Golf (Again) - 4/22/16

In our ongoing attempt to get all of us together for events at the same time, and to add on to our previous outing, we headed out to a beautiful local golf course, Tierra Verde, to meet up with Coach Amy Fox.  Amy is a well known instructor and she was excited for the chance to work with us on this project.


Golf was held in the 1900 Olympic games for both men and women.  It held a men's event and team event in 1904, but was subsequently not played until the IOC voted in 2009 to reinstate it for the Rio games in 2016.


We met on a Friday morning at the clubhouse.  Coach Fox and a couple of her helpers greeted us with a Team USA banner and mini torch, then escorted us out to the driving range complete with Olympics music!

Team USA? With Coach Fox

We first stretched some while Coach Fox learned our assorted histories with the sport.  J had taken lessons when she was younger and still has her own set of clubs.  L2 and R both have very limited experience (if you want to call putt-putt "experience").  We then moved on to proper grip technique and the general motion of a follow-through.  I never realized the grip was an overlapping one, where your dominant hand covers the opposite hand's thumb on the club.  The follow through has your non-dominate hand cocked like you are ready to hit a nail with a hammer and elbow flexed to a 90 degree angle.  Once Coach liked what she saw, she gave us each an iron to practice swing at tees.  She set up three tees, a couple of inches apart from each other and we were to attempt to hit only the middle one.  After that, we actually added a ball.  There were surprisingly few complete misses!  Not surprisingly, a number of sharp slices...  We also tried our hand with some woods - very light for their size.

At the driving range

After we learned how to tee off, we headed over to a practice hole to work on putting.  I will say, there is much more to putting than I thought - including a form I had NOT been using all of these years in putt-putt!  We practiced short putting, with feet putter-head distance apart, medium putting in a slightly wider stance, then long putting with the widest stance.

Putting on the green

Finally, we played the par 3 hole.  We each teed off, then hit a middle shot to get onto the green, then putted.  We all did better than expected - 5 or 6 strokes.  Coach even added to our confidence with teaching us some etiquette and confirming we may actually be of some value on a "scramble" type tournament team.  We were each awarded our own gold medal from Coach!

L2 tees off

J chips it onto the green

R's first putt

We headed back to the clubhouse to wrap up.  We talked about Olympics golf and how disappointing it is that the world's best players aren't choosing to represent their countries at the upcoming Rio games.  The idea of giving amateurs the right to represent their country proudly was one we all agreed with.  It was a great beginner lesson and one that has us all planning to head out to a local par 3 course to see how we'd handle 9 holes...

Golf complete!

Basketball (Again) - 3/26/16

So some people in our group had already done basketball.  Twice.  The first time was just more of a pick-up game in a park and the second time was with a youth coach.  Both times, a couple of people weren't able to make it for one reason or another.  We decided we'd try once more, getting some instruction from a student from R's church, who holds basketball clinics for kids.


We met as his house one nice Saturday morning and got to work on warming up and stretching, then we went straight into some dribbling drills.  We made sure to work with both hands, both standing and sitting.  Then we moved on to some passing and shooting drills, just between two of us, no basket.  Next up was jump shots, then layups.  We wrapped up with a couple of games.  The first was where two people would shoot at the same time and the first to get a basket would knock out the other, only for the next person up to join in.  The second was everyone with their own ball in a small square.  We had to maintain a dribble and control of our own ball, while trying to knock the balls of the opponents out of the square.


We had a fun time and finally all got to work on basketball together.

J working on her jump shot

L2 hitting a layup

R and L1 looking to score first

Still not one picture with all of us - J had to leave early!  But basketball is complete!

Equestrian (Again) - 3/25/16

Earlier in our quest, we scheduled a few events when not all of us could go.  We've decided that a priority is now going to be to do the last of these events all together, as much as we possibly can.


In order to catch up R & L2 took a riding lesson to satisfy our equestrian events.  These are again something that would take much training (and cash!) to get far enough along in that we could actually do the "real" events.  Eventing and jumping trainers require riders be much more familiar with basics before allowing you to get some air on the horse.  Even dressage takes quite some time for horse and rider to "connect" and really show their stuff.


We at least got an intro to dressage from Julie at Trinity River Farms.  It was a beautiful Friday afternoon when Julie introduced us to our horses - Cool and Kodiak.  Both are trained in dressage so they had a good idea of what we were asking them to do even though we were newbies.  Cool is also a retired race horse who apparently takes retirement seriously...  The smaller Kodiak moved much quicker and even when Kodiak was in front of Cool in the ring, he still caught up!

RA on Kodiak

L on Cool

We worked on starting, stopping and turns - a basic first lesson.  The idea of dressage is for the rider to be as "quiet" as possible - very little movement of hands or feet.  The small pulls and nudges to communicate with the horse are critical for this event.  Turns are considered difficult because horses can't bend much in the middle, like a car.  So the smaller circle you can make, the better it shows off your ability.  We worked on tight circles where we keep the horse's rear legs as close to the center of the circle as possible, essentially "pivoting", and also on a larger walking circle.  We slalomed through cones that were set up, trying to keep the horses as close as possible to the cones without knocking them down.


Both of us had been on horses before - much longer ago for me.  I realized that this is really the only set of events that depends heavily on another living creature - and one that may not necessarily feel like being controlled.  It was a bit daunting once there and realizing that we were at the mercy of these gentle, but giant beasts!  Luckily, a simple introductory lesson was fine by them and I think they appreciated the attention they got before and after our ride with the brushing and chit-chat!


Another 3 events checked off for R and L2...  Though L2 is leaving this one open to possible future lessons!

Equestrian complete!

Modern Pentathlon - 2/27/16

The original Olympic games featured a pentathlon that consisted of mostly track and field events.  The 1912 Olympics first held the "Modern pentathlon", which still exists in a similar format and consists of a 200m freestyle swim, horse show jumping, fencing (epee), target shooting and a 3200m run.  All events were based on things a modern cavalry soldier must be able to do to behind enemy lines - run, swim, shoot, sword fight and ride an unfamiliar horse.


The event is now held as a single day competition and in most cases, athletes do not compete directly against one another, but rather are awarded points for their performance in each event.


We knew it would be difficult to try and find a facility in which we could compete all of these events in one day, so we again took a little creative latitude and did our own version of a pentathlon.  Plus, by the end of our adventure, we will have done each of these events "for real", just at different times!


We started inside a local YMCA to do our 200m swim.  8 laps of the pool and then we headed outside.

R, L1 and J in the pool

Even when some of us did our equestrian events, we were not able to do show jumping - it takes a lot more training than we planned time and money for - so we knew we wouldn't be able to do this portion in the traditional sense.  Instead, R mapped out an obstacle course on the awesome playground outside the YMCA.  We would be doing the obstacles instead of the horse!  Typically, the path consists of 12-15 obstacles over a 350-450m stretch.  Our path was shorter, but consisted of 14 obstacles.  I must add that the few kids that were out that early were rather amused by our antics!

L1 on the obstacle course

After we ran the obstacle course (a couple of times because it was fun!), we set up our target shooting.  In 2009, the shooting and running was actually combined into one event, similar to the Winter Games' biathlon.  The distance of the run has changed over the years, but since 2013, it has been 3200m.  As it is today, the women use a laser pistol that stays at the shooting station.  They must hit 5 targets over a maximum of 50 seconds.  After either 5 hits or 50 seconds, they run their first lap of 800m.  Then they do 5 more shots/50 seconds, then run, etc.  They will do four rounds of this to equal 20 targets and 3200m.


Again, laser pistols and appropriate targets weren't available at the Y, so R suggested using her Nerf N-Strike Jolt Blaster pistol and foam darts.  They actually did a great job of replicating the "must load after each shot" format and flew pretty well, even with the cross wind we were dealing with, although we did have to move in a little closer than planned.  We set up water bottles (with a bit of water to keep the wind from knocking them over) to target, with a sheet and towel behind to keep our darts from flying too far.  There was a 1/3 mile track right there as well, so we set up to do our 50 seconds of shooting, then ran a lap, then shot again.  My best round was hitting 3 bottles in 50 seconds.

R and J take aim

Finally, we wrapped up with our fencing.  We used foam swords instead of the real foils - we figured we had done real epee before, so this would be sufficient!  This is the only event in the pentathlon where the athletes compete directly against one another - and it's round-robin format where they all compete against each other.  It is very fast paced and each match lasts up to one minute.  The first woman to score a touch wins the point.  If no one scores in that one minute, both lose.

L1 and L2 in round-robin fencing play

We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our FWDtO version of the modern pentathlon.  Another event complete!

The pentathletes!

Handball - 12/3/15

Most of us attempted to play handball about a year and a half ago.  We didn't feel as if we really got a chance to learn and play it, so we kept looking and eventually found Dallas Team Handball.  We stopped by to take part in one of their practices and get some first-hand knowledge of the game.

Handball is played on five continents by over 180 countries and 19 million people all ages, worldwide, but is most popular in European and Asian countries. First introduced as an outdoor sport during the 1939 Summer Olympics program, handball has since been an indoor sport in the Summer Olympics program since 1972.  USA men have competed 6 times, most recently in 1996.  USA women have competed 4 times, also most recently in 1996.  Neither team qualified for Rio 2016.

 

It's a fast paced game with emphasis on passing and scoring.  There are elements of soccer, water polo, hockey and basketball.  Play involves 7 players per side, including goalies.  It is more physical than basketball, as contact is allowed, but no tackling.  There are 2 minute penalties and yellow/red cards.  Each player can only hold the ball for maximum of 3 seconds and must pass or dribble after 3 steps.  Typical scoring lines include around 50 points per game.  Shots on goal can go up to ~70mph.

 

“The Most Exciting Sport You’ve Probably Never Seen” according to Team USA website.  31 women are on the current roster – 20% are from foreign countries.

We first started by warming up our arms/shoulders with some passing.  Then we did a few different drills - inside a relatively small square (roughly 1/3 the size of a basketball court), we divided into two teams and essentially played "keep away", passing to our teammates using "handball rules" of 3 steps or 3 seconds between passes, while the other team tried to steal it.  Then we had to do a jump pass each time, then we had to do one dribble between passes.  That got us ready for a long scrimmage.

It was perfect - there were four of us and 10 DTH members, so just enough to play a proper 7 on 7 game.

L2 looking to pass while L1 guards

The game can be incredibly fast paced - though the coach of the team kept reminding some players to slow down.  The overall objective on offense is to pass quickly and efficiently until the defense makes a mistake and opens up a gap in which to shoot the ball.  There is also a "pivot" position that plays mostly with her back to the goal she's trying to score on - so she can pass or quickly turn and shoot.

R takes a shot on goal

Between watching the ball and the opponent, I found it very difficult to have time to keep an eye on my feet to make sure I wasn't crossing into the "circle" that is only for the goalie.  There is so much your brain has to keep track of even when you don't have the ball!

Finally, we closed practice taking penalty shots - a fun way to get an under control, no defenders shot at the goalkeeper.

J takes a penalty shot

We had a great time playing team handball.  We're looking forward to watching in person in Rio!



Handball complete!

Javelin & Hammer - 11/6/15

The women’s javelin is a spear approximately 7 feet, 7 inches long, weighing 1.3 pounds and has a 5.9” wide grip made of cord, located at the center of gravity, approximately 3 feet from the tip. The thrower builds speed over a considerable distance before release. At release, the javelin can reach speeds around 70mph. Due to liability with the event, in 36 states, high schools do not compete in the event. It is also part of the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon events. It first began as an event at the Ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC, but has been part of the men’s Games since 1906 and women’s since 1932. The current women’s record throw is 72.28m (237 feet).

We definitely didn't come that close! We were lucky to get some coaching from a former NCAA track coach who specializes in throws - Pete Abbey of Cates Athletics. We started out with some warm-ups, then used medicine balls to stretch our shoulders and hips. The throwing motion for javelin seems simple enough, until you get into the details. The idea is to get all of your momentum going forward, with the javelin the very last thing to move. Normally, that means 7-11 running steps, followed by 3-5 "bounds" (turning your non-throwing hip forward and running sideways, crossing feet over one another), then release with a large follow-thru step. At the time your throwing side starts to come forward, the entire opposite side is rotating back - so that at some point, your chest is farthest forward, with both arms back. This forms a "C" shape in the body. Then the spear is thrust forward and released. It was difficult to get all the motions together, so we started completely stationary with no run-up or bounds.

L1 starts in the basic stance

L1 completes her first throw

Then we tried to add in a couple of bounds. This increased our distance, though we were throwing maybe 20-30 feet. L1 was the only one to get the javelin to "stick" in the ground on landing, though that is not necessary for a "good" throw - as long as the tip hits the ground first.

R's good positioning with a "backwards C" along her arm, side and leg

R follows through, attempting to pull the trailing leg forward

After one of our rounds of throws

Next, we moved on to the hammer. The women’s hammer consists of a solid metal ball weighing 8.82 pounds attached to a wire approximately 3 feet 11 inches long with a handle on one end that allows for grip. The sport dates back to the 15th century and was included in the 1900 Olympic Games, but the women didn’t compete until 2000. Although many assume this is a strength event, it has evolved into a focus on speed. The motion includes two swings from a stationary position, then 3-4 rotations with increasing speed where the ball is at its high point at the front of the circle and the low point at the back. It includes a complicated heel-toe movement, much like discus. The current women’s record throw is 81.08 meters (266 feet).

Again, we started with simple props (medicine balls and cones) to stretch and get the feel of the motion.  Much like discus, getting the motion of the turn is key.  It must be quick and feet must stay close to one another to eliminate any motion that might slow you down.  We didn't attempt turns in discus, but Coach Pete let us get one turn worked in on hammer to see what it feels like.  What I found was that you had to go "all in" and let the hammer do the work for you.  Once I really let my momentum build, all of the motion seemed to fall into place.  The actual release of the hammer is over your shoulder as you finish your turn after the throw.  Our throws were in the range of 40-60 feet.  I'd have loved to work on more turns to see how that impacted distance!

L2 in starting position

J rotating through the swing

L2 pulling the hammer through for the throw

Sizable divots left by the hammer

With javelin and hammer, we have officially completed all throwing events!

L2, J, R and L1 all smiles

Football (Soccer) - 10/8/15

Football, otherwise known in the US as soccer, has been part of the Olympics since the beginning - the men competing every year except for two and the women starting in 1996 in Atlanta.  The US Women's National Team has enjoyed 4 Gold medals and 1 Silver during the 5 games that it has been included.

Soccer is played by over 250 million people in over 200 countries and is widely considered the most popular game in the world.  Three of us had played soccer in our youth, though knew some rust would likely show!

The TCU Women's Club Soccer team was gracious enough to have us out to practice with them on a unseasonably hot October night.  We took part in a series of scrimmages that upped the pace and allowed us to jump right into the game.  We started off playing 6-on-6 on mini fields with mini goals.  Then we moved on to full 11-on-11 on a small intermural field.

L2 defends L1 while teammates look on

R and J, one-on-one

By the time our 90 minute practice was over, a couple of us had realized how much we missed the game.  J had found a new appreciation for the sport that she had never tried before.  We all had fun and were happy to have had such great hosts in the TCU Club team.

Soccer complete!