Throw 1 Deep at Simplot Games
POCATELLO, Idaho – The Throw 1 Deep club has thrown several “deep” while competing at Simplot Games. Traveling all the way from Marietta, Ga., the throwing squad swept the top five out of six places in the women’s weight throw, and clinched three of six in the women’s shot put. On the boy’s side they swept all six places in the weight throw, and took 2nd place in the shot put.
Throw 1 Deep throwing club began in 1999 by level 2 USATF coach and coaching instructor Mike Judge. His main inspiration for starting the elite club was to give young throwers a better chance of receiving college scholarships after high school. The club has helped over 60 athletes receive college scholarships. So what sets the athletes participating in Throw 1 Deep ahead of the competition?
Practices are held five days a week. Four to five of those days athletes are lifting weights on top of at least two hours of throwing. A typical Throw 1 Deep practice can range from two hours to three and a half hours in length. A majority of the athletes make summer teams, so Throw 1 Deep trains all year round. This training is much more time consuming and rigorous than most high-school programs. Judge says it is more like college training.
Currently he has about 24 kids on the waiting list to be a part of the club. Although the club is very popular and Judge has coached over 80 high school all-Americans, he gives all the credit to his athletes for their success.
“A good coach can only tell an athlete what to do,” says Judge. “These kids work harder than anybody.”
Even after a three hour long practice, the athletes are able to go home and do homework so they get the job done in the class room as well. At the NSIC Indoor Nationals, six athletes were awarded all academic honors; three of them were from Throw 1 Deep.
When the club travels to Simplot Games, it takes a full day of traveling and almost $20,000. Judge believes it is all worth it.
“It is a great competition,” says Judge. “You have to get a lot of experience. The Simplot Games is a big, well-known meet, and the kids get a lot of good experience. It’s a big deal when at big college meets they have a lot of experience so they don’t get too nervous. The Simplot Games is a great meet and a great experience.”
Junior Lauren Chambers, a five-year veteran of Throw 1 Deep and returning Games champion in the weight throw and runner-up in the shot put, also feels the Simplot Games are worth the long trip.
“I love it,” says Chambers. “It is a good experience throwing indoors. It gives me a sense of how I will do at other big meets and nationals.”
Wes Wright is looking to capture the Simplot Games record in the weight throw and win both the weight throw and shot put. Wright is the returning champion in the weight throw, last year’s runner-up in the shot put, and will be throwing at Ohio State next year. Like teammate Chambers, Wright is excited about coming to the Games.
“It has good competition, and there isn’t a better indoor meet to try to set yourself up to do good at nationals,” says Wright.
Chambers and Wright love being a part of Throw 1 Deep. It is much more than just a throwing club. Chambers and her teammates are very close friends, and hang out outside of practice and on the weekends. When there are new members in the club, the returning athletes really try to include them.
“Throw 1 Deep is a good experience,” says Chambers. “You make friends and get to train with a good coach. It really has given me a sense of what college life will be like.”
Wright enjoys the intensity of Throw 1 Deep.
“It has a great intensity level and you get to be around great throwers,” adds Wright. “You benefit to have people around you that want to do just as good as you do, and work just as hard as you do.”
Throw 1 Deep has produced some of the best throwers at the high school level and in the NCAA. Jake Dunkelberger, a former Simplot competitor and Throw 1 Deep member, is the NCAA champion in the hammer throw. This June, Dunkelberger will most likely participate at the Olympic trials.
Another Throw 1 Deep athlete to be on the lookout for this year is Allison Horner. She is one of the most highly recruited women’s hammer throwers in the country and has a good chance of being on the world junior team.
It is almost guaranteed you will hear about a majority of the Throw 1 Deep throwers in the future, and they will be a strong force at this year’s Simplot Games.
For more information on Simplot Games, please visit our website at www.simplotgames.com or you may contact Carol Lish at (208) 235-5604.