help with left foot

[emz - LPS]

hiya

i can't seem to manage on a full run up to plant my foot straight and facing forwards and its even get to the point were i will plant at an angle then straighten up !! its starting to cause an injury as well i think as its irritating the knee !!

have any of you got any ideas on drills to ensure the foot lands facing forward and not off to a side

thanks em x x

[Caroline]

Hello Em - who is your coach? It would probably be better to discuss technical issues with him/her as he/she can see what is happening. Very often we are doing things that our body tells us we are doing, when reality (ie when we are observed) is another thing.

[Administrator]

Hi Emz,

I used to have similar trouble with my left foot planting in the wrong position and I've had lots of knee trouble since. I also used to plant on my toes a lot which also made it harder to get the angle right and more often than not my foot twisted while throwing which is definitely not good.

I really found it useful to build confidence by practising the last 2 steps of the throw in a sand pit. This drill is good for all sorts of things but you can run up on a long jump runway mimicking the javelin runup and then with your last left cross step, take off into the pit so that your right and then left foot land in the sand. Here you will be able to practice getting into the right positions without much impact going through your body meaning you can do it over and over again.

Once you feel happier about doing that then you can try it on grass (with your spikes on) and if you have any straight white lines (like football pitch markings) try and do it along a line and use that to visually help you approach and plant in that direction. You can even do that on the side of the runway throwing or not.

Now is definitely the right time to work on something like this since you won't be competing for quite a while (I assume) and so you can build up gradually and hopefully it will begin to become more natural to you.

As Caroline said, its a good idea to discuss you with this coach but this section is for asking questions so please feel free to do so in the future - James.

[pj]

Hi Em,

It is imperative that you sort this out before you do any more serious throwing. There is a significant chance that you will injure your knee seriously if you do not. A twisted knee can become a torn cruciate ligament. Any strong forces applied through a poorly planted front foot can do this. The best throwers put forces of ten to eleven times their body weight through the front leg.

[emz - LPS]

ah thanks guys thats all brilliant and will be takin into consideration especially this winter,

this issue is somethin me and my coach have noticed and we just couldn't think of exercises which could rectify this so THANK YOU x

[slinger]

Hi Emz,

Have you considered that you may not be giving yourself the best chance to plant with your left foot pointing towards the direction of the throw when throwing off your full run up?

You see, if you fail or struggle to get an early and effective throwing side hip strike during delivery prior to the left foot contacting for the plant it's actually quite hard to plant with that left foot pointing towards the direction of throw - try and stand up right now.....now stand with your hips sideways to the direction of throw, as if you were side on during your X overs and now keep your hips sideways try and put your left foot pointing down towards the intended direction of throw....it's not that easy, is it?

Now....imagine you have just landed in the final right foot contact position after impulse and this should be so your weight is still very much on that right leg and the left should be in an advanced position ahead of you and in mid air, now rotate the right hip and move the hips forward toward the throw and transfer weight into the left leg so you make the left foot plant.....you should now be in a nice wide throwing "base" note that your hips should now instead of being side on will of rotated somewhat "into" the throw and your left foot will of just [glow=red,2,300]automatically[/glow] of planted pretty much straight toward the direction of the throw.

I haven't seen you throw, but I bet something like the first instance is happening - the early use of the right hip in the throw is massive and is paramount to creating a good delay and separation and the thing is it's one of the skills that so many lack.


Here's a couple of pics of Barbora Spotakova....imo technically the best female javelin thrower in the world at present.

The first pic is mid point between final fight foot contact and final left foot contact for the plant and it shows her hips are already beginning to strike, I couldn't find any pics of her at the moment of final right foot contact, but her hips wouldn't be in an advanced state as this, but you can get a feel of what is happening and for you you can see her left foot is already pointing forward toes up ready for the plant.



This next pic shows just after left foot plant and shows the hips in an even more advanced state than the previous pic and facing fully frontal and her left foot is as much facing the direction of throw as is needed.

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[slinger]

[pembrokian]

I'll capture Miss Emz on film from the front so you can see the degree of off-centre planting of the front foot. I hadn't thought of the sand pit idea before although, at our track, the sand pits are quite "low" in relation to the run up. However, the beach nearby leaves a fine surface of even, firmish sand after the tide has gone out. This has the added advantage that you can see exactly where your feet are by the footprints left behind.

Emz, get your bucket and spade !

[pj]

All this advice is absolutely brilliant. That is what this Forum is, or should be about !!

EM.

Be absolutely sure that you have drilled the foot placements exactly to 'Tailor's measurements' before throwing again. This could take months. It will also give your knee chance to settle down, if indeed there is any underlying injury brewing up.

Also it is possible, with any fault, to slip back or regress, at any time.

Better to be absolutely safe than sorry.

Good luck with the Sand work. Which beach will you be on?

[slinger]

If you can't get to a beach and just want to see "marks" where foot placements have been doing anything, not just for this particular instance stand on some ground up throwing/climbing chalk in your trainers/shoes and it'll mark the ground if dry. Quite handy for making some athletes realise how wonky and off centre their run up can be when they see a curve of white foot prints down the run up!

[pj]

I am guessing the Beach will be Southport or Ainsdale. A beatiful stretch of Coast where Royal Birkdale Golf Course is, sometime home of The Open Golf Championship.

Isn't that the beach where the Antony Gormley figures are? Perhaps I am mistaken.

[pembrokian]

We'll probably go off Formby point because the tide leaves the sand there un-rippled and smooth.


Mr Gormleys "Another Place" is, quite appropriately, in another place; about 8 miles closer to Liverpool at Crosby/Waterloo.