When I started coaching, the sport was obsessed with one idea: get bigger, get stronger. I went the other way — and it became the foundation of everything I built.

What I learned at Purdue

In graduate school I discovered biomechanics and kinesiology, and it changed my life. Once you understand the science behind human movement, you stop asking “how do we add weight?” and start asking “how do we move the implement more efficiently?” Those are completely different questions, and they lead to completely different athletes.

Why technique travels further than strength

Strength has a ceiling and a cost — it takes years to build and it fades. Technique compounds. A thrower who learns to apply force in the right sequence, at the right angle, at the right instant, gets more distance out of the body they already have. It’s also far kinder to the athlete over a long career.

The proof

I wanted to show you didn’t need unnatural size to reach the top. Over 28 years at SMU, athletes coached this way earned 20 Olympic berths, 34 NCAA individual titles, and seven collegiate records. The philosophy held up. It still does — and it’s exactly what I teach every athlete I work with today.

Curious how this applies to your event? Let’s talk.