that all throws start in
the legsand end in the hands.
Again,I look at each thrower,
putting in stream.
AG Whot is the next progression?
TM To take the shot further round
This increasesthe rangeand
consequentlythe distance.By this
time, the kids will have had about
l5-20 pua. I usuallyfinishthe
sessionby askingthem to mark
their personalbest with a peg and
give everyone who beats that best
in a final put an Olympic"gold".
AG It all soundspretry simple.
TM It couldnt be simpler! The essence
is first to tet the basic"elbow out,
left side high" position. Thatl
absolutelycrucial.Then the other
basicis to punch it and follow it
out right up the middle. Finally, it's
leg-driveand trunk-torque. That's
all any child is likelyto be able to
absorb in a first session.
THE BRrrfsH Jo uRN AL oF
professional matten$
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AG And within o coupleof weeks,every
child would hove gonethrough this
experience?
TM Any child who wants to take it
further should do so in an after-
school session.
AG Would you go no further in c/oss?
TM Possiblyto a simplestandingput.
You see,shot (and discusfor that
matter) is simplybent-knee,weight-
lifting position with feet offset to
allow the hips to be driven through.
Then weight is taken backwards
and the shouldersclosed,into what
Wilf Paishcallsthe "chin-knee-toe"
position.Thatl the basicbread-and-
butter throwing position, for both
shot and discus.
AG Con childrenin o closs sttuotionget
into and out of this position?
TM Most usuallyneed a fair number of
frontal puts first to get the general
feel of putting, before they even try
a conventionalstandingput. The
trouble is that many teachers want
to get towards what they feel is
"proper" putting, even using a shift.
impossibleto do this successfully.
Doesn't seemto bother them.
Thus,as I havesaid,I go to a county
schoolschampionshipand see
children desperatelyshufflingback
wards. They produce a parody of
the O'Brien technique,and haveno
idea of how they are going to get
round to deliver the shot.
AG Couldwe look ot a stondingput?
TM This is shown in Fig.4.The basics
are:-
l. Pushthe hips forward,so that
the bottom is well in.
2. Get into a bent-kneelifting
position,feet offset.
TEA CH TNG PHysrcaL EDUCATToN wi nter zoo o --- - (^
 3. Step back on to the ball of the
right foot, which is parallelto the
diameter line.
4. Close the shoulders
Even the position in Fig.4may be
too difficultfor most children,and
somethingcloser to Fig 3 might be
the best that they can expect to
achieve.
AG Yes,eventhat positionis fairly complex
for o beginner.
TM Yes,even moving weight forwards
and upwardswithout the shot may
be difficultfor some children.
AG So whot's the movement?
TM To drive in the right toe and knee
The aim is to get hips and shoulders
parallelbefore punchingthe shot
out. The shot, like all throws, is
about getting the slow, powerful
musclesof the legs in first.
G Radiotingout to the orm ond hond.
TM Yes.
AG But eveno bosic stondingpositionis
often difficult,ot c/oss/eveL
TM Agreed. I work with talented
young club all-rounders,and they
often find it difficult enough to
master these positions.There has
to be realismin all teaching.Putting
lighter shots and simplifyingthe
throwing positions is therefore
essential.
AG ls o shift thereforenever worth
considering?
TM Not a shift in the conventional
sense.You see,for a novice,a shift
can at best produce only about a
l0% improvement. lt all breaks
down. They start to pull the shot
awayfrom the neck and get into all
sorts of trouble. This is because
the central core of the putting
techniquehas not been firmly
established.
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A achievement-based
( 28 )- Winter 2OOO THE BRtr rsH JoURNAL
AG And would you hove competitionswith
everyoneputting a differentweight?
TM Yes. The bigger lads put the stand-
ard weight,the smaller ones with
my garden centre rocks. What we
alwayshaveto remember is that
not one child in a hundredwill want
to become a shot-putter. What
I'm aimingat is an enjoyable,
educationalexperience of shot-
PuttinS.
AG Let3 look ot tongjump.Do you use o
take-off board?
TM Never at this level. No, we have a
broad, l-metre area,marked by
white lines. This removesthe
problem of hitting a narrow wooden
take-off board. And the attack is
from the side of the pit.
AG Whot if the pit's too norrow?
TM Then we haveproblems! My aim
would be to widen the existingpit.
Otherwise long jump consistsof a
line of kids on a rutted approach
run, all waiting their "go".
AG Whot obout opproachrun lengh?
TM For children of l2-l 3 years,seven
strides will do. That's about ten
metres,and this should be marked
b y a l ine or a c one.
AG How do you estoblisho toke-offfoot?
TM Simplyask them which foot they
would take off from in high iump.
Then, becauseit's sevenstrides,
the opposite foot is placedon the
ten-metre line.
AG So whot's the frst priority?
TM To take off in the marked area and
to land with heelsin line,an absolute
essential.The childrenrun to
command,the pit is raked,then
they jump again.The aim is to get
lots of jumps in. The childrenwill
gradually"sight" the take-off area
and get closer to its edge.
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{ your positionon schoolsothletics?
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Fig.4
oF TEACHT NG pHystca L Eo ucarroru
AG Whot next?
TM Soft landing,givingat the knees.
Then it's on to speed.I ask every-
one to attackthe take-offat speed.
AG Won'i this extro speed chongethe
approachrun?
TM Marginally.I encourate them to
make adjustments, by askingthem
to jump in stream,one by one,
checkingeachjumper.
AG And then?
TM Height.Ask for lift" This meansthat
we've covered the basics. Speed,
height,accuracy.
AG Is the pit markedout?
TM Yes. Cones at 2.3 and 4 metres
etc., so that each child can get an
idea of distancecleared.
AG Anycompetition to finish?
TM | finishwith a competicion with
mark out a hundredfor technique.
AG Speed,height,accurccy.Heels?
TM Yes.Thus evena moderate jumper
can win. Everybodyknows that the
big guy with the beard and the deep
voice is going to iump the furthest.
Thatt no great surpriseto anyone.
I'm interested in their expressing
what they havelearnt and under-
stood.
AG It o// seemsso simp/e.
TM It is,at this level.
AG And hitch-kickand other flight tech-
niques?
TM A completewaste of time. This is
where we havealwaysgone wrong.
And I includemy book "Modern
SchoolsAthletics". At this level,
jumping3-4 metres,flighttechniques
are an irrelevance.The "technique"
(if you can call it that) is a simple
"big step" sail.After all,interna
tional femalejumpers have cleared
over seven metres with it. lt's all
that's possiblewith a flight-time of
around 0.5 seconds.
AG To conclude,couldyou summorise
TM Yes. lt hasnt changedmuch through
the years. We must make a big
effoft to produce teoching facilities
capableof dealingwith large
numbers. Our approachmust be
- how far, how
fast,how high. And we must work
usingrealisticbreadand butter
technicalmodels.