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Ram relies on power
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer NEW PORT RICHEY -- After just one glimpse of Adamm Oliver's 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, you'll know why he's setting a school record in the shot put every time he places the metallic ball underneath his chin. But just imagine how good the Ridgewood junior will be when his technique catches up to his already impressive strength. "One of the keys to being a good shot putter is pure strength," coach Joe Breinig said, "and his physical stature is awesome to look at for a junior." Yes, and with that stature Oliver now holds the school record with a throw of 52 feet, 11/4 inches. A mark that Oliver is already planning to improve on at Friday's Class 3A, Region 3 meet, and then, hopefully, at next week's Class 3A state meet at Coral Springs. Because while Oliver has the brawn to be one of the county's best, he's got the brains to be one of the state's best. "That's definitely my strong point, my strength," Oliver said. "I'm thinking about adopting a spinning (technique.) I might be able to get the (shot) out there even more if I do that. "Right now, I'm just sliding through the circle, I'm just kicking back and throwing it, which means I'm not getting as much momentum as I could be. "If I can get this spin technique down, which I'm going to going to spend the summer working on, before next track season, I think I can start throwing in the high 50s." Breinig said that Oliver has already been working on his technique this season to improve his throws. "One of the big keys is obviously to get your hips into it," the coach said, "and in any sport you need explosiveness, and he does a super job of getting in that circle and just (exploding) out and throwing it. "He's just such a hard worker. We went over a couple of things this year to give him some hip explosion and it's obviously paid off. To be honest with you, unless he has a bad day, he'll be regional champion and he has a legitimate chance to place at state." To improve Oliver's throws, the coach broke out the videotape. "We sat down in the classroom one day and we broke down his technique," Breinig said. "We corrected a couple of things that he's improved on. But he's still got a ways to go. "But he's still so strong, I think that it makes up for any lack of technique."
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From today's Pasco Times |
