"It takes 1 million reps before you have mastered a throw." - Ron
"Throwing, the one area of the game that has no ceiling, no limit." -808
How do you build a great thrower? How do the Sevilles, Nethercutts, Matzukas, Lius, Kubalanzas, Wiggins's, Snyders, Tunnels, Markettes, etc. of the world develop?
I don't think there's a secret sauce. If there is, I'm not aware of it. So while I don't know how to take an 8/10 thrower and make them a 10/10, I do know a few things about getting to 5/10. So here are a bunch of thoughts, anecdotes, and links.
One of my thoughts is that throwing is an art, and somewhere within discipline, effort, and desire lies mastery.
Another thought is that you can always grow as a thrower. In fact, if throwing ability was truly fixed, my fates would have been sealed from day 1.
Here is a rough personal timeline:
Birth - 2005: Occasionally threw backhands for fun
2005-2007: Threw backhands in pickup ultimate games. Occasionally attempted flicks, which immediately bladed into the ground and rolled away.
Fall 07: (Start of college) Threw only backhands, flick still totally useless.
Spring Break 08: Threw flicks every day for a week. Threw first flat flick.
Summer 08: Threw 1-2x per week, about 100 throws per session. Threw at a baseball backstop and worked on different shapes (oi/io/flat).
Fall 08: "You should try being a handler." Tried being a handler, went terribly, back to cutting.
"When are you gonna straighten out that arm?" -Coach R, after seeing me throw a backhand
Winter 08: Still can't throw to in-cuts consistently. Somehow the stars align and I bomb a flick huck in a practice. This blows Sketch's mind. I was not able to repeat this throw, sadly.
Spring 09: Around now I decide I'm pretty good at throwing. (I am totally wrong)
Summer 09: I throw maybe 3 times the entire summer. I went to Evanston pickup a few times.
Fall 09: I read Zs and Crazy Frank's blogs. I'm not yet aware that Crazy Frank is crazy. I read Idris's "throwers don't pivot" post. Then I interpret it too literally:
"When you hold the disc, you're like a stone. Try being a little more active." -Z
Summer 10: Throw once a week with NUT people who are hanging around for the summer. Hucks get a little better.
2010-2011 academic year: Do no extra work on throws -> get no better at throwing
Summer 11: Go abroad, bring no discs. No throwing for some months.
Fall 11: Discover KFT, do it weekly for 12 weeks. Play and throw almost every day while studying abroad.
Winter 11: Return to NUT from abroad, now a handler for nut. Play and throw almost every day, but very little throwing on my own.
Spring 12: Practice pulling twice a week.
(end of college)
2012: Played club for Haymaker, was a cutter/benchwarmer. No consistent throwing practice -> throws got much worse. After the season, I decided my throws needed to improve, so I started throwing in a field by myself during my lunch hour. I averaged 2-3 times per week during the week, sessions of 20-30 min. I threw 5,000 total throws between Oct '12 and Feb '13. Each day I worked on a single type of throw (shape, release time, footwork, etc) that I felt needed work. During this period I tinkered with grip and body position. Got a pair of gloves for throwing outside when it's winter.
2013: Showed up at Wildfire tryouts with much better throws, made the team (as a cutter). Almost certainly had the worst throws on the team. Played as an oline cutter for Chicago Club with a passable backhand and a trash flick. I threw about 4,000 focused throws outside of practice between Feb and September. I stumbled across and read 808s blog.
2014: Decided I needed to be a much better thrower if I wanted to play high level ultimate seriously. I decided I needed to get serious about throwing if I wanted to handle on my return to ultimate, Started talking to Walden regularly about mechanics. Took video of myself and worked on specific flaws in my form (flick: forearm position, wrist snap, upper arm position, managing the mark, release angle, invert, how to add power, footwork, etc.) This calendar year I barely played as I was recovering from my ACL injury. I threw 43,305 focused throws (just throwing, no ultimate), throwing 6-7 days per week.
2015: Made Wildfire again, this time as a handler. Handled for BMU on the oline over the summer. Continued to take video and work on mechanics issues. Worked on developing better quick releases and throwing in different winds with different marks. I threw 30,849 focused throws (just throwing, no practices/drills/games), throwing 5-6 days per week. I believe this number went down due to playing a season of club and an increased number of throws in games and practices.
2016: The goal for 2016 is 45,000 focused throws, with specific goals associated with my many weaknesses as a thrower.
I feel like I have improved the most as a thrower within the last 3 years. It pains me to look back on this and see how obviously related my improvement level has been to just challenging myself to do so. Why did I wait until after college to invest in my throws? This haunts me. Could I have made a far bigger impact in my college ultimate career if I had applied myself to learning how to throw? Without a hint of a doubt.
The more I learn, the more I realize I do not know. But rather than despair at the length of the path, I'm enjoying the journey.
Reading articles and trying stuff out has been a huge way that I have learned more about throwing.
Here are just a few articles:
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