Grab a piece of paper and make a plane out of it. Build one you think could fly the farthest, and then toss it. You probably gently and smoothly let it glide out of your hand resulting in a smooth flight. Now throw it again, but this time throw it as hard as you can, as if you are throwing a fastball in baseball. What happened? Most likely it failed from the beginning, flipping out of control.
Javelin is like throwing a giant paper plane. The throw needs to be smooth, fast, and exact. Trying to muscle a throw will only result in an ugly flight, if the javelin flies at all. Many times you will see a beginner javelin thrower hit themselves in the back of the head with the tail if they try to muscle a throw. Below I have created the drill evolution of how to throw a javelin.
Line Throws
This drill will help the athlete develop the coordination in the hand and arm to accomplish the throw.
Find or paint a long straight line on the ground. Have the athlete (standing on the line) reach back and throw the javelin about 10 feet ahead while trying to hit the line. Increase the distance of the throw while still trying to hit the line. All of these throws should be done with a standing throw until the coordination starts to look natural and the distance has increased a great deal.
Target Throws
This drill helps the athlete to develop a straight or “down the pipe” release of the javelin while incorporating more body coordination.
For this drill a small cone or old towel needs to be place out to about 50% of the athlete’s abilities on a standing throw. The goal on this drill is to start incorporating the proper “Reverse C” position with “active” legs.
Reverse C Position
The “Reverse C” is the optimal position reached to initiate the throw. This is also the best time to learn the block and drive leg. To do this the athlete stands about shoulder width apart and step into the Reverse C position. Emphasis should be on a stiff block leg, a rotated rear leg, extended hips, as well as a long straight pull with the throwing arm. The athlete should then return to the start position. Repeat this 3 times and on the third time initiate a throw while trying to hit the target.
The focus of the first 2 blocks is to rotate the heel of the rear leg out – forcing the hips into the “C’ position. Keep the jav back!
On the 3rd block, initiate the throw. Remember to keep the block leg straight (even though it is not stretched out completely) and get as long of a pull on the javelin as possible.
Once this becomes easy, the target can be move out in small increments. The athlete can also learn to do crossovers at this point- starting with 1 and building from there.
Crossover training tip
I would recommend doing crossovers for speed and then for height with a javelin extended back. This will help train the arm to remain stable during crossovers before the throw. Do not block or throw with these drills. It should look something like: 5-10 x 30m for speed, 5-10 x 30m for height.
Distance Target
This is best for athletes that have pretty well learned the correct throwing position and crossovers. This drill is essentially the same as the short target throws, but is used to train a proper, faster approach and harmonization with the throw. This is also the best time to teach the rhythm of the last 5 steps: 1,2,3…45 or L,R,L…RL (right hand thrower).
Start with the target at 60% of the athlete’s ability after a long warm up. The first throws should be standing or one step throws. After a series of those (~10 throws), move the target out farther and add more steps. Do this until the desired approach length is reached and the target is around 80-90% of the athlete’s ability. The goal with this drill is still to be accurate, not maximal throws. This allows the focus to remain on the approach and coordination.
Perfect the basics of the throw with these drills and you will be launching the javelin in no time!
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